章 23: I Still Don't Like People
Apryl didn't like the idea of having to deal with people, but having Keith help her out took away some of her nerves. The bookstore as he explained to her was where she would be collecting most of her textbooks and other supplies from through the semester was in a totally different building called the 'Student Union' which was located in the middle of the campus.
At least this time around on walking with him, no one had tried to stop and talking. Most people they had passed by seemed like they were in a rush to go from one place to the next. Apryl realized that too soon she was going to be one of those people who was rushing around campus to go to and from classes.
The inside of the student union was rather packed, most of the students were either focused on talking to the side or sometimes in the middle of walk path with each other. Others were crammed into groups around tables studying and quizzing each other for upcoming tests. For Apryl classes were just starting but for many other students it was time for midterms which meant a lot of study and loss of sleep.
"Try not to be too tense when we go in here. Jake is a great guy, he might just come across as intimidating first to people who don't know him that well." Keith told her as they approached the bookstore.
"How would you recommend that I be less tense?" She asked not exactly sure what he was talking about. She didn't really think that she was tense or unfriendly, but maybe her nervousness translated that way to other people.
"Try to smile more and relax your shoulders and the way you stand when you're stationary. To some people the way you stand most of the time might come across as standoffish." Keith explained. She frowned at this, maybe she needed to pay better attention to her body language. This was certainly something that she never had to worry about as a werewolf.
"Being a person is so much trouble." She sighed under her breath as they entered the bookstore.
The bookstore wasn't terribly packed, there was a small line of students getting checked out for last minute supplies that they had forgotten or needed to replace. The front of the store where notebooks, planners, pens, pencils, white-out, and other generic school supplies were located was still well stocked. Further back where the textbooks were located was far more hollowed out which Keith immediately realized that would probably mean trouble for Apryl in getting ahold of her textbooks at a decent price.
He motioned her to follow him further towards the back of the bookstore without saying anything to where a tall man with a beard and braided black hair was standing behind a counter going through a binder. He was dressed rather casually for an employee wearing a college saw t-shirt and jeans.
"Jake!" Keith called out as they got closer to get the older man's attention. When Apryl saw him, she understand why the other had told her that he might come across as intimidating once she saw. She immediately started to feel herself become tense, this certainly wasn't going to help her relax the way Keith had told her to. If anything, she was feeling more tense than she had around anyone else before.
"Keith mate, what can I do for you?" Jake asked as he looked up from what he was doing and shut the binder. His facial expression changed into a bright smile when he saw the other. A stark contrast to his intimidating focused look and appearance.
"I actually need some help for a friend here who just enrolled. Jake this is Apryl." Apryl did her best to offer a polite smile and shake the other's hand when he held it out to her, he had a much stronger grip than she had expected.
"Nice to meet you Apryl. Always happy to help a friend of Keith's. I take you need with textbooks?" He asked as he withdrew his hand and looked between the two of them.
"Yeah she's enrolled in Composition and History for the second eight-weeks. I get the feeling though that none of the used books are left in stock?" Keith asked, not sounding too hopefully as he handed him the slip of paper that had Apryl's class information listed on it.
"Hmm, I don't think we do, but let me check real quick." Jake replied as he lifted up the flip part of the counter to walk out from behind the desk to head towards the back where the textbooks were located. It was probably going to take a little while before small tricks like that stopped surprising Apryl.
It took a few minutes before Jake came back. He had two text books in his hand, but only one of them looked used.
"We got the history book, but not the composition. I'll give you deal on this though since you're a new student and Keith's done a lot around here to help me in the past. How do you intend to pay for these today?" Jake told them as he put the books on the counter before stepping back behind it to where to the computer was.
Apryl was rather surprised that a stranger was showing her so much kindness just because Keith had called her a 'friend'. She didn't think that people were capable of being that nice.
"She'll use her bursar account, she doesn't have her student ID card yet, but that's her student number there." Keith explained as he pointed to the number of the piece of paper.
"Alright, that's no problem." Jake replied as he rang the books up and typed in the information. "Your total will be seventy-eight dollars and forty-five cents. If you could please sign that little device there and I will bag these up for you and get you a receipt." Jake said as he indicated a to a little short yet long black looking electronic box with a pen attached to it. The screen had a blank signature line.
