My phone rings and rouses me from sleep. Tired, I look at the time in the display. Half past seven. I moan inwardly. It's been three days since we repaired the wine bottle and today the old gentleman: Dr. Kunkov comes to pick it up. I won't be here when that happens. As soon as I can, I decide to flee the place. Besides, I don't have the nerve to deal with it today anyway, because today the movie night with Valerie and her friend (what was her name again…?) takes place.

I discover the reason why my phone woke me up at this absolutely inhumane time: an automatic message from Meinolf, our laboratory robot. He completed the last cycle overnight.

Groaning, I roll out of bed. I have to go to the lab and rearrange the system. I quickly grab a set of change of clothes, toothbrush and cat food, before I disappear with my cat from the frat-house.

At the institute, I use the staff showers in the basement. Here I always have my peace and my bathrobe still hangs in the same place as last week: a sign that, apart from me and Gerti, the cleaning lady, never a soul passes by here. Relaxed, freshly showered and with a toothbrush in my mouth, I grab one of the yogurts from the staff fridge and retire, still in slippers and bathrobe, back to my lab.

Henry left me a message: a note that sticks to our robot and informs me that our doctoral supervisor wants to talk to us. What does he want from us? Apart from a few dozen broken lab rules, I don't know we did something bad. If anything, we are miles ahead of schedule with our basic research, which is definitely thanks to our automation strategy. Brooding, I remove the old tube-system from the robot and clamp in a new one. Basic research is pretty much the most boring thing I can imagine. Since we are so well on schedule, I'm thinking about trying something new. There are no new instructions from the professor yet and I have to sort out the day in the lab anyway.

For some time I have been thinking about participating with Henry in the Molbi-Tech competition: the annual, international, molecular biology competition, in which several teams from different institutes of the world participate and present new molecular biology methods or projects.

Watson jumps on the desk and scratches over one of the college blocks lying around on it. Ah- his sign that he wants new water.

Smiling, I take Watson in my arms and scratch him briefly behind the ear before I put him back on the windowsill. There I take the only plant I own: normal parsley, together with the plastic pot from the flower pot, so that he can drink the dirty flower water. Disgusting for me, but a delicacy for Watson! No matter how many times I provide him with fresh water, he always prefers dirty flower water.

Lost in thought, I watch him drink. Now that I think about it: after every drink he lies down briefly to sleep, then wakes up after a few hours and cleans his fur. Could it be, that...?

Suddenly, an idea comes to me with how I can spend the rest of the day: I get some sterile sticks from the lab and get to work.

A few hours later I stand in front of the main university building with the purchased cinema tickets and wait for the others. It doesn't take long for Aaron to show up. He has put on a fancy shirt and gives me a disgusted look, judging my black cardigan over the black shirt and black pants.

"Dude, couldn't you have picked something decent for today?" he asks frustrated.

I look down at myself uncertainly. "So bad?"

"I thought you were serious about the little blonde, but I seem to have been wrong if , even on a day like today you don't wear some proper clothing!"

A slight wave of panic comes over me. "But I have nothing else," I defend myself.

Aaron raises an eyebrow skeptically. "You want to tell me you don't own a single non-black garment?"

"Well... I've got some red socks..."

Aaron slaps his hand in front of his forehead in frustration. "Sorry, dude, but it's strange when you're walking around like that." He begins to unbutton his shirt. "Give me your jacket," he tells me.

"What?!" I ask, horrified. "What do you want from me?! Why are you undressing?!"

"At least we're swapping the tops. It's just embarrassing to be seen with you!" says Aaron. I want to say something defiant, but at this moment a tram stops in front of the university. The girls would have to be in there if they were on time. An uneasy feeling comes over me and the urge to please Valerie outweighs the urge to spit in Aaron's face. So I change my mind and quickly tear off my cardigan.

"Come on!" Aaron says admiringly as I wear a white shirt over my shirt for the first time in my life, even though I don't have to attend a wedding or funeral.

The black cardigan over the white T-shirt looks pretty good on him. I myself feel a little uncomfortable in the white dress shirt, but it's too late to think about it. The girls have arrived.

"Hey, how are you?" asks Valerie and hugs me again out of the blue. My heart almost stops when I notice the scent of her shampoo. If this continues, I will die of a heart attack before I am thirty.
I return the hug and prophylactically decide to drink less energy drinks. It would be too bad to die early if I actually had Valerie in my life. Like watching your favorite movie in time-lapse just because you didn't like the intro.

"Good, thank you. And you?" I ask and nod to her friend: (what was her name again?)  

"Hey, how are you?" Aaron extends his hand to the redhead, who looks at her skeptically.

"Aren't you the guy from the chess duel?" she asks, looking at Aaron suspiciously. I quickly turn to Valerie before her friend can take a closer look at me as well.

"What chess duel?" asks Aaron innocently and grins broadly before withdrawing his arm. "I'm Aaron."

Oh God, how embarrassing. So he wants to pretend they've never seen each other before?! I don't think she'll fall for it.

"Yara." She mumbles quietly.

"Shall we go, then?" I ask and thank God that it is already dark, so that I´m not that easy to be recognized right now.

Only a little later we sit together in the largest lecture hall of the university, in which the movie is to be shown. Valerie chose the movie: Shrek. A great choice, in my opinion. I love the movie!

A few students, including Aaron, stand in line at the popcorn- station, while we wait for the movie to start.

Before the film, two students step in front of the desk and greet all the spectators. Every cinema guest should search his ticket for a number. A number will be drawn and a prize will be awarded. Yara is surprisingly chosen and already her grim face cheers up a little. When she goes to the front to introduce herself and collect her prize, I am left alone with Valerie. Jackpot!

"Thank you for the idea of the university cinema." Valerie says enthusiastically. "Yara seems to be doing so much better since we left the apartment today!"

"You're welcome." I answer with a smile. "Are you studying together?"

Valerie shakes her head. "I'm studying biology in my third semester and moved here from Dortmund. I met Yara again by chance, since then we live in a shared flat and do a lot together again."

"Ah! Biology!" I had already wondered what it was that she was studying – I'm so glad she didn't say social work! I prefer it if my counterpart understands what we are talking about.

"Yara studies social work." Explains them completely non-judgmental. Immediately I turn red and am ashamed of my thought. Where do these prejudices come from?! Maybe it's generally down to the people from the Gucci campus. I prefer my Scientific Campus many times over, with all the Chinese and nerds - and of course Valerie!

"And- how do you like biology?" I ask curiously. "Is it as you imagined?"

Valerie nods enthusiastically. "It's even better! I think it's great that you have so many internships and learn actual lab skills and not just write homework!"