A nervous, stirring belly woke Jon up early and didn't let him fall back asleep. He had a midterm exam for a course he might fail, and to top it off, he had a date afterward. Were there many twenty-one-year-olds who had never been on a date? Perhaps not. His nervousness had always betrayed him when he had wanted to make a move with a girl. So, now he was nervous about getting too nervous with Dany. Was she feeling the same way? Judging by how pretty she was, he guessed she might have been on many dates before to feel anxious at all.
Sitting at his desk later in the auditorium, his leg bounced up and down as he stared at the door, waiting for her to come in. She arrived a couple of minutes before the exam started, and as soon as she crossed the door he looked away, pretending he wasn't watching. She sat down at a desk just in front of the door, and he was sitting at the back. Only later, when she looked around to see where he was, he waved at her and she waved back. He could read her lips telling him 'Good luck'.
Daenerys finished her exam twenty minutes before the time ran out, yet Jon stayed there until the last second. He tried to focus on the last equation at the bottom of the page while hoping she was not tired of waiting. He handed Professor Selmy his test as soon as the alarm went off and was the first student to ran out of the classroom.
She was waiting for him sitting on the corridor's floor, wearing a green coat and her hair down her shoulders. He wanted to tell her she looked pretty, but there was no way he could be brave enough to say it on their first date, even if he had already blurted it out the day they met.
"I was wondering if you would ever come out," she teased, standing up, as the rest of the students walked out behind Jon.
"Sorry, not all of us are math prodigies," he joked back.
"I'm not a prodigy!" she laughed, and they started walking towards the exit of the building. "Anyway, how was your exam?"
"Well, I think I solved more than half of it. Other than that I'm not sure about anything." His hands were sweating, he hoped his shyness did not betray him today. "What about you? Well, why do I even bother to ask?" he jested.
She laughed. "I did well, yes. The second section was a bit hard, though."
"Yeah, I couldn't figure out which integral to solve first. But, well, I hope I passed."
"I bet you have! I mean, under my great tutoring," she joked, making him laugh. "So, where should we go?"
"They make the best herbal tea a couple of blocks away from my flat, would you like to go?" He then thought that proposing only tea could make him seem too cheap. So, just in case, he added, "Or would you like to eat somewhere?"
His best friend, Tormund, had insisted for him to ask her out for drinks at night. Taking her out for tea was going to get him nowhere, he had said. If he drank alcohol, not only he would feel more confident but would also have higher chances of kissing her or taking her home with him. But Jon had no plans on sleeping with her after a first date, after his first date ever. He was frightened about sex, it seemed way too intimate to open himself up that much to someone—he was terrible at opening up to others even when it only comprised talking. He couldn't deny, though, that curiosity kept him up at night sometimes. All his friends and his brother always talked about how great it was; but he didn't like to talk about it with them, it felt too embarrassing. Also, Dany had not had sex before either, so he was sure that a night out with drinks would not end with them together in bed. On the other hand, going out right after the exam seemed like a good idea, they could have more conversation topics if they talked about the content of the exam.
"I think tea is fine. I love tea," she replied. "So you don't live on campus?"
"I don't, actually. I live with my brother in a flat five minutes from here. He also studies here, so our parents preferred that we had our own place."
"Why?"
"They are kind of protective with him since he...gets way too wasted often, and I sort of keep him more under control—more than a random guy would, at least," he paused, hoping he was not oversharing. "More than once I've had to pick him up from the hospital."
"Oh...wow..." she only said.
"He's more under control now, though," he added. It was not his idea for her to get a bad impression of his brother.
"One of my brothers is also…kind of a mess," she cackled. "I think he got stuck in his whiny teenage years. Do you have more brothers or sisters?"
"Yes. Three brothers and two sisters."
Her jaw dropped as she turned to look at him in surprise.
"I know," he laughed. "The youngest one is only three years old, but my parents have confirmed he's the last one."
"How was it, growing up with so many kids?"
"It's a test for your patience, especially when you're one of the oldest."
"For me, I think two brothers was enough."
"You didn't get along?"
"The oldest one is kinda like a dad to me. The middle one, though...he's complicated. Are you the oldest?"
"Second to oldest. I've been a nanny for the little ones for way too long. They're all really fun, though."
It seemed like the conversation was going alright, talking about his family was usually easy. However, he wanted to talk to her about the night they studied Calculus together, he couldn't get it out of his head. He didn't want there to be any misunderstandings about it.
"Hey, about that night in your room..."
She covered her face right away. "I'm still so embarrassed about it. I don't know what happened, really."
"My intention was honestly to study math...and you helped me so much, thank you. I've been worried that you thought that I only talked to you because I wanted to…well…" He paused, not knowing how to finish.
"It's okay. I did not think that at all. Actually, I've been worried that you thought that my intention was to..." she grinned and did not finish either. It made him chuckle.
"No. I did not think that," he assured her.