For this, Apryl was glad that she had been practicing her signature. It was a little bit different that what she had been doing on paper, but she actually liked it better because it didn't take as much pressure to write on the little machine compared to paper.
Once that was done, Jake thanked her while waiting for the receipt to print so he could put it in the bag with the books before handing it back to you.
"Thank you so much." Apryl told him as she took the bag from him.
"It's my pleasure." Jake replied warmly. "Now, is there anything else that I can do for you today?"
"Actually there is." Keith replied without much hesitation causing Apryl to look at him curiously. "Do you know if there any cheap laptops for sale or deals right now that she could charge to her bursar account? She's going to need one, but being new to the area as her family just moved here, she doesn't have a lot of money on hand to buy one straight-out." Keith explained.
"Off the top of my head, I think all of the sales here have already passed or at least we haven't been updated on any new deals that are going around right now. I can ask a friend who works at a tech store off campus and see if he's got any basic or refurbished laptops he would be willing to sell either cheap or on a payment. I can't make nay promises though. For now, I would recommend renting one or just using the computers on campus until the end of the semester." Jake replied.
"Alright, thanks for the trouble. I'm sure we'll be back later, so try to keep this one here in mind in case she needs your help and I'm not around. She could use a couple of familiar faces she can rely on until she gets more comfortable here." Jake gave a firm nod and replied a with a 'Will do' before waving as they walked away.
Apryl knew that Keith was trying to be helpful and polite with what he had said, but it made her feel like a pup who needed help navigating a new place so it didn't get lost. She was most certainly wasn't that incapable of watching out for herself.
"We should pick up a few more things while we're here. I get too many things since I know you don't have a lot of money and I don't want your account to get too charged up, but you're definitely going to need some notebooks and writing supplies so you can take notes during class." Keith told her as he directed her over into that direction.
Without asking her what she wanted, he started picking out pens, pencils, and erasures which he explained were the best in his opinion because they were sturdy and held up well for over a semester whenever he used them. He also got her a planner which had a generic black cover but with the college's name printed on the front of it in sparkly font. For the notebooks, he got two. Since there wasn't much of a color selection, she ended up with a aqua blue one and a green one. He also made sure she had some white-out and binders because he knew she would have handouts and other materials her professors would be handing out or ask her to print and bring to class.
The last thing they needed to get which was a bit expensive was a backpack. Apryl's eyes immediately were attracted to a bright red one that while it looked too big for what she currently had, it would be perfect for when she got her laptop and any other supplies. It had two sections and a laptop sleeve. There was one inside zip pocket in each section as well a small front zip and two side pockets as well a a drink holder.
As much as she wanted it, she was about to reject when she saw that the price tag showed $65 dollars on it. Keith changed her mind however when he pointed to a sign that showed the brand of backpack was on sale for twenty dollars off the sale price. It was still expensive but more manageable.
After they had checked out, Keith took a few minutes to put everything inside her backpack so that it would be easier to carry. He didn't give to Apryl however as he insisted on carrying it until they got back, this mildly annoyed her.
"How much is what we spent going to set me back?" She asked once they were outside and walking back towards the Admin building.
"Nothing at this point, it charged a bit extra to your account, but how much that will impact anything I can't really say until we got some other stuff filled out and can determine how much financial aid you get. After that, we can worry about how the money rounds out to be." Keith replied. He made it sound better than the situation probably was, but at least it sounded like it was something that Apryl didn't have to worry about at that moment in time.
They had hardly made it halfway back when Apryl suddenly stopped. She could sense that there was another werewolf nearby. Keith didn't seem as phased as she did by this.
Even though there was probably no danger, she couldn't stop herself yet from reacting tensely to the feeling of an unfamiliar werewolf nearby. Who it was became clear quite quickly when she saw a man approaching them.
He was a student by appearance, but he looked far less friendly than Keith did. The way he walked and held himself spoke of power and someone who didn't like to messed with.
Apryl's tension only rose when he stopped not too far from where they were standing and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at her. Her gut instinct told her that this was probably not a good situation.
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DameButterfly
DameButterfly I apologize it has been a little while since I have updated this. Updates will probably continue to be inconsistent through the 16th, but I am trying to work on a better update schedule.
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