THREAD TWO: ENCOUNTER

MEREDITH was woken up by the ringing of her alarm and lazily stretched her hand towards her night-stand to turned it off. Her eyes widened and rushed out of bed when she realized that she was going to be late on her first day in college.

“Oh, no! I’ll be dead if Aunt Marita finds out I’m late on my first day,” she grumbled then quickly changed, brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and in no time, she was racing out of the room.

“Morning, Mom!” she greeted.

“Morning, Darling!”

“Here’s your food. Just eat your breakfast on the bus so that you won’t be late,” her mom instructed as she handed her a paper bag.

She thanked her mother with a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for the breakfast, Mom! I’ll go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll be home early to assist you in closing the shop.”

“Alright!” Then she went out. But her mother suddenly called her.

“Mer! Did you bring your earphones?!” Mrs. Ebelte yelled at the main door when Meredith reaches their gate.

She turned around and nodded. “Yes, I did! It’s in my bag!”

Her mom waved at her. “Okay! Bye! Take care!”

Then she walked out and hailed a bus from the waiting shed.

When she got on the bus, she immediately put on her earphones and ate the sandwich made by her mom. She wears earphones whenever she leaves their house because she was diagnosed with Phonophobia when she was a child.

Phonophobia is defined as a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of sound. Often, these are normal environmental sounds such as traffic, kitchen sounds, doors closing, gunshot, or even loud speech. It may be caused by genetic factors. People with a family history that includes anxiety disorders may be more prone to this condition. Phonophobia may also be caused by external factors, such as a history of long-term childhood trauma, or, a single traumatic incident.

And that’s one of the things that makes them wonder because no one in their family has that kind of phobia. Besides, she didn’t have any traumatic experiences when she was young.

Her phobia doesn’t trigger when she watches action movies or drama films because she knows what will happen next. It is triggered only when there are sudden sounds or explosions that she didn’t expect to come or happen.

“WOW!” Meredith mumbled when she arrived at BSU or Beauford State University.

She was unable to explore the campus after her entrance exam a month ago because she immediately went home due to heavy rainfall. Fortunately, God blessed her with intelligence and a supportive sponsor, that's why she was given the opportunity to study at a well-known and prestigious school in the country.

Aunt Marita, her sponsor, pays for her tuition while her mom is responsible for her daily allowances.

When she arrived in front of the room where they were examined during the entrance exam, she looked at her name on the list to know her room and section. When she saw her name, she immediately went to her designated room and sat at the back.

“Hi!” The blonde-haired girl greeted her.

She tries to smile. She didn’t expect anyone to notice her right away, because in dramas, rich people don’t make friends with poor people like her.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not wealthy. I’m here because my aunt sponsored my educational expenses,” she admitted.

She had better get ahead of it to avoid having a fake friend.

She’s not a social climber. She is not ashamed of being poor. What’s more embarrassing is that you’ll die poor.

“Whoa! I like your personality. Very bold and straightforward! Right, Marylex?” the other girl said who was also staring at her.

“Yeah, right! From now on, you‘re one of us!” The girl with black and curly hair added.

“I’m Shanaia!”

“I’m Marylex!”

They said in chorus and extended their hand for a handshake.

She looked at them curiously.

“Well. I know you are confused about the two of us. It’s just that. . .” Shanaia moved a little closer to her and whispered. “We already know some of the people here and we know their personalities very well. They were all the same. They will not lift you up in the way that a true friend will. And you know what’s worst, they will use, or judge you easily.”

Marylex agreed with what Shanaia said. “And we think you’re the exemption. Because the moment you enter this room, you seem easy to get along with, that’s why we approach you.”

“Shanaia!”

“Marylex!”

They said in unison and extended their both right hand for another handshake. She crisscrossed her hands to accept their handshake together.

“Meredith. Meredith Ebelte.”

She had no idea it would be so simple for her to find new people on whom she could rely one day. Maybe not all people are like what she thinks.

“Good morning everyone! I’m Ms. Felicidad Olipane, but I preferred Miss O, your professor for this major. And I would like to welcome you all for studying here at BSU. And since today is your first day, I would like to inform you that you are free to attend the club of your choice for your extracurricular activities. But before that, I’d like you to introduce yourself first.” And they all began to introduce themselves one by one.

They were about to leave after each other’s introductions when suddenly a man entered who was wearing a school uniform paired with a black hoodie.

“Oh! You must be Mr. Dacles.” The boy nodded.

“Please introduce yourself, Mister.”

“Hello everyone! I’m Randall Dacles. Nineteen years of age. I know many of you are probably wondering why I am two years ahead of you guys.”

“Kinda!” the boy in the back shouted.

He nodded. “This school is my third prospect on my list because I’ve been looking for a girl for a very long time. So I hope this school would be the last. I really want to see her.”

“Nice!”

“Woohh!”

The students reacted.

At that time, Meredith was just looking at the guy and for no apparent reason, she felt something in her chest. It seems that her heart has a life of its own. It’s pounding so hard, making her feel that she knew that man.

She only came back to her senses when the room filled with cheer. She also noticed some of her girl classmates took out their small mirrors just to impress the guy. Even Shanaia and Marylex. She returned her gaze to the guy again and noticed that his eyes were busy searching for someone.

But the pen she was playing with suddenly fell from her fingers, so fate didn’t give them a chance to lock their gazes when Meredith picked it up.