Lingering Among the Shadows of Trust

Anomalous 4

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PART IV
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AFTER ASKING SCOTT WHERE the canteen is located, I walked along the pavement towards the Pranfiner building. The outside has small tables dotted around under a patio-like shade. Almost every table outside the building was occupied, and there was barely any place to sit. When I looked inside the building, it had a towering ceiling and a wide space, with pillars connecting to the top and the second floor of the canteen. The second floor even had an open space where you could overlook the first floor. Despite the size, it was even busier with two long lines formed adjacent to each other, one for the lunch meals while the other for snacks and drinks, a smaller line formed near a table where they disposed of the used utensils and plates and leftover foods, and another much smaller line near the wash area next to the restrooms. The ambiance felt like being inside a public market with the clattering sounds of the plates and utensils, the vibrating noises of the chairs and tables each time someone sat or stood, and the loud chatters of everyone's voices. I could not find a place to sit down. I strolled along the cemented pathway outside, encircling the canteen.

When I reached Pranfiner Park, next to the building, I found a bench shaded under an autumn blaze maple. There were also old rusted tables and chairs, coated in green paint and scattered around the park, but all of which were either occupied, dirty, or unusable. Making sure the bench was clean, I sat down and brought out my lunch from my backpack—a container with four chicken nuggets alongside its sauce, and a green salad comprising of mostly lettuce. Before I dug in, a few loud cheers and touches of laughter reached my ears, coming from my seniors at one of the green tables. When I glanced at them, I saw the girl again. She sat beside one of our seniors eating his lunch. I don't always question her activities, but it seems like I'm the only one who can notice her. She sat there as I ate my lunch. I did not see anything weird happening yet, probably because I looked the other way.

     I never widened my thoughts about her. I thought she was a mirage from my past, like how kids see stuff no other person could. But to this day, she remains in the back of my brain. I figured if I ignored her she would go away, but her appearance was pinned into my head—I could not get it off, despite not seeing her true face. She's covered in shady mist, no vibrant color shines on her body—only the color of darkness. She also covers her face with her hair, making it harder to see her facial features. Kind of like the chilling presence of the ghost lady in the movie The Ring, but the amount of times she appeared has yet to bring fear in me. There were questions popping in my head. What if she was killed in an accident? What if she was murdered? I could not bear to think about it. After finishing my lunch, I fixed my stuff, cleaned my bench, and headed back to Kozpaq Heights, looking around to see if Scott is nearby.

     "Anna!" Scott yelled before I entered the building. I turned to my left and saw him waving his hand.

"Well, ain't that convenient?" I replied.

We decided to continue on the spot, so we walked along the cemented pathways that led to the campuses and buildings. Once again, he led the way, raising his finger to each building we pass through, and telling a brief description about them. We first arrived at a park that is the center of the University, Scott called it Innovation Square. While strolling around the square, he raised his finger to a few buildings, calling by their names, and saying each of its uses. To the right, there's Morasystems which is for ICT, Parustry Lab for the science laboratory, and Carolazon Centre for the clinic. To the left is Ciopa Square, which is a smaller canteen, and the Aquatics Centre which is where the swimming pool is. Over a tall fence next to the Aquatics Center is the Milandoo Houses and Work Park with a tall tree in the middle. Honestly, I thought it was separate from the University, but Scott responded in contrary.

I asked him what it was. "It's a dormitory. I've been there before, and I regret doing so," he complained. Good thing I didn't rent a place there. As we continued to walk, we arrived at the Oval, a place where most sports were held. The Oval also includes Core Park which is by far the largest.

     After just a few walks, I didn't realize that lunch break is about to end, and the next class will start in 20 minutes. Good thing, I had no desire on visiting the other campuses anyway. But I could sense the aura of desire that Scott had. It was strong, but going around the other school campuses is difficult with the remaining time we had.

"It's about time we head back," I said as he nodded. He knew we ran out of time. We still have classes this afternoon, Science and IT.

We head back to our campus. I'm guessing that is the end of the tour. It wasn't as frustrating as I expected it to be. And Scott wasn't as annoying. He doesn't overly extend the encounter of each area, nor does he ever exaggerate his emotions. One thing I did notice is how many of our batchmates knows about him, even asking for help with certain stuff. Now that I mention it, even if I don't vote for him during the elections in two weeks, the majority would. What gave him that sort of popularity? Was it because of his rich parents? Is he related to someone even more popular? Is he well-known by everyone in the school? Who knows really. But I guess that is a perk of being a Cyprian ever since kindergarten.