Shock

"And that concludes today's lecture. To remind all of you, make sure to submit your homework before the deadline, which is this Friday at noon." The voice of the professor and the sound of his footsteps echoed in the room and lingered for a few seconds after he left the room. A handful of students followed suit, wasting no time. After they left the hall, two dozen students followed right after. Three people, separated by at least seven chairs and stairs remained behind, slowly packing up their belongings.

One of the students that opted to stay behind was Robert. Rob recently transferred from the United States to study in England. Despite having adequate qualifications to study in Ivy-tier universities in the US, he did not join any of them. In fact, four of those universities accepted his applications. He decided to move to England for two reasons.

"Did you see Anderson's banger two days ago?" asked one of the people that remained behind to, presumably, talk to his friend. Robert inferred that they didn't sit next to each other because one of them arrived late and couldn't save a seat for the other.

"I did, what a strike it was! Couldn't catch the game though; I watched it in the highlights."

"Oh, why is that? It's still the second week. Surely you weren't behind on studies. Perhaps you finally found love?"

"Oh shut up! It was my shift at the grocery store. They don't even have a TV! I couldn't even follow the stream because of the shite internet connection."

"Oh, that sucks. how about you join me next weekend to watch the game?" Their voices gradually disappeared as the duo made their way out of the hall. One of the reasons Rob transferred to England was to actively support his favorite club and attend their fixtures. On the first day he landed in the country, he bought random merchandise. The receptionist was agitated when she saw him arriving while holding thirteen bags.

In the US, practically no one cared about football, or soccer as it's referred to there. This made it almost impossible for him to form any friendships. Here, however, he will surely find someone to share his vicarious excitement for football!

"I'll have to have a chat with these two fellas. Perhaps we could get along," he paused for a second and placed his right hand on his chin, "I think their names were Josh and Richard," said Rob under his breath.

Before leaving, he took a moment to admire the room one last time. The hall can accommodate one-hundred students. The chairs were arranged in a descending manner from the top to the bottom, where the number of seats per row increased the higher you ascend. Inside the handle of each chair was a table that could be pulled out. A black board stood in the middle of the wall the chairs were facing. To the left of the board was a light brown desk. Robert was mesmerized because, back in high school, he was used to smaller classrooms that accommodated twenty-five students on average.

Having nothing to do and being the last person in the room, Rob picked up his backpack and went along his way. He didn't have much to do as this was the first lecture, save for a minor homework. As this was the only lecture for the day, he decided to visit a food place his friend Roland mentioned yesterday over chat. Rob grinned as he remembered the sheer enthusiasm that Ronald showered the restaurant.

'After eating, I'll have to review my notes and get started on the homework when I get back to the dor—.' His mind tossed all his thoughts in a mental garbage can as his hazel eyes captured a magnificent sight. A beautiful brunette girl hugging her red bag against her chest moved toward his direction, She wore a casual attire that consisted of sky blue jeans, plain white shirt, and white sneakers, Three girl, two to her right and one to her left, surrounded her like guardian angels, their attention solely lied on her presence. His mind failed to comprehend the appearance of the other girls as they were irrelevant.

Time paused as myriad of thoughts flooded his mind. It got to a point his mind went blank for a second. His face morphed into a smile so wide that it reached his ears. His heart raced faster than a jet flying in a clear sky.

It wasn't her looks that masked the appearance of the other girls. It wasn't her looks that left him breathless. It wasn't her looks that captured his mind. It was 'her' that left him agitated. Rob recognized her! Linnea was one of his all-time best friends online. They knew each other for six years before 'that' happened. They hadn't spoken to each other for over a year now.

Linnea was the second reason why he moved abroad. They promised each other to attend the same university two years ago. Since tuition costs in the US were high, they both agreed that they'd study in her home country. "I wonder if she'll recognize me. She better." said Rob under his breath.

Since she was completely unaware of her surroundings, Rob came up with a simple plan, To grab her attention, he'd feign a slip in front of her group, apologize, and face her. He replayed the plan in his mind three or four times until the girls got into the perfect position. He took a deep breath and started.

And just like every plan, it was a complete fiasco. 'Ah, fuck me,' thought Robert in his mind, 'come on man! I didn't wanna slip for real! My bones are weak!' Rob slammed the white marble floor with his elbows before collapsing on to the floor. 'Well, at least it'll look more believable.'

"Are you hurt?" a sweet sound filled Rob's ears and flowed to his mind and heart. How can he not recognize that angelic voice when they have voice chatted for years? All the lost memories flooded his mind.

He noticed her arm grabbing his bag as he rose up. "No, I'm fine." replied Rob. He dragged himself up and glanced at Linnea, his eyes falling on to hers.

"Here you go, here's the bag you dro—," What happened next shocked him. Her brown eyes shrank, her face deformed, and her mouth opened and closed. Recognition, fear, disgust, and hatred all entwined in her eyes. It was the latter of the emotions that pricked his heart. She turned pale and started shaking, dropping the bag on the floor. She ran off as soon as she regained her motor functions, muttering words that left him awake and pale all night...

"Why the fuck is this bastard here?"

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