The dreadful day was here. Juan was standing in the hallways of his new college, face blank and a heavy sigh escaping his lips as he tried to block out all the excited chatter around him.
He pulled his headphones on, soft music filling his ears as he entered the designated classroom. He aimed straight for the chair in the back, hoping to stare out of the window and ignore the world around him.
And so he did. Somehow, he struggled through his prickling anxiety and introduced himself to the strangers in the classroom, before dissociating himself for the rest of the classes. By the time lunch hour came by, he was exhausted.
While looking for a quiet place to eat his lunch, he ended up touring the whole building and finally found the empty music room as his new safe corner. The room wasn't exactly old, but dusty. He wondered, as he sat down, if this room was even used.
Just when he hoped to avoid people, his luck ran out. '...was I even lucky in the first place?' He wondered as he heard the loud chatter, laughter ringing around as the door slid open and three — two boys and a girl – rushed in, talking so loud that their voices even rang over the music playing in his headphones.
"BAHAHA! Did you see that idiot's face? He looked beyond confused."
"Shut up, Kaia! You'd have done the same!"
"Kaia would have punched him in the face. Not spluttering awkward apologies when she wasn't even at fault."
Kaia, as Juan learnt the name of the girl, noticed him first. She cleared her throat, nudging the two. "Guys, we have an intruder."
"...intruder?" Juan's eyes narrowed. His patience was thinning, 'I haven't even finished half of my lunch!!'
The two boys faced him too, one of them beaming while the other looked at him sceptically.
"Oh," said the one with dyed hair, "You new here?"
"...what does it seem like if you haven't seen me around before?"
"...he's got a sharp tongue." The other one, with hair that painfully resembled Oren – God, he missed his best friend! – stared at him with a frown.
Disdain was clear on his features, so Juan stood up as he packed his lunch box, thinking, 'feeling's mutual buddy—'
"Hey, finish your lunch." The cherry wine-haired smiled, "Ignore these two. They're unnecessarily rude to strangers. I'm Caspian. You are?"
"...Juan."
"I'm Kaia."
"I heard."
"..."
Caspian nudged the other guy, "Come on, don't be rude."
Sighing, the other guy finally spoke, though his tone sounded irritated, "Seraph."
"...like the snake?"
"...like the snake."
Kaia snickered at their dry and wary interaction, slumping on the couch, uncaring of the dust that flew around and made the others cough, "Sit down, losers."
Juan noticed that they were suddenly quiet, so he sat down to his original position and resumed eating.
The three in the other corner also started to eat, talking in hushed voices. It somehow irritated him, although he should be grateful.
"You can speak louder." He said sourly, "I don't bite."
"You look like you do."
"Says the guy whose name means snake."
"PFFT—"
"Don't laugh, Cas." Seraph glared at his friend, before redirecting that glare at Juan, "..why are you so rude?"
"...that was rude? My apologies."
"At least sound apologetic!!?"
"Get off his back, Seraph." Caspian faced Juan, "Are you from this city? Do you live close by?"
"Yes…and moved here a few years ago."
"Oh, that's great!" Kaia sat straighter, setting down her fork, "Listen, we're from the movies club and—"
"Not interested."
"You're being rude again." Seraph huffed and Juan shook his head.
"I knew what was coming so I saved her some energy. I just don't like clubs."
"It's mandatory, you know?" Caspian moved to sit beside him, Juan flinched, eyeing him warily. Kaia and Seraph shared an amused look, '..he's like a cat.'
"...is it?"
"Yep." Caspian grinned, "You can join our club. There's not many people. In fact, it's only us three and two more freshmen. You'll be able to relax there."
"I'm not scared of people."
"I didn't say you were," Caspian spoke as if he expected the defensive tone from Juan, "I was saying it's the club that has the least people."
"...okay."
"We'll be finalising a time for a group meeting sometime this weekend." Seraph scrolled on his phone, a yawn escaping his lips mid-speech, "Give that guy your number. He'll tell you the time and place."
"...weekend? I have plans."
"You have friends?"
"..."
"Seraph, stop being rude to the newbie." Kaia sighed, "Ignore him, Juan. Do you have plans for the whole weekend?"
The whole weekend..he usually spent it watching movies with Oren — no, it was a must, not a mere hangout.
But…if it was mandatory to join a club, then he was fully aware he cannot miss meetings. He sighed, feeling a headache pulse as he shook his head, "...I'll be free for the second half."
"Great! We can plan it accordingly."
Although Juan felt guilty for making them work at his convenience, he refused to sacrifice any more time with Oren than he already was. He nodded, meekly adding his number in Caspian's phone.
Within a second, he felt his phone buzz and stared at the phone. It felt strange to have contacts other than his only friend, but he brushed it off. 'It wouldn't last anyway,' he thought, 'I can always delete it if I don't like the club.'
"I forgot to ask!" Caspian smiled at him, "Where do you live?"
"...a few blocks from the Manor road."
"...that's crazy close! I'm so jealous." Kaia groaned, "Are you looking for a roommate, Juan?"
"Stop being weird!" Seraph scowled, "Why will he room with a stranger?!"
"...stranger?" Kaia sat up, giving Seraph a ridiculous look, "We're best friends already! Aren't we, Juan?!"
Juan stared at her blankly, causing the other two to burst out laughing.
'...friends? Oren would be proud if he heard that..' He thought as he leaned back, subconsciously relaxing in the presence of the three.