Fire Arms
After a long day of classes, and approximately 23 minutes of Kelley going on and on about how her hot TA was ‘totally giving her the eye in class today’, Christen and Kelley stroll into the dining hall to meet up with the others for lunch.
“I’m telling you, she wouldn’t stop staring at me for the entire class period” Kelley stresses as she and Christen make their way over to the buffet line. They each grab a plate and join the uncharacteristically short queue of college students waiting to dish themselves some food.
“Are you sure she wasn’t just looking at the spinach stuck in your teeth? You do eat a lot of salads, you know” Christen airily suggests as she grabs a serving spoon and piles a healthy amount of green beans on her plate. Kelley’s eyes widen and her jaw drops.
“No way, do I really have spinach in my teeth?” she gasps with a fretful expression. Christen just chuckles as she shuffles forward in line.
“Relax Kels, I was only kidding” Christen reassures, noticing Kelley’s shoulders sink as her demeanor morphs into relief. “Why do you care anyway? Aren’t you and Emily like ‘smitten’ with each other?”
“Yeah, I guess” Kelley replies after pausing to add some fried rice to her plate. “It’s just, sometimes I don’t know where we stand, you know? Like, we like each other, but I don’t know what she thinks this is. Hell, I don’t even know if I know what this is.” Kelley takes a moment to carefully select which multi-grain dinner role she wants before continuing. “Sorry, you probably have no idea what I’m even talking about.”
“No” Christen admits as she looks up from the food she’s just dished herself, “I get it. Trust me, I do.” Kelley takes a few seconds to study Christen before Christen turns away, suddenly uncomfortable with her roommate’s quizzical expression. Should I have told her that?
Christen and Kelley grab some silverware and glasses of water before they begin searching for their friends in the seating area. As Christen scans a crowd of what must be a bunch of seniors still hungover from the previous night’s ‘Senior Soiree’ – an annual event that sounds fancy, but is apparently anything but – she hears a voice beckoning her and Kelley over.
“Yo Press, O’Hara, over here you chuckleheads!” Kling yells from a few aisles over. Chuckleheads? I mean, I love Kling as much as the next person, but she really needs to start working on her terms of endearment.
“I believe that’s our cue” Kelley mumbles from Christen’s side as the two walk over to the table of soccer players.
“Heyyy, it’s about time you two showed up” Ali comments as Kelley takes a seat beside Kling and Christen slides into the empty chair next to Tobin.
“Yeah, you just missed Tobin say grace” Alex teases as the girls settle in, “I think it went a little something like…” Alex pauses as she puts down her fork, clasps her hands together, and closes her eyes before attempting her best Tobin impression. “‘Dear Lord, thank you for this food. And soccer – the very reason for my existence. Amen.” The other girls laugh while Christen directs her gaze to Tobin.
“I’m a simple girl” Tobin nonchalantly shrugs, playing along with Alex’s attempt to get a rouse out of her, “Easy to please.”
“You hear that, Christen? ‘Easy to please.’ You better take note” Sarah teases from across the table. Christen’s cheeks warm a little, but she’s been working on thickening her skin when it comes to the team’s hazing. She’s knows it’s just something that comes with the territory now. Nevertheless, Tobin discreetly gives her knee a squeeze under the table, so Christen flashes her a quick smile to affirm that she’s alright.
“And what about you, Apple?” Kelley chimes, coming to her roommate’s rescue, “Aren’t you so easy to please? You really seem to have enjoyed that gift we all got you.” Sarah stiffens, but only for a second before she calmly resumes playing with the mashed potatoes on her plate.
“Ah yes, that rubber band superglue web sure was fun to walk into” Sarah sweetly smiles while speaking in a contradictory, serial killer-like tone, “I’ll be sure to repay each and every one of you ladies for that later.” Even though Christen knows that Sarah is obviously joking, she still feels a slight chill run up her spine. After all, Wisconsin doesn’t necessarily have a spotless record when it comes to producing serial killers.
“Anyway…” Ali starts as Sarah blissfully continues playing with her food, “Are you guys getting exited for Fall Fest? I heard Paul might be hosting a thing and…” Christen finds herself zoning out at this point in the conversation. She’s tried before to familiarize herself with the team’s party friends and the like, but it turns out that her particular group of friends are a rowdy bunch, so they have a lot of ‘party pals.’ So much so, that she’s given up trying to learn about them all together. As the other girls blabber on about kegs and reigning beer pong champs, Tobin leans over to Christen and begins to whisper in her ear.
