I have a freaking genius for a friend

Last Thursday I went to Dortmund with my friend N. She had an interview there for a study/apprenticeship thing which is basically the new cool thing to do because companies pay your college tuition and on top of that you’re being paid for your work as an apprentice. In the case of my friend N, they would also pay for her flights to and from Scotland because half the year she would have to be up there and work on their petrochemical manufacturing site and the other half of the year, she’d go to college in Cologne.

This last fact, she didn’t know about until after the interview. She also didn’t know that the interview was going to be in German and not in English which was a bummer to me since I had done my best to prepare her for casual conversation in the foreign tongue. For God’s sake, there were instances where we had to decide whether I LIKE TO RIDE MY BICYCLE was an appropriate hobby to mention during this type of interview, or any interview for that matter.

We went to Dortmund by train which only makes sense because traffic here is always so insane, you literally don’t get anywhere because there are just too many damn cars and semi-trucks, traffic just stops.

So by train we got their on time, or, actually, early - and went over to the hotel by the station where my friend N was going to meet with the interviewer. They were also going to have lunch which totally freaked N out but she just had to roll with it.

While N met with the guy, I went to one of the greatest book stores I know. They have this whole huge front of windows, just glass and more glass, and super comfortable leather chairs and soothingly colored carpets in front of it and they invite you to just sit there, skim through a few books and watch the busy world pass by down on the street. Trust me, it is amazing.

N’s interview was set to last almost two hours and I loved every second of it because that book store, seriously, they have everything. And by everything, I mean a broad selection of books in foreign languages. I ended up buying Stephenie Meyer’s Eclipse even though I’m not finished with Three Cups of Tea yet. And then I sat down in one of the comfy chairs and watched the sky turn dark. It started to drizzel and then it stopped again but the wind picked up while I began to read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.

Everytime I heard high heels click-clacking on the wooden floors, I turned around to see whether it was N. We had agreed that she would meet me at the book store whenever she was done.

I made it to page 46 of Nineteen Minutes. And then, it was finally her.

From afar I could see her broad, bright smile, her blushed cheeks and her hands clutched into excited fists. She was shaking a little bit and I could tell immediately that she was doing her best not to scream out loud right there in the still book store.

She didn’t have to say anything and she probably wasn’t capable anyway. I drew her into my arms and we hugged tight and some of those sitting in the leather chairs stared but we didn’t care. My heart pounded wildly because this was great, amazing, perfect.

I don’t remember ever feeling so proud of somebody or so happy for somebody. I literally wanted to yell out loud, wanted to tell everybody else that my friend had just scored the best possible educational deal there is after high school. That she took Math and Chemistry AP classes in high school, that she was the only girl in Physics class and that she was honored with a special award for her extraordinary natural scientific knowledge on graduation day.

And that, today, it had all paid off.

I congratulated her and couldn’t stop smiling. It was obvious that a rush of crazy adranelin had bolted through us, we couldn’t stop giggling and we decided that even though it was barely lunch time, we would find a place that had champagne.

And of course we did find a place and it felt so cool and grown-up and perfect to be there and celebrate N’s success, to raise our glasses to it, to drink on it and not worry about anything else in the world for a few minutes.

N told me everything about the interview and that she was supposed to fly to Scotland on July 28 and stay there for three days to take a look at the company and, possibly, sign the contract. It had been in German after all, the interviewer had asked a few questions about petrochemistry and physics but also personal ones. And it had gone simply great.

When she went to the bathroom and I sat by myself for a moment, the overwhelming feeling of pride took over and I felt tears rise to my eyes. I can’t imagine anybody who deserves an opportunity like this more than N.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, walking back to our table, the most perfect song was played on the radio, booming out of the speakers, causing both her and myself to laugh out loud; Bicycle race by Queen: Bicycle, bicycle, BICYCLE; I want to ride my bicycle. It’s such a stupid song but it fit the situation so perfectly that everything felt even more surreal.

N still hasn’t made a final decision whether she feels right about the whole thing, though. The first excitement has died off and now she needs to think it all through. I’ve been encouraging her to do this because you only get chances like this once in a lifetime. She’ll be flying out to Scotland on July 28 and make her decision, probably while she’s there.

I am so endlessly proud of her.