7 ~ Semester 1 begins

We had five days to settle down before our first Semester began. We girls stayed late at night playing all sorts of card games, saw random movies and made tea together. It was fun!

It's been 5 days and I haven't seen Matt yet. Maybe he was busy as he shouldered lots of responsibilities. I wish I could help him but I was a fresher.

Monday, 5th of July ...

"Sunshine ladies !" Betty said waking up all of us.

"Morning !" I said yawning.

"Let's freshen up and makeup for our first day ! " said Flare excitedly.

"Okay," said Linda walking tiredly to the bathroom.

We all four got dressed up and were ready to seize the day. I didn't put on much makeup but I applied my Vaseline balm to moisturize my lips. A bit of light pink eyeshadow and I was ready. Flare overdid her makeup and we couldn't help but laugh at her look. Betty applied dark maroon lipstick and a pink blush. Linda did some compact and applied a lip balm. I carried my lip balm usually in my pouch in case the humidity increased. Linda and I then headed for the 1st-floor classes. And Betty and Flare headed to their respective departments.

For our first semester, we were having all the pre-clinical subjects i.e. Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry. I was excited about Anatomy; it's so cool to learn in detail about  Genetics. We had two of such chapters in class 12th too. So we were aware of the basics. The classrooms were huge and airy. There were single desks and the students looked decent. Linda and I sat next to each other in the front row. Today we were having "Anatomy" as our first lecture.

"Hello students, I'm Mr Braniac, " said a rusty middle-aged man, who was in his 50's but bold in his demeanour.

"Like my name, I have been a disciplined student in learning and preaching the subject of Anatomy. Don't live in the illusion that your MBBS degree comes easy. Trust me it's a lot of hard work and dedication. Do you have what it takes to be the best doctor of our Nation ? " he said motivating all the students in the room.

His words were inspiring.

"Yes sir !!! " said all the passionate undergraduate students applauding.

Due to very few seats in NYC's medical programme, many gave up on their dream to become a doctor. Even in this room, I could see all the uplifted faces confident to become a good doctor, but I can't help myself and wonder, "In the end, only the fittest will survive ! " as Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection stated.

In the next few hours, Mr Braniac taught us the history of Genetics,  revised our basics and introduced the new concepts which we were to learn in Anatomy that semester. He talked about gross anatomy, neuroanatomy, microanatomy and embryology in brief. It was interesting when he showed the flow charts and discussed them with the students. Time flew fast and our first day of lectures got over.

Linda and I were discussing Genetics as a subject and continued our conversation as we stepped out of the classroom. I saw Matt there in the corridor. I stared at him for a while. He was with Flare. I wondered what they were talking about? I didn't give more thought to it; Linda and I started walking upstairs to our dorm room.

"Hey, Grace! wait up, " Matt called me in a gentle tone.

I looked back quickly.

"Yes hi, what's up? What are you doing here? " I asked him.

"I was waiting for you but you ignored me, " he replied confused.

"I thought you were talking with Flare, so - " I said.

"No, it was some random conversation.  Anyways I want to show you something, " Matt said hastily and took my hand (heading to the ground floor).

I waved Linda goodbye.

It felt nice to see him again but what was he up to now?

We were now in the backyard area of the commerce department (a place I hadn't seen before). There was a guitar placed on the bench. We both sat down. Of course, he was a singer, so he might have written a song.

"Umm Grace, I usually don't play my music before the actual event, but somehow I want your feedback on the song I have recently written, " he said shyly.

Now, what was that supposed to mean? I tried not to overthink.

"Yes sure, play it for me, " I said calmly. He began singing.

Guitar playing...

      "It felt like a whole new world 

        when you stepped into my life,

        I felt starstruck

        when there was sunlight.             (Ohhhhhhooo oooohhhhhh x2 )

       It never felt more complete,

       Now I feel more alive.

       It feels like winter in July,

       With you right by my side.

       (Right by my side)

                               The guitar tunes out...

"Wow, " I said amazed to hear such a beautiful voice.

He was enjoying the beat he played.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it; this is the first ballad of the whole song which I'll be playing during THE HIGHWAY FEST," Matt said blushing.

"I genuinely like the lyrics; there is this innocence of a pure heart," I said (praising him).

"Yes you got the vibe," he said smiling.

"Where are we exactly? Like, do people know about this place ?" I asked out of the blue.

"This is my secret hideout, or you can say this place is occupied only during commerce yearly fair; not many students are found here otherwise, " he answered.

"Hideout ?" I caught the philosophical word in his sentence.

"You may be thinking why a popular guy like me has a hideout. I didn't want to be popular in the first place. It just happened. Being popular has its pitfalls. It feels like I can't even breathe freely. So I try to escape the limelight whenever I can and come here. Nature soothes my soul and inspires me to write my songs wholeheartedly. I like it here, "he said.

It felt good to be a part of someone's hideout. I liked to hear his philosophy. I got to know the "real" Matt.

"You indeed have a deep sense of philosophy and it's great to hear your point of view, "I said slowly digesting all that was in front of me.

"Ohh Thanks, Grace," he said.

"And also I like taking long nature strolls, " I said adding another statement.

"Yes me too, it's like nature has all the answers to my questions,  I just need to relax and reset, and everything falls back into place, " he said.

"Yes truly;  you read my mind, " I said (impressed with his philosophy, yet again).

We both were so engrossed in our talks, it was really fun.

Evening fell, so we walked a few rounds on the campus and went back to our dorms. As soon as I entered my dorm room, all the girls faced me.

"Umm, what happened?" I spoke softly.

" You say what happened? " all asked in chorus making googly eyes.

I didn't want to disclose the hideout or the song he sang for me - as they would misinterpret it. So I told that we talked over - "The Highway Fest " that's coming up and if I was interested in dancing. I simply made up a white lie to save myself from any bizarre rumours.

"Yes it's after 3 weeks; we can portray our talents there and also enjoy the DJ afterparty," Betty said excitedly. 

"We should help out in the main events, " Linda said.

" Girls, I already spoke with Matt about that, he said I can help him in the decorations of the Fest," Flare boasted.

"Why don't we all go? Betty and I are good at making crafty things and Linda is good at arranging stuff, " I suggested.

Betty and Linda backed me up. Flare agreed.

It was decided that we'll go there on Thursday evening the last week before the Fest to help out...