“Are you doing anything tonight?” she asks. Christen considers the question before turning to face Tobin.
“Probably some yoga later, then I was planning on locking myself in my room to work on a few assignments. Why?” Christen answers as she looks into Tobin’s eyes, patiently awaiting her reply.
“I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out” Tobin explains with her typical air of coolness, “Is yoga in the Athletic Center?”
“Yeah” Christen nods, “It’s at 7:30 in studio 148B.”
“Do you mind if I join you, then?” Tobin asks with a slight smirk growing on her face. “I’ll be in the gym until 7:15 anyway. Yoga sounds like the perfect cool-down after a workout.”
“Hey, don’t be so blasé about it, yoga is a workout all its own” Christen gently reprimands, though her implied sternness never reaches her eyes. “But yes, you may join me…if you can keep up.” Tobin quirks and intrigued eyebrow at Christen’s challenging, and cocky remark.
“Oh I think I can keep up” Tobin responds, equally as confident.
“We’ll see” Christen lightly exhales as she goes back to stabbing a few green beans onto her fork. Tobin leans in to say something else, but Kling cuts her off.
“…so you’re coming, right Tobs?” Kling asks, carrying on from the conversation that both Tobin and Christen were completely tuning out.
“Uh, what?” Tobin replies, confused as to what is being asked of her.
“I said” Kling sasses, “You’re coming with us to Fall Fest next week, right?” Tobin takes a moment to process the question before she looks over to Christen, and then back to Kling.
“Oh, well, I haven’t really made up my mind yet” Tobin sheepishly admits, her confident aura gradually losing its glow.
“Dude, you have to come!” Sarah pipes up, “Remember last year? You won seven rounds of flip cup and managed to make it all the way to the bathroom before vomiting your guts out. That was iconic.” Tobin shrinks a little in her chair. Wait, I thought Tobin said she doesn’t drink?
“Actually no, I don’t remember last year. That’s kind of one of the reasons why I haven’t made a decision about it yet” Tobin explains, somewhat embarrassed.
“Oh come on, you should come! We’ll let you bring your girlfriend” Kling offers, trying to persuade Tobin more effectively than Sarah did. Christen stiffens in her seat. Her what?
“My girlfriend?” Tobin questions, as caught off guard by the implication as Christen is. Kling gives Tobin a knowing look before glancing over to Christen.
“Yeah, Christen. Who else would I be talking about?” Kling matter-of-factly states. Tobin just offers Kling a half-smile before the other girls get lost in the Fall Fest conversation once again. Meanwhile, both Christen and Tobin sit in silence, trying to make sense of what was just implied, and what was neither confirmed nor denied.
At around 7:12 pm, Christen pushes through the doors of the Athletic Center and makes her way towards the direction of the main workout gym. Through large windows, she sees a variety of students working out on the wide array of machines and equipment that the school has to offer. Some students look like they should be on the cover of some body builder magazine, while others have toothpicks for arms. Overall, each seems to be trying their hardest to get a good workout in, and that much Christen can respect. After checking her phone to see that only a minute has passed, Christen watches a group of physically toned girls make benching 100 plus pounds look like a piece of cake. After watching such athleticism, Christen peers down at her own arms, which now appear feeble in comparison. She pokes at her right bicep. Maybe I need to spend more time on my upper body.
“Careful” A familiar voice warns from just a few feet away, “You shouldn’t play around with loaded guns.” Tobin strides over to Christen with a large grin on her face. She’s wearing a cut-off tank top and a pair of athletic shorts. Her skin is glistening with sweat, and Christen swears the girl’s never looked better.
“Loaded?” Christen questions as she skeptically inspects her own arm muscles once again, “Are you sure about that?”
“Yep.” Tobin confirms as her grin grows wider, and she walks right up to Christen. “Here, I’ll help you put the safety on for good measure.” As soon as those words leave Tobin’s lips, she wraps her neighbor up in a warm hug. Tobin sways Christen back and forth and squeezes before letting her go. In the process, Christen is met with Tobin’s sweaty scent, and she can’t quite figure out if she’s disgusted…or a little bit aroused. “Sorry” Tobin exhales after breaking the embrace, “I forgot I’m all sweaty. I guess I was too caught up in eliminating the potential danger of the misuse of fire arms.”
