Felix's POV: First Class and Club Sign-ups
The first day of classes was a predictable waste of time. Endless introductions, professors droning on about syllabuses – the usual academic pomp and circumstance. I sat through 'Introduction to Literature' with the usual disinterest. Frankly, I was more concerned with the actual problems my family kept dropping in my lap than deciphering ancient texts.
After the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the day, I headed towards the sports complex. Caleb insisted on these "team bonding" exercises for the badminton club. More like an excuse for him to be annoyingly social. The place was a zoo, banners for every idiotic club imaginable hanging everywhere, and the noise was a constant, irritating hum.
I leaned against the badminton net, idly twirling a racket. It was a good sport, precise, required focus. Unlike most of the mindless activities going on around us. Caleb, predictably, was in his element, chatting up anyone who looked his way. Leo, as usual, was mostly a silent observer, though I noticed him perk up slightly whenever Lisa, Elisa's bubbly friend, was near. Honestly, those two were a walking rom-com cliché.
Then I saw Elisa. She was being practically dragged by Lisa towards the basketball table, looking overwhelmed. She was wearing some casual college attire, nothing flashy, just… normal. She still carried that quiet, almost nervous energy, a stark contrast to the performative enthusiasm of everyone else here.
"Hey, guys!" Caleb's voice boomed, interrupting my internal commentary. "Signing up for clubs?"
Lisa, all smiles, announced, "Yep! Basketball for me! And Elisa's doing badminton." She gave Elisa a not-so-subtle nudge.
My eyes flickered to Elisa. Badminton. Of course. "Still avoiding anything that requires actual effort, I see." It was an automatic jab, a reflex. She was clumsy, easily flustered. What could she possibly do with a racket?
She glared back. "It requires a lot of effort, actually. Precision. Agility." Her cheeks were a little flushed, but her eyes held a defiant spark. She wasn't rolling over. Good.
"Right," I muttered, "and not just avoiding a car with your face." The image of her frantic face after hitting my car still stuck in my head.
Caleb, ever the peacemaker, laughed it off. "Oh, Felix, stop! Badminton's great! You'll fit right in, Elisa."
I watched her force a smile, her gaze still flicking to me. She was clearly uncomfortable, but she didn't back down. That was something. Most people, especially girls in this environment, would try to charmingly agree, to make themselves more palatable. Not Elisa. She was just… herself. Awkward, a little defiant, and completely unpretentious. In a sea of carefully constructed personas, she was refreshingly, almost annoyingly, genuine. It was a bizarre contrast, and one I found myself, despite my best efforts, increasingly noticing.
Felix's POV: The Call in the Cafe
The cafe was supposed to be a quiet place. A refuge from the relentless noise of campus, and more importantly, from the relentless demands of my family. I'd come here to try and decompress, but then my phone rang. An unscheduled call from one of my father's most trusted, and most aggressive, legal advisors. My jaw tightened before I even answered.
"Look, I told you, I'm handling it," I said, my voice low and strained, forcing it to remain calm despite the rising tide of frustration. They were pushing again. Always pushing. "Just give me more time. The old man is being ridiculous, he's pushing too hard." My father's latest 'initiative' was causing complications, bleeding into old, supposedly resolved issues.
The voice on the other end was insistent, bordering on accusatory. "No, I can't just 'make it disappear.' This isn't some petty scandal. It's... complicated." It was more than a PR nightmare; it was a potential threat to certain agreements, certain fragile understandings. "And no, I haven't forgotten about that. It's precisely because of that I need to be careful." The reference to 'that' was enough to make my blood run cold. It was the one thing that could truly unravel everything, and it involved her. "Just keep them off my back. And make sure she doesn't find out."
The silence on the line was heavy, pregnant with unspoken threats. I could feel the tension radiating off me, a physical weight. After a long moment, I forced myself to concede. "Fine. Just keep me updated. And don't mess this up." I hung up with a sharp click, the finality of the sound doing little to ease the knot in my stomach.
I stood up, needing to move, needing to escape the oppressive feeling of that conversation. As I pushed back my chair, my gaze flickered to the booth behind me. Elisa. She was hunched over her laptop, pretending to be engrossed, but I could tell she'd heard. Her shoulders were tense. Damn it. She didn't need to be privy to this. My family's messes were mine, not hers. It just added another layer of complication to an already suffocating existence. And the thought of 'her' finding out about any of this... that was the real terror.