The Stoic And The Beast

Jake and Idget Collide

As I ran through the heavy glass revolving doors to catch up with him. I came to a stop beside Tyler. Suddenly feeling so small scanning my eyes around the marvelous sights surrounding me. I gaped in amazement at the interior architecture of the building. It looked much bigger on the inside than the outside had made it look. We stood in a vast open space with grey and white, glassy marble floors that mirrored the white coffered ceiling in its reflection. Giant antique paintings lined the walls. Paintings of past Dean's, perhaps even Professors and group photos of old alumni that must have been worth memorializing.

There were two wide sets of white marble stairs with glass railings front and center of the lobby. I watched rows of students ascending one side of the stairs and descending the other side. Their soft footsteps echoed around the room. There was a buzz that filled the air. Voices bounced off the walls and high ceiling. The sound seemed to stay constant as people walked and talked around us. An overwhelming feeling washed over me. My heart sped up at all the sights, sounds and even smells around me. I stood there a moment with my mouth wide open as the realization hit me that I belonged here, inside these walls, amongst all these bright, hard-working people. I was one of them. I was in college!

"Wow, Tyler have you ever seen anything so impressive in your life?" I asked.

Tyler let a whistle escape his lips.

"Not since seeing Cinderellas castle at Disney World when I was five. Alicia, we are going here. Can you believe it?" He muttered with an excited laugh.

All I could do to respond was smile and nod.

"So.. Alicia, where is your first class?" He asked while he was still raking his eyes across the room from one side to the other before looking down at me.

Tyler was taller than me by a few inches but not particularly tall for a guy. He was thin but built. His mom is a health nut and Tyler loves to swim. He got a scholarship from being scouted on the high school swim team. So his body was lean and muscular. Not that I ever thought of Tyler as attractive. He is handsome but he isn't my type. I've been to watch most of his matches and we had spent many summers at the beach so I've seen him a lot more than half-naked. He was the fastest swimmer at our highschool. He easily broke the school record for the fastest 400-meter individual relay by 4 seconds in his sophomore year. Even though he was fast, he still isn't Michael Phelps fast.

I hummed. "Umm...English literature, I think." I mumbled while still wide-eyed and awestruck. "It's on the 4th floor I think."

"Well, let's get to it!" He said with enthusiasm as he wiggled his backpack strap back onto his shoulder.

"See you at 2nd class. Good luck bestie!" He called out as he jogged away and bounded up the stairs with ease.

"Yup, see you th..."

My words were cut off by the shrill sound of a woman shrieking. Followed up with a heartbreaking sob. I looked around toward where the sound of the distressed female voice came from. It was definitely to my right. I turned my head toward the sound. My eyes fell on a scene that deeply angered me. A woman was cowering on the floor frantically wiping at her hair and neck. Crying in a silent sob while covering her face with her hands. There was a guy who's back was turned to me, standing over her.

I jogged over to the girl as soon as I laid my eyes on her. She needed someone's help. As I got closer to her, I quickly discovered what had made her scream. She was covered in what looked like hot coffee or perhaps a cappuccino. I looked up from the pitiful girls head to an outstretched hand hovering above her head holding a paper coffee cup. My eyes followed from the hand holding the cup along the length of that person's arm, my eyes slowly traveled to the face of the man whom the arm belonged to.