“It’s alright” Christen dismisses, “I’m about to get all sweaty in yoga anyway. And was that a pun just now? Did you seriously just use a pun on me?” Tobin considers Christen’s question before chuckling a little bit.
“I guess it was an unintentional one” Tobin admits, “But I mean, your arms are fire.” Christen bats at Tobin’s shoulder and shakes her head at the flirtatious remark. “See? Those bad boys are dangerous!” Tobin teases as she rubs at her battered shoulder.
“If you can’t handle that, then there’s no way in hell you’ll be able to survive yoga” Christen taunts as she starts walking forward through the hall. “Now come on, we should get going otherwise we won’t get good spots. That is, if you still think you’re up for it.” Tobin jogs after Christen and joins her side.
“Don’t count me out just yet, Chris. You’ve obviously never seen me downward dog before. It’s the talk of legends.” Tobin quips with a wink.
“I’ll believe it when I see it” Christen quickly returns with an entertained smile plastered on her face.
When the two arrive to studio 148B, Christen is surprised to see the lack of yoga mats rolled out onto the floor.
“This is the place, right?” Tobin asks, seemingly as confused as Christen.
“Yeah” Christen nods, “148B, this is where yoga usually is.” Christen looks around the room and notices students dressed in loose clothing and shorts, instead of the usual tank top, yoga pants, and barefoot ensemble that most experienced yogis usually sport. She glances to the front of the studio, and notices a short, yet toned girl standing with an iPod near the dock for the speakers. She’s gotta be an instructor.
Christen walks over to the girl with Tobin in tow. As she approaches, the girl looks up from her playlist and smiles.
“Hi, are you two attending the class tonight?” She enthusiastically asks as she pulls one leg behind her to do a quick quad stretch.
“That depends” Christen answers, briefly looking around the room once again with slight suspicion. “This is yoga, right? Where are all the mats?” The girl looks slightly apologetic, but maintains her smile as she releases her leg and squares herself towards Christen and Tobin once again.
“Actually, the yoga instructor, Lucy, tore her ACL this week, so she can’t teach classes for the rest of the semester. I’m filling in with my Zumba classes instead” The girl informs, “You two are more than welcome to join the class tonight. It’s a lot of fun, I promise. And it’s a great workout.” Christen visibly deflates. No more yoga? For the entire semester? This is terrible.
Tobin takes notice of Christen’s drop in mood, so she places a supportive hand on Christen’s shoulder before continuing to talk to the Zumba instructor.
“So what is Zumba exactly?” Tobin asks. The girl flashes her bright smile as she prepares to answer Tobin’s question.
“Well” the girl starts as her eyes begin to sparkle with enthusiasm. “Zumba is an aerobic fitness program centered primarily on Latin American dance. It’s a way better time than it sounds, and a perfect excuse to shake your hips.” Tobin lets out a slight laugh at the girl’s playfulness.
“Alright, count us in” Tobin firmly replies, effectively drawing Christen out of her pout.
“Great!” the instructor beams, “You two can take your place anywhere around the studio, and we’ll get class started in a few minutes.” Tobin nods as she leads Christen to an off-center position in the room, as to not put them in the focus of everyone else’s attention.
“Why did you say we’d do it? I’ve never even done Zumba before!” Christen protests in a hushed tone as the two takes their places.
“No better time to start than the present” Tobin shrugs as she lunges into a calf stretch. “Besides, it sounds like fun. What have you got to lose?”
“My pride, for one” Christen side-comments, insecurely crossing her arms over her chest.
“Sounds like you’re just scared to me” Tobin exhales as she stands up, only to begin a lunge with the opposite leg this time.
“What are you talking about? Scared of what?” Christen questions, still slightly annoyed that Tobin voluntarily decided to throw them into this awkward situation without even bothering to consult Christen first.
“You’re scared of me being better at this than you” Tobin airily suggests. Christen’s eyebrows quickly furrow as she spins towards Tobin.
“What? No I’m not!” she argues, this time opting to places her hands firmly on her hips. Tobin stands up once again, and faces Christen with a smirk cemented on her face.
