Chapter 3.7 – Sims University

The shuttle ride to the campus was long and very boring. I took the opportunity to read all the programs and information booklets the university had sent me, but pretty soon I had exhausted all forms of entertainment, and resorted to sleeping the rest of the journey away.

By the time we arrived at the campus itself, it was well into the afternoon. A branded taxi conveniently delivered me right to the doorstep of my new house, a small one-bedroom I had rented for the semester. Dorm living would certainly have been cheaper, but I had enough saved up for this, and besides, with my study habits, I was used to a certain degree of solitude.

The house itself was pretty perfect. I had only looked at images of it online before now, but was relieved to find that it was just as good as I had hoped, if not better. There was an open living room with a T.V. and a small kitchen area in the corner, with a tiny bathroom adjacent.

The bedroom was simple but pleasant, and happily equipped with everything I would be needing for my studies, including a desk, and a mirror for practising my speechmaking skills.

The first evening before classes began the next day was devoted to freshman orientation. I wasn’t too interested in free stuff or invitations to frat parties, but I had heard that orientation was a good place to get acquainted with classes and professors, which I definitely was interested in. So, after I had unpacked all my luggage, I cycled my rented bicycle down the street to the Student Union building.

Inside I found, predictably, a bunch of booths advertising the different campus clubs, many of which were already surrounded by chattering students. Since I had elected to compress my course into three semesters rather than the usual six, I doubted that I would have very much time for extracurricular activities, so I skipped the free posters and hacky sacks and headed upstairs instead.

The upper floor of the Student Union was devoted to what appeared to be a common recreation room, with tables for pool and ping-pong, and arcade games scattered around the walls. There were several people milling around, two of whom I guessed were professors, based on how, well, old they looked compared to the students around them. I hastened to introduce myself.

Both professors were nice enough, but I soon discovered that neither was a member of the Communications faculty, so it was unlikely I would have much to do with either of them over the course of my studies.

Slightly disappointed, I figured I would just have to wait until class tomorrow to meet my professors like everyone else. I pulled my textbook out of my bag and sat down in a corner, determined to still get ahead wherever I could.

The content was fascinating, and I devoured the book with the passionate fervour I had become known for back in high school. By the time I finally looked up from the pages several hours later and glanced out the window, the sky was already dark.

I shivered, remembering stories I had heard about the sorts of things that happened on university campuses after dark, and decided to head home as quickly as I could. I had chained my bicycle to one of the racks outside the building, so at least I had a reliable means of transportation aside from walking.

It was fully dark by the time I reached home. I made sure to shut and lock the front door on my way inside, knowing that Luc would go ballistic if he knew I was compromising my safety in any minute way. The day had been more tiring than I had expected. Glad that I had thought to include some basic groceries with my luggage, I pulled a box of mac-and-cheese out of the cupboard and cooked for myself for the first time in my adult life.

It wasn’t too bad, if I did say so myself. Very little skill required in the making, but still. After I had finished eating, I pulled out my textbook again for a bit of last-minute studying before my first class tomorrow.

Luc would have said I was reverting back to my old homework-obsessed ways… I smiled at the thought of him, and glanced hopefully at the clock. It was really too late to call. I knew he would want me to call him no matter how late it was, but on balance, I preferred to let him get his sleep.

When my eyelids started to grow heavy and I found myself rereading the same sentence over and over again, I shut the textbook and put it safely away in my backpack ready for the next day, promising myself that I would call Luc after class and bore him to death with details of everything I was learning. He was my last thought as I got into bed, and drifted to sleep with a smile.

Day Two.

7 a.m. was really an unreasonably early time to schedule a class, I decided as I left the house the next morning. Granted, it was only 6 a.m. at the time – I didn’t know my way around yet, and I wasn’t taking any chances with tardiness on my first day.

By the time I had traversed what felt like the entire campus with my nose in my map, searching for the right building, it was already 6:45. Several of my classmates were already gathered outside the door waiting for the professor to arrive when I got there.

The second (and final) class of the day was directly after the first – thankfully in an adjacent building – and ended around midday, which meant that I had the entire afternoon off to do what I liked.

Under ordinary circumstances ‘doing what I liked’ would tend to entail a good, solid, six-hour study session, but on this occasion, I had more important things on my mind.

“Hello? Di?”

“Luc!” Man, it felt good to hear his voice. With everything that had been going on, the 36 hours since we had last seen each other felt like an eternity.

“Di!” I could hear the smile in his voice. “How’s it going? How’s uni? Tell me everything.”

Grinning from ear to ear, I did my best to recount to Luc everything that had happened in my first two days on campus, even pausing midway through to send him some pictures of the house. He laughed when I told him about burning through half of one textbook the previous night, and the sound made my heart flutter.

“I swear you spend more time studying than sleeping,” he said. “Doesn’t it wear you out?”

I shook my head. “Not at all. It’s fascinating,” I told him sincerely.

He chuckled again. “If you say so. Just promise me you’ll have some fun while you’re there as well. I don’t want you to overwork my girlfriend.”

I blushed and smiled. “I’ll try,” I promised.

We talked on the phone for hours. By the time we said our goodbyes and hung up, it was past nightfall, and I hadn’t got any studying done. I grinned. Mission accomplished, Luc would say.

I hadn’t showered since the morning I had left home, so decided to test out the new facilities before getting an early night for a change, telling myself I would have plenty of time to study in the morning.

Day Three.

My first practical class. My classmates and I borrowed radio equipment from the Communications department, and dragged it out to the courtyard to practise our journalistic skills.

