In Each And Every Birth: Chapter I

friend

Deno

I put my paws around, almost hugging myself due to the cold atmosphere as I looked around at the filled room. The stage was uplifted and had a red carpet running on top with a maroon podium and two microphones attached. Furs were talking and having a laugh, waiting for this session to start. Many were nervous, but not quite as nervous as the one beside me. I was never the best at approaching new people but seeing him almost struggle was almost painful to bear.

"You alright?" I asked turning to the Timber Wolf beside me. His eyes immediately darted towards me.

"Oh uhm yeah... I'm fine just... never done this before" he breathed heavily. 

"Big crowd?" I continued causing him to smile slightly. 

"Yeah"

"You speaking on stage or..."

"No, I just get like... anxious with these many people"

"Hey, don't worry, you're fine. It'll hopefully be over soon" I smiled, trying to help without any expertise.

"It's 7:46, when will they start" Tania shrugged frustrated as she slid her phone into her back pocket and placed her paw on her cheeks to support herself from limping on the side of the chair.

"not sur-" I was cut off by a loud screech sound from a mic flooding the atrium and impaling all our ears. Everyone gasped, and most furs' ears drooped as they pressed their ears.

"My apologies. Welcome Students!" We heard a loud deep voice echo from the speakers. It was somewhat menacing but had a hint of light kindness. We all looked at the stage to see a pretty old Angus Bull standing next to the podium. He looked at all of us around the atrium with a smile and continued to speak. 

"Welcome students" The Bull continued. "I am Mr. Robert Yansomer, the dean of the University of Amsterdam but you all can call me Mr. Rob or Mr. Yan for short," he said with a smile. 

"Today, we will be going over everything about the University of Amsterdam from the basics of courses, schedules, teachers and all the important policies and principles regarding our university so, please do pay attention and take down notes to refer to or any possible questions you may have after the presentation has finished,"

I could already feel myself doze off but I forced myself awake as they spoke. I turned my head around several times and shifted myself from this uncomfortable position. They introduced us to many different teachers and spoke about our classes and how to get to them,  the rules of the university, dress codes, and management systems. They talked distinctively to students from different courses. There was a lot more but I couldn't care less.

It felt as if they kept on repeating the same things over and over again. My attention wandered off into random thoughts and focusing soon wasn't an option anymore. I turned my head around to get some support for my slouching body.

As I did I saw most students already completely lost into the boredom of the voices, but the Timber Wolf beside me was one of the only ones who seemed to be fully concentrated, taking down an array of notes and questions. He seemed to care a lot about whatever he was doing. They were explaining the music course currently, rushing through it which made Alec speed write all his notes.  

I should too

Towards the end though, even he couldn't tackle the boredom, shifting his gaze from his phone to the stage once in a while with his paw slouched on his chin as he continued fiddling with his phone. For whatever he was doing, he seemed sweet. 

He looked disturbed, misplaced, sad, and annoyed. Almost no spark of Joy in him whatsoever other than our minute conversation. I didn't miss anything because I heard Mr. Yan say 'engineering' so they just moved on to that course. I used to be extremely anxious in these situations before which made me slightly sympathetic to see someone similarly uncomfortable.