Ah, it was a beautiful morning. The sun’s rays peeked over the distant mountain ranges and shone directly onto some tall buildings, and the fresh morning aroma spread throughout the city. And a young man, in his apartment, begins his day preparing a coffee directly from the jar, between the morning cold and the… what?

  “Master… I think you’re still in a dreamlike state,” Esfer said, looking at his master with concern.

  “Eh? Say why? you... that?” Jeff asked, in a very natural state… for a university student.

  His hair was a mess, he was still wearing his sleeping clothes. In one hand, he held a jar filled with liquid coffee, and on the container there was a label for powdered coffee. With one eye, he looked at Esfer, and with the other, at the reader… look at your window.

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  “You did it, right? …no? Well, let’s continue.”

  “You see, Esfer, even the writer of this work knows that I’m fine,” Jeff commented, looking at the sky, but he could only see the ceiling of his apartment.

  “…Master, I believe your condition is serious.”

  “Ah, nonsense new take are hot be bath at—”

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  After a few minutes, during which Esfer prevented Jeff from poisoning himself with caffeine and from cooking himself alive in the shower, he was finally ready, dressed and with his bag prepared to attend university.

  “Alright, let’s start the week of attending classes… yay,” Jeff said with great enthusiasm—compared to your desire to study or work.

  Leaving his apartment and locking the door behind him, he looked to his right when he heard the sound of another door opening.

  There he saw a young woman with orange hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a white blouse with flower patterns, light blue jeans, and sports shoes. On her back, she carried a sky-blue backpack.

  After a moment, she turned her face to look at our protagonist. The two looked at each other, but neither said anything. Immediately after, Jeff locked his door and said goodbye with a, “Good morning, neighbor.”

  He went down the stairs without waiting for his neighbor’s response.

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  After several minutes of travel, which consisted of a bus ride, another by metro, and finally a walk, he finally arrived at the damn university.

  “Ah, finally. Damn it, every day I feel more that university is like a marathon.”

  “Why do you say that, Master?” Esfer asked with curiosity.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Because during a marathon you struggle to reach the finish line, and what they give you is just a simple recognition that is worth the same as one cent in real life.”

  With those demotivating words—hopefully not for the reader—he set his first foot inside Green Vida University.

  After that simple step, Jeff heard a small shout, then another one, clearer this time, one that said, “Jeff, buddy!”

  When he looked behind him, he could make out two people running toward him. One was tall, pale-skinned, with long black hair, and the other had an average height, tanned skin, and short black hair.

  Both of them had happy expressions and were calling out to Jeff cheerfully; they were Jeff’s friends.

  Jeff pulled his foot back from the university entrance and ran toward them, calling out to them as well. All of this looked like an emotional reunion in slow motion.

  “Jeeeef!” slow motion from the tall friend

  “Miiiiike!” slow motion from Jeff

  “Jeeeef!” slow motion from the tanned friend

  “Miiiiigueeel!” slow motion from Jeff

  Three young adults ran toward each other to embrace, shouting each other’s names in the process.

  Esfer felt deeply embarrassed and hid near a post.

  “Jeeeefff!” slow motion from Mike

  “Miiikkeee!” slow motion from Jeff

  And they kept going like that, though the third shout varied.

  “Jeeeefff… Myyy mooooneeeyyyy!” slow motion from Mike, going from happy to angry.

  “Jeeeefff… Myyy maaagaziiiiiines!” slow motion from Miguel, also changing from happiness to anger.

  And Jeff…

  “Aaaahhh shhhiiiiiiiiiipppp!” —slow motion from Jeff, his smiling face turning worried as he twisted his body and feet in the opposite direction.

  And just like that, they went from a joyful scene to a chase. Yep, that’s how everyday university life should begin.

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  “Seventy, eighty, ninety, and one hundred. Here are the one hundred dollars I borrowed from you, Mike, and here are the Nintendo Power magazines I borrowed from you, Miguel."

  “Thank you very much, I really needed this money” Mike said cheerfully, holding a wad of bills in his hand.

  “Thank you very much, these magazines are very valuable to me.” Miguel said, happily holding the magazines against his chest.

  “You see? You should never doubt your friend Jeff” Jeff said with a smile.

  “Yeah, and we only needed to beat you up a little so you’d give our things back. You’re a great friend” Miguel commented cheerfully as he looked at Jeff’s face, which had a small bruise on his left eye, a cut on his lip, another on his eyebrow, and a slightly swollen cheek, in addition to having a napkin in his nose.

  “Master, are you okay? Do you wish for me to heal you?” Esfer asked worriedly, holding a small first-aid kit.

  Jeff replied to Esfer by shaking his head in a negative manner.

  "… Why are you shaking your head?" asked Mike, looking at Jeff with confusion.

  "Ah, no, it’s just that my neck hurts a little from class" Jeff replied, rubbing his neck.

  "Speaking of class, how are we going to do Professor Akira’s assignment?" Miguel asked nervously, looking at his two friends.

