A month had passed since Valentine enrolled at Liege College, but everything wasn't going perfect.
She had resorted to the Library, and somehow found solace in the books, which gave her the strength she needed.
She could travel to any world, she could meet anyone, and she could feel any emotion. But then, that came with a huge price; her academic performance hasn't been good.
If there was Lina or Patty or Josef Bond, the class was officially over for her. It was then that the word, introvert started hitting her. It was affecting her in so many ways than one.
She wasn't a new student anymore but the self isolation kept her as a new student as she didn't know everything about the college yet, only the lecture halls and the library. Whereas if she had a friend, she would have been conversant with the college.
As her mind was disturbed with a better resort than locking herself away all the time, she walked sluggishly not bothering that she was very late, and the thoughts of talking to Lina again who was obviously sorry and was just weak herself bombarded her mind.
Perhaps it was time to take up her own belief, women are meant to support each other, that way, they can grow better and together, and would be able to withstand storms that tend to affect trees that shake even the roots. Nothing happens, unless someone does something.
"Is not her fault after all" she said to herself, eyed fixed on the ground, while her feet matched seamlessly along the path that led to the entrance, but she was halted by a throw.
"Oh! God! I'm so sorry…" she exclaimed as heavy books and some documents fell down from a hand. She bent to pick them up.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking…"
"What a beautiful voice"
"Huh?" She raised her head to see a middle-aged beautiful elegant woman wearing a set of corporate clothes, with finely tainted nails and coloured lips.
"You're so beautiful" the lady said. "What's your name?"
First of all, she was the first person ever at the college to tell her that she was beautiful. She smiled a bit, she thought no one was ever nice. "Oh thank you, you too. I am Valentine"
"I'm flattered" she laughed.
"Where are you taking these? Aren't they so many? You are about to stress yourself real bad" Valentine commented carrying the documents in her hands while some more heavier ones remained glued to the ground. There was a carriage truck nearby, and it must had brought the package.
"Oh what can I do? Most of these children don't help anyone around here…" she chuckled. "You must be a new student?" She asked through appleseed lips and red sleek cheeks.
"Yes, right. Haha. But I've been for a month and more"
"Awesome. I hope you don't change. Don't let them influence you. I'm glad that Liege has some good students, but don't get me wrong, this is a college… they say charity begins at home…" she packed up her own share.
"Please this way…" she directed Valentine by herself, and they went through a corner that led to the building behind the first one. It was Valentine's first time going there.
"So, their parents mostly are responsible, if they are morally great or not. But their parents are not to be blamed for the most part, you see, they are all business owners, government officials, and so on, and they barely have time for themselves, so, nanny's can't do much.
But you see…" they came at a locked door beside the front building. The documents were heavy on Valentine's hands, and the lady's words were heavy as well, she barely managed to stay in the loop.
The lady brought out a key which was immediately tipped into the keyhole.
"... Any child who would turn out good in life will, and any child who would turn out otherwise, will. It doesn't really all bottle up to home training and parents attention." She opened the door.
The interior was on all white, with the lights fully immersed in the floor tiles, gleaming over different pictures that hung on the wall.
It was a narrow and long space which had doors on it's two sides, opposite to each other.
"No one uses these doors, except the college officials, and we are going to pack all these documents in one of those rooms. But for now, I think we should just keep it all here…"
"Like here?" Valentine looked at the floor. "Like keep it on the floor?" She asked.
"Yes, Valentine. I will have someone take care of it properly after now"
"Oh great!" Valentine dropped hers after taking a few steps into the hall.
"Thank you. I'm grateful. I will take care of the remaining, you can go now" she said with a smile which Valentine put on her face.
"You're welcome" she stepped out and sighed. "Wow, every cool one talks too much" she wisked away and found herself into the scanty hall.
A glance at the big clock fixed on the wall bumped her into a momentary oblivion and she brisked off to the receptionist at the front desk.
"Hey, ma'am. Good morning" she greeted with in a shaky voice.
"Call me Mrs Lip"
"Huh?"
"Mrs Lip. That's what I said. Haven't you seen my tag?" She asked with a distorted look.
Her eyes came upon a name tag on the desk.
"Oh I'm sorry"
"Keep it for yourself"
"No need to be rude this morning, Mrs Lip" she said, spurring rickety chuckle to spray over her statement so that she wouldn't be on her nerve.
Mrs Lip looked at her straight in the eye. Valentine removed her face with a scratch on her hair aided by her left hand. "What can I do for you?" She asked, pouring a blank face.
