Sun, Moon, and Stars💫

3

I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath as the large door swung open.

Eli and I stood there on the threshold, staring out across what was probably the largest courtyard I had ever seen. I felt my face go a bit slack, and I didn't move from the doorway for a moment, fully focused on trying to drink in what was going on in front of me.

A sea's worth of people of all different shapes and sizes and colours milled about the vast expanse of grass and concrete. A few sat on benches or under trees; books, laptops, and pencils in hand. Some people shouted to friends from the opposite side of the space, others sitting in groups both small and large, most of them howling with laughter. It was the perfect mix between peace and chaos.

I heard Eli clear his throat, breaking me from the daze I was in. My eyes darted up to meet his. "You okay?" he asked, his features contorted into a frown. Is that the one facial expression he's capable of making?

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied. His frown didn't fade, but he followed me as I walked down the steps and into the awaiting madness.

"So, where are we going now?" I squinted up at him, the glare of the sun no longer covered by the building behind us.

Eli lifted a hand to his forhead, shielding his own eyes from that big ball of burning gas. "I'm going to introduce you to my friends."

My eyes shot fully open, and I winced at the blinding rays of light that hit my eyeballs, immediately closing them. "Ow. I was going to say, 'Well, now I'm nervous,' but I've just been blinded by the sun, and I guess I don't feel nervous anymore. So... I guess that's a plus?" I heard a little huff come from my right. Was that an almost-laugh?

My vision was still spotty after a few moments, so I grabbed Eli's shoulder to guide myself along, shielding my eyes with my hand. I felt his shoulder muscles tense beneath my fingers, but he kept walking, so I did too.

We slowly made our way through the crowd, Eli pointing out a few things along the way once the light spots had ceased dancing across my vision. Benford really was a beautiful school, despite being a public one.

After the third time of someone bumping into my shoulder and almost knocking me to the ground, I asked Eli, "How many people actually go here?"

He stopped walking for a moment to look at me. "I think it's one thousand, eight hundred and something." My jaw dropped. Eli nodded.

We continued walking until we made it out of the chaos and over to a little picnic bench in the corner of the courtyard, right next to what Eli had mentioned was the library. A little group of people sat there, laughing and talking loudly with each other over the din of their fellow students.

Eli slid onto one of the benches, motioning for me to sit down, too. I took my time studying the new faces around me, each of them too caught up in conversation to pay me any mind. There was a girl with dark brown skin, her braided hair pulled back from her face in a low bun, and a sharp wing jutting from the corner of both of her eyes.

Next to her sat, a boy with dirty blonde hair and a face full of freckles, a goofy grin plastered across his face. He was waving his hands around a lot as he spoke, which immediately drew my eyes to his nails. Painted and manicured, they were bright orange with little pink hearts on them. I think I fell in love right then and there. Then I saw the girl sitting on his other side.