The Seven, and their Wealth. II

X - Alexander.

University of Pretoria, Hatfield Campus.

Alexander stepped out of the lecture hall on what he saw as yet another day of being alive. Today was not just another regular day, today was Alexander's twenty-first birthday and naturally, his friends went ahead and planned an evening of madness.

He did not know what exactly had planned because he had heard from different sources that his "Grand" birthday plans were merely going to be a game night; while another assured him that it would be a braai at his place. Perhaps the most bizarre one was the idea of a leisurely night through the zoo, which was more of an intimate thing you would do with a lover rather than a group outing.

There was no guessing about what they had planned, but he genuinely was thrilled at what the plans for the evening might be. The good vibes that were being felt today were a culmination of the preceding days. Alex got off to a healthy start in school by achieving an average above ninety per cent after their first set of assessments. He and Miriam were doing good, great actually. His parents would call in occasionally and he would fill them in on the good that is happening around him.

And while he was basking in all the good vibes on offer, not everything around him brought joy. He had been experiencing a nasty slump with Jackson, which made him gravitate more towards Miriam. Since last visiting him nearly over a month ago, Alex and Jackson had never really said anything to open another beyond the simple "Hello" and "How are you?".

It was not hard to see that Jackson was being bothered by something, from the last visit. They did not get many words in, and there was very little action. It was outright their most weird encounter yet and what bothered Alex the most was Jackson's reluctance to open up fully to him. Jackson had expressed full discomfort in sharing because it would open other doors that he would prefer to be closed while around Alex.

But that would be far from the case tonight. Alex was going to break the ice between the two again by inviting Jackson out. What better to mend fences than a night out doing whatever his best friends had planned?

Plus it was his birthday, so Alex was in charge of the guests' list. There was no way Jackson would be rude enough to decline an invite to a birthday celebration.

A twenty-first one, at that.

Before heading straight for his car, Alexander made a brief detour at the sight of a familiar face.

He cautiously walked up behind her and covered her eyes while she was excitedly talking the day away with her friend.

'Oh come on, with that cologne it's not that hard to tell who it is,' she snickered. 'Hello, Alex.'

'You're no fun,' he laughed, before being pulled into a hug by Miriam.

'Happy birthday handsome.'

'Thank you,' he responded before pecking Miriam's cheek. Alex hugged Sasha and a reluctant Kiara too, both of whom passed on shallow birthday wishes, before excusing themselves from the conversation.

With her arm thrown over his shoulder and his wrapped around her waist, they could not help but stare into each other's eyes with grins on both their faces.

Miriam was attractive, and Alex was attracted to her.

'So you want to tell me about what I can expect tonight?'

Miriam giggled.

'Then it won't be much of a surprise, now, will it?'

'Oh come on Miriam,' he jokingly groaned. 'I already know something is going on, you might as well tell me what we will be doing.'