Young Love

I sat in the cafeteria as I waited for Anne to come. As soon as she walked in I rushed over to her, bouncing up and down.

“Anne, I got the internship! I got it!” I exclaimed, handing her the paper. She read it over and a smile spread across her face.

“Congrats, Cali! When do you start?” she asked as we walked over to the small table I’d been holding for us.

“Tomorrow, right after my morning classes. I can hardly wait!”

“Well good luck!”



I stood in front of the BRC the next day around noon, looking up at the giant letters above the building. BIOLOGY RESEARCH CENTER, it read it big, bold letters. I took a deep breath before walking through the door with my paper in my hand. I walked up to the desk and a woman who looked a few years older than me greeted me.

“Hello, how may I help you?” she asked.

“I’m Calissta, the new intern,” I said, “Here’s my acceptance paper.” She took the paper and glanced at it before standing from her chair and extending her hand.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Emily Anderson.” I shook her hand before she turned to a lady who had just walked in.

“Hey, Julie, this is the new intern, Calissta!” she called to her. Julie walked up to me with a smile.

“Nice to meet you,” she said politely.

“You too.”

“Well, we don’t have any work for you just yet, would you like a tour?” Emily asked. I nodded enthusiastically. I’d been here once before when I was eight when my school went on a field trip here, but a lot could have changed in ten years.

“Jul’s, can you cover my post?” Emily asked as she walked around the desk while Julie walked behind it.

“Sure, but can you over my shift on Saturday? I have to drive my daughter to her ballet recital.”

“Yeah, sure thing,” she said as she turned to me.

“This way, Calissta,” she said, walking off down a long hall to the left.

“You can call me Cali if you want to,” I said with a shrug.

“Alright, Cali. Well, first we’ll start with the west wing of this building, the Marine Biology labs. It’s one of the biggest branches of Biology that’s studied here, but there are two other main branches that are studied here besides it: Bioengineering, and Biochemistry, both of which have their own wing just like Marine Biology. Most of the other branches also have a place here, but those are the three biggest ones here,” she said all while leading me down a long hallways. Doors lined each side, some showing scientists inside working with sea animals. Each room had posters of the ocean and the animals that lived there adorning the walls.

“This is the main marine biology lab where our scientists study ocean animals,” she said as she led me up to the door and we both looked inside. There were about five or six scientists inside, all looking at a small dolphin in a tank, writing things down on clipboards, while one of them stood at the front, speaking to them all.

Emily led me through all the other Biology labs, even the smaller ones. As we were walking back to the front she turned and asked me, “So I assume you’re studying biology at the college. What’s your favorite branch?”

“Biotechnology,” I answered. I was fascinated with it, more than any of the other biology subjects. Something about it fascinated me.

“Interesting,” she replied before glancing down at her watch. “Well, it’s about lunch time. Do you want to join Jul’s and I? We’re going to a sub shop downtown.”

“Sure.” Wow, my first day here and everything was going great! I’d made friends with the receptionists, gotten a tour of the whole facility, and I was going to lunch the some of the staff, could this day get any better?



The next day I got up bright and early to go to work at the Biology Center. It was Saturday, so they expected me to work in the morning on the weekend. I arrived and clipped on my nametag they’d made for me. I sat down at the front desk next to Emily. She turned to me with a smile and nodded in greeting. She looked tired. She must not be a morning person.

“Hey, can you go make copies of these documents?” she asked as she stifled a yawn.

“Tired much?” I teased as I took the documents.

“Just a little. Saturdays are usually my day to rest, but I told Jul’s I’d cover for her today so she could take her little girl to ballet.” I nodded, remembering the conversation yesterday. I walked into the back room and start to make copies. When I was done I took the paper and walked back out, handing them to Emily.

“Anything else I can do?” I asked eagerly. Like I said, I never liked to stay in one place for too long.

“That’s all for now. Thanks.”

I sat back in my chair and watched as Emily shifted through the pile of copies and organized them. Suddenly the door opened and we both glanced up. That was the day my life changed forever. That was the day when he walked into my life.