N♂RMAL

07 | Friends

So I learned that focusing closely on my classes really helped distract me from my homesickness. I put in a lot of effort into my work—and even a little extra if I had time left over. I also went on walks occasionally to the park that Hunter took me to on my first weekend here. Another thing that I did was go to sleep really early. The sleep disabled my thoughts, if only for a few hours.

I think I worried Hunter with my patterns, but it was what worked for me. I could tell that he wanted me to talk about my problems, but I didn't want to. I was probably going to go home for the weekend to relieve some of the stress I was feeling. Especially since I only had one morning class on Fridays, I would have almost two whole days at home. Mom would be so proud of me for surviving a whole three weeks without her.

I smiled inwardly at the thought as I tugged at my old backpack straps. It was Tuesday, and I had two afternoon lectures for the remainder of my day—chemistry and psychology, both one-hundred level classes. I really enjoyed my psych class so far. Chemistry was a bit too much for me.

I still had about twenty minutes until class started, so I decided to drop by the dining hall to grab a cookie and something to drink. I hadn't eaten lunch, but I wasn't extremely hungry. Besides, the food was rather questionable here at times.

After paying for my giant cookie and a bottle of iced tea, I began making my way towards the science building. Almost all of the buildings on campus had several departments assigned to it since there were so many classes available to students.

The joy of liberal arts.

I smiled to myself. I think I was getting the hang of this liberal arts joke. I had heard so many already; I felt like it should almost be second nature at this point. All within the span of two and a half weeks too.

There were a couple people in the room already, so I quickly and quietly made my way to my normal seat in the second row, pressed against the wall. I had particularly liked this spot because I could see the board well and still gaze out the window if I wanted too.

I opened up my notebook and began doodling in the margins of the paper, getting ready for my in-class sketch time. I was feeling particularly fond of the universe at the moment, so I began drawing some planets that looked like Jupiter and Saturn, large bodies composed of swirly figures. I began dotting stars across the page.

The teacher came in and began lecturing in the midst of my doodles, so I dutifully took notes while he taught us the glories of atoms and molecules. It was still pretty basic, and I remembered covering most of the content so far in my high school chemistry class. Nevertheless, I still took notes and remembered to write down anything that sounded important.

By the end of class though, I had a very nice cosmic view of a few planets and even a little NASA satellite passing through. I tried to add in a little alien too, but I had quickly erased the little guy. I packed everything up alongside my classmates and followed the herd out the door. People were already lining the halls, ready to enter the room for their next class.

I walked across campus to the building where my psych class was held. I blinked as I entered the dark room, trying to get my eyes to adjust. A majority of the room was usually dark during this particular professor's lectures, and I had yet to figure out why. Perhaps it was just the nature of the room's lighting.

The professor came in moment after I got to my seat. He began to pull things out of his bag, including a mallet. I gave the object an odd look before continuing on with setting up my notes for the day's lecture. I then watched my professor set up for class. He pulled up the PowerPoint slideshow he was going to use and began playing some '80s punk rock for us to enjoy for the five minutes before class started. I smiled inwardly at his eccentric ways, but enjoyed them nonetheless.

Once the clock hit two, he began by stopping the music and welcoming everyone back to the classroom. I smiled; I definitely liked this class the best.

We spent the next hour and a half talking about research methods and ethics in psychology. We discussed case studies and various experiments. I almost didn't want the lecture to end because I was so enthralled. I had never thought of half of the things that were brought up in the hour and a half long class.

When the professor looked at the clock and saw the minute hand approaching three-thirty, he swore loudly and banged his fist on the table a few times while biting his lip. I tapped my pen against my notebook, seeing what he would say.

He decided on rushing through a few more slides before dismissing us, reminding us that he would send out these notes. We all packed up and went on our ways. I smiled politely and nodded at him as I left. He waved us all goodbye before beginning to pack up his own belongings.

I made my way out of the building and wandered around campus for a while, wondering where I should study. My bed sounded awfully inviting, but I knew that if I studied there, I would definitely fall asleep for a late afternoon nap. I sighed and adjusted the straps on my bag.

I dragged my feet to the library and sat myself down at one of the empty tables in the common area. I shrugged my backpack off quickly and laid my head on the table for only a moment. With an inward sigh, I pulled myself back up and pulled out my homework. My pencil quickly began flying over blank pages of paper, answering tons of questions about German grammar, chemical bonds, and Gilgamesh.

About two hours later, I was exhausted. I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was a quarter to six, and my stomach immediately picked up on the fact. I still had about half an hour of work to do, so I powered through the problems I had before slamming my pencil down. I pushed my hands through my hair and huffed out a tired sigh with my eyes closed.

"Rough day?"

I peeked an eye open to confirm the voice that was talking to me. Hunter was standing there with a teasing smile gracing his thin lips. I chuckled mirthlessly.

"I guess you could say that."

"Well, how about taking a break and grabbing some dinner with me and some friends?"

I wasn't particularly interested in eating around a bunch of rowdy college students, but for the sake of keeping Hunter happy, I agreed. He waited for me as I packed up my bag and slung it over a shoulder. As we walked out of the library and towards the dining hall, we talked about our days and complained about classes. Hunter had even laughed when I told him about the mallet my psych professor brought into class today.

"He didn't use it at all, so it just sat on the desk for the whole time."

He continued to laugh as we entered the hall. We grabbed trays and piled plates of food onto them. I tried to stay with food that looked pretty safe, but Hunter went all out. I mentally sent a prayer to whatever deity could possibly hear me that Hunter's stomach would survive.

He led me over to a large table that held probably a bit over ten people. We completed the circle, and Hunter introduced me to everyone. I meekly waved and apologized in advance for forgetting their names. Most of them let out a chuckle while the other smiled like chipmunks with their mouths stuffed with nuts.

I ate in silence with Hunter joked around with all of the people around him. Crazy stories were being passed around, some of which made me smile in amusement. College students were weird, I concluded as I finished off my glass of water. They were all good people though, and all of them seemed smart—in their own ways.

When I felt like I had been sitting around for long enough, I excused myself and said bye to everyone and that it was really nice to meet all of them. One of the girls told me that I was welcome to sit with them anytime. I flushed slightly and thanked her. Hunter made a move to get up as well and told his friends that he had some stuff to take care of so he was going to follow me out.

We left the table while the others continued to laugh and talk loudly, nearly shouting in their merriment. I smiled faintly as I tucked my tray into the dish return area. I made sure my backpack was securely on my back as Hunter put away his tray. The two of us left the hall together.

"I like your friends, Hunter."

I could feel his eyes on me, and I could tell that he was smiling. It sounded in his voice when he spoke.

"I do too."