1.3 Friends

It was Shane's first day back at his university. To say he was nervous was an understatement. This would be the day when he would actually put his plans into action.

It was just recently that Shane had found out about having a horrid personality and he was put in headfirst into his old life. Honestly, the present Shane, couldn't really empathise with the past Shane so his actions are ones that present Shane would never do. But he was already in this mess so he had to get out it.

"Young Master, we're here" Shane heard the driver of the car say.

This was Paul Smith, Shane's personal driver-cum-bodyguard-cum-servant. He was in charge of monitoring the health and needs of Shane. He had blonde hair and brown eyes along with a structured face. Shane had to admit that the man was a looker but despite his face, Shane knows how capable the man was. He was 33 years old (but he looked like he was in his mid twenties) and had served in the army. He was discharged early because of his achievements and an injury while on duty. When the injury healed he decided to work for the Tyre household. Shane's father had told him that Paul was a good friend of his when he was dealing with military affairs. Shane made a mental note to research the businesses that they actually handle.

"Thank you Paul." Shane uttered as Paul held the car door open for him. Shane saw Paul's eyes widen for a moment before it disappeared.

Even with a simple thank you, people seemed surprised. Shane wondered at how bad his personality was again. At least he was making steps to fix it now. Why not start with the people closest to him.

"Young Master follow me, I'll lead you to your first class"

Shane did as asked giving a little nod to the statement. Paul was informed of his situation and was supposed to be his guide for the meantime. When Paul started walking, Shane followed him, making some curious glances along the way.

Shane noticed how the eyes of the females shined upon seeing Paul. Shane agreed mentally. It was no wonder. He knew Paul was attractive, even he had to admit that. Such a pity though, Paul looked like he couldn't even be bothered by them.

They walked for a while with Shane trying his best to remember where to go. They eventually arrived in front of a room.

"Here we are young master"

Economics was Shane's first subject, if he recalled correctly. He was about to go in when he noticed that Paul still hadn't moved.

"Don't you need to be somewhere?" Shane asked looking at Paul suspiciously.

"I'll be your guide, young master. At least until you can guide yourself. " Paul said without even blinking.

"I'll be alright. Don't worry, so, you can go ahead and do whatever it is you do"

Shane tried to make Paul leave but he was still as stubborn as a rock. This surely wasn't in his plans to redeem his reputation. Now, Shane had to think of a way to make it fit.

With a resigned sigh, Shane made his way into the classroom. He turned a few eyes as he picked a seat but most of his classmates were focused on the man guarding outside the door. Shane did his best to ignore them and casually placed some things from his bag on his desk.

A few minutes passed when finally, the teacher came. He gave no heed to the man standing by the door and walked right in the classroom. Shane thought the the staff must have been informed of his situation. Less problem for him. Maybe.

"Now class, I know you're curious about the man outside our door, but let me remind you that it is class time and unless you want to fail, I suggest you keep your head in front and your ears to my lesson." The teacher stated coolly as he arranged his materials.

"But Professor, what's that man doing there?" A guy asked, looking suspiciously at the door. He was a bit miffed about the man getting the attention of the girls in the room.

He wasn't the only guy who was thinking that, he was just the first or rather the bravest one to speak up.

"A student here has been through special circumstances, so until it is resolved, that man is here to stay. Now no more interruptions."

Shane was inwardly grateful for the teacher's explanation. It was vague yet answered the question at the same time, and maybe would keep the questions at bay for a while.

The teacher did start the lesson and Shane found himself easily tuning into the lesson. The information came easily to him as if he had already learnt it before. Today's lesson was about monetary theories. Shane's brain just kept on giving information he didn't think he even knew about. He was glad to say that he got through the first lesson quite well.

When the first class ended, as soon as Shane got out, Paul had escorted him to his next class. It again, had attracted a lot of attention. Shane had tried to ignore the attention by thinking of ways to ditch Paul, which he plan to do so...real soon.

Steeling himself, Shane approaches his next class with the same fervour he had with his previous class which apparently was not a lot. He sat down on a middle seat at the second row and got ready for the lesson.

People soon began to pile up and enter the room but not before giving Paul a thorough look. Paul stood out like a sore thumb.

Then in the same manner as the last teacher did, the next teacher began teaching the class. Shane's next class was actually Calculus as he noted what the teacher was saying. He was pleasantly surprised that he too understood the combination of letters and numbers on the board. Shane was really glad to know that he wouldn't need to catch up much.

