17th of November, Tuesday morning.
Waking up to the sound of the alarm, Nathan jumped out of bed and instinctively felt for the lacerations on his upper half. Sighing in relief, he recalled how he never had injuries cross over to this side and fell flat on the bed again.
“Haa…” Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Nathan absentmindedly stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Alas, a few moments were more than enough time for drowsiness to kick back in. Closing his eyes, flashbacks from last night’s events appeared in his mind.
*Beep! Beep!*
Being the good alarm that it actually was, it constantly annoyed Nathan’s eardrums with its incessant beeping sound. Forcing him to wake up, if he ever wanted to turn it off. “I get it, I get it…” He muttered half-jokingly and hurriedly stood up as an urgent need to pee overcame him. ‘Bathroom, bathroom,’ running for the sole door other than the house’s entrance, Nathan took care of his morning needs and moved to make a light breakfast.
“Hmm~” humming a happy tune, he toasted the bread with some butter before using the spatula to scoop an egg frying in the pan. Turning off the stove, he placed everything on a small plate and moved to the kitchen table.
Nathan usually searched the net for interesting stuff while eating breakfast. However, starting from yesterday, he had another matter to take care of; copying symbols. ‘It shouldn’t take more than half an hour to copy the new page,’ lamenting inwardly, Nathan made quick work of the food and got down to scribbling.
Twenty minutes later, he placed the pen down and marveled at his masterpiece. It was only one page this time around, but Nathan was more than satisfied with it. Be it the hieroglyphs, ideograms, or letters, they were all neatly copied down, perfectly arranged, and more than anything else, readable.
‘No, seriously, when did I get so good at memorizing stuff,’ reflecting on his newfound ability, Nathan rummaged his backpack for the two pages he had written yesterday, opting to compare them instead. Alas…
“It’s gone…” Despite emptying his bag of all things, Nathan was one paper short, and to make matters even worse? It wasn’t the one where he simply scribbled ideograms on... ‘I definitely remember putting it in my bag, where could it be…’ Pinching hard between his eyebrows, a ridiculous situation began forming inside his mind. ‘I didn’t drop it when professor Corwell showed up in the library, did I?’ No matter how hard he thought about it, the library was the only place he could have lost the damn page at.
‘Congratulations Nathan, you just screwed yourself,’ praying that the history maniac of a professor hadn’t found that particular piece of paper, Nathan decided to make a stop at the University’s library. ‘He shouldn’t just pick a random note off a table, right?! Right? For if he did… No, if he just took a single glimpse at the contents…’
The worst of situations popped one after the other inside Nathan’s head, making him shudder. Shaking them off, Nathan mumbled through gritted teeth. “I have to get it back!” Little did he know that professor Corwell not only had his hands on the note, but he was also halfway through translating its contents as well.
‘Sigh…’ Gazing aimlessly at the ceiling, Nathan gave up on the matter and decided to move on with his day. After all, even if he was worried, there was nothing he could do about it. ‘I should fill in the department registration form…’ Having gone through this adversity, Nathan was reminded of the promise he made to Ms. Lexie. It was already long overdue but she shouldn’t be too grumpy if he just delayed it by one day. Should she?
This being the second time today that Nathan searched for a single piece of paper, he was surprised to find it lying inside one of his textbooks. ‘At least I found you…’ staring at the registration form melancholically, he quickly filled in his academic id, department of choice, and cellphone number for whatever reason.
‘I should get going,’ having completed most of his morning routine, Nathan opted to leave early. After all, he had to stop by the library and didn’t want to dilly dally if he could afford it. A few minutes later, he picked the heavy coat off the coat rack and tied his shoe lashes.
*Clink*
Unlocking the front door, Nathan’s gaze fell at the gray sky. ‘Just like Erion’s…’ he thought and chuckled at the ridiculousness of his words. “I should take an umbrella with me.” Thinking it might rain later, Nathan picked an umbrella he had previously left on the doorway entrance and locked the door behind him.
~~~
Nathan’s house wasn’t too far from the university, but it couldn’t be called close either. Usually, he left a little earlier to be on time, but even then, a good twenty to twenty-five minutes walk was required for him to reach the university grounds.
With a heavy downpour starting the moment his feet left the apartment complex, Nathan would have to make that twenty-five minutes walk under heavy rainfall. Luckily or not, the bus stop was right outside where he lived and coincidentally, the bus for his university was also there.
Unwilling to get drenched, Nathan decided it was worth hitching a ride today. Besides, he had to make an urgent stop by the library anyway. With all those reasons accounted and calculated for, Nathan boarded the bus.
‘How unfortunate…’ He mulled inwardly as the bus’s door closed. Fishing off a few pennies from his pocket, Nathan paid the yawning middle-aged bus driver whose side hair had long turned white and searched the back row for an empty seat to sit. Alas, the day had just started and, while most people took their car to work, there were still many who opted to use public transportation.
‘One more reason, why I hate taking the bus…’ Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Nathan quickly gave up scanning for an open seat. Then, to everyone else’s indignation, he tried to squeeze his way through the sardine-packed crowd and rest his back against one of the plastic-plated walls.
A bunch of irritated grumbles later, Nathan’s back was finally clinging on one of the walls, resulting in a stable enough footing to unfurl the jumbled mess his earphones had turned into. Eager to filter out the noise, Nathan plugged them into his phone and got the music playing.
