Riding the campus shuttle back to lab this afternoon, a couple came on and sat down right behind me. Here’s a snippet of the conversation I overheard. Everything was said in complete seriousness …

girl: I don’t even know if I can get into MIT again, or even if I want to stay here. I’m thinking Berkeley.
guy: something about working that I didn’t catch
girl: you’re stupid

(at this point, my ears perked up and I started eavesdropping. Hey, if they wanted a private conversation, they shouldn’t have been talking as loudly as they were on a shuttle)

guy: a bunch of technical details about dropping/adding classes
girl: right now, I plan to get a B in XX class
guy: so you think you’ll get an A in all your other classes?
girl: well, I have to. I need a higher GPA to get into grad school
(pause … pause)
girl: really, I just want a higher GPA than you

(a few minutes later…)

guy: so where are you getting off the shuttle?
girl: god, at XX stop. why do you need to ask me that?
guy: are you going over to XX building then?
girl: no, geez, I need to go to YY building first. Are you going to YY building first?
guy: i don’t know
girl: god, shut up
guy: no, you shut up

And then I got up to get off at XX stop, and both of them got off together after me. What a healthy relationship.