College Slice of Life

Aditya strutted along with his chest puffed out like a young master in a wuxia novel, strolling through the marketplace, displaying his handsomeness and wealth.

However, Aditya was not a young master, nor did he have a sect elder background as his uncle, father, or grandfather. Therefore, most of the passing students ignored Aditya's presence.

Besides, they were too preoccupied with campus assignments, relationship issues, or their own families to care about an average, delusional young man like Aditya.

Ascending the stairs one by one, once again Aditya felt cool for refusing to enter the elevator.

His reason? Of course, he wanted to appear tough in the eyes of the female students who were now walking faster to get away.

Unbeknownst to him, his weak body was panting, gasping for breath, making him resemble a sardine just caught by a fisherman. Not even one floor up, Aditya was already clutching his trembling knees to regulate his breath.

He felt that his stamina workout for the day was sufficient, and there were still two more floors to climb before reaching his class.

So, Aditya headed towards the elevator on the second floor and pressed the button to go up.

After waiting for a moment, the elevator doors opened, revealing it was already full of tightly packed students.

Without a hint of embarrassment due to his thick-skinned nature, Aditya squeezed his way in, pushing aside the unfortunate students who were getting squished inside.

Unfortunately, the elevator lights began to flicker, and the alarm sounded, indicating it had reached its weight capacity limit.

All the students inside the elevator turned their gaze towards Aditya, but he, without grains of shame, directed his gaze towards the chubby student next to him.

Aditya's eyes narrowed, and his forehead creased, as if he was looking at a living trash, merely wasting precious oxygen in the densely populated city.

The chubby student felt Aditya's deadly glare, sighed deeply, and backed down.

He chose to exit the elevator, but not before giving Aditya a resentful stare. Aditya ignored the chubby student and once again puffed out his chest as if nothing had happened.

With the departure of the chubby student, the elevator doors closed again. Before long, the decrepit elevator began to shake, and the floor indicator started to change.

When it reached the third floor, a few students exited the elevator, but not before glancing back at Aditya, as if trying to remember the annoying young man's face.

They hoped that if they ever encountered Aditya on the street, they would choose the best option to stay away from this trouble.

However, Aditya's expression remained unchanged, still sporting the arrogant look of a young master. He was accustomed to people staring envy at his handsome face, and it was no longer a concern for him.

The lift doors closed again and after a few moments, it reached the top floor.

Aditya stepped out of the lift with his chest still puffed out as if he were being welcomed to a grand ceremony.

Shortly after, he reached the door of his classroom and realized that it was already filled with students but the professor had not yet arrived.

"Tch!"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Aditya felt irritated with the tardiness of the lecturer.

He felt it was unfair because these lecturers were paid to teach, yet they still arrived later than the students. Shouldn't it be the lecturers waiting for the students to arrive?

Once again, Aditya felt that the education system in this country was very flawed. Unfortunately, he sighed deeply, accepting his cruel fate of being born in this backward country.

If only he were born in a more developed country, Aditya believed he would already be famous for his remarkable talent.

Seeing an empty seat, Aditya walked over and sat down.

Beside him, a chubby student with caramel skin smiled at Aditya. It was noticeable that his shirt was slightly damp from sweat on his back. Despite this, there was no sour odor emanating from the chubby student's body; only the scent of cigarette smoke, which Aditya didn't mind.

"Shan," Aditya greeted with a nod.

"Dit," Shandy replied, nodding as well.

This chubby student was Shandy Aditya Pratama.

One of the few people Aditya acknowledged as his friend simply because his middle name was the same as his.

Shandy was what some might call a "social butterfly". He had the ability to fit into any social circle with his wide-ranging social skills.

He was also quite intelligent, understanding the heavy topics that Aditya discussed.

If it weren't for his chubby physique and darker skin, Shandy might have been very popular on campus. Despite his current situation, Shandy had a wide network of friends.

But for Aditya, Shandy's situation was a sign from God that fairness existed.

"Have you finished your assignment?" Shandy asked, watching as Aditya took out his 'textbook' from his bag.

"Huh? What assignment? Do we have an assignment?" Aditya's arrogant expression changed, and a scent of doubt lingered around him.

"The assignment from last week's class? We were told to write a two-page of essay on the relationship between Companies and Labor," replied Shandy.

"Huh? Really? Which professor?" asked Aditya, starting to panic.

"Mr. Suharjo. Haven't you done it yet?"

"Oh, Mr. Suharjo. I haven't done it," said Aditya, exhaling in relief. Aditya was familiar with Professor Suharjo. He was one of the two professors for the labor course, aside from Professor Maria.

Unlike Professor Maria, Professor Suharjo was an elderly professor who had surpassed the retirement age. Sometimes, he would assign tasks to his students, but often forget to collect them.

The first time Aditya received an assignment from Professor Suharjo, he worked on it diligently.

