Liam:
I woke earlier than I expected, and for once, I had no dream. My body wasn't tired, but my head was a mess. I'd sorted papers and given interviews all day yesterday. I thought being far from home would keep me awake through the night, but it hadn't.
Now I was staring at the ceiling of my room, wondering what to do. I had absolutely no plans. Breakfast, maybe. Except I didn't want to eat alone, and I had no idea if Chad was awake yet.
I'd always been an early riser. Back home, mornings meant checking on the sheep and feeding the dogs.
I sat up, letting my eyes wander. Honestly, the room was fantastic. It was spacious with a large bed and a private personal bathroom. An actual bathroom with a tub. It was ridiculous.
There'd been an option for a kitchen as well, but that would have meant sharing the room which I didn't really want to. And some of us were allowed to do that. I'd asked why.
"It's the Solunari Scholarship," Chad had said. "Apparently Mr. Solunari, one of Freiburg's richest men, set up a trust in his late wife's name. That money goes to helping talented students like you."
The only catch was that students had to choose Quantum Biology. Chad had applied for it as well, but with a different major. So, it was rejected.
QB was a new subject for most universities in the world. They'd added it as an extra but QSU was one of the few to offer it as a full program. Experimental course. So, very few students had applied for it. But...
A sudden knock on the door pulled me out of my thought and I scrambled off the bed. Who else could it be but Chad?
I pulled the door open, and sure enough, it was him.
"Hey, you awake?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. "I wake up early unlike some of us."
He stared at me, speechless. "What are you even talking about? I woke up at five, went for my jog, showered, and here I am while you are still snoring." He leaned against the doorframe. His look suggested he was judging me.
Well... he wasn't wrong. Today was my official first day, and I had no routine yet. Plus, I was really tired.
"Yeah, sorry about that," I admitted.
"So, what's the plan? Got anything lined up?"
"Not really." I shrugged. "I was waiting for you."
"Oh man, don't worry. Chad is here for the rescue," he boasted, pointing his finger to himself. "How about we check out the White Café? And continue your exploration."
"Sure. That would be nice. Let me get ready first, though."
"Take your time. I'll grab some clothes too. Meet me outside my room once you're done, yeah?"
"Alright."
Chad stepped away, and I closed the door behind him.
I shuffled around the room, digging out my toothbrush, then splashed cold water on my face. After brushing, bathing and cleaning, I threw on a pair of black trousers and a white T-shirt, my old clothes, but the only ones that looked halfway decent; and laced up my shoes.
I stepped outside and tried to lock the door out of habit but it was different from what I was used to. It didn't need a key; it had an electronic lock system. Apparently, they'd just upgraded the dorm facilities last year.
I walked down the hall to Chad's room and knocked. His room was just next to mine. Close enough for company when I wanted it, far enough that I could shut the door and keep my peace when I didn't.
"Just a minute," he screamed from inside. I waited.
Chad was a great guy. He'd been as good as his word. Just like he'd promised, he'd spent nearly all day yesterday making sure I was properly set. He had helped me through paperwork, interviews and even my room setup.
He'd wanted to help me with unpacking as well. But it was just one suitcase. I unzipped it, folded the few shirts and jeans I had, and stacked them into the closet by the bed. Even with everything neatly placed, the closet had looked empty.
Chad hadn't said anything about it. Had just grinned.
He opened the door and stepped out alone. But I'd reckoned he had a roommate. He had told me about that.
"Ready?" he asked, grinning.
"Yeah." I nodded. "Hey, didn't you say you shared your room with a friend, Arman? Where is he?"
"Oh, he went back to London. Something about a family emergency. Might be back tomorrow or the day after. Haven't called him, he said he'd be busy."
We walked down the hall together. White, everywhere. I remembered from conversations yesterday that white was this university's theme color. Fantastic, sure, but didn't that make it high maintenance?
We exited the dorm and walked through a short path that connected to the main walkway. And it wasn't far. The dorms were just behind the white office, and ours was the nearest. Eleven Dorms in total, pretty impressive.
We reached the White Café in a few minutes. Up close, it looked pretty incredible, being in between the expensive parking lot and the intimidating black forest. It had that safe-zone-in-apocalyptic-world vibe going on.
We stepped inside, and just like I'd imagined yesterday, the rich, warm scent of coffee hit me almost immediately.
The Café looked cozy inside, with very few tables. And it made sense because every dorm had its own mess.
Up front, the café had a big counter. Few people were standing in line there.
"What's your addiction, Liam?" Chad asked once we joined that line.
