028

As Ron returned to his apartment, he placed the food in the proper places. A refrigerator or a closet depending on the requirements. Then, after thinking for some time, he decided on having Moraug's steaks and pasta. He used his wrist-com to watch how to make his meal and tried his best.

Needless to say, the taste wasn't there. He had burnt the steak and overcooked the pasta. Yet, it was very satisfying. Because it was something that he made himself. And it was the first time he did so. It wasn't much and the taste was sub-par to be generous however, it was proof that he could do it. And it woke his interest in it. He wanted to learn to cook and eat more delicious food made by himself. He planned to keep trying from here on out.

…

The next morning, he put on his suit and left the apartment. Once again, he looked back as he closed the door, bringing a smile to his face. He left the building and headed towards the university. Likely due to them being living close to each other and having the same timetables, he spotted Laila at an intersection. She wore blue pants and a white hoodie with a cute bow drawing on its front. She smiled at him after he called out to her and they walked to the university together. They chatted excitedly about their future classes and teachers, wondering how it would go with wild imagination.

As they reached the classroom, Vanessa was already there. Nancy and Ivan seemed not to have arrived yet. Vanessa waved to them, they waved back and Laila insisted that he went to sit with them. It was in the middle and on the side, further from the front than he would have liked but he agreed. Learning with friends was good too. Even if he wasn't at the very front, he would still be able to hear and see anyways.

As they sat, Vanessa greeted them with a smile and they began to chat with her about the same things they discussed on the way here.

A minute and some later, Ivan entered. He looked at the classroom and did not spot Nancy. Was she trying to come right on time to avoid having him sit next to her like back in high-school? He sighed as he hoped it wasn't the case. He truly was at a loss on how to get her to open up to him. He spotted the weirdo Ron waving excitedly at him though. It would be nice if Nancy was as easy as this guy to befriend… He could see that the other two girls next to him weren't waving at him and instead sighing at Ron. It seemed like they weren't quite happy about him either.

Life was a tough for a man in love.

Still, it was obvious that Nancy would go sit with her friends. She spent so long harassing her father for him to speak to the dean about getting the trio in the same classroom… Since he was being invited by Ron, he would go sit there too. It might be shameless to use this naïve fellow but he would do whatever it took to show Nancy his sincerity.

He walked up the stairs that led to their row of desks, greeted them and took a seat next to a grinning Ron. He easily noticed that the kid wore the same suit as yesterday. He wondered if he only had one and if he even washed it. At least, he didn't smell so it should be fine. He did not plan to ask either and put the poor chap on the spot. He learnt his lesson last time. It would come back to him as a loud slap if he involved himself with this shit, the girls were rather fond of Ron after all. It was better to fake it as if not noticing it.

And so, he simply joined their discussion as if there was nothing strange about it. He was quite good when it came to chatting with others anyways and, he was also very excited about the first lessons.

Not long after, Nancy entered the classroom. She saw her two friends waving at her with awkward expressions and next to them, two guys waving very excitedly with smiles on their faces. She could understand why the two allowed Ron in, he was a nice simpleton with quite a mysterious air around him but Ivan? Why the fuck would they let this perv sit with them? They knew she disliked him… She had a rather bad expression on her face before sighing and walking up.

Ivan excitedly offered her the seat next to him. However, there was no way she would sit next to him. She asked Ron and Ivan to let her go sit next to Laila. Disappointed but not wanting to displease her, Ivan moved. Ron also moved simply because he didn't mind. In the end, the three girls were separated from Ivan by a wall called Ron. They found having Ron around even more pleasing due to this.

Not only was he gentle and always in a good mood, he was very useful to take down Ivan. Nancy was especially glad to have him here. Ivan had been after her for a few years now and he seemed to never understand when she told him she wasn't interested… Still, he never did anything untoward so, she tolerated his existence. Didn't mean she liked him though.