“Sure you are” Tobin confidently affirms once again. “You brought me here thinking that you were going to school me in yoga, but now that the playing field is level, you aren’t so sure that you can beat me anymore. It’s alright, Christen, I get it. Not everything has to be a competition with you, we can just do things for fun every once in a while you know.” I know I haven’t been studying psychology very long, but I sure as hell can recognize projection when I see it. She’s saying that I’m the one always making things a competition?! Fine, if she wants to play it that way, I’ll be better than her at this whole ‘Zumba’ thing, and wipe that stupid smirk off her face.
“You know what? You’re on. Prepare for me to dance circles around your ass” Christen tries her hand at intimidation, though it just ends up sounding more suggestive than threatening. Tobin tries to hold in a laugh. “Alright, that came out wrong. But rest assured, you’re going down.” Tobin bites her lip as her body trembles from the laughter bubbling up inside of her. What? Did that sound slightly sexual too?...Ok, yep, now I hear it. Dammit, Christen, get your head in the game! “Ok, forget you heard that. Just know that if you want this to be a competition, I’m coming in first, and you’re coming second.” At this point, Tobin just snickers away, unable to suppress her laughter anymore. “Oh just shut up and dance!” Christen huffs as she turns toward the front of the studio, just as the instructor is getting ready to start the class.
“Hello, everyone!” the girls starts, “My name is Crystal, and I’ll be your Zumba instructor this evening. I hope everyone is ready to have fun and shake a little ass!” And with that, Crystal starts the lively Latin music, and the class is underway.
By the end of the surprisingly vigorous 90 minute class, both Christen and Tobin are panting and sweating way more than they had expected. Christen glances up towards the front of the studio, and notices that Crystal looks hardly phased at all, despite going harder than anyone else in the class. Is she even human?
“Alright everyone, great work today! I hope to see you next week for more adventures in the art of the Zumba!” Crystal announces as people start packing up their things, and leaving the studio. Christen and Tobin sluggishly make their way over to the side of the room where they deposited their stuff.
“Damn” Christen mutters just after taking a long swig from her water bottle, “That was intense.”
“Yeah” Tobin agrees while slipping off her trainers and putting on her outdoor shoes, “Maybe next time you’ll beat me.”
“What?” Christen exclaims as she screws the cap back onto the water bottle. “Your body rolls were weak.”
“Well your footwork was sloppy” Tobin quips.
“Now you’re just making shit up” Christen argues, narrowing her eyes.
“I wish I were” Tobin deflects, locking eyes with Christen. They stare each other down before Crystal approaches and interrupts the tension.
“So ladies, how did you like the class?” Crystal asks in an optimistic tone.
“Actually” Christen starts, only pausing for a brief second to continue to try to catch her breath, “It was a lot of fun.”
“Yeah” Tobin adds, “Thanks for convincing us to stay.” Crystal’s face lights up as she hears the girls’ positive reception.
“Good, I’m glad you liked it. And you two were killing it over here. I’m not supposed to have favorites, but if I did, it would be you guys. I might have to move the two of you to the front next week, so you can show everyone else how it’s done” Crystal discloses with a wink.
“Thanks” Tobin responds while standing up to her feet again, “But I have to ask, which one of us was better?” Christen rolls her eyes. Really Tobin? You’re going to bring the instructor into this?
“Well, you definitely had excellent footwork. Have you danced before?” Crystal begins.
“I play soccer, it’s basically dancing with a ball at your feet” Tobin answers with a smirk.
“I see” Crystal acknowledges with a nod. “But you” Crystal gestures to Christen, “You have great core control. Girl, those hips don’t lie.”
“Thank you” Christen states as she smiles at Crystal, all the while side-eyeing Tobin.
“So I guess I have to say that it was an even tie. You’ll just have to come back next week to see who will be better then” Crystal informs with a few motives of her own. Both Christen and Tobin respectfully nod before agreeing to return.
“Alright, if that’s the only way to break this tie” Tobin concedes. Crystal smiles wider.
“Great, I can’t wait to have you back. And I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught your names at the beginning of class.” Crystal admits, looking back and forth between Tobin and Christen.
“I’m Christen” Christen greets as she extends a hand for Crystal to shake.
“And I’m Tobin” Tobin adds as she shakes Crystal’s hand as well.