"Umm... black coffee?" I stammered. Honestly, I didn't know much about coffee apart from black coffee.
"Black coffee? Come on. Try something exciting, mate."
"I don't know any other drink other than that. I'm used to it."
He stared at me once again, bemused, then turned to the girl behind the counter. "Two cappuccinos, please." He turned and grinned at me. "Trust me, mate. Time you found out what you're missing."
I sighed. It wouldn't hurt to try.
A few minutes later, the girl slid two cups across the counter. Chad grabbed them, and I followed him while he scanned the café. He locked onto a corner table where a petite girl was sitting alone, scribbling in a notebook. And as expected, he dragged me over to her table.
"Mind if we sit here?" he asked her, voice earnest, none of yesterday's swagger.
The girl glanced around the mostly empty room, then back at us. Her look said, really? Out of all these tables?
"We're new students. I'm sure you are as well. We want to meet people, make friends. And what better place than a café, right?" he continued, sensing the unspoken question.
She nodded reluctantly.
We sat. I on the empty side, while he sat beside her.
At that moment, though, I was only interested in my cappuccino, unlike him. It was something new for me. Just coffee with foam, I made my mind. Still, curiosity won and I took a careful sip.
And... it was absolutely fantastic.
When I looked up, both Chad and the girl were watching me, waiting for my opinion, it seemed. "It's... great," I admitted.
It was the truth because it wasn't bitter like black coffee. And combined with milk, it had that thick, smooth feel. It was way better than plain old coffee.
"Right?" Chad boomed, then smoothly turned to look at her. "So, hi. I'm Chad Willoughby. And this is Liam Salene." He offered his hand, clearly very eager to know her.
She closed her notebook, pushed it aside, and shook his hand. "Riya Vaelorian."
Then she reached across. I shook her hand, too. It was soft and way smaller than mine.
She was a woman of medium build, had high cheek bones and black hair. Gorgeous in that bookish, nerdy way. No wonder Chad had aimed straight for her.
"Liam..." I said, awkwardly.
"So where are you from?" Chad jumped in before I could even say my last name.
"Nordstrand."
"And where's that?"
"Germany." She shot back with a hint of sarcasm.
Wow. No wonder she'd chosen to sit alone.
Then, a large shadow engulfed the table, blocking the beautiful morning sunrays. I looked up to find a tall guy standing before us, gesturing at the empty chair beside me.
"Room for one more?" he asked.
"Of course," Chad answered before anyone else could. He was struggling to continue the conversation and thought he was saved by this timely intervention.
The guy pulled out the chair beside me and sat. "Christo Messino." He said, offering his hand first to Riya.
She shook his hand, and for the first time since we arrived, her expression finally showed some interest. And I couldn't blame her. This guy was tall. That alone made him interesting. His rectangular face and curly blonde hair were just extra details.
Chad shot him a sideways glance, his easy grin slipping for just a second. He had thought Christo was an ally, but in reality, he was the competition.
I wanted to nudge him and say, Relax, mate. You've got a fantastic build yourself. Nothing to worry about. But I didn't. I wanted to see how this would play out. Everyone loves a good drama, right?
Chad didn't say anything at first, then stuck out his hand, albeit grudgingly.
"Chad Willoughby."
"Liam," I added.
"So, guys, what's up? Tell me about yourselves. Let's get to know each other, eh?" Christo asked, full of energy.
I glanced at Chad, waiting for him to say something like he usually did; Riya was doing the same. But Chad was busy glaring at Christo. It was like he was blaming Christo for his singlehood.
Christo, realizing no one was saying anything, began introducing himself. "Alright, I'll do the honor first. I'm from France. Studying quantum biology here. Paid student, of course. I play chess. I'm into singing. I can play guitar, and I was learning piano but had to stop because I had to come here, obviously. Oh, and I play football too."
Wow. A whole package deal.
Riya perked up immediately, cutting right through Chad's silence. "I'm Riya. Nice to meet you, Christo. I'm into chess myself. And honestly, any board game. You name it, I know it. I'm in quantum physics, sadly." This was so different from one word replies she had given Chad.
He and I might as well have moved to another table. I didn't know much about love, but this...this was chemistry in action! But not with Chad, sadly.
"Biophysics," Chad grumbled. I thought for a moment that he and Riya might have exchanged roles. He was giving one-word answers.
"Quantum biology." I did the same.
Christo turned toward me like I'd said something really interesting. "Wow, really? We're in the same course then."
"Yeah, I noticed." I didn't know what else to say.
