Boundless

1.0

Andrew Whitmore was a confident man with a sinful past. He was not a rebel by nature or fuelled by the fun and joy of the illicit, but an act of liberation and freedom against the ones who dictated his life.

This was the last challenge. He had thrown a dart at a map, and it landed somewhere his father would never remember. Andrew could almost picture him looking for him in Japan, England or even Russia, but not here, never here.

Andrew looked at himself in the mirror, finishing buttoning up his grey shirt. Causing a good impression on the first day was essential, yet he was dressed, thinking about the job interview he would attend later. He was on his own now.

His steps echoed through the huge, empty house, like a ghost following him everywhere. It was dusty and too big for him to handle on his own. Still, he could not afford a single maid in a house that used to be full of servants and noisy joy. He could hardly remember those times that he knew he had enjoyed the most.

So many forgotten, expensive cars were parked in the garage, and selling one would solve his problems for a while, but he just couldn't.

The black Mercedes seemed the less flashy one out of all the sports cars, so that was the one he chose. Sitting in the driver's seat, he stared at the mirror and two green eyes stared back at him. They were so cold now they scared him. The coldest stare he had ever seen, or so he thought. He would soon find himself wrong.

The drive to campus was only loud because of the radio playing. When he arrived, some students were walking inside the building, others sitting by the huge stairs leading to it or in the surrounding grass.

Andrew left the car and stared at the thirteen-century university. It was majestic and slightly threatening. He noted the large stairs were frayed from the many students walking up and down and he almost lost balance walking up the gigantic steps.

Asking directions to people, he found the way to a large room crowded with students. The front rows were all full, so he found himself a seat in the back.

He sat beside a blonde girl dressed in black, legs thrown over the table and a notebook pressed against them. She was drawing something whilst someone on the other side, of which he could only see a wisp of hair, tried to talk to her.

Andrew decided against interrupting them and didn't even say a 'Hello!'

"I'm just saying that playing with his feelings isn't right," the one on the other side said in a soft voice.

"I'm not. I cannot play with feelings when they are not there," the blonde said. "And it is not like I'm planning on being with him for long."

"No feelings from your side! He is completely in love with you! You cannot act like you're single"

"Yes, I can, Ali, because I am."

With that, the teacher walked in and they calmed down. Andrew pulled off his notebook and reached for a nonexistent pencil case.

There goes the good impression, he thought bitterly.

"Hey," he called the one next to him, "Could you please lend me a pen?"

The girl didn't even look at him. In a swift move, her feet were on the floor and the notebook against the table. She dispensed him a black pen, his fingers grazing hers as he reached for it. She was freezing.

"Thank you."

She didn't answer.

He tried to look at the intricate drawing, but she closed the notebook abruptly. Then he looked at her, at her pointy nose and haughty expression. That was when she turned to look at him.

His eyes met hers. He had truly been wrong. Those blue eyes, like the sky, screamed danger. He had always thought girls with freckles were the cutest, but that woman was everything but cute. She was beautiful in a godly way, too great for him to even consider approaching.

"Take a picture. It lasts longer." She smiled. He knew it was not an invitation, but a threat. She was saying, Look at me again and you'll lose your eyes.

Slightly frightened, he turned back to the teacher, pretending that hadn't just happened.

"Dear God, do you always have to be so rude?" the other asked disapprovingly.

She received no answer, and the class went on with none of them talking to each other.

He thought little about it, deciding to search for another seat next time. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to see the unpleasant woman again. It was an enormous school, after all.

At the end of the first class, she disappeared from the classroom before he had any chance to give her the pen back.

"Hey," he called for the friend left behind.

She looked at him from behind her thick-rimmed glasses and loose blue strands of hair hiding her face. From the moment he landed, eyes on her pretty face, he knew she was an angel.

"Your friend forgot her pen."

"Oh," she grabbed it and shoved it inside her own bag. "I'm sorry about her. She had a bad day."

It was only ten in the morning. He doubted much could've happened.

"It's okay. I'm Andrew by the way."

"I'm Alice. Can I call you Andy?"

He nodded, and Alice smiled.

The blue-haired girl had a smile like many hadn't. It was sweet and innocent, almost divine. From the black-rimmed glasses to the homemade cartoon drawn shoes, her appearance screamed cute. And she was. Alice was honey and flowers, sugar and strawberries.

"What's your next class, Andy?"

He fetched the folded schedule from his pocket and tried to smooth the wrinkles. She peeked from behind him to look at it.

"We're having the same class," she beamed. "Let's go, I'll show you around."

Alice held him by the hand, pulled him down the stairs, almost making both fall.

"You have a funny accent, you know."

He frowned. Sure, he hadn't spoken the language in a long time, but he had had a very strict tutor to help him sound like a native.

"Do I?"

"Yeah. It's funny. Where are you from?"

I shouldn't tell anyone, he thought, knowing it could only bring problems for him. Still, he couldn't picture the girl harming a fly, let alone sending word to his father.

"New York."

"Wow, that's... fancy."

"Fancy?"

They were already in the corridor, surrounded by students trying to get to their own classes in time, or not in time. A mass stopping him from seeing anything besides people moving.

"Yeah. It's that place with the screens in the middle of the buildings, isn't it? That's real fancy."

"Well, that's only in Time's Square."

"Still fancy."

"I guess."

Andrew couldn't recall where he had just come from, but he was inside his classroom.

"Will you sit next to me?" she asked.

He stared at her, and he couldn't look away. Alice had the prettiest smile he had ever seen.

"Of course."