“Christen and Tobin” Crystal repeats with a nod, “I’ll be sure not to forget those names come class time next week. Have a great rest of you evening!” Crystal instructs as she turns around and walks back towards the front of the studio to start cleaning up for the night. Christen and Tobin gather up their things and head for the exit.
“You’re welcome by the way” Tobin comments once they make it out to the hallway.
“For what?” Christen asks, humoring the girl beside her.
“For getting you addicted to Zumba. Just remember to mention me as your bad influence at the next Zumbaholic’s Anonymous meeting” Tobin suggests as she arrives at the exit of the building and holds the door open for Christen.
“Only as long as you mention me in your awards speech for all of your critically acclaimed ‘soccer dancing’” Christen sarcastically returns as she passes through the doorway. Tobin smirks as she follows her outside.
“So when I said I was planning on locking myself in my room to study, I meant by myself” Christen points out as Tobin sits at Christen’s desk, and plays around with any office supply item that she can get her hands on.
“You’re just going to have to be more specific next time” Tobin smugly returns. “Besides, I’m here to help you study.”
“Is that so?” Christen asks as raises her eyebrows and watches as Tobin balances a ruler on her forehead. “Because you’re doing a really good job of it.” Tobin lets the ruler drop to the floor as she looks over to Christen.
“Alright, fine. What can I do to help?” she asks sincerely.
“Well, you can start by not distracting me” Christen states as she pulls some flash cards from her backpack and settles onto her bed.
“I’m sorry, but you’d have to suddenly go blind for that to happen” Tobin declares as she pulls her laptop from her bag. Christen stares at his questioningly, confused as to what Tobin is getting at. “That’s right, I’ve noticed you sneaking peaks at me when you thought I wasn’t looking. You aren’t so innocent in this situation.” Christen averts her eyes. Oh shit, she saw that?
“Fine. How about you just work on that paper that you’ve been complaining about, and I study my flashcards. Sound good?” Christen offers with a sigh.
“Alright, as long as you keep your eyes to yourself” Tobin teases as she turns away from Christen and opens up her laptop.
Christen shakes her head as she peers down at the index cards with neatly written hand-writing on them. All of which contain vocabulary and information for the next Comm quiz. She pulls out the first card from the deck and reads the vocab word. Illustrators. Ok, illustrators are used – Sporadic loud clicking sounds of a key board interrupt Christen’s train of thought. She looks over and notices Tobin starting to write her paper. Alright, let’s try this again. Illustrators are – Again the loud clicking impedes her focus. She takes a deep breath and tries once more. Maybe if I start off with a different flash card, maybe that will make a difference. So she grabs a new card from the deck, and reads it to herself. Vocalics. Vocalics is the – The clicking starts again, and at this point it’s too much for Christen to deal with. Christen observes Tobin’s typing, and notices her peculiar way of going about it. Essentially, Tobin only uses both of her index fingers to poke at the keys.
“Tobin, what are you doing over there?” Christen finally asks, confounded by the midfielder’s ability to make even the simplest task a chore.
“Writing my paper. What does it look like?” Tobin responds, not pausing from poking keys to form words on her screen.
“No, I mean with your hands” Christen clarifies.
“Typing?” Tobin replies, not understanding what Christen is alluding to.
“Is that what you call it?” Christen teases, giggling a little at the sight of Tobin hitting the keys at a sloth’s pace.
“Do you have a problem with the way I type?” Tobin questions, slightly offended by Christen’s amusement at such a mundane discrepancy.
“Can you even type sixty words a minute?” Christen challenges, skeptical of Tobin’s abilities. Tobin crosses her arms and locks eyes with Christen.
“Wanna bet?” she bargains. Christen glances between Tobin’s key board and her eyes. Easy win.
“Sure” Christen shrugs, “But you have to tell me what we’re betting this time.”
“A kiss.”
“A kiss?”
“Yeah” Tobin confirms, “If I win, you have to kiss me.”
“And if I w–“
“On the lips” Tobin continues, “For at least thirty seconds.”
“Alright” Christen agrees after Tobin finally lets her speak again. “And If I win, you owe me a kiss, but it won’t be now. It’ll be at some random time that I get to decide, just like how you held that bet over my head for a few weeks.”