"Shit... What the heck is this. Letters and numbers should never be put together"

Shane heard some muttering by his side. He looked around to see where the source of the sound came from. He found that it came from a girl one seat away from him. Now that he noticed it, no one seems to be sitting next to him. They were all one or two seats away from him.

Is this what it's like to be an outcast? Shane thought bitterly.

Shane tried to continue focusing on the lesson but found the mutterings of the girls to be distracting. Resolving himself, he quietly moved to the seat next to him that was closer to the girl. Shane looked at what the girl was doing. The girl was so focused on her notes that she didn't even notice Shane moving closer.

"You should try substituting zero to the x first" Shane helpfully quipped at the struggling girl.

"Oh so that's what your supposed to do" the girl followed Shane's instruction and appeared like she finally understood the problem.

"Thanks-" The girl looked up to see Shane and cut off her words. She looked really shocked at seeing Shane.

Shane just gave her a smile "You're welcome" and focused back to the lesson, glad that the girl's mumblings stopped.

He was sure that he acted out of character but if it got the girl to shut up, then it's good. If it helped his reputation rise a bit, then better.

It wasn't until near the end of the lesson that Shane found himself helping the girl again. The professor was asking the class to answer a bunch of questions and it was just the girl's luck that she got called. She stood up and looked lost on what to answer. Shane felt pity for the girl and wondered why she was even taking this class.

"3, -2 and 0" he muttered quietly, just enough for the girl to hear.

The girl looked taken aback by Shane's actions but nevertheless repeated the answer. She sighed audibly when the professor confirmed her answer and sat down. She looked at Shane and contemplated whether to say something to him but found that he was focused back on the lesson. She sighed again and also focused on the lesson to try and make sense out of it.

The class ended smoothly and Shane was glad that he only had one more class in the afternoon. He fixed his things and was ready to head for lunch when he heard himself called.

"Hey, Ummm... Thanks for earlier" It was the girl from before.

Shane just flashed a smile before replying "It was nothing. It looked like you were really struggling"

The girl was surprised by the gesture but smiled back.

"Wow, I never thought you were actually nice. I'm Karen by the way"

"I'm Shane" he introduced himself.

"I know" she chuckled "Everyone knows who you are. Shane Tyre only son and heir to the FM conglomerate"

"Really? " Shane tried to pry more.

"Yeah, you are quite notorious you know. There are rumors about your personality in highschool. And now, you only hangout with your group and don't really interact with other people. You just have that unapproachable aura with you but after meeting you, you don't seem so bad" She answered then said her goodbye as she was called by her friends.

Shane was left alone to think about his situation again. Apparently, he wasn't half as bad in University as he was in highschool so it was still salvageable. Shane hoped that talking to Karen will help him seem more approachable.

Shane walked out of the room. Paul was still trailing him but he learned to ignore him. Shane walked towards the cafeteria which wasn't that far away. It was already lunch and he felt a bit famished.

"Shane!" a sudden shout of his name startled Shane and was even more startled as hands held his shoulders and shook him.

"What did I hear about what happened to you?! I was only gone for a week and look what trouble you brought to yourself. I told you to stop hanging around that club but you never listen. And what's this I hear about you being hospitalised? I tried to reach your phone but you don't respond and your father's vague reassurances don't even help at all! "

Shane was overwhelmed that he blanked out. He thanked the heavens that Paul was there because he was the one who responded.

"Mr. Louise, Young Master Shane has just recovered and is still not in top shape"

The person Paul called Louise stopped shaking Shane and gave a questioning look at Paul. Shane pieced together that this was Christian Louise, one of his friends. He thought back to what he had learnt about his life and found that he was Shane's first friend in highschool. He was the one who kept Shane in check in case he did something stupid. How he tolerated old-Shane's personality was a mystery to the present Shane.

"And now you have bodyguards. I thought you didn't want them hanging around. Did you know how worried John and Gabe are? I heard rumours about you hanging out with Dylan and his goons again. Geez, it's like high school all over again. I thought we were over this" Christian had an exasperated tone. Shane was still confused but didn't know how to respond. Even Paul was at a loss.

"Well?" Christian has finally calmed down enough to let Shane respond.

Shane was about to respond when his stomach thought it time to protest and quite loud he might add.

"I'm hungry" is what Shane had responded with instead.

And in return he got dragged to the cafeteria.

He was made to sit down while Paul and Christian went to go get food. The next thing he knew he had a plate of food in front of him with two pair of eyes urging him to eat.

"And no complaints. Eat it" Christian told him sternly which made no room for refusal.

