That Freaking Marcus Baker

Prologue

Marcus Baker was that type of guy, whose mind was always locked from unwelcomed guests and if you wanted to get there, you had to receive a personal invitation.

An arrogant perception of the world, ignoring all sorts of rules and prohibitions, oversized clothes combined with a classic coat and black coffee without milk in gloomy weather – this is how the black-haired guy appeared in front of people who watched him on the sly while falling in love or condemning him.

People said that he was a sociopath, who preferred his own world to the real one. But if it was the truth, then why was his presence literally everywhere? Seriously: in the middle of university's corridors with fellows; in every corner of the campus with an endless pack of cigarettes; at the parties with barely familiar girls; and, finally, in my bedroom on the second floor of the dormitory?!

Everyone talked about Marcus. Surely, they did. He was the most mysterious and bewitching guy of the uni, one of the best seniors, nevertheless, he spotted local café more often than the classes. He was too complex to comprehend. See, Marcus felt like the research in History that seemed quite easy at first to do, but over time you began to hate the topic because it turned out to be too damn confusing and complicated. Thus, Marcus Baker was my personal History research.

Along with that, his whole essence tasted like a great expensive cologne, which, when first sprayed, involuntarily fell on your lips and initially seemed obscenely bitter and unbearable. But then it opened up, became brighter and more impressive, until it disappeared from all your receptors, leaving in your soul the sad realization that you won't ever find such a cologne anywhere else. I hate such kinds of perfume. And I hate Marcus Baker, too. But I'll tell you these things and much more a little bit later.

Long story short, this is a story about how I got to a foreign university by exchange, found friends and enemies there, as well as all sorts of problems, and fell in love with the most obnoxious young man in my life. I promised not to pay that much attention to him, but I have to admit that freaking Marcus Baker deserves it.