Social 180

Chapter 1: Greeting

Friday, August 30, 2024

5:00 P.M.

God, this is making me nervous. I'm seriously a university student now? Whoever said time flies certainly wasn't joking. I can't believe I'm already in the next chapter of my life—it freaks me out not knowing what'll happen next.

None of that is what I'm worried about right this second, however. It's the people I'm having my internal conflict over; the many whom I have yet to meet. No, I'm not antisocial, far from it in fact. I love talking to people and making new friends, but I have a major issue with keeping those friends. I have no clue why; maybe it's an aura or something. An aura that somehow repels people. Whatever it is, it sucks. Quite often I've wished I was in someone else's body. Just about anyone else I can pick from the crowd likely has a better social life than me. After all, they're in a crowd for a reason.

All right, time to get off the tangent. Pay no mind, stick with the grind, I think to myself.

I've already made my official entry into campus, having checked in at the main hall (whilst being intimidated by its hyper-sophisticated architecture) and having gotten my Cupid Card (a card that apparently acts as campus identification, a room key, and a campus-only credit card). Now I'm just making my way to my dorm building—the Maximilian Building, as it's called. I love the name; I don't know if it's just me but Maximilian sounds like a name of power.

Honestly, though, I'd expect a name of power from what is known as one of the best universities in America: Providence State. The project to build this gem started because MIT wanted to expand their facilities to the Midwest. They picked a spot around the border between Kansas and Nebraska; an area that is neatly situated between Kansas City, Topeka, and Omaha. These cities, among a few smaller ones, make up what we students call the "Circle of Providence." However, only fifty-eight percent of the student population come from this circle. The rest come from outside the circle; possibly even outside the country. And someone, whether they're from the circle or not, will become my roommate.

"Please tell me my roommate will be tolerable," I whisper to God. "Please tell me I can live with them."

Man, my mind's been everywhere.

A few moments pass by and I make it to the Maximilian Building, stepping through the vestibule quickly. I find myself in a large, cylindrical lounge area, which seems to have a diameter of roughly one-hundred feet, and a height of six stories. It's about noon right now, and the building faces the south, so a lot of light is coming in through the six story transom, causing the floor, leather chairs, and opposing wood walls to gleam. It's beautiful.

This building must be one of the newer developments in the university grounds—I'd think less than five years old. The fact is, a lot of the buildings here are fairly new. Considering this university was founded only a few years before I was born, it would make sense. Heck, it wasn't even a full university back then. It was originally intended to simply be an extension to MIT's facilities, but considering its location and higher acceptance rate, it grew fast. The board ultimately decided to open the window further, fitting in other majors involving technology.

Yes, I've done my research on this place.

As I quit marveling and look back down, I find out that on the first level only, there are glass doors and windows instead of the wood walls. Beyond that glass lies the food court, containing fellow students eating lunch and enjoying each other's company.

If only I had friends like that, I think to myself, as the feelings of loneliness overtake the horror of meeting my roommate.

Soon the loneliness is interrupted by a bubbly teal-haired girl sitting at the receptionist desk ahead of me. "Nice to meet you! My name's Lily, and I'm working as a receptionist here at the Maxi-uh, whatever this building's called!"