3 Budding Friendships (1)

We don't have a choice when we fall for someone. Either we hit rock bottom

Or we keep falling, resisting the wind,

And going with it at the same time.

- kris ( _thestubbornheart_ )

Tamsyn sat still for a moment and slowly turned around with a sheepish smile. A young man who seemed to be in his twenties was leaning against the table meant for teachers. His whole demeanor gave off an authoritative aura.

" Hello, Professor. Is the break already over?" Syn asked with a big forced smile.

"It's been long over and you are still in the mood to gossip, huh!?" The man asked in a serious tone.

"Of course not, Professor."

"Then what were you doing, Ms. Curiosity?" He came to her seat and sat down.

'Huh!? What's going on?'

"Don't you want to know about the Alpha? Why don't you sit down?" He asked with a sudden mischievous smile.

"So you are not the Professor after all." She said in a reproaching manner.

" Do I look old enough to be the Professor?" He asked in a mock hurt tone.

"Of course. You look as if you are in your forties." Syn replied with a straight face.

His face showed that he was shocked to the core. Syn tried to hold in her laughter but failed.

"I'm just messing with you. Tit for tat, buddy." She sat down beside him. "I'm Syn. And you are?"

"Kael." He shook her outstretched hand. "Why do you want to know about the Alpha?"

" Maybe because I haven't met him. You know, the desire to discover the unknown." She shrugged. "Why has the class gone quiet? Are you some gangster kind of guy?"

"Am I?" He asked the class out of blue.

"Of course you are, Kael." Alex called out laughingly.

"Oh come on, old man. Won't you support me when I'm trying to impress a beautiful lass."

Syn rolled her eyes while Alex laughed out loud. The banter that ensued afterwards successfully diverted her thoughts from the Alpha. The real Professor came in soon and the next hour was spent watching the Feynman lectures.

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"Well, that was enlightening." Kael said with a yawn.

"Oh yes." Syn rolled her eyes. "I'm totally in love with Physics and I appreciate his attempts in giving a lecture. But the video is from so long ago that its quality sucks. The "grrr" sound of old cassettes was what I heard instead of his voice."

" Well, you have an alternative."

"Yes. Books. Could you help me find the library?"

" It would be my honor, Ms. Curiosity." Kael bowed with a wink.

"I have an intuition that you are never going to stop calling me that silly nickname." Syn shook her head with a resigned smile. "Hey Kate, would you like to come with us?"

"No, you guys go ahead. I have something to complete." Kate replied.

'Why does she sound a bit odd? Well, maybe not. Stop overthinking gal!'

"Alright. See ya tomorrow." Syn exited the class with Kael after waving adieu to her classmates.

" Well, I guess I haven't introduced myself properly. I'm...."

" I know. It's a pleasure to meet you, mademoiselle. " Kael took her outstretched hand and brought it to his lips in a dramatic gesture.

Syn was frozen for a while. 'Damn! He's got a killer smile.' Then she laughed with a tinge of embarassment. " I guess we are pretty well known here, huh!?"

"You are. The Alpha is trying his best to protect the pack and he's pretty confident that he can. The pack trusts him. But additional help is always welcome and when it involves magic, people tends to have faith in it and embrace it fast."

" Hey, that reminds me. You didn't tell me about him."

"Well, our Alpha is a very decent guy. He's pretty devoted to taking care of our pack. He's got a little sister. He lives in the Alpha house. He's good at martial arts. He's in his forties though he doesn't look like it." Kael finished off with a shrug.

Syn was gazing at him with a "seriously, dude!?" expression.

"What?" He was bewildered.

"Those things you said.....I knew it before, buddy. I'm asking for some social details. You know, like.... whether he's tall, whether he's handsome, about his current girlfriend, temper and so on." Syn explained.

Kael coughed with surprise and tried his best to answer the questions. "He's tall, werewolf men are generally tall. He's over six feet. I guess he's handsome since he'd received quite a few love letters. He's currently single. He's waiting for his Luna. Is this information enough, Ms. Curiosity?"

"Almost. For now, this is enough." Syn said with a cheeky smile.

" So, how do you feel about this place? Must have been difficult, the stark change of climate." Kael asked with curiosity tinting his words.

" Not really. Personally, I find it heartwarming. We had never seen snow in our whole 20 years. So it's a treat to our senses. We've been planning to build a snowman and make snow angels while we were on the way in the aeroplane." Syn said with an embarrassed chuckle.

Kael smiled and shot another question, "You haven't met the Alpha yet, you said. What about the old Alpha pair?"

"Of course we met them. They are absolute joy. Especially the Luna. She cooks with the flair of an internationally well known chef. Why are you laughing?" Syn asked with a sudden pause.

"Oh!? Am I? Hmm....it must have been your enthusiasm rubbing on me." Kael excused himself easily. Syn found it strange but decided to leave it at that.

"Ah, here we are. This is the library. You can go in and talk to the librarian. Her name is Athena McGonagall. She's friendly and adores bookworms. Are you one?" Kael asked with his face tilted to a side.

"Absolutely." Syn grinned. "Are you not coming in?"

"Nop. I'll take a rain check. I've got to meet someone soon. See you tomorrow?" He asked with a sweet smile.

'Girl! Get a grip on yourself. You stupid heart.' Syn managed to reply even when her mind was going haywire, "Alright then. Bye." She entered the library in haste.

' What's up with you, Syn? He's just being friendly. He may even have a girlfriend. Why are you.....but why am I feeling like this!? Damn!! Syn, don't forget. No men! No trouble!'

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