She put her hands in her pockets and after a while, she said lightly, "Could we...forget about that? Maybe?" She giggled nervously. "Just...delete it from our minds!" It felt impossible to 'delete it from his mind' when he had been thinking about it every day since then, but he smiled anyway and nodded. "Although, my roommate will never let me forget it."
He laughed. "Ah, yes, I remember her."
"Oh my god," she cackled, "sorry about her."
He waved off her apology. "Nah, don't worry. Thank you for all the help, though. You have no idea how helpful that was. Do you...do you need help with another course? One that isn't math, of course. I'd be happy to help."
"That's nice," she said. "Thank you. Although, I think I'm...doing okay in the other ones too."
"Damn, do you have top marks in every class?" he grinned.
"Not every class," she said, before letting out a sigh. "Okay, in most of them, yes." He laughed out loud. "But, thank you anyway! It's nice of you," she said, turning her head to him.
He smiled back. He feared his tone of voice gave away that he was still nervous. He wanted to think up about something to break the silence now. He rubbed his hands together and tried to remember the questions he had been thinking up these past days: Why do you study Economics? Do you like it? Do you like living in school? Do you prefer Dragonstone or King's Landing? What's your favorite food? What's your favorite book? He didn't want to stay completely silent with her and have uncomfortable moments as they did during their study session.
At the café, she ordered a pomegranate tea while he asked for an apple and cinnamon one. They found an empty table and sat down.
"So," he said, adjusting his body on the chair, "Why economics?"
"Hm…" Dany hummed in though, "Inequality is what interests me the most." She poured sugar into her tea. "It has always surprised me how there is such a huge percentage of poverty in the world, in almost every country, and the policies done by governments are so scarce or pointless. But what surprises me the most is how we as a society do not care, at all. I know there are a lot of rich people who donate money or goods to the poor, which is great, but I just think, why do they have to? If governments were efficient in the first place, would more than half of Essos live with less than a Golden Dragon a day?"
"So...what are your plans when you finish school? To...work in an NGO, maybe?"
"I don't know," Dany replied. "I'd like to focus on research first, and then do some field work too when I finish my major. But who knows what I'll end up doing, actually. I only know that I want to...change some things. And why Philosophy?"
"Hmm..." he frowned, "I think I've always liked it. Well, since I read about it for the first time. It requires you to think so much…and, unlike most classes where you have to accept everything the professor says without a question, in here…you don't. I mean, you do have to learn well what each philosopher said but…you can still question it."
"Actually, every other textbook or teaching that we get should also open to question. Biology, history…" she said. "Like you were saying the other day, too many assumptions."
He swallowed his tea. "That's true."
"A teacher told me once that there were many different 'maths' before. But one day, it was decided that it would be this one the world would study and use. So who knows, maybe there are other maths, just as true as this one. I guess it can be that way with many other things."
"Yes, I agree. You'd like Philosophy of Mathematics, I think."
"I might read a bit about it then," she smiled. "At least in Wikipedia."
He only smiled back, and got uneasy when he didn't know what to reply. She broke the silence by saying, "It's a nice word, isn't it? 'Philosophy'. Sounds nice, sounds fancy." They both laughed. "I think it's cool that you study what you truly like. Many people just settle for the popular majors."
"Yeah, I...I don't...know what I'll do with philosophy in the future." A wave of insecurity hit him, but he tried to hold it down. "I'm not studying it as a means for anything...just to learn about it, I think. What about you? Are you studying what you reeeeally like?"
"Well, I'm not passionate about inflation and exchange rates and utility functions. They're interesting, they're alright, but I'm not studying this for the content of the major but for what I could do with it...to help reduce inequality, in some way." She took a sip of her tea. "By the way, is there a philosophy of economics?"
"There is!" he answered right away. "And it's extremely important. Hume, Marx, Weber, Smith…all their ideas!"
"Oh, yes, of course, those guys!"
He smiled easily. It was a change to talk about philosophy with someone who was not a philosophy major. He avoided talking much about it. His siblings had sometimes said how boring it would be to dedicate his life to it, and his parents had shown some aversion to his decision of studying it, as they had told him he would not have many job options in the future. Also, it was sort of embarrassing to tell others that he studied philosophy. He thought it made him seem like someone with no future, whereas Dany studied economics, a career that promised a good income and reputation. Maybe others didn't think that way about philosophy, maybe he was just irrationally insecure...he was not sure. So he had liked how, when they met, Dany had not shown even a bit of aversion when he told her he studied philosophy. 'That's so interesting!' she had grinned. And now she even said she liked how he studied what he loved.
"Well, I was asking 'cause the other day, you got me thinking..." she said, "about how every economic policy has been made based on assumptions that aren't too true..." she paused. "How much do you know about economics?"
"Not much," he admitted.
"Not much close to zero, or not much like, a liiiittle theory?"