This was due to his experience with Professor Maria, who had given him a C grade on his previous semester's assignment, almost causing him to fail the labor course.

However, the following week, Professor Suharjo forgot about the assignment and didn't collect it.

This led Aditya, who had stayed up all night working on it, to harbor resentment towards the old professor and vow not to do his assignments again.

"..."

"It's up to you," Shandy said, giving up.

"Hmm..." Aditya only nodded and started to unlock his smartphone.

He didn't forget that the main reason for coming to class on time was to download Pendant of War. Seeing the download percentage start to progress, Aditya set aside his smartphone and began to read the 'textbook' in front of him.

"What comic is that, Dit?" Shandy asked, glancing at the 'textbook' Aditya was reading.

"Comic, comic, MANGA!" Aditya replied, feeling offended.

"Yeah, yeah, same thing," Shandy said casually.

Aditya just clicked his tongue and refocused on reading his 'textbook'. Seeing that Aditya was ignoring him, Shandy didn't say anything else and began to talk to other students beside him.

An hour passed, yet Professor Suharjo had not arrived, prompting several students to leave for the cafeteria. One of these students was Shandy, but before he got up from his seat, he glanced at Aditya, who was still focused on his manga.

Letting out a long sigh, Shandy tapped Aditya's shoulder and said, "Dit, want to go to the cafeteria? We'll come back to class once the professor shows up."

Aditya looked up from his manga and furrowed his brow at Shandy. "The upper cafeteria?" he asked.

In the law faculty, there was only one cafeteria, but it had two floors.

During Aditya's first year students were allowed to smoke in both cafeteria's floors. However, after a directive from the rector, smoking was only permitted on the second floor.

So, Aditya's question was asking Shandy whether they would smoke or not.

"The upper cafeteria," Shandy replied.

"Coffee?" Aditya asked again.

Shandy took his wallet from his back pocket and opened it. Counting the remaining money, Shandy sighed and said, "Yes."

"Nice," nodded Aditya, a wide smile on his face.

Taking his smartphone from his pants pocket and seeing that the download progress was at 97%, Aditya began to follow Shandy from behind.

Several other students also joined Shandy and started chatting with him. Meanwhile, Aditya remained silent and followed from behind.

He had no intention of conversing with these students because their conversations sounded foolish to him.

What was the point of talking about expensive motorcycles that they couldn't afford with their parents' thin wallets?

To Aditya, discussing something unattainable was just a waste of breath. They'd be better off discussing something that could stimulate their intellect, like politics, culture, or social issues.

Upon reaching the upper cafeteria, they began to gather at an empty long table. Aditya chose to sit on the edge so he wouldn't be squeezed between the sweaty men.

"Black?" Shandy asked Aditya.

"Black," Aditya replied shortly, taking out his pack of cigarettes.

As he tapped the end of the cigarette pack on the table to compact its contents, Aditya once again took out his smartphone and checked the progress of the download, which seemed to be moving slowly due to the poor internet speed.

However, Aditya didn't complain because he couldn't complain about something that was free.

Placing the tip of the cigarette filter between his lips, Aditya ignited it with a lighter in his right hand while shielding it from the wind with his left hand.

For a moment, white smoke entered his mouth, reaching his lungs, and the sweet taste began to coat his tongue. Aditya exhaled the white smoke from his mouth, and the scent of cloves and cheap tobacco filled the air.

Shandy arrived, carrying two cups of black coffee in his hands. He handed one cup to Aditya and sat beside him.

"Thanks," Aditya said to Shandy, who was currently taking out two packs of cigarettes with different brands from his pants pocket.

"Since when do you smoke white?" Aditya asked, noting the unfamiliar cigarette brand on the table.

"I'm coughing, so I switched to white cigarettes," Shandy replied.

Aditya simply nodded, understanding the logic Shandy presented. Any cigarette would taste the same in an ashtray like mouth as the one Shandy had.

"What are you downloading?" Shandy asked, glancing at Aditya's smartphone screen.

"It's a new game called Pendant of War, catchy name, right? This game can make money, Shan," Aditya said enthusiastically.

"It can make money? You might get scammed again," recalling the incident where Aditya shouted curses while staring at his smartphone screen during class.

Luckily, at that time, Professor Marjon, known as a male Mother Teresa, didn't mind it; otherwise, there would have been another subject with a D grade on Aditya's study card.

"Nah, this time I'm experienced. Don't worry. I won't get scammed again!" Aditya said confidently.

He believed that lightning doesn't strike twice, and as a handsome-kind-perfect man, that wouldn't happen to him.

"Up to you," Shandy said, sighing deeply as he looked at his strange friend.

Aditya just waved his hand, ignoring Shandy's warning.

The smartphone screen showed that the download was successful.

Impatiently, Aditya began to open the Pendant of War app on his smartphone screen, but instead of the game opening, an odd questionnaire appeared.