“Deal” Tobin accepts as she readies herself for competition. Christen grabs her phone and walks over towards Tobin and her desk. She sets the stopwatch app for 60 seconds and looks back over to Tobin.
“You ready?” she finally asks.
“As I’ll ever be” Tobin confidently declares. Christen’s thumb hovers above the start button.
“Annnd… Go!” Christen exclaims as the starts the clock and the time winds down. Tobin starts typing, slowly but diligently. She’s never going to win at this pace. Why is she always letting her competitiveness get the best of her?
With about 26 seconds left, Tobin leans back in the chair with a goofy grin across her face.
“Done” she declares as Christen walks over to the laptop. Once she looks at the screen, she notices only a single sentence:
Sixty words a minute ;)
Christen looks up from the screen, only to find that Tobin’s smile has somehow grown.
“What is this?” Christen asks, confused by Tobin’s smugness. She just obviously lost, why is she so happy?
“You asked me if I could type, ‘Sixty words a minute’ and I did, so I just won” Tobin explains, content with her work.
“But that’s not what we – ” Christen starts, but Tobin interrupts her once again.
“I expect you found no typos or errors in my typed sentence” Tobin states.
“No, but – ”
“I respected the confines of the bet. Now it’s time for you to pay up” Tobin declares with a twinkle in her eye.
“You’re such a con-artist, you know that?” Christen points out as Tobin pulls Christen to sit on her lap.
“I’m aware” Tobin admits in a lowly voice as she leans forward and connects her lips with Christen’s. The kiss is slow and soft, but Christen feels her heart thumping against her chest nevertheless. Her hand finds Tobin’s cheek, and her thumb strokes along her cheekbone. Tobin’s hands find the small of Christen’s back and hold her close. Just as Christen feels herself getting lost in the kiss, she hears the doorknob rattle, and eventually the entire door swing open.
“Roomie, I’m hooo – oh God! I did not need to witness this. Get a room!” Kelley exclaims as she walks in on Christen and Tobin’s passionate moment.
“We did, but then you walked into it” Tobin points out, apparently not all embarrassed by what just happened. Meanwhile Christen blushes something fierce as she tries to slide off of Tobin’s lap as casually as possible.
“Well next time put a sock on the doorknob, like any other respectable person would!” Kelley argues, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut. “Now I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to get that image out of my head.”
“Sorry, Kels, we didn’t mean for that to happen” Christen regretfully informs as she grabs her phone and heads back to her bed.
“Speak for yourself” Tobin playfully chimes. Consequently, Kelley chucks a stray soccer ball at Tobin. She catches it just before it hits her in the face. “I was kidding, O’Hara! Geez, learn to take a joke.”
“Learn to keep it in your pants” Kelley immediately shoots back.
“Oh my god, we are done talking about this!” Christen demands, shielding her face with her hands. Just as Christen feels herself sink into the lowest state of shame and embarrassment, her phone chimes, signaling a new text. Christen glances down at her phone screen, and her face lights up. “Oh my god!” Christen squeals.
“What now?” Kelley groans, completely done with surprises for the night.
“Julie’s coming!” Christen shouts, letting her excitement bubble out from within her.
“Julie’s coming? When?” Kelley quickly asks, seemingly growing in excitement along with her roommate.
“Who’s Julie?” Tobin questions, completely out of loop, and suddenly less smug than she was moments ago.
“She’s one of my best friends from back home. She’s coming for Fall Fest so I don’t have to spend it alone” Christen explains as she is unable to control herself enough to remain still.
“But I thought you weren’t going to Fall Fest?” Tobin asks, still clearly confused.
“I’m not” Christen answers with a large smile, “Julie’s coming to spend time with me while everyone else is out partying and doing who knows what.”
“If you were worried about being alone, you could’ve just asked m–” Tobin begins in small voice, only to be cut off by another chime of Christen’s phone.
“Ah! And she just said that she’s going to spend the week here because that’s when she has fall break!” Christen exclaims as she and Kelley begin dancing around the room.
“I can’t wait to meet her, Julie sounds like the coolest!” Kelley cheers.
“She totally is! I just know you’re going to love her” Christen agrees.
“Am I going to love her?” Tobin asks, with a mixture of both playfulness, and concern in her voice.
“Of course!” Christen reassures, “I just know that you and Julie are going click from the second you two meet.”