  “Honestly, I don’t know. Shit, his assignments are the hardest, but his subject is one of the least important of the semester,” Mike replied, scratching his hair lightly. “What about you, Jeff?"

  Jeff stared at the ceiling of the outdoor cafeteria, where they had gone after classes, exhaustion visible in his eyes due to an obvious lack of a caffeine overdose.

  “Homework… did he give us homework?” Jeff asked in a very casual tone.

  The two friends could only sigh at their friend’s attitude.

  “Hey… we know you’re not really motivated to study at university, but…” Mike said, stopping halfway through the sentence.

  “But you have to at least try. We’re talking about your career, your life,” Miguel finished the thought, sending a small chill down Jeff’s spine at the word “life,” since he uses his life as a resource to help others.

  “…Okay. I promise I’ll try to put in some effort in class, though I can’t promise anything,” Jeff said.

  It didn’t erase the worried look on his friends’ faces, but their expressions quickly changed when they noticed a group of girls walking nearby.

  It was just a group of pretty girls talking as they walked by, but both of his friends clearly wished to be the boyfriend of one of them.

  Jeff wasn’t very interested, but with a quick glance, he noticed a girl in the middle of the group. She was wearing a white shirt, and her orange hair stood out against it—it was Jeff’s neighbor.

  As the girls passed near Jeff and his friends, he noticed his neighbor’s gaze. Although their eyes met for a brief moment, they quickly drifted away to other points.

  The girls walked off, leaving behind two boys with hearts in their eyes.

  "Wow, they’re so beautiful,” Mike commented, seeing that the girls were far away and couldn’t hear them.

  “No kidding,” Miguel added, “and there was Alejandra. Many say she’s the most beautiful student in the university.”

  “I think that’s an understatement,” Mike argued. “She could even be one of the most beautiful in the country. With that orange hair and her lovely face, she could easily be the most beautiful in the nation.”

  Jeff just looked at his friends as they praised Alejandra, his discomfort showing on his face and in his voice. “Hey, don’t say those things, and especially not in public… at least don’t do it when I’m around.”

  The two friends quickly turned toward Jeff and confronted him.

  “But what are you saying? You should always praise a woman’s beauty,” Miguel said enthusiastically.

  “Yes, but only when the lady is present and can hear you. Otherwise, those around you will look at you like you’re weird or a creep,” Jeff replied to his friend’s weak arguments.

  “But what about you? Don’t you like Alejandra? Or… don’t you like girls?” Mike asked.

  Jeff looked at his two friends, bewildered.

  “…What the heck are you talking about?” he asked genuinely.

  “Well…” Miguel continued uncomfortably, “usually when we talk about girls, you don’t really join the conversation, and we haven’t even seen you looking closely at a girl.” In the background, you could see Mike nodding affirmatively at all of Miguel’s points.

  “But it doesn’t matter, we’ll keep making friends… but there’s no chance with me.”

  “Not with me either,” Mike added.

  Jeff could only watch as his own friends began to doubt his preferences.

  “What’s wrong with you two?” Jeff asked his friends. “Of course I’m attracted to girls, I like them, but… I’m just not interested in girls as a topic, or at least not in being in a relationship right now. But believe me, I do like them—I swear it, one hand on my chest and the other pointing to the sky,” he said, performing the gesture at the end.

  “Calm down, Jeff, we believe you, you don’t have to be intense,” Mike and Miguel said when they saw Jeff’s denying attitude.

  “I’m not intense,” Jeff continued. “I just don’t want a girl to hear you and ruin my few chances for when I want to be in a relationship.”

  After that, an alarm was heard on Mike’s cellphone. When he checked it, he realized it was already time to go back to class.

  “Wow, time really flies when you’re having fun,” Mike said, sounding a little sad.

  “It’s not that time moves faster when you’re happy; it’s that your mind stops thinking about time and just enjoys the moment,” Jeff argued, smiling at Mike.

  With those words, the three friends gathered their swords and equipment (their laptops and backpacks), and with determined steps, they advanced toward the final boss room (the last class of the day).

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  “Aaahhh, this day is finally over. It was more tiring than usual,” Jeff said, exhausted, carrying his bag and with his back curved. Leaving the university, he had already said goodbye to his friends and was heading toward his apartment.

  “Well, it’s obvious that you get more tired when you put more attention into your classes,” Esfer commented. “And speaking of that, why don’t you stop studying that major and choose another vocation, Master?”

  “Well, that would be the correct answer if there were something I would like to dedicate myself to,” Jeff replied without much enthusiasm.

  “Doesn’t any major or job catch your attention?” Esfer asked incredulously.

  “Nope,” Jeff replied bluntly. “I’ve already thought about it, but nothing comes to mind. I study this major because my parents suggested it (forced it).”

  “Wow… you really are a case,” Esfer said, looking at Jeff’s relaxed attitude, while Jeff remained unfazed by his words.

  But that attitude changed. He stopped walking and was able to look into the distance…

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  …This story will continue

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  ....in the next chapter.