章 9: ~ 9: Exploring - Part 1 ~

There was such a flood that one would say the cars are swimming. That made us reach our destination an hour and a half later than the estimated arrival time.

In that span of time, I had dozed off and woken up multiple times in fear of missing my stop. For some reason, my concerns for that woman haunted me, as though there was something incomplete to it. For starters, I didn't even know her name, and yet, I had cared for her.

'You are one damn, stupid person, you know,' my brain remarked. 'That's the first thing a person asks when they meet them.'

'Excuse me, but we were in a life or death situation,' I snapped back. 'That was most unmistakably not the time to get to know each other. For all I know, she may be dead by now, even with the necklace.'

When we had reached the terminus, I had to take a second bus to reach the hostel, which took another half an hour. So by the time I reached my new residence, with all the touring around the hostel, it was nearly evening, and I was worn out from the long journey. The only lunch I had was a small sandwich and some fruits which were extinguished. Burdened with a hungry stomach and a weary body to replenish, I made my way to the canteen to get my share of food.

Most hostels, as I had heard my friends say, turned out to be rather shabby. They had nothing to offer except food mixed with 80% water, which was not very satisfying to feed our stomachs. One would either suffer from diarrhoea or die from lack of nutrition.

However, this place was quite the opposite. Students who rank high get many amenities in the hostel that was closest to the university for free. Others came from rich families and got those amenities with their abundant finances. So one could tell that this place was colossal and antique as the university itself.

The canteen was simple and classy, with a little vintage look to it. One could taste a variety of dishes every day from various part of the world. It's not something a rich person could afford at any hotel anywhere.

I could hardly taste three of the dishes before I was full. I was a tiny bit disappointed because I was promising myself that I would take a grain-sized portion so that I was able to taste all of the two hundred varieties of dishes. Either way, I was happy to have enough food to eat and more than enough to be energized again, unlike how I lived in our town.

After eating three spoons of a most delicious dessert, I went back to my room to unpack my things and stow them away. I had enough freedom to use my room as my to-be-roommate hadn't arrived yet, as per the receptionist. I used the time to get the best places to put my things and arrange them in whichever way I wished.

My few things took up very little space, leaving much of it for my fellow pal. I just hoped that it didn't have to be a guy as it would be most uncomfortable, and probably very annoying.

I had two hours at most in hand, so I made up my mind to visit Harlem University. I wanted to collect any of the important items I needed beforehand and tour the community at least. I needed to familiarise myself with the shops and restaurants if I need anything, including a part-time job. I hated bad surprises. They ruin my day.

The city air was rather stale when compared to the shore but that was natural with all the moving vehicles. It was nice to see people from different walks of life walking down the same path to either go home or travel to work. It gave the feel of doing something on my own too.

The university was a minute from the university residence, at most. There must be evening classes for students kept going in and out of the colossal building. The entrance to the lobby was composed of a pediment with carved intricate designs, and eight greek equally spaced columns holding it. Before the doors were two sculptures of ancient Roman warriors on either side and right above the door was an inscription in Latin.

"Per aspera ad astra," I mumbled, trying to figure out what it meant.

"Through the thorns to the stars," a voice said behind me.

"Sorry?" I replied, turning back to face the person.

The young man stood half a metre behind me, looking at the words with his hands in his pockets. His blonde hair swayed in the gentle breeze that the night had brought, partially covering his dazzling emerald eyes. Who wouldn't fall in love with such a handsome face?

"That's the meaning. If one wants to have bliss in their life, they must struggle to be worthy of achieving it," he replied with a smile that nearly closed his eyes.

"Aidan," he introduced, making me realise that I had been staring right at him. He still hadn't put down that smile.

"Celestine," I returned, shaking his slightly calloused yet soft hands. That was rather surprising because, from his attire, he seemed to be one from the rich community.

"So, shall we enter and explore this place? You seem to be new here."

"Yes, sir. I will be starting my first year tomorrow. Are you attending the evening classes here, by any chance?"

"No, not at all. Today's classes are just extra-curricular stuff or catching up on missed out lessons."

We chatted our way to the receptionist's desk. I learnt that he was a to-be-third-year student, who was majoring in media arts. He seemed to hate honorifics when I addressed him as he always made a guilty face of introducing himself first.

"Just Aidan, please," he implored. "You can use that with your other seniors, but not me."

"Good evening, ma'am and sir," the receptionist greeted. "How may I help you?"

"Oh-uh, I'm Celestine Dixon, freshman of the first year for fashion studies. I'm here to collect my items," I chanted, without stopping for breath. I was sure I looked like a fool for learning such a sentence by heart.

"Oh, that's surprising," the lady replied. "We rarely have freshman students arrive this early."

Her statement had me thinking whether she was being sarcastic or friendly.

"That's so true," Aidan replied. "They all come to get their cards, timetables and books on the first day of schooling. The lines get really long here then, and none of us can get an important word passed to our parents."

I sighed with relief. I didn't want to make a terrible impression on my first meeting.

"You identities please," she said after a moment. "Please give me a minute and I will be with you."

After racking through a few records and her system, she got me my card, timetable and a general university map. She then asked me to enquire about my subjects and books at the desk in the Fashion Studies Department.

"Anything for you, Aidan?" she asked after giving me the instructions.

"Just wanted to check-in for my documents. You said you wanted me to resubmit my identities as they had expired," he stated while handing her his papers.

"That will do. We don't need the fair documents and have people spew nonsense about you."

"Fashion studies, huh?" Aidan said once we proceeded to the department's desk with his help. "A very bold subject, I must say. I never thought I could acquaint myself with one."

I couldn't my eyes ahead as I kept hearing people whisper, so I hardly heard what he was saying. It distracted me further as they were staring at us, making me uncomfortable.

'They are talking about him, for sure,' I convinced myself. 'Why else would they even talk? With such a face, he must even be the talk of the town.'

"Well, why not?" I asked curiously. "People sure do know a lot about you, so you must have more friends, right?"

"Interesting," he responded. "I thought you didn't know me since many other people do. So in that sense, they would only come after me for fame, not for me."

"Know you? How can any person know someone on the first encounter? You just told me a few things and that's all I know about you. And why would people want to chase after fame and get unnecessary attention, even if you are handsome?"

"Surprisingly, that's what happens," he said, heaving a deep sigh. "It would be nice to meet someone who appreciates the real me for a change, and not anything else."

"Do you really not have any real friends?"

"Other than a few of my members, not really. I have been alone for most of my time since time immemorial."

"Members? Are part of some gang?" I couldn't believe that a sweet face like his could be such a devil. My mind couldn't form any image of him being a bad boy.

"I'm a part of a boy band," he said with a slightly raised brow. "But by the looks of it, that isn't very important at present. You need to get your things right away. I want to give you a tour before you head back because I don't want you being lost in these hallways with rubbish people."

He glared at the people who were looking our way when he said the last sentence. I guessed that people were ready to pounce on him and shred his reputation to pieces.

"Thank you, Aidan," I said warmly. It was nice to have made friends with a senior who knew much about the place.

"Your most welcome, Celest," he said.

"You are rather rash to have dropped the honorifics already, sir," I joked.

"Sure, sure. You are some detector that I would want to stay away from. I don't need to be called a social criminal, do I?"

We laughed and headed to my station. But on the way, I couldn't stop wondering at the fact that some sweet people are misunderstood and not known for their true selves.