"Mmmm" Valentine smiled. "I just want to sign in…" she threw her eyes at a logbook.
"Why?" Mrs lip asked with a furrowed face.
"Why?" Valentine retorted.
"Yes. Why looking at the log book?"
Valentine sighed. "Oh, I'm going to get a headache. Isn't that what I should do?"
"When was the last time you signed here?"
"Huh? Umm…" her mind was plunged into the thoughts river, which led to no path when she last signed.
"Yeah go on, tell me"
She really couldn't remember the last time she signed there. All she knew was that she did some sort of signing the first day she came. But telling her a month ago? "A month ago… I guess" she stammered.
"Wonderful. Which drugs are you taking?"
"Wha-what?! What are you saying now? I don't take drugs" she hissed.
"You have been here for one month and you still don't know anything about here" she said, shaking her head.
"Umm—"
"Cut the crap, girl. You have nothing to say. But you see that? …" She pointed at a touch screen scanner stand at the corner beside her."if you really want to sign, go there. Just place your finger. It takes your bio data"
"Oh thanks. So what was the fuss all about?"
"Have you seen anyone coming here to sign?"
"Sorry for yourself." She dropped her face at the desk and went back to divulging her work.
Valentine walked away, sparing her ears hearing from her lips. She placed her thumb on the screen and after the recording, she left.
"One advice, dear" Mrs Lip said out to her.
Valentine turned back, positioning her ears to hear some advice. "Yeah?"
"Go see a psychologist, or a psychiatrist, if your condition is too bad, okay?" She smiled, and went back to her business, as if she didn't say anything.
Valentine rumbled for a bit and shrugged it off.
Valentine brought out her card to check for the current lecture, and lecture hall, but… "Oh gosh. Is the old card. Oh no, I can't go back to that Mrs Lip now. Oh god…" she placed her hand on her head.
"I should have renewed it since! This time around she would record that I'm on drugs…" she lamented as she leaned back on the wall after having walked out of the first building into the next. "So I'm going to give up today's lecture?"
She saw a boy coming out of a class and she rushed to him. "Excuse me, sorry to bother you. But could you please tell me which lecture hall I should be going now?"
The boy stared at her with his faint eyes and shook his head pathetically, and his words chunned like he was sleeping and talking.
"How could I tell which lecture hall you should be going when I don't know your department? Your course and level mm?"
"Oh, um 100 level, year one. Psychology , department, umm…" she patted her hands on her head. "Humanities and Management sciences?"
"Are you asking me?"
Valentine numbed her no, shaking her head. The boy reached to his bag and brought out a big collection of cards. Valentine was baffled, mixed up with a creepy feeling toward the dude.
"How do you….? Do you have that on you like all the time? Every department and year?" She asked as the boy sorted through the cards obviously looking for hers.
He raised his head, causing a momentary stop at his search. "What? Don't look at me like that. You're the one who something is wrong with. You don't even know your department, geez." He looped back and part-smiled as he raised one to the air.
Valentine motioned to take it from his hand. He scoffed. "What? Go get yours, student…" he eyed her. "Department is… no. Find it out yourself. It says here the lecture hall for … umm. Well, is biology now… umm the code, I don't know. You should know where you have biology lectures." He put it back into his bag and whisked off. "You're welcome" he said, without turning back.
"I'm definitely not the only one who isn't well" she went her own way, searching for the lecture hall, which she found not long after.
She brushed in slowly as the lecturer eyed her for coming late. She removed her face and sighted Lina.
She sighed and dawned her face with a smile. "I'm staying" she walked straight to her seat, and sat beside her. Lina was surprised to see her sit down near her.
"Hey, Lina"
"Hey, Valentine." They exchanged a look and Lina went back to concentrating on the lesson. The air certainly wasn't good. But Valentine tried to push things.
"Hey, how have you been, I mean how has class been?" She would have succeeded in pushing it to the right direction if she wasn't too nervous about it.
"It's been well, thanks." She stay glued to the textbook before her.
"Um okay" Valentine decided to let her be. But that decision only lasted for a moment.
"So, I have been visiting the library, and is been well, so I was thinking if you would like to read tog—"
"Are you done avoiding me?" Lina asked.
"Ouch. Come on, Lina. I'm sorry. It's been a month, and we should get over it, and move on"
"Exactly." Lina closed her books and stood up.
"Did I do anything wrong?"
She left the seat for her alone and found another place to sit down.
"Eish seriously" although devastated, she had no other choice but to pay attention to the lecturer, simply because she hadn't been active. In hopes that with time, Lina would get over it.