He hesitated. He knew almost nothing about it but didn't want to sound dumb. However, if she started talking about something he did not know, he would feel even dumber. He laughed nervously. "Close to zero."
"Alright," she smiled. "It's fine. Look, tell me your opinion about this, as a philosopher." This was actually the first time someone had called him 'a philosopher'. It felt funny, it made him feel all grown-up. "From the first day of uni, the professors of economics say human beings are rational. That means they make decisions choosing the option that maximizes their utility, like, the benefits minus the costs of the option. If you want them to chose and option with a lower utility than another, you need to give them incentives for it. So, economic theory assumes that all human beings are selfish when they make their own decisions, and only think about their own utility." He listened and nodded. "So...what do you think?"
He shook his head firmly. "That's not true."
She laughed. "It's bullshit, right? Every single sentence. And policies have this as a basis! For taxes, health care, whatever."
He chuckled. "It's bullshit. We're not rational. We...okay, I have an example. My dad told me about this one time." She nodded and folded her hands in front of her, smiling. "A famous study was done to a group of lawyers about providing legal services to war veterans. They normally charged their clients a hundred bucks an hour. They were asked if they could give a discount to veterans, maybe charge them only thirty bucks an hour. They declined, they did not consider their work to be worth thirty bucks only. However, when they were asked if they could do it for free, they accepted. Now they saw it as altruism, not as an underappreciation of their work."
Dany hummed and nodded. "I see your point."
"They're not maximizing the difference of benefits minus costs here. The benefits are obviously smaller when they do it for free than when they do it for thirty bucks."
She stared into his eyes and smiled. He stared into her blue eyes too and looked down at the table.
"Do you mind if I use this example in class? I wonder what my Econ professor has to say about this."
He chuckled. "Sure, do so. Let me know what he replies."
"I will. I'll text you right after it. No, you know what? I'll even try to record it," she grinned. It made him grin right away too. "This place is lovely, by the way," she said, looking around and warming her hands around her cup of tea.
She looked lovely. He remembered their kiss, the way her full lips had felt against his. He was not going to kiss her on their first date, though, nor hold her hand. He did not only feel like it was too soon—despite them having kissed before—but his nervousness would have made it impossible. He did not want her to think that he was desperate or that it was the only reason he had asked her out, either. He only wanted to know more about her now, besides her knowledge of mathematics.
She went on, "It's prettier than the library and quieter than the cafeteria."
"And the snacks here are much better than the cafeteria's."
"Any snack is better than the cafeteria's," she laughed, "I just go there because of how close it is to my dorm. I'm trying to learn how to cook, though. My mum always wanted to teach me and I always refused."
"I know how to fry an egg, I could help you with that."
She let out a snort. "I know how to boil pasta. At least that's a start."
He nodded, "Let-let me know how your first plate goes," he stuttered. He felt he was doing alright, he didn't want his nerves to come back and make it difficult to speak smoothly.
"Okay," she smiled. "I will."
He smiled as he looked down at his mug, blushing for some reason. He took another sip.
"Can I try your tea?" she suddenly asked. "It looks good."
He chuckled. "Of course, yes." He pushed his mug to her and she tried it.
She nodded. "It is." She pushed her mug to him, so he took a sip from it. "I'd like to come back here to try their Valyrian tea," she added.
"It's good. The mint gives it a great taste."
"Then we can come back to try it," she beamed.
He was relieved she was the one who brought up the second date. "Sure, of course, yes, yes."
"I make a killer Valyrian tea. I have to see if theirs beats mine," she chuckled. "My family is Valyrian, by the way. Well, my grandparents are. So we're kinda used to that minty tea at home."
"Really? So you know how to speak Valyrian?"
"I do, actually. In my family, we speak in both languages."
She was full of surprises. He did not speak any language besides the common tongue, but always found it amazing when people did.
"I know 'hello' is 'rytsas' but other than that…I know nothing of it," he smiled. "How do you say...'thank you'?"
"Kirimvose."
"Kirimvose," he tried carefully.
"Okay so, 'hello, how are you' is 'rytsas, skorkydoso glaesā'?"
"What?!"
"Skorkydoso glaesā," she grinned.
"Skork-sko-my god," he chuckled.
"Skor...ky...do...so," she repeated, more slowly.
"Skor...kydoso."
"...glaesā," she said.
"Glaesā," he said.
"Now say it all together."
He cleared his throat and took a breath in preparation. "Rytsas, skorkydoso glaesā?"
She grinned and gave him a high five.
"Kirimvose," he said. She laughed. "What about 'my name is Jon'?"
"Brōzio ñuha iksis Jon," she said.
"Bro...brōzio?"
"Brōzio, check the 'r', brōzio," she rolled the 'r' in a way he could not.
"Bro-bro," he said.
"Look at my tongue, 'Brrro'."
Jon smiled, looking at her mouth. "Bro."
He failed again. She laughed. He tried again and failed again, but the whole time he tried, she stared at his lips.