H&M

Chapter 4

"I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end."

Maya • • •

I arrived at the expansive campus of the University of Notre Dame and ogled at the gilded Golden Dome and the statue of The Virgin Mary that sat on the main building. The South Bend community that surrounded the university provided a vibrant home for many students and professors. I was lucky enough to attend The University of Notre Dame for free. I had been under a deep wave of depression; I knew taking rigorous classes, attending frat parties, and losing myself in Notre Dame's massive library would provide the perfect amount of distraction I needed from life.

I might even find time to build my relationship with God.

I knew nothing about the Catholic faith but I assumed attending a Catholic University would require me to know the basics. I had promised myself that the Sunday mornings that weren't spent nursing a hangover or studying, would be spent in Mass.

I took a moment to observe my surroundings, I wasn't the only one impressed by the architecture and the statue of Mary; Some even prayed. I had to find someone to interrupt in order to get to the B dorm.

"Excuse me." I said, reaching out but not touching the young man. He was very handsome; He was in his very early 20s and wore a button down shirt, khaki shorts and tan Sperries, a product of a fraternity. His light brown hair was swooped to the side almost lazily, but I knew it was very calculated.

"Yeah?" He smiled. That simple word had me on edge, I tried to hide the wave of emotion that hit me.

"I was wondering if you knew how to get to the dorm B."

"Sure, I'm actually just heading there." He assured me. "What's your room number?"

"B-204."

"You're on the second floor." He flashed another smile. "Follow me."

We walked side by side, slow enough for me to take in my surroundings.

"What's you name?" He asked before stopping to fix his shoe.

"Maya." I replied, nodding slowly, as if I forgot who I was. "And yours?"

"Liam." He answered. " You have a beautiful name, Maya."

"Thank you." I replied with a timid smile. Was he flirting with me? "What's your major?" I changed the subject.

"Business Management." He beamed proudly while turning right. " My whole family has gone into business and I can't be the one to break tradition."

"Is that what you want to do?" I asked him.

He paused, as if no one ever asked him before, as if he never thought to ask himself. "I think so. I mean, running a business would be really cool."

I nodded thoughtfully. He didn't sound very convinced, but I kept my observations to myself.

"What are you studying?" He returned my question.

"Psychology." I put simply.

"My girlfriends studying Psychology, too." He smiled while mentioning her. He definitely wasn't flirting with me earlier.

"What's her name?" I asked curiously.

"Sophia." He said with fondness in his eyes, no doubt he loved her.

After making small talk for about 10 minutes, we walked into a large building, which I assumed was Dorm B.

We arrived just as the elevator doors were in the process of closing.

"Could you hold that for us?" Liam called to the single person who occupied the elevator. His hair was dark brown, almost shoulder length, with a white and black bandana holding his unruly curls from his face. His toned arms were littered with tattoos, which I'm sure were just for aesthetic and had no true meaning behind them. He wore a black T-shirt, faded black jeans and black shoes; A very creative man he was. I struggled to catch my breath as we made eye contact just before the elevator doors closed.

"What an asshole." I heard Liam mutter under his breath.

"Right." I agreed. Half of me wanted to smack him for being so rude while the other half of me wanted to get to know him. He intrigued me somehow. "Who was that?"

"Just an asshole." Liam told me, visibly annoyed.

I stopped myself from asking more, I didn't want to upset my first and only friend at Notre Dame. We boarded the next elevator, getting off at the second floor.

"204, right?" Liam asked me, no longer upset from earlier.

"Yep."

"Just a rule of thumb." Liam began, stepping out of the elevator. "The first letter is the building, the first number is the floor and even numbers are always on one side and the odds are on the other."

After a few seconds of processing his words, I nodded in agreement.

"The boys are on this side," he pointed to our left . "and the girls are on the right side."

"I thought we were separated by floor." I told Liam.

"Nope." He stated simply. "And the showers are on the 3rd floor."

"Why on the 3rd floor?" I asked.

"This is one of the old buildings," Liam explained before stopping in front of a door that read 204. "All the new buildings have showers on each floor but you all share one big shower."

Why wasn't I told this before?

"Thank you so much, Liam." I said with gratitude.

"No problem." He replied genuinely. "I'm on the 3rd floor, room 316. I'm only staying there temporarily but if you need anything I'll probably be there."

"Wait, so you're not in a fraternity?" I asked, confusion evident in my voice.

After a fit of laughter, Liam regained his composure. "Is it that obvious?"

"I'm sorry." I attempted to control my laughter, also.

"They're renovating our home, it was falling apart at the seams." He informed me. "I'm only staying in the dorms until renovations are over."

"That makes sense. Thanks again." I retrieved my keys from my purse and stepped into my new home.

"See you around." Liam called from the hallway.

"I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again." - James Taylor (Fire and Rain)