2 Orion Trudger

Year 2022, Earth

Bell was heard on the campus marking the end of class. Professor shuffled and collected her notes and walked out of the class.

Orion was pushed by his friends outside the class, all teasing him for his busy schedule.

"You need to come tomorrow, no lame excuses like you are busy or you are at work!"

Said the brown-haired guy with an ear-piercing.

His name was Oliver. A cool dude, friendly with many guys and girls. His interest was in traveling on his favorite bike with his friends. Though he claimed that he has a girlfriend but no one believes him because of a lack of proof.

"Yes, All our close friends will be there. You need to reach on time. Otherwise, we will start to exclude you from our parties from now on." threatened a handsome boy in a denim jacket.

Ryan aka pretty boy. He was one of Orion's close buddies. He is super handsome among all friend groups thus is often jealously hailed as a pretty boy.

He is rich, very rich but never openly showed off or disclosed about his family. This was proven when he helped some guys out of financial problems by just one phone call.

He has an interest in bikes, cars basically all automobiles but himself owns a semi decade-old car that has no guarantee of when its engine will die midway. But instead of replacing, he always goes for self-repair, claiming that he loved his car.

Orion exaggeratedly waved his hand to shut them down from speaking loudly,

"Okay, I will be there. I have already asked for an early day off tomorrow at my part-time job."

A girl with a top and jeans swung her bag at the trio trying to hit them but all of them expertly dodged it.

"You need to invite me too."

She is Nydia known for her interest in computer games and such things. When you need to copy or commission your project, she is one to call but of course service is not free.

She is also part of this subset group of the whole class. You can find a single earbud always in her one ear, playing music.

Ryan turned to her and said,

"You and Wren are always invited. You will come but you have to make sure Wren comes too."

Wren, the girl in question was still inside the class cross-checking her notes for the class. She was a shy, intelligent, and ideal college girl.

Wearing a proper dress of white top and skirt with her glasses. She is a favorite of Professors therefore appointed as class representative(CR).

She sometimes hangs out with Orion and the group but usually avoids big meetups with the whole class involved.

"She will probably not come.." replied Nydia.

Ryan assured,

"Don't worry. You can just ask her to see if she agrees."

Ike came out of the class and ran after the just departed Orion. He was also a close friend of his. Usually, he is always late for classes and sometimes sleeps in them.

He is in the literary group. He is an avid reader and has read so many novels and books that he himself is not sure if reading has become his hobby or drug. He is also an anime and movie fan, therefore, spends most of his time indoors.

He caught up to Orion and tapped on his shoulder,

"Wait for me idiot, you made me run for so long."

Orion stopped to let him recover his breath,

"I think you should join the tracks team to improve your stamina."

"No...Man. I am fine with my body and happy with my circumstances. No need for any kind of upgrade."

Orion shook his head in pretty disgust,

"You will die single then. If you make some six-packs then maybe you will get the confidence to confess to your crush from another class."

"Shut up. If it is that simple, why don't you join the gym? "

He gave the proper look to Orion. Orion Trudger was a six feet tall guy with long black hair. His common brown eyes and sharp jaw gave him an above-average look but not so super handsome type.

His Asian descent was common from his angular face but instead of small eyes, he had the gift of unusually big ones which perfectly suited his face. He could not be called cute but could hold the term handsome pretty good.

"Although you are not fat or skinny, probably on the leaner side it will be a plus to have six-packs like Ryan for your body."

"I don't have anyone of my liking still. If I had one I would have made a move on her long ago. Not like you who is watching from the shadows."

Ike recovered his stamina and began walking towards the university gate.

"Tch...lies.."

Orion walked alongside him to the outer road where both of them took the public bus to their destination.

"Wait, I am going to my part-time job. Where are you going?"

Ike smirked, " Today is the release date of my favorite Novel. So I am going to grab a copy as soon as I can from Bill's shop."

After ten minutes, arriving at his destination Orion got off the bus and walked towards the familiar street.

He soon found his rented apartment and got inside. He threw his back aside and went into the shower for a quick bath.

For as long as he could remember he was living alone. Well not as long, as he had few memories of his dad and mom. He knew he had traveled almost the whole world with them.

But not knowing the details, one day his dad and mom went and never returned. He was told that they got in an accident and passed away. It was at that time he was living in a remote part of Scotland.

He was a reserved child so he believed it, he didn't even demand to see their bodies. From then on he was used to living alone. His father left him in charge of a neighbor who regularly looked after him.

When he became an adult, the first thing he did was to move away to the states. Because now not his neighbor was alive nor his mood to live there in the memories of childhood.

He started working part-time in various areas to afford his bills and studies. Also with scholarships and grants from University , it was easy to manage.

Everything went well when two years ago he found a job at a local famous restaurant as a chef helper.

He noticed that he loved to make food and that the head chef also patiently taught him all his skills. Day by day he absorbed the knowledge and practiced to harden his skills till he was able to make food as good as a three-star chef.

Now he is working in the same restaurant but as a side chef promotion from helper due to his skills. He and that old chef now work on quality dishes boosting the reputation of the 'Only Food' restaurant.