eye of the tiger ( part 5 )

How long does it take for a routine to form? Turned out, in the right company, no more than a day.

I was the last to wake in the morning. The girls were gone, leaving behind a note. It wasn't difficult figuring out who wrote the note.

"Honey, we're leaving to wash up. Its a little past 8. If you're up by 10, come over to our canteen. Any later, just stay put. We'll get you nice breakfast."

It was ten past nine now. I would be joining them for breakfast. I wasn't blind to the looks I was getting. Even I knew, girls in the boys hostel was nothing too strange. But I was only a day old. It was more than one girl. And the four were extremely popular. The looks I was earning were a mix of envy and curiosity and hate. I realized I had thicker skin than I knew from how easily I ignored the looks and fended off the eyes drilling through me.

A half hour later, I was outside the girls' hostel. The four of them were sitting around a table, enjoying breakfast with engaging conversation. There wasn't a hint of tiredness on any of their faces. Knowing how tired I was, I couldn't help the surprise. The four of them could very well be androids.

Marcie saw me first. Grinning, waving exaggeratedly while jumping on her seat, she called me over. The other three were smiling at my evident embarrassment. None did anything to ease it, however. I could actually see the struggle in their faces. They wanted to join in, but were hesitating over whether it would be too much.

My new friends were so strange.

Marcie slid her plate a little toward me, enticing me to share. I was hungry. Without bothering to put up an act of modesty, I dug in. Marcie was pleased. A moment later we were battling over what seemed like the very last plate of food on the planet. Must have been an amusing sight, for there was quiet laughter all around.

After breakfast, according to Teddy's suggestion, we continued the tour of the campus. Today, the emphasis was on the many departments and buildings of the college.

"Sleep enough," Lin asked.

I nodded slowly, but my eyes let out the secret. I hadn't.

"He's new," Marcie answered. "He'll get to be like us soon enough. We are a great influence after all."

Turning toward me, Marcie explained.

"The four of us don't need much sleep. Four to five hours a night and we'll be fine. You obviously need more. We'll figure out a balance automatically."

Was there ever an end to her cheerfulness?

A couple of hours into the tour, we walked into a building that I knew would grow to be my favourite. It was the music department. The college didn't have a complete music program, but it did have a music department that was open to all students. It served more to indulge in the students' need for a hobby to distract them from academic pressure, an avenue to relax and fire up the creative neurons. On the lower two floors were studios, closed rooms well insulated and housing an instrument or two. Students could reserve the studios for a couple of hours of practice. The third floor was a vast library housing records and books. On one end were audio systems to listen to the records on. There was a rack of headphones to choose from, or students could bring their own. The books covered every topic related to music. A line of computers was on another side of the hall, connected to a repository of music collections and books.

It wasn't the books or the records that enraptured me. It was the studios. The quiet and spacious rooms were strangely reminiscent of Ms Woodley's patio. I had no intention of practicing my voice. I just felt nice being in the room, felt nice returning to the warm patio Ms Woodley and I spent so many hours in.

We went out to Teddy's favourite restaurant for a late lunch that lasted into the evening. After which we embarked on the long, long walk to Rookie's. It was my second night at work, and it was so much more exciting. I made my first friends from among the regulars, the two women and man from last night. I learned that they were aware of my not understanding a word from the conversation. They were approving of me for that. Tonight, conversation was more normal. We talked about ourselves. I learned that their names were Sasha, Min and Leo, they were traders with high stress jobs and this was their favourite place to get over the day, to relax. And now, I was their favourite person here.

I passed another test with flying colours. I had customers who came for me. Rookie said I was even better than Teddy, a revelation to which everyone nodded in agreement. Teddy made a challenging face, but I could see from her eyes that she was in agreement too.

Biscuit drove us to campus. The girls crashed in my room again. Everything was perfect.