"So, Liam, excited for tomorrow?" he asked, shifting his entire focus toward me.
Tomorrow? My brain froze. I had no clue what he was on about.
"What's tomorrow?"
"Don't tell me you don't know."
"Umm... I don't?"
"Really?"
"I just arrived yesterday."
"Oh, that explains it then." He leaned back, smug about knowing something I didn't.
I waited for him to continue.
"Well, tomorrow's the tour of our faculty's facilities. In the morning. You must've missed it since you aren't in the group."
"I didn't know about that," I whispered.
"Don't worry. What's your name on Facebook? I'll add you to our faculty group."
I told him my username. He sent me a friend request almost instantly.
Out of habit, I scrolled through his Facebook page, and man, it was something else. It contained photos from all over Europe, videos of late-night parties and motorcycle rides. The guy wasn't just a student; he was... well, the guy. Confident and outgoing. The kind of person people wanted to flock around.
"So, I've added you," Christo said, watching me skim his profile. "The admin, Mrs. Faber, will approve you in a while."
"Thank you."
"Welcome. Don't forget, 8 a.m. tomorrow, parking lot. Alright?"
I nodded. Meanwhile, Riya and Chad were quietly listening to our conversation, their eyes flicking between us like this was breaking news. It was for me.
"So, tell us more about yourself, Riya," Chad prodded.
"What?" she said flatly.
"You know," Chad pressed on. "What do you like doing? Hobbies. Anything besides board games and chess."
She considered for a moment, then shrugged. "Reading."
Chad chuckled, waiting for more. There wasn't more.
"Okay, reading," he echoed. "That's good. What kind of books?"
"Non-fiction."
I nearly snorted into my cappuccino. She was back to her blunt self.
"Cool, cool," Chad said, clearly scrambling. "What kind of non-fiction?"
"History," she said, then looked away as if the conversation had ended.
Silence stretched. Chad tapped his cup and tried again. "Movies then? Everyone likes movies."
"Not really."
"Come on, there's got to be something you actually enjoy,'' he said, desperate now.
Riya turned her eyes back on him. "Solitude."
That ended the conversation. Christo, beside me, laughed out loud.
Chad laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. Well... that's... that's honest."
Riya didn't even nod. She just reached for her cup and sipped, perfectly calm.
Christo, sensing the awkwardness, leaned in with a smile on his face. "Well, speaking of things to enjoy, I've arranged a little get-together tomorrow evening after our tour. Nothing big, just us first-years from Quantum Biology. A few hours at Wild Glade."
"Wild what?" I asked.
"Wild Glade," he repeated. "Forest clearing not far from here. There's a restaurant there. We'll go in the evening. Meet people, make connections. Maybe have fun. That's what these four years are about, trust me. What do you say?"
Chad was already nodding. "Sounds brilliant. I'm in."
"But you're not even in QB," I blurted without even thinking.
He flashed me a betrayed look. I'm so sorry!
"Oh, you can come. Don't worry about it." Christo waved his hand, as if dismissing the concern. "I'm inviting everyone I know. You are all included." Chad looked relived.
Riya set her cup down. "No."
Christo blinked. "No?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I don't like groups," she said. "Or noise. Or... people, most of the time."
"Noise...?" Christo repeated, a little wounded.
Chad leaned toward her. "Come on, it's just a few hours. You'll get to know everyone. Makes life easier when you don't have to eat alone every day."
"I like eating alone."
"Yeah, but you'll like it more with friends. Trust me." He threw her the same grin he'd used to drag me to dinner last night.
Riya arched a brow. "That's supposed to work on me?"
"Eventually," Chad shot back.
I watched them go back and forth, amazed at his persistence, and her complete immunity to it.
Christo finally raised his hands in surrender. "No pressure. But it's just a few hours. Then back here before curfew."
That caught my attention. "Wait. Curfew?"
"Of course," Christo said. "It's the university policy. You can't come in or go out of the university after 10 pm."
I frowned. "So how long will Wild glade take? I don't want to be locked out."
"Relax," Christo said smoothly. "It's close. Fifteen minutes by car. We'll be back well before ten."
That eased me a little.
Chad leaned closer to Riya again. "See? No problem. We'll be back early. You've got nothing to lose."
Riya sighed, like she regretted every choice that had brought her to this moment. "Fine. But I'm not staying long."
Chad grinned, triumphant.
The plan was set.
I should have felt excited. But I wasn't. It wasn't like I didn't like meeting people and having fun but doing it at the night, in a forest, made me a little nervous. Still, I was looking forward to it.