It was not precisely within my area of interest, but I figured any practice in public speaking would be valuable in the career I wanted to pursue. As I busied myself with an impromptu broadcast of campus goings-on, several passersby paused to watch in curiosity for a few minutes, which I took as a good sign.

When the class ended and most of us were in the process of putting away the equipment, a young man whom I recognised from one of my lectures approached me.

“Can I help you?” I asked, trying to sound polite as we shook hands.

“I just wanted to say hi. I’ve seen you around in some of my lectures. The name’s Pete.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Diana.” I smiled uncertainly in response to his cheerful grin.

Pete and I chatted on for a bit, exchanging pleasantries and talking about how we were each finding the classes and professors. I found out that Pete was also in the first year of his degree, but he was retaking a couple of classes to try and improve his grades from the previous semester. Privately, I became even more determined to get the best grades possible so that I could be sure of not having to repeat anything. My ambitious mind was already restless with big plans for the future, and I wanted to finish this course as quickly as I could.

When I returned home that afternoon, I immediately sank into the armchair nearest the window and pulled my textbook out of my bag. As much as I enjoyed meeting new classmates, and especially as much as I loved talking to Luc, I couldn’t allow anything to distract me from my studies for too long. I was sure Luc would understand – after all, the sooner I topped this course, the sooner I could be back home with him.

After the first few days, I started to settle into the rhythm of university life and relax a bit more. Most afternoons were spent either poring over textbooks or staring at a screen for hours on end, trying to meet an endless stream of assignment deadlines.

Unlike most of my classmates, it seemed, I was finding the course highly enjoyable, and was always one of the few taking attentive notes in lectures rather than nursing a hangover or trying to catch up on lost sleep.

Because of this, I soon became a favourite with all of my professors. I never considered myself much of a teacher’s pet, in spite of having the name thrown around me several times daily in high school; I just worked hard, and if the teachers liked me for it, well, that was just an added bonus.

So I wasn’t at all concerned, and was maybe even a little excited, when my Political Science professor came to visit me at my house on campus one evening.

“Professor Cadence! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Okay, so maybe I was a bit of a suck-up. Everyone has their weaknesses.

She smiled at me in return. “May I come inside, Diana?”

“Of course!” I stepped aside to allow her into the house and shut the door behind her. Once inside, she turned to face me with an unusually serious expression on her face.

“I realise you’re probably very busy with studies,” she said, eyeing the textbook on the coffee table, “so I’ll try to make this quick. You know I love having you in my classes, Diana.” I nodded and smiled, waiting for her to continue.

“You’re a wonderfully intelligent, attentive student. Your grades are absolutely exemplary, and you should be very proud of yourself.” I nodded again, still silent. As nice as it was being showered with praise, I knew that couldn’t have been the only reason for her to take the trouble to come visit me in person. She looked at my hopeful expression, and sighed. “Be that as it may, I and some of your other professors are concerned that you are neglecting certain important aspects of your life at university.”

I frowned. Was there some coursework I had missed? A practical lesson I had forgotten to attend? Noting my confusion, she continued, “To be precise, your social activities.” I stared at her in surprise. What did my social activities have to do with anything? “Here at Sims University, we pride ourselves on both excellence and well-roundedness,” she went on. “I am concerned that, in your pursuit of academic excellence, you have been neglecting to make friends or participate in any kind of club activities. You must realise that while your studies are important, a well-rounded university experience is perhaps even more so.”

I nodded, beginning to understand what she was talking about. It was the same thing Luc had tried to tell me, when he made me promise to ‘have fun’ in the midst of all the studying. For the first time, I began to seriously consider their point.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Professor Cadence asked me, gently. I nodded, trying to smile.

“I understand, Professor. I’ll do better, I promise.”

She shook her head. “It’s not a matter of ‘doing better’, Diana. We just want to see you happy, and making the most out of your time here.” I nodded again. “Well, I can see you have a lot to do, so I’ll take my leave. I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”

I grinned. “Wouldn’t miss it, Professor.”

After she had gone, I pulled out my phone and dialled Luc. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey.”

“Hey, Luc. Is it too late to be calling?”

He sighed placidly. “It’s never too late for you to be calling, Di. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I told him sincerely. “My professor just came to visit me.”

“Let me guess, to tell you how amazing a student you are?”

I laughed. “That, yes, but also… she wanted to talk to me about social stuff. She thinks I need to make more friends, get involved in clubs, that sort of thing.”

“So, basically what I’ve been trying to tell you?”

“Uh… yeah. Basically that.”

“So, are you going to listen this time?” He wasn’t upset, but I still felt guilty for not keeping my promise to him.

“Yeah, I’ll try,” I promised. And I meant it this time.

As the weeks went by, I did my best to keep my promises to Luc and Professor Cadence, and put more effort into making friends in classes. Not being a particularly social person by nature, I tried to make it easier by telling myself that all this ‘networking’ would be useful later down the line.

To that end, I was also spending a lot of time nowadays in front of the mirror in my bedroom, practising my public speaking skills and trying to work out the best way to make a good impression on looks and manner alone. It had never been my favourite thing to do, but if I wanted to make a difference in the political scene, I knew that at a bare minimum, I would have to be able to speak confidently and introduce myself to strangers while appearing calm even if I didn’t feel it. And it was not in my nature to do anything by halves.

So I practised.

And practised.

And practised.

And practised.

And while I was practising my speaking skills, and making friends in class, and keeping on top of all my coursework, I was still somehow finding time to talk to Luc almost every afternoon. He was my lifeline, a constant reminder of why I was here and what I had to look forward to when it was over. And as much as I was enjoying university, there was a part of me that just couldn’t wait to be back home, with him. The sooner, the better.