TeamFortress2's New Addition

Chapter Four

You tagged along towards the back of your group, completely uninterested in what the leader was saying and where you'd be going. I wonder how the rest of them are doing. Did the others get split up like we did, too? Maybe we'll meet back at a dining hall or something.

Your eye caught something moving again. That suit guy! He was standing next to a tree on the phone, just out of hearing range. He seemed to have caught you looking again and started walking the opposite way. Why would he be here? You shook your head. Clearly I'm just bored, but he really stands out for some reason.

You tried to focus in on your group, but even that seemed to offer little to nothing. Why would I care so much about the history of a house? ...That sounds awful even to say it in my head. Am I a mean person?

Without trying to dwell on that question too long, you followed the group into a building for biology and chemistry. Another STEM thing... great. You observed the posters on the walls advertising group meetings from the previous semester. I wonder what this tour would've been like if classes were still in session. ... Probably just more crowded. They look so smiley. I don't know if they're really happy or if they're just posing for a picture.

You found a seat in another lecture hall, but this one had a desk setup with a sink attachment at the front of the room. You made sure not to sit directly next to anyone. It would be weird. You mindlessly scanned the room itself, full of rows and rows of chairs that the group only occupied a small portion of. How many students are able to fit in here?

At the front of the room, positioned behind the desk, were two more professors you hadn't noticed. They seemed to be roughly the same height, but the man with a lighter complexion looked slightly taller. He had this weird superman curl made of black hair that landed on the top of his small glasses. He also had strong facial features that gave him a stern expression, which felt... weird with blue eyes. At the very least, we seemed to be dressed in a lab coat and red rubber gloves. The other guy looks like he just threw something on and hoped for the best.

The other man, just to the left of the first, had dark skin and a handlebar mustache. It seemed weird that he wore a beanie with a simple red t-shirt, but only if he was a professor. I guess they don't have dress codes? You could say the strangest part of this man's outfit stemmed from an eyepatch covering his left eye, but it probably wasn't a choice. They remind me of Bert and Ernie, kind of.

You hadn't bothered to pay attention to what they were saying, but you gathered that the superman-curl guy's name was Dr. Ludwig and is a medical doctor. He seems really touchy about it, though. The eyepatch guy's name was Travis DeGroot, but he just said he was from the chemistry department. To be fair, you found it weird that they didn't give up their specialities. Wouldn't that be good to connect to certain students? If you were like, a pediatrician or something? I don't know.

Dr. Ludwig spoke with a German accent, which made you wonder if he was also a mad German scientist... that's a bad stereotype. I shouldn't think like that. DeGroot, on the other hand, had a very prominent Scottish accent that felt like it grated your ears. Not that you minded it per say, but he was just... so loud.

It also seemed like they hadn't planned anything to begin with, as they seemed to keep talking over each other. The doctor kept scowling as his presenting partner, and you couldn't help but laugh at the scene. It's not like I'm missing out on any valuable information here.

"And I wouldn't say go inta the chemistry department for any, y'know, bomb making, but-ah Boom Boom Baby," DeGroot continued rambling, nudging Ludwig with an elbow after making his joke. I swear I didn't know someone could frown that deeply. It's like he's The Grinch.

"Or ve could discuss ze classes zhey could take?" Dr. Ludwig prompted his partner, agitation dripping with his words. DeGroot seemed to look a little nervous, but offered the job to the doctor. This seemed to surprise him slightly, as he stood up straighter with raised eyebrows. They gave the man a system reset.

Bored, and honestly suffering from a little bit of second hand embarrassment, you looked over to the other people in your group. They seemed to be having the same experience as you, and even the leaders didn't bother hiding their confusion.

"I thought we were supposed to hear from Dr.... Have you met these two before?" Your ears perked up to a leader's question. Wait... they don't know who these two are? Like, they weren't supposed to be here? For some reason, that seemed to flip a switch in you. Suddenly, you became a bit more suspicious of these two. It didn't help that the weird suited guy kept sneaking around. Is he trying to keep track of people sneaking into campus or something?

The group leaders ended the "Q&A" early to stay on schedule, and DeGroot looked genuinely relieved. As your group trickled out of the door, you felt their eyes bear into your back. Weird.