They said that there's a fixed decree by which the order of things is prescribed. There's that stupid immutable law of the universe; something that people deemed an inevitable necessity. They said that there's a force by which all existence is determined and conditioned but for Orm, what's the use of struggling against fate if she, herself already knows what she wants.
Currently in her junior year as a Medical student, Orm knew that it's not luck that brought her where she currently is. She perseveres, she persists. She won't let herself be stuck with life's problems and bullshit and she knows her path is clear if she holds on. She's too busy adjusting the transition from classroom learning to clinical clerkship and honestly, she would rather sleep than think of anything otherwise.
An honor student from a struggling family, she's on multiple scholarships and experience working while studying. She kept herself from things that would distract her from her goal but Kismet, she's where she is supposed to be on a Tuesday afternoon when the rain would not stop, standing in line while the entire university library that smelled like cat's rotten food.
She doesn't mean to be rude but she still has books she needs to read but the woman in front of her stood at the return counter for almost five minutes, blinking at the machine.
“You have to scan the barcode first,” Orm finally whispered from beside her.
The woman who looked a few years older than her turned slowly. Very slowly like her thoughts had to travel miles before reaching her face. “Oh,” The woman said after another long pause. “That makes sense.”
Orm should have found it annoying as what most people did. How could one not know how scanning a simple bar code works is something she could not comprehend. It would just take five seconds to be done with it but the woman who shyly thanked her while introducing herself as Ling was kinda different.
Ling was always late understanding jokes. She's late at answering questions. Late arriving to class because she “forgot time was moving.” Even the way she walked looked delayed, like the world moved too fast for her body. She's timid in everything, figuratively and literally. Everyone wanted to hurry in life, to gain any traction in every situation. Everyone wanted to increase their paces and it's everyone but her. That trait of her is what Orm sometimes hated the most because a day won't pass by without her scolding Ling about it. They were always late at school because she walks slowly and sometimes, she's late on her own subjects too because she spent time waiting and waiting for Ling to catch up.
Orm is known to be a selective person and she's known to have high standards when it comes to everything. She doesn't do things half ass but those were all up in the air the moment she caught herself falling in love with someone who some call mediocre. Ling, although slow, is smart enough to pass her subject and has an obsession with anything to do with Sherlock Holmes. She had a pleasant face to look at and simple at best. Regardless, she's not the type of person one would expect for Orm to love but maybe, what they're saying is true. Opposite truly does attract and all those rules Orm set for herself? All those walls she built around crumbled to dust. 2D is what her group of friends call her but when Ling smiled shyly at her that day, Orm noticed something else.
Ling tried. She's aware of her limitations but she tried no matter how time consuming, she tried constantly and quietly and somehow, for Orm, that mattered more. As much as she would like to avoid what she feel, it just simply hit her like a bullet train. Despite the rules she set for herself, despite her ambition, she couldn't avoid the things that slowly made her world revolve around Ling. She became one of the reasons why she found joy in life. With just a simple smile, her bad mood would immediately vanish. Her hug after a long day and sleepless night magically melt her tiredness away and for Orm, Ling is the only exception.
