4 Chapter Three

University of Athena is located to the West of England in the small town of Winterford. The University is known to be very private and isn't open to visitors. Situated in a valley, it is in the secluded part of the town surrounded by mountains, forests and a huge river. The river is what connects the university to the town. It is also the reason why it has continued to remain cut-off from the rest of the town.

Before we touched down in Manchester Airport, I quickly change from my pajamas into something that is a bit more formal but comfortable. I haveplanned to go directly to the university without making any pit-stops. I book an Uber from the airport and load my bags into it. The driver seems friendly enough and he tells me quite a bit about the town and tells me to watch out from the window as we enter Winterford.

We drive through the busy streets of the town and various smells and fragrances attack my senses as we pass through several restaurants and cafes. The vibrant town bustling with people makes me smile. The air around us gets chilly as we approach the hills. The winding roads reminds me of the Western Ghats of India and I already feel homesick. I wrap my arms around me in an attempt to feel less lonely.

The hills are breathtakingly beautiful. My eyes try to take in as much as possible from the vast forest area covered with alpine trees, silver birch, oak and maple trees on the either side of the road. We drive through some really dangerous curves for another hour before we can see the river. We stop behind a fleet of expensive cars, with posh looking girls around them, all of them parked in front of a jetty.

This must be River Olympus. There are already two boats waiting for us near the jetty. They check our acceptance letters before letting us step inside the boat. Some girls have already taken their seats. I sit behind turning back, as I take in the scenic beauty of the river that is in the middle of the forest and plug in my earphones to cut off all the chatter I could hear. The water is really cold as I run my fingers over the surface of the river, but it feels good. I watch the ripples follow my fingers and play a little game of catch-me-if-you-can with them.

Our little game comes to an abrupt end as the boat stops. We are instructed to get off the boat and go through the security check. We hike up for half a milefrom the bank and find ourselves in front of a huge iron gate with the university's logo of Goddess Athena on one side and God Ares on the other embedded into it.

There are female guards to our left and male guards to our right. Our luggage is put through the scanner for checking and the guards frisk us and check our acceptance letters again and slap a seal on them. The guards help us with the bags as they usher usinside the gate. There are a few girls who've comfortably settled inside the buggy. I load my bags and climb up to sit behind all alone.

As we begin to move I notice the uniformly trimmed trees lining up on the either side of the road. I turn to my left and notice that there is another buggy on the opposite side. I hear the chatter of the girls behind me and wonder what suddenly incited it. I look behind and see that there another buggy in front of ours. Huh. Nothing to chatter and giggle about. But then I look closely.

Boys.

Of course they would giggle at boys. When I turn back, I see that the buggy on our left has disappeared. How did they disappear? Did the others not notice? And then I suddenly realize that those different roads had converged into one and the one with the boys was the buggy that was on my left.

This isn't some supernatural TV series for someone to simply disappear without any reason.

I shake off my stupid thoughts as we approach the archway. The huge arch says 'University of Athena' in brass lettering. We get down at the threshold and the girls pick up their luggage and walk in.

Bloody hell! Looks like I died and went to heaven. Which could totally happen, thanks to my clumsiness.

The pictures do no justice to the University. It looks absolutely magnificentand gigantic just from the arch. I can't wait to find out how it actually looks from the inside. I bend down to touch the threshold with the tip of my fingers and touch it to my forehead.

I stand up straight and walk confidently. Feeling safe that I hadn't accidentally tripped over my own feet, I continued to walk towards the Administrative Block. Another student who passes by me points at my shoe and I realize that it's untied. I bend down to tie them and and think 'Wow. People here are really kind '. Just as I am about to stand up, I am knocked over by someone and I fall flat on my face.

Okay. I take it back.

I hear giggles behind me and struggle to get up with my bags all over me. I feel someone pull me up by my arms and make me stand upright. I brush off the dirt from my clothes and I hear a whisper near my ear.

"Welcome to Hell, princess."

I quickly turn around and notice a 6-feet-2-inches tall human towering over my 5-feet-3-inches tiny self. I immediately take a step back feeling intimidated. He smiles widely and I immediately hate him.

"If you're done murdering me in your head. Shall we move on?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Is that how you thank your friends who save you when you fall on your face?"

"Okay, look pretty boy. First of all, we aren't friends. And secondly, you don't deserve it after what you whispered in my ear."

"My name's Arthur. Arthur Ezra Jackson."

"What an old boring name. It's okay. We can't have it all. I'm Anaya Sharma. The one with a better name."

He smirks as he says, "At least I'm pretty like you mentioned."

Goddd! If only I could punch this stupid guy on his face.

He's not worth the consequences Anaya.

Thank goodness for the sub-conscious that exists within our minds. I have no idea how many people I would've attacked if not for this. I take a deep breath and calm myself. Deciding to not acknowledge his statement, I just turn and walk straight into the Administrative Block.

*NOTE- Explaining why Anaya touched the threshold and touched it to her forehead.*

It is a custom in India to touch the threshold of a religious place a place of learning before we enter. It's like paying our respects to the power that exists there before we step in.