Blood Circulation (or If I Had Your Name)

Chapter II: Get Underway

"Heeeey! Big guy. C'mon, Ray-Ray, attendance will be taken soon. Last one there admits to eating raw cabbages!" Laura stuck out her tongue before she dashed away, leaving me terribly in love. How could someone so adorable have such a beautiful voice? I tried to say something cool – tried to even feel my body at all. Has time moved slower or is it just me?

"I... I love..."

NO! Don't blow it up, you fucking idiot, I mentally slapped myself. There will never be another moment like this, where the universe actually listens to me for once. In a thousand shitty instances, beautiful opportunities such as this are few and far between. Right, I gotta calm my anxious ass, and imagine myself as the man Laura deserves (I honestly hope), and if Hal noticed my outfit, I bet she already has. You can do this, Wyeth. You conquered grade school and high school after all. College is a phase of opportunity. Maybe. I'm not sure really. What is life anyways, huh?

So, off I went to the corvette where Laura ran towards, and, upon reaching the deck, noticed that the corvette was smaller than I previously thought. Smaller, in fact, than the ones I read from books dad often bought me. It must have been changed to fit the standards of the university for extra-curricular activities, like today's field trip. There were small flags hung on the ship with the university's logo: along the edges of the white crest were eight dark symbols composed of a tiny circle within a circle, an apple, a thunderbolt, two leaves – one in a convex and other in a concave angle – almost touching their tips, three standing wolves, a star, a crescent moon, and an hour-glass. In the middle were three opened books bearing the phrases, "Truth, Conviction, Opportunity"; the crest encircled by several olive branches. Aspire's flag isn't waving too far either: the logo still sports the tiny circle within a circle motif since it's House Minuchin's symbol, but has a triangular figure within the circle composed of three interlaced arcs, or a trefoil knot if you will.

From what I can recall from one of my encyclopedias, that huge building in the middle of this ship must be the ship's accommodation, which is composed of multiple decks, normally labeled in proper order as B Deck to C Deck, and each of those decks has a function: from a gymnasium, offices, and recreation rooms to the sleeping quarters of each man employed on this ship. The ship's accommodation has been changed a lot, so much so that the first few decks looked like an attractive canteen for the students, guests, and crew with its wood-paneled floors and modern furnishings of simple white. A beautiful combination of vintage and modernity. Above it is what I assume to be the bridge, with all the types of machinery to oversee the ship's navigation systems. And, judging from the fancy pamphlet the university distributed to advertise the field trip yesterday, there is a special area within the canteen that houses ancient swords, pistols, uniforms, and relics, with actual dates of when they were used. A small museum to be precise. I'm gonna geek hard when I see them.

In the presence of so much history, and having Laura as my date to enjoy this day, dare I say, I am super excited that I could just capsize. I hope I didn't jinx myself when I thought of that. Which reminds me. Where is she? Could she be among those groups of students gathered at the stern where the landing pad had been?

As I neared them, I noticed a portly man of a brown palette with a beard and long combed hair. His attire consisted of a white doctor's blazer (I think it is. My eyesight has been shit lately), a black shirt, gray jeans, and leather shoes. I might sound like an asshole but his voice doesn't match his face at all, which was honeyed and soothing to the ears, while his face looked like the average student during finals week.

"Ah, here is the last one: Wyeth Ray U. Banen. Pleased to see you could make it with us," said the portly man, who I now recognized as Dr. Frunggas, who likes to roam the university halls with his signature medical blazer. According to what my other teachers say, he rarely leaves home without it. I remember my classes with him as the professor. Every so often during lectures, he always talks about his supposed seven doctorate degrees, and how it has improved his perception in understanding the deeper humor and intrigue of life and modern-day sitcoms and series. Sometimes I'd catch him watching his series at the university's canteen, sometimes in tears or fits of anger. Sometimes both.