‘Finally some peace and quiet,’ he thought and took a glance around the busy bus. Just like the sardines they were, people of all kinds were crowding the place. A woman soothing a crying kid, a businessman talking on the phone, a school kid chuckling while scrolling one video after the other, and even a grandpa pretending to be asleep while turning left and right in his seat.
Nathan’s gaze ended up falling on a girl standing on the opposite wall with her arms clutching tightly at her bag. Was she afraid someone would steal it or something? He wondered as their gazes met each other for the fraction of a second. ‘Was she looking at me?’ Was the first thing to cross his mind as he took in her features.
While the girl wasn’t a remarkable beauty - like Ayla - she had pretty common hazelnut hair, a small nose, and a pretty round face. Her amber eyes were hidden behind the reflection of her glasses, making it impossible to discern what kind of expression she sported. However, all the inexperienced Nathan could do was avert his gaze, close his eyes and relax while listening to music.
Under normal circumstances, Nathan would never use public transportation. Be it the exorbitant ticket cost or the crowded atmosphere, there were more than enough reasons to deter him from using the bus. However, if situations like this occurred, he could take a step back and use the bus now and then... Alas, today was probably one of those days where the universe conspired against him. From a giddy smile, his expression instantly turned sour.
‘Fuck! Who was it?! Who let a fart out in such enclosed space!’ Cursing inwardly, he endured the acidic smell of rotten eggs and prayed the next stop was for him to take. Alas, there was still a good five minutes before Nathan reached his destination.
~~~
‘That has to be him, right?’ Thought curiously the girl aboard the bus. The man that managed to grab her attention had a figure leaner than most, curly pitch-black hair, and deep dark eyes like the abyss itself. The girl would have categorized him as mildly attractive if not for his slightly malnourished and hunching figure. That is, if she was into categorizing people, which she adamantly claimed she wasn’t.
Needless to say, the man was none other than Nathan who had already closed his eyes due to embarrassment. ‘How sad,’ it wasn’t a bad thing though, otherwise, he would have been more than a little surprised when he saw her expression filled with pity.
‘Poor guy, I don’t know what you did, but you shouldn’t have caught Professor Corwell’s attention…’ Retrieving her gaze, the girl let out a small sigh and steadied her glasses on the bridge of her nose. As for how she knew of Nathan’s predicament? That was because she was one of the few students in the History Department.
‘What! Who was it?! Who farted!’ Without a change in expression, she cursed inwardly in a manner similar to Nathan’s and wished for the bus to reach the university grounds faster.
All the while, the grandpa pretending to be asleep had an evil grin on his face, as if he was guilty of something.
~~~
‘I finally made it,’ stepping out of the bus, Nathan took a deep breath of fresh air before swinging his umbrella open. November was often referred to as the month of rains in Nathan’s parts. Since it was neither cold enough to snow nor hot enough to be sunny, it was mostly moody days with occasional downpours. Hence the title.
‘Should I go to the library or Ms. Lexie’s office first?’ contemplating for a brief moment, Nathan decided to head for the library first. The department registration form would have to wait until later.
With that thought in mind, Nathan headed to the library. “I hope the librarian found my note,” he mumbled lightly while praying for a miracle to happen. Though he wasn’t confident, the librarian occasionally collected student notes, just in case they weren’t meant for the trash and were simply forgotten. If no one interested in them didn’t show up the next few days, they would then throw them out.
There were three possible scenarios Nathan could think of; the first and the most likely, the librarian found Nathan’s note and kept it just in case. She usually did that, just in case idiots like Nathan forgot an important paper for their studies. Two, she found the note and considered it useless, therefore throwing it away. And three, the worst-case scenario, Professor Corwell discovered his scribbles, found them interesting, and decided to drag Nathan into the History Department whether he liked it or not...
Gulping down the lump forming in his throat, Nathan coughed twice due to the piercing cold and made his way into the library. The moment he set foot into the massive building, his nostrils were invaded by the sweet and musky smell of books, relaxing his very being.
Unwilling to get yelled at, he left his wet umbrella by the entrance and moved closer to the librarian’s office. “Excuse me,” he uttered loudly enough to grab the librarian’s attention. With an eyebrow raised, the woman who must have been in her fifties turned to regard Nathan. “The young man from yesterday,” she said matter of factly and continued typing on a century-old computer again. “Anything you need?” Her tone was a little cold and detached, making Nathan wonder if he had somehow drawn her ire.
‘Did I do something?’ Thinking back, there was indeed one thing Nathan could think of. Therefore, he decided to apologize before bringing up his request. “I am really sorry, something urgent came up yesterday and I had to leave without cleaning up the mess I created. Is there something I can help you with to return the favor?”
It wasn’t Nathan’s job to return the books to their shelves, but it wasn’t the librarian’s job to pick out some books for him either. And, since she had gone out of her way to help him search, Nathan felt a little bad for leaving a mess behind.
“At least you have some manners, boy,” her strict gaze melted into one of amused surprise as she pointed to a cart filled with books. “Help me sort these out to their shelves and we’ll call it even.”
‘There are more than fifty books on there! How is that even?!’ Needless to say, Nathan didn’t voice out his thoughts and nodded in return. Partly because he wanted to somehow return the favor for picking out books for him, and partly because asking for the note was of paramount importance.
Looking at the time, he still had a good forty minutes before the lecture. It shouldn’t take too long if the two of them worked together, ‘I hope this doesn’t take too long…’
