-thirteen-

Classroom in Main Building

Killa and Maki sat together, chatting while waiting for a professor to come in. 

"Today I finish at 3.30," Killa said,

"Same, then I'll wait for you in front of the AD if I finish first." Maki said,

"Kay-Kay," Killa said adorably,

"Did you just say K-K?" Maki was surprised,

"No," Killa started to feel regret.

"Yes, you did!" Maki was fond of her and put her hand on Killa's head.

"Yeah, yeah."

Then suddenly, there was a tall guy wearing a bucket hat, but Killa could still see the color of the hair underneath.

Killa glanced at him. 'Is that..' Killa thought.

"What is it?" Maki asked and turned to see the target that Killa was staring at. "...He must be a senior. I don't recognize him on the first orientation."

"No way," Killa said softly after seeing him remove the hat.

"Shit…Senpai?" Maki's mouth opened wide."Daiki Senpai, really?" Maki continued to say. Not Killa, who was sitting still and shocked inside.

After the morning class ended, Maki dragged Killa to greet Daiki, but some people were around him.

"They are busy, come on," Killa said to Makii and grabbed her wrist to retreat,

"It's him, K, you don't wanna say hi?" Maki called her short-term

"Next time, we have to walk to AD; we will be late," Kailla said, and Maki surrendered to Killa.

And while they walked out of the classroom, some looked at them, including Daiki.

"They're freshmen." Daiki's friend said.

Daiki tried to look at them walking out; they were wearing black. One girl with short black hair with purple highlights wore pale blue skinny jeans and a black T-shirt. Another girl was wearing a long black sweater, a black leather short skirt, and high leather boots. Her pure pinkish skin contrasted the black color very well, and her long, twinkling winter hair waving was very eye-catching.

"Is the long-haired girl cute?" Daiki's friend asked,

'That hair color.' Daiki thought.

"She is the talk of the town." He continued.

"Yeah, I heard she's AD major." Another friend of Daiki said.

"You'll see them at the meeting this weekend anyway. Stop longing," Daiki's friend teased Daiki because of his long pause and longing eyes.

"Hahaha," Daiki's friends laughed, and Daiki was smiling a little.

Evening party at the university hall: One university tradition for students was to interact with each other to exchange knowledge, culture, support, and everything else that the freshmen needed to acknowledge or not let them feel like outcasts or alone. The goal was to make them feel like family.

"It's time!! " the senior group leader said, standing and holding a glass of beer.

"Wooooo!!" The audience screamed both freshmen and seniors)

"It's time for our freshmen to get their SS*!!" (*Senior Supporter) The leader said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!!!" The audience screamed.

"You kids know us already, right!? In the morning session, we introduce ourselves to you, so it's time to let us get to know you better." The leader said,

"How are we gonna do that?" Another senior supported the role and acted innocently.

"We...will absolutely do it the reasonable way…" The leader smiled.

"And what is that?" The same senior supported the speech. 

"Our freshman will turn the beer bottle one by one, and it lands to whom…that senior will be your SS." The leader explained.

'Reasonable?' Killa thought.

"Very reasonable..."Maki sarcastically whispered to Killa.

All the seniors got up and circled around, then sat on the empty floor with an empty beer bottle in the middle of the big circle.

"Seniorssss, are you ready!!!?"

"Yessss!!"

"How about you, freshman!!!?"

"Yesss!!"

"Then start with---give me the name lists, please, hahaha,"

"Here, here,"

"Then start with...Jessica Jones. Double J!!"

'Double J?' Killa thought while standing with Maki.

"K" Maki leaned into Killa and called her.

"Hm?" She made the sound,

"Daiki's looking at you," Maki said to her, and Killa glanced a little at the guy with pink hair.

They finally met in the morning of the previous session, but they hadn't talked with each other much due to the activities that freshmen needed to do.

"SS Sarang SS hehe SS!!" The seniors sang while the bottle was wheeling.

"And land on…Mr. Ken!!" The leader announced, "Good job! Double J, you got yourself an SS! Now, please, you guys can step aside and go over there. It's time for you guys to get to know each other during our ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Both Killa and Maki said together.

"Next is Maki Satori,"

"Yes," Maki answered, walked into the middle of the circle, and bent herself down. It was good that she was wearing long black pants and a white, tight, long-neck, sleeveless shirt. It was totally safe from the other eyes.

"SS Sarang SS hehe SS!!"The seniors sang.

'I hope I can be her SS, ' Killa thought and teased herself.

"And it landed…Mr. Dai...oh no, Miss Liah!!"

'If Maki got Daiki senpai, it would be cool. They have known each other for so long...' Killa thought.

"Hi!" Maki bowed to her SS, with beautiful long blond hair.

"Hi! Let's sit over there." Maki's Senior supporter said to her brightly.

'She seems nice,' Killa thought.

"Next, Next.. Killa Lysander. What a beautiful last name." Killa walked forward and smiled a little. "Yes, indeed, you can step in the middle of the fortune wheel." The leader looked at Killa and showed his hand to the circle.

"Me-me-me," A guy sitting next to Daiki said to himself.

"Let it be me," Another guy said it softly to himself, but their expression was shown.

'Land on Daiki, please,' Maki wished in her mind.

"Is she your friend?" Maki' SS asked.

