Locking eyes from across the courtyard, Anne smiled politely at the approaching stranger. He walked a comfortable pace before he stopped beside her. They both stared at the tall, locked library doors. “I left my ID inside. Can you swipe me into the building?” she asked. “Oh, well, I also left my books and ID inside. So, I guess we are both locked out,” he shrugged. “My name is Tim,” he smiled and extended a hand. She shook his hand and exchanged her name. Over the following four minutes, an acquaintanceship developed. “What program are you in?” “Do you have a lot of exams coming up?” “Did the campus geese attack you as well?” And finally, “Nice to meet you!” after another weary graduate student rescued them on her way into the building. In the months to come, Anne and Tim occasionally ran into each other on campus. They exchanged quick hellos, sentiments on the harsh winter wind, and well-wishes for upcoming exams. They were acquaintances...until they became more.

As finals approached, the infrequent run-ins became frequent. Midwestern campus had few study spots and one week, they unintentionally ran into each other five days in a row. At this point Anne took matters into her own hands. "Let's play ping pong during a study break!" she suggested. Tim snickered, "Okay," as he grabbed his personal professional-grade ping pong paddle from his backpack. She lost. But it was a close game. Afterwards, they exchanged phone numbers and stayed in contact over summer break. Before long, Tim arranged an adventurous date to Starved Rock State Park. This 12-hour long first date felt like a 2-hour date, so they decided to go on more dates. After a few successful dates, Tim confessed. "Remember the day we met each other outside of the library?" He paused before continuing, "Well, I wasn't locked out...I had my ID on me the whole time."