CHAPTER 6

After a tiresome week of orientations, we finally started going to classes for real. I was happy. No, I was super duper excited for me to start my classes as an engineer. My dream was finally coming true. And the luck of it that Jean was also doing engineering, same as Andrew, and for the first time since going to school I felt like I was not alone in this.

I was prepared yes, but not for tight schedules. Classes ranged from 7.40am to 5.20pm which was a total drag. But I also got a chance to meet other type of people who we became friends with. It was something of a 4-girl squad mad up of Jean, Gabrielle, Maci and I. Then the pressure started coming with more tests and assignments as well as presentations.

Maybe it is high time someone finally told people what to expect at university or college. Mostly it is associated with parties, trips, jobs and money but never the mental pressure it exerts on people, no matter the program they are pursuing. Sometimes it gets too heavy that you think of backing out, or going home, or giving up on everything in total. The pressure to achieve good grades and to please your parents sometimes gets too much for some. No wonder cases of most drug and substance abusers or suicides are common in places of higher education.

Being someone from a lower type of school, I was not fitting in that good at school, considering there were people much more confident, more beautiful and smarter and coming from international schools all across the country. I did not mind though, considering that did not matter no because college is a whole different chapter. And then we were given an assignment to present to the whole class during physics lesson. We had to study and discuss in groups and all that stuff. As for me, I was still fitting in, adjusting my mental standards and I viewed everything as a big burden and I had not yet read ahead of the topic. Luckily enough, my group had Andrew, Jean and Maci in it as well as some guys I got to know in the month at school. Kind of a bummer, but I no longer liked crowded places and public speaking. At least it was bearable with people I was comfortable with, like Jean, but this time she had bailed out on me. And there was Maci explaining all the stuff she had read while I understood nothing and maybe that ticked me off. That I was being separated from the rest of them. And Andrew was tapping my shoulder and making snide comments like, "see, you gotta study, ms. brains." And I snapped at him, stayed fuming through the whole group meeting and was first to leave after it was over.

Then enter Michael. You know how there is always a freshman's party every year? Just that ours was hosted a little bit late. It was during the Students Union's Campaigns that the guy going for Entertainment Director hosted a party outside our hostels. Then all these guys and girls doing campaigns were there as well, telling us to vote for them and all and I got introduced to some interesting people though. Jean had a couple of guy friends who were helping with the party and she had gone outside to chat with them for a bit. Soon enough the party was in full swing, girls dancing, guys drinking and dancing as well, some attending the brai. And me, reading a novel with my headsets on. And I was not able to withstand as my curiosity got best of me. Going outside, I chose a good spot and pulled a chair and continued with my manhwa, in peace, till some guys pushed their friend my way. And oh boy did we talk all night long. Just kidding, till i was invited to drink Coca Cola and some meat. And that's how I met Michael, funny right.