"Yes, she is," Maki said proudly,

"She's very pretty." Maki's SS said,

"Yes, It's the fact, Liah senior," Maki said,

"Hmm, you look so proud, haha," Liah laughed,

Killa was wearing black shorts and a red T-shirt. She stepped her left tight boot in front, keeled her right knee down, and wheeled the bottle.

"SS Sarang SS hehe SS!!" The song began.

Killa stood still and just waited for the bottle to stop, "Waaaaaa," And people cried with disappointment.

"What?" And the voice of the person whom the bottle landed on spoke up.

"Our dream freshman cough* cough* got Alex, the scariest of the AD majors. Woooooooooo"

'Scariest?' Killa thought.

"What did you just say?" Killa's SS asked,

"Hahahahah," The audience laughed.

"You guys can sit over there...So...Next!" Alex, Killa's Senior supporter, led her out of the circle and sat behind, near to Maki. And there was a silence between them.

"Your friend isn't a talkative person?" Liah asked Maki after witnessing the situation between the nearest couple.

"Ah, yes. Is she gonna be alright?" Maki asked.

"Alex also isn't talkative, but she's nice."

"Nice...didn't they just say she's the scariest?" Maki asked.

"Haha, yeah, sometimes.. She's very quiet. How do you say--she minds her own business, not others? But when someone pokes her, you know she's quite scary."

"Ha…Just like Killa," Maki laughed,

"Really? The quiet people are the scariest when they speak."

'Then...I think they might get along well…I hope,' Maki thought while looking worried.

"I'm Alex," Killa's Senior supporter introduced herself,

"I'm Killa," Killa said,

"What's your major?" She asked.

"Art & Design"

"In?"

"In Painting & Sculpture," Killa answered.

"Same as me. So, if you have any questions about classes, you can ask me. I might be able to help." She offered with a straight face but sounded genuine enough for Killa.

"Thank you, Alex Senior," Killa said,

"Um," She just made a sound. "What is your full name again?"

"Killa Lysander".

"Hm, I think I saw your name somewhere," she said. Then Killa was stunned, "In the art showroom?" she wasn't sure herself,

"Really? But I haven't done any assignments yet." Killa said,

"It's for the works that undergraduate students had sent to the faculty," she said,

"So it's our artwork's application?" Killa was curious.

"Yes, students who are accepted." She explained. 'I can't remember which one is hers,' Alex thought.

"Ah—" Killa made a sound and slightly smiled,

"I can show you there. I can take a look at your work, too."She frankly said to Killa.

"OK,"

"Give me your ID, messenger."

"Um, I don't have one," Killa said,

"How is it possible? Then how are you gonna text with your friends?" she was confused,

"I text them with a normal message, or I call...I only have one friend, so I don't need one." Killa said honestly.

"Hm...you're a loner more than me?" Alex promptly said it out loud.

'Loner?' Killa thought. "I guess,"

Alex looked at Killa like she had found her soulmate. She was ignorant about society, but she was unafraid of honesty.

"Anyway, you should have one for emergency," Alex suggested,

"Okay. Can you do it for me?" Killa gave her a phone.

"Um," she said, making a sound in her throat again. She grabbed Killa's phone. She tried not to peek around someone's phone, but she realized one thing: Killa didn't have any social apps, even the University's application. 'Wow...she's quite popular, but she doesn't have any regular social apps… her life contrasted with her looks, ' Alex thought and glanced at Killa slightly. "This is a messenger app. I already added my ID to yours."

"Thank you," Killa said and took her phone back,

"Text me when you need anything and for only important stuff."

"Okay, same for you, senior; feel free to text me." Kila smiled at her.

She was a bit stunned, "...ah, um,"

"Everyone, Everyone! Our time is up, but! We have the assignment for you. No need to worry; it's not hard at all. Freshmen and your SS need to get to know each other and learn about one another before the next meeting. We will have a game for you guys."

"Woahh,"

"The next coming up will be at the Grill Best Restaurant."

"Woooo!!!!!"

"So...please come and bring your A game because the winner will get a special prize!!"

"Woooo!!! yeah!!!"

"Then freshman, please get home safe, and for those who are drunk and can't even get up...just stay here. We will find a ride for you...don't worry. We will keep you safe!"

Clapppp!!!

People were clapping so loud,

"So, see you next time or around the campus!"

"Thank you!"

The night was getting darker, but Killa and Maki's mood was lighter than before. After the evening party, they were having fun by getting some drinks and conversing with other people, mostly sharing both sense and nonsense. And Killa got a new person to add to her life or at least to her phone. Killa stopped by the same old café for a minute and introduced a black cat to Maki before they headed to their places. Even Killa tried to convince Maki to have the cat as a pet, but Maki denied it so hard, not just because of the apartment owner but because Maki seemed more of a dog lover than a cat lover. The only cat that she opened up to was Killa.

Finally, Killa was in her sweet room. She was lying on her bed, relaxing after she had bathed. 'Should I try to find a part-time job?' Killa thought. She had been planning to have a part-time job since she came here, but she didn't know if any jobs around here opened up or which one would suit her. She wondered if she had gotten a job and if she would have time to do her class work and assignments.

But she made up her mind. She would do it anyway. No matter how difficult or how much time it took her to fall asleep, she felt so blessed to be in her sweet room, which had her own room and bed. Every single choice she made was from her. She chose everything for herself and this life.