Shane looked at the food he was brought. Rice and beef with broccoli. Shane felt the pressure of the stares so he began to eat. While he ate he contemplated whether to tell Christian about his situation. He seemed genuinely worried about him and he was also mentioned by his father so he couldn't be bad right? His father wanted him to reveal his situation at his own pace so he didn't inform his friends.

Shane looked to Paul for answers whether he could reveal it to Christian.

"Mr. Louise has been young master's long time friend and is really worried for him" Paul stated.

"Worried couldn't even describe to how I feel right now. Long time friend my ass, I was the one to get you out of your messes during high school. Friend... More like babysitter" Christian light heartedly complained.

So Shane told him. And really, Shane wasn't expecting Christian's reaction. Christian was oddly quiet rather than another outburst Shane expected.

"So you don't remember me at all? " Christian asked.

Shane shook his head in disaffirmation.

"No wonder you didn't speak much. Usually you'd be complaining by now. " Shane massaged his temples "I knew you hanging out with Dylan could lead to this. That guy is really grating on my nerves right now. Let me get this straight, you really have no memory at all? "

"The only thing I kind of remember were flashing lights and a man" Shane admitted

"Man?"

"Papa, wouldn't tell me about him. He looked like a businessman. I did meet him at the hospital although he glared at me. I think he doesn't like me"

A look of understanding dawned on Christian's face. Shane thought that maybe Christian knew who the man was and asked him.

"Your father's probably right. You don't need to know who that man was. Onto more important things, would you be okay with John and Gabe knowing about your situation?" Christian asked after diverting the topic. Shane thought he was acting apprehensive when he mentioned the man but he put it in the back of his mind for now.

"Can they be trusted? " Shane finally finished his food and he wiped his face with a napkin. He liked the food. It was surprisingly delicious.

"Yes" Christian replied affirmative.

"Then I guess it would be okay. More people to help me...maybe" Shane replied unsure.

"You bet. We are coming over to your house later to discuss this. John and Gabe will explode after they hear this"

"Okay then" Shane didn't know why but he felt a little scared for later.

They talked a bit more before splitting ways to the next class. Christian reminded Shane of a mother with his worrying nature. He didn't dislike it though. Christian felt like he was one of the persons who kept old-Shane's life stable and kept him alive.

Shane's last class was mostly uneventful except for the increase in stares and whispers he received. Karen was quite the gossip from what he gathered hearing the whispers about how nice he actually was. It was actually helping Shane's reputation so he inwardly commended Karen for her unexpected job.

Shane was currently making his way back to his car with Paul following behind. He was supposed to meet Christian back at his house so he had to be a good host and meet them there first. But before that...

"Paul, has Christian came over at the house before? " Shane asked as soon as he got into the car.

"Yes, young master. He has also brought you home on...several occasions" Paul replied curtly as he fixed his seatbelt and began to drive.

"Hmmm... Say Paul, was I really that bad of a person? " After a while Shane asked.

The car shook lightly seemingly to signal Paul's shock before returning to normal again.

Paul took a few moments before he answered. "Young master, it wasn't that you were bad per say. It's just that you were...stubbornly naive if I were to word it."

"Stubbornly naive?"

"Yes. Sorry to say this but you were spoiled by master since you were young and that translated into your attitude. But you weren't a brat, you never looked down on servants or anything it's just that you were used to finer things and didn't like change.

"For example, when you entered high school, you were hit with a bit of a culture shock. You didn't understand the value of money. You would ask your classmates why they put up with those things and would try to recommend better not knowing that they wouldn't be able to afford it. So you came to be known as arrogant" Paul tried to explain as simple as possible.

"So basically, I was an idiot? " Shane had concluded.

"I'd like to take it more as naive. Also young master, you didn't see the need to be polite so your words were a bit brutally honest. You were honest, yes, but you didn't know when not to say anything. I think that also had an effect to how people saw you"

"Had an effect? Just say that they hated me more and thought that I was an arrogant spoiled brat. Why did I choose to go to a public school anyways?" That was a question that has been bugging Shane's mind since his father told him about his life.

Paul chuckled. His chuckle was a soft baritone that Shane was sure would be swarmed by girls if they were ever to hear it.

"It was actually because you wanted to follow your idol's footsteps"

Shane was confused. He hadn't heard anything about an idol. Surely his father would have told him.

"Idol?"

"Of course it's -" a sudden ring cut off Paul's words. Paul connected the call to his ear piece.

While Paul had to take the call, Shane was left to muse over what was said.

Maybe he wasn't as hopeless as he thought?