365 days in Tintern University

Chapter One

                She sat staring out the train window, watching as a never-ending forest of green trees swished past her vision. Not paying attention to any particular thing, she let the expression on her face wilt into anything but beautiful. A sigh slipped from her thin sangria lips, and as she plopped her head against the window she closed her eyes feeling every bump and vibration cause by the railroad tracks.

They would be there soon. And she would be there for the next 365 days.

                At the thought of this, a dull ache penetrated through her body ; a type of homesickness for the homeless. She had wanted to stay in her studio loft apartment, to leave school behind, to find the place her soul rested easy - but instead she had been forced on a train and was expected to travel halfway across the country to a private university.

                Under normal circumstances, anybody would be happy. It was Tintern University - The most prestigious in the country and among the top in the world. Lodged in the cliffs of the Zurich mountains, only 400 students were proposed for intake each year. The only way someone could get into the university was to be scouted specifically; there were no application forms or optional programs for outside students. You were scouted for the thing you excelled at – and that was it. You were in or out; no grey areas.

                She blew a piece of hair from her mouth, glancing at the medical textbook peeking out from her bag. Scowling at the book, she inwardly groaned, It’s all thanks to you I’m going here. After today, its 364 days till I can go back to the apartment and frolic around in my bed and scoop nutella out of the jar with my fingers like a Neanderthal. And belt out Motown tunes like it’s nobody’s business. And prance around nak-

Suddenly, a noise startled her out of her thoughts. Straining to listen closer, she could hear groans coming from another passenger section on board. Her ears perked up and her senses became keener – her homesick thoughts quickly pushed away. They were the sounds of someone in pain. A sound she had become all too familiar with. As the noise became clearer and louder, she could now be sure there was a fight taking place. Anxiety clasped at her throat and from the bottom of her  heart she wished the sounds to stop; but she had a sneaking suspicion about the origins. Rumours had long circulated in Zurich about how wealthy young males lost themselves in a cheap world of alcohol, women and macho-man bullying while maintaining a 4.33 GPA. She had heard about the violent culture associated with Tintern University, but this was her first time experiencing it. Briefly glancing back onto the train, from the corner of her eye she confirmed the source.

It was indeed, a group of males. Around the same age as her, all sharply dressed. To be precise, there were three with one 6 foot, dark-brown haired ring leader standing in the middle. Lying at his feet was a freshman, covered in train food and being gently kicked in the torso. Looking down, the ring leader stated in a mocking tone,

“Keep that fresh tongue of yours in check, you don’t want me to slice it, do you?”

Nausea rose up the throat of Zahra as she watched the exchange. Pitiful, pathetic, lowly, disgusting worms. She repeated the words in her head, venom spouting through every vein in her body. However, even so, she forcibly removed her eyes from the scene and continued staring out the window, wincing every now and then she heard another noise from behind her.

She closed her eyes, trying to regain her calm. It would be ridiculous, She thought to herself, my body can’t take it today.

But it was so damn hard to stay idle. Especially when she knew she had the power to take the bullied boy’s pain and make it her own.