Isobel woke up a little different than usual today. Her neck had that stiff feeling that everyone dreaded, and she was inches away from falling off her bed. This is something that never happens to Isobel, and therefore she was rather startled in shock when she had to reflexively catch herself from falling face first onto the bedroom floor.
"What on earth is going on? How come I'm falling off my bed, is it because of these double beds? They are relatively small compared to what I'm used to, but this is not normal!"
With a large effort, she got herself off the floor and began to get ready for the day. Today she had another early lecture that this time, she believed was beneficial for her so she couldn't miss this one. She took out a large, off-white cashmere sweater her mother had given to her some time ago, a pair of light blue denim jeans and a casual pair of beige leather sneakers paired with white socks for her outfit.
By the time she was done she was on time as usual, and she took a good look at her room before leaving. It seemed tidy and clean, with minimal decoration to the room and minimal design changes to what she was met with, just the way she liked it.
She calmly walked out of her room, locking her room door with the number '3' on it and then briskly made her way out of the hallway, as if to avoid bumping into someone again. She successfully made it outside and checked her phone for the time – 8:56. She would make it to her lecture in time.
She began to let out a brief sigh in relief before it got interrupted abruptly by a familiar scent that overpowered her nostrils. Of course it was Eric who was walking a few metres in front of her, but that didn't stop her from coughing abruptly at the unexpected invasion of her olfactory system.
He turned around at the sound of someone coughing and was surprised to see Isobel, with a minute yet noticeable tinge of embarrassment on his face. His hair flowed down to the base of his neck, and his style was akin to a skateboarder, with a snapback cap covering his messy hair, a faded grey hoodie stretched down his torso, and he wore black textured jeans with a pair of black converse trainers.
"Why is he looking at me like that… is that embarrassment? He surely isn't reminiscent of what he told me about his grades right?" Isobel thought to herself in amusement.
"Hello Isobel, are you on your way to our lecture right now?" he said in a tired tone.
"Of course, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here at 9am otherwise" she giggled.
They began to make their way to the lecture hall. There was a hurried haste in their steps, as if they both wanted this interaction to end.
"Right. I can always help you with the course content if you want, considering I've done it all before" Eric said, whilst adjusting his cap.
"That's nice to hear and thank you for that, I'll let you know if I ever need any help from you." Isobel said politely, however inwardly she felt a little bit insulted that someone who failed their first year of medicine was offering her help.
'Wait, why do I care, he's wiling to help me and that's all that matters…'
Isobel cleared her throat. "By the way, why do you use so much cologne? I can smell it from a mile away."
"Is it that noticeable? I bet it smells nice, but if it bothers you sorry bout that."
"I guess its alright…" Isobel sighed with an expression of mild disgust.
There was an uncomfortable silence broken by the sound of automatic doors opening.
Isobel shook her head subtly in dismay— reigniting the stiffness of her neck and causing her to wince slightly. Fortunately for her, they had arrived at the doors for the 2nd medicine lecture of the year. They both walked in, and sat close by to one another, but with one empty chair in-between them, as if there was an invisible barrier.
~~~
They walked out together of the lecture, Isobel seemed visibly distressed by the unexpected load of information that she was hit with in 2 hours. On the other hand, Eric seemed incredibly elated to be out of there, as if he was bored to the bone with the lecture.
Stretching his hands behind him awkwardly, he said "I'm gonna go on a walk or something now, bye."
"Okay, bye." Isobel replied half-heartedly, her mind was fixated on all the anatomical landmarks she had to memorise.
She slowly made her way home, and halfway through this short walk she saw another familiar figure, she could see in front of her a girl similar in height to her, with a wave of jet-black hair flowing to her shoulders. She had a very relaxed air around her, and she wore a black, white and green graphic tee with some black jeans and black trainers. Of course, it was Alexandra.
Alex turned around, hearing someone come up behind her. Her face changed drastically upon seeing Isobel from a neutral to a cheerful expression, "Hey Isobel! How are you doing?"
"I'm doing alright thank you, I hope everything is okay with you too. I'm coming home from a lecture actually; it was quite a lot to unpack…"
Alex laughed softly, "That must suck, good luck with your course though. I'm on my way to go on a walk in the park nearby."
Alex continued speaking, not giving Isobel anytime to respond.
"Oh! I'm going to the local club later tonight with some friends, do you want to join us?"
Isobel replied unintentionally sternly, "Sorry I'd have to decline, I don't go to nightclubs."
There was a momentary drain of hope flushing down Alexandra's pale face, but she replied "No problem, I'll see you later today anyway. Bye!"
She began to walk away, turning back for half a second when she thought Isobel was looking away.
'She is rather eccentric. I can't tell if I want to be her friend, but she has this charismatic energy about her…'
Isobel got inside her accommodation and made her way to door number 3 and locked the door behind her.
'I need to eat, but my education is more important, I need to get a grasp of what I just learnt before thinking of anything else.'
She then took off her shoes and sat down by her laptop and began to search for articles related to anatomical landmarks, when she found an article that caught her eye in the 'suggested for you' section of her search engine. It was titled 'Bread and circuses'.
"This seems interesting… I can afford to skim read a random article right?"