Starting College

Michael got ready for his first day of college and drove to campus. It surprisingly took him 20 mins to park his truck just because there were no open parking spots. The next issue was that Michael could not find his classes; He was supposed to go to orientation a month ago but had forgotten about it at the time. When he finally found his first class, he was already 30 minutes late.

Michael ignored the professor's deathly stare and sat in the back.

"Hey, got lost? Don't worry it took me some time to find the room too. My name is Peter." A kid dressed in casual clothes with a mohawk sitting next to him greeted him.

"My name is Michael. Nice to meet you Peter" Michael answered.

"What is your major? I am a business major." Peter explained. During the first year, students took general classes like History and English so different majors would be mixed in.

" I am a business major too." Michael replied with a smile. He decided to major in business since he was currently trying to start one.

"Wow, no way. So I guess we will be seeing more of each other. Lets exchange contacts after class." Peter said. The class was already mostly finished. After class Michael and Peter exchanged numbers and compared their schedules. Turns out they had the same schedule; all of their classes were in the afternoon. Michael liked to train in the morning so he signed up for afternoon classes and Peter liked to sleep in because he stayed up gaming.

With Peter's help, Michael found all his other classes and attended them on time.

"Hey what are you planning on doing tomorrow? They have club day where you can find information about all the different activity clubs and join the ones you like. Michael was interested to see what kind of clubs they would have so he agreed to go with Peter.

The next day Michael met up with Peter and started walking towards the event site. When he got to the place Michael was astonished by the ocean of people. There were endless amounts of student groups for every possible reason imaginable. Now he understood why the Father told him college would open his mind. He did not even think people would have such peculiar interests.

There were groups for everything from majors to hobbies. There was even a Web Novel fans club. Then there was a clown club; which was students literally dressing up as a clown and trying to scare people. Apparently, the club was always getting in trouble with campus security.

Peter tugged Michael's hand and pulled him to the MMA club.

"Hey check it out man these guys are something else. Last year one of the Seniors from the club got recruited into the UFC." Peter was clearly a huge fan; He started talking about all of the achievements and how hard it was to get in.

"Why don't you approach them and ask them if you can join?" Michael asked Peter. Peter looked depressed and said the Club had stringent requirements. Michael ignored Peter's protest and decided to ask himself.

"Hello, can I know what are the requirements for joining?" Michael asked the students at the table. They were wearing jiu-jitsu uniforms while handing out flyers.

"Well, we have open tryouts for our intercollegiate team once a month. In fact, there is one tomorrow. Are you interested in joining?" the student asked Michael.

"No, I am asking for my friend Peter." Michael replied while pointing at Peter.

" Oh, honestly if it was you then you might pass the trials; However, your friend has no hope." The martial artist resorted while disdaining Peter.

Peter's face turned ashen as he heard the remark; he lost all hope and started walking away. Michael cursed the idiots and ran to catch up with Peter.

"Hey, man don't listen to them. Why don't you go for tryouts tomorrow? If you don't make it then big deal. At least you won't have regrets." Michael tried to console Peter. For some reason, he felt like he could connect with Peter. He was in Peter's position up until a year ago; having dreams and not having the courage to pursue them. Fortunately, Michael had the system to give confidence, unlike Peter.

"No, it's alright man. Some things just aren't meant to be." Peter replied while looking downtrodden.

" Okay if that is really how you feel. Then don't go" Michael replied; he did not feel like babysitting Peter. However, he was curious to see the skill level of these martial artists.

"Wait aren't you supposed to say something and inspire me to go?" Peter asked while looking confused. He was actually going to go if Michael came with him, but it seems Michael was not interested.

" I am planning on going, feel free to join me if you want; However I am not your mom so don't expect me to babysit you." Michael declared and walked away.

The next day Michael walked into the recreation center. The MMA Club was being held in one of the group room at the Fitness center. There was a long line of students lining up for the tryouts. Michael found Peter at the back of the line and joined him.

They ended up waiting for nearly an hour before reaching the front of the line. The students would have to put pads on before the spar. Peter put the pads on apprehensively and walked onto the mat.

His opponent was the same student from yesterday. The referee started the fight and Peter was humiliated within a couple of seconds. He turned into a punching bag after giving up on offense and just blocked his head. For some reason, the referee took extra time before ending the fight.

Peter walked back towards Michael; His whole body was covered in bruises and he looked pitiful. Michael walked on to the mat and asked: "what is your name?"

"Its Steve, Why are you going to get revenge for your friend?" Steve replied while laughing. Even the referee was in on the act too.

"Steve, did you sign a waiver too?" Michael asked, All the students participating in the tryouts had to sign waivers to release the club from liability for injuries.

" Huh... Well yeah of course. Everybody had to sign one." Steve replied while wondering why Michael was asking about the waivers now.

Michael smiled, he put the pads on in record speed and stepped onto the mat. The referee looked to both fighters and then started the fight.

Michael quickly stepped in and punched Steve in the ribs. He used just enough force to crack several ribs without putting steve's life in danger.

The spectators and the referee were stunned silly. Michael moved so fast that they could barely keep track of him.

Steve crumbled to the floor while crying in pain. The referee and several club members ran to him. Eventually, the paramedics were called and Steve was sent to a hospital.

Michael was already taking off the pads and leaving when he was stopped.

" You think you can just hurt someone and then leave pretty boy?" Steve's friends blocked his way.

" I am not responsible for anything. We all signed waivers and it was an accident." Michael replied while looking calm.

"No, you can wait here till the club president comes. The president will decide what to do with you." The referee declared.

Michael shrugged his shoulder and waited. After a while, the club president came. When Michael saw the club president he was flabbergasted.