The university smelled of novelty and confusion. The courtyard was filled with a mix of voices, hallways opened in every direction, and I felt as if everyone knew where to go—except me.
After the first class, I sat alone on a bench, trying to look busy with my notebook. That's when I noticed the whispers and repeated glances.
— They say he doesn't talk to anyone…— I heard he was expelled from another school.— Imagine running into him at night?— Just one look is already scary.
I carefully followed their gazes.
A boy was crossing the courtyard. Tall, his shoulders weighed down by a black hoodie. His stride was steady, his eyes lowered. He seemed to carry a silence that pushed others away. And it worked: people moved aside as if his presence was too heavy to share the same space.
A chill ran through me. It was as if everything about him screamed solitude.
The hours went by, and in the late afternoon I decided to grab a coffee at the cafeteria. I walked slowly across the courtyard, watching the lengthening shadows. That's when I noticed something that caught my attention: a tabby cat, roaming freely on the grass, suddenly quickened its pace, tail lifted high, as if it had recognized someone.
I followed the cat's gaze and only then did I see it.
A boy was crouched near the flowerbed, the same dark hoodie, but now his hand open, filled with kibble. The cat approached without fear, rubbing against his arm before eagerly nibbling at the food with almost childlike enthusiasm.
It was the same boy everyone whispered about.
The same one who seemed frightening under so many eyes was now there, patient, almost invisible, sharing his silence with a cat as if they were old friends.
I froze, not knowing how to react.
In my mind, two images overlapped: the solitary stranger everyone avoided, and the boy calmly offering food as if every gesture were an invitation to trust.
I couldn't decide which one was real.
And in that contrast I realized: my new life at university wouldn't be made only of books and tall windows. It would also hold secrets.
And one of them wore a black hoodie.