Purple Adventures [1ST DRAFT/BEING REWRITTEN]

Chapter || Two

I woke up in my bed with the sound of my alarm, 'Breathin' by Ariana Grande, blaring from my phone. With a different song set to alarm me for the beginning of each day I know today's song meant it was Monday. I know my memory can be fuzzy after a seizure but losing the whole section of time between watching Buzzfeed Unsolved at Eros' house and making it home to my bed seemed a little extreme, even for me. I slowly made my way to the kitchen, noticing I was still in yesterday's clothes along the way.

"Can you please help me fill in some blanks?" I asked my mum as I entered the room while she made a cup of coffee.

I didn't miss the scowl that was ever present on her face as she glanced at me before she grabbed another mug from the cupboard and a tea bag from my jar of various flavours. To be honest I don't think anybody could miss it and I'm sure if I questioned it she'd only tell me I was supposed to catch the foul look.

"Sit." Was all she managed to say as she began making a cup of tea for me without even looking at me again.

I did as I was told and fiddled with my fingers, I knew I was about to get scolded for the previous day's events and I wasn't ready in the slightest. I looked up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mug was placed in front of me filled with a gingerbread chai mix. It was now or never.

"Do you realise how irresponsible you were yesterday?" She began all too calmly.

With my voice caught in my throat I simply nodded.

"Good so you don't need me to lecture you? You don't need to be reminded that you call me immediately after a seizure? Not lounge around a park and try walking home, especially in such a new area. You realise how seriously negative your actions could've been yesterday? You're going to remember to keep a portable charger with you when you leave the house to make sure your phone doesn't die while you're out? So you phone doesn't die and I don't have to sit here stewing in panic and worry over you?" She rambled in what is honestly quite a condescending tone but truthfully I deserved it.

My actions were quite irresponsible and selfish. I know better but yesterday was just a day where it took far too much effort to be responsible. I simply didn't have that kind of energy. That doesn't excuse that what I did was wrong on many counts though.

"I'll also remember to keep you better updated on where I am." I responded with my eyes trained on my mug that I had yet to touch.

I know looks can't kill but I didn't dare take the challenge of facing the glowering look I was receiving from my mum. You've gotta be safe with these things if you don't want to accidentally end up 6ft under.

"Good. Now that that's clear I'll fill you in. You fell asleep at your friend Eros' house and he was kind enough to carry you to his car and drive you over. I said it was fine to wake you up and make you walk, but he insisted on letting you rest and carried you to your room. You're not having a memory lapse you just fell asleep." My mother explained, now using a more reassuring tone.

"Oh, well that was kind of him." I mumbled in response before finally taking a sip of the delicious pick-me-up in front of me.

While the flavour of the beverage in my favourite mug was tongue tingling, the palette of flavours bursting with every sip, my focus was elsewhere. Why had Eros been so kind? I thought for sure I had made the most awkward first impression yesterday.

"I'm really glad you've made such a nice friend already Maia. He said if you're going to any classes today to text him and he'll give you a ride. Are you feeling up to any classes today?" She continued as she began moving around the kitchen, continuing on with her morning routine.

I'm glad she wasn't looking at me to be able to notice the look of confusion I'm sure had overtaken my face. Never did we exchange numbers yesterday and to offer me a ride, especially when we surely have conflicting schedules, was too generous.

"I should probably at least go in and meet the person who's going to be taking notes for me. I can always come home if I'm not feeling up to it." I answered mindlessly while lost in thought.

As I thought about how Eros had gotten into my phone to get my number the handy piece of technology alerted me to a text.

"Good luck on your first day! You're gonna smash it!" The message from the contact 'Flake' read. Rarely are my contacts saved as the person's actual name but rather a nickname which always adds some humour to messages. In this instance my wish of good luck had come from a good friend from back home who always flakes out on plans.

I scrolled down through my other notifications before replying. It was mainly twitter notifications but one stood out from the rest. A message from Eros saying, "Hope you get some rest. See you around Sleepy." How boring was his contact name, I'd have to change that soon especially seems he appears to have a nickname for me already.

I replied to Flake, said farewell to my mum as she left for work and made my way back to my room. As much as I wanted to make a good impression on everyone I meet today with a well thought out outfit I simply didn't have the energy for it. I pulled out a black and white Interim t-shirt and black high-waisted shorts and hoped that would suffice. I had noticed the time was creeping towards 8am and my first class was 9:30am so rather than taking an unreasonably long shower, like I preferred, I made it quick. Hoping that if I freshened myself up and got ready quick enough I'd be able to catch the next bus to the university and make it in time to meet the person who would be taking notes during our classes to help me out. I don't know whether they have any extra classes so I could only hope that I'd catch them before the first class of the day.

Knowing I'd get in trouble for recklessly running around if my mum were here I walked at a brisk pace between the bathroom, my room and the bus stop. I had just received the responsibility lecture not even an hour ago, the least I could do was be more careful with my actions for the day.

I text my mum to let her know I had made it to the bus. I sat there fiddling with my fingers that were sat atop my back up in my lap. No matter what I, or anyone else, said or did about the situation I had been incredibly nervous to start at Walla and now that I was on my way to the big, daunting building I could feel my anxiety making a bold appearance. As the bus pulled up to its designated spot by the car park I took notice of the time. It was 8:50am which might just be enough time to find my new class buddy.

As I got off the bus I took a moment to stand there and take it all in.
I had finally made it to university. At one point in my life I was considered a sure bet for early entry to an array of university choices. Those dreams were quickly dashed when epilepsy started taking control of my life, I quickly fell behind in my education and it's been a long journey to catch up. I didn't think it was going to happen at all at one point, and I have to do things a little differently to others, but I did it. I made it.

I started making my way to the main building doors amongst quite a lot of people dressed in the school colours. They weren't kidding about the strong Walla pride but at least the iris shade of purple goes well with the blue that reminded me of azure skies. With a colour combination like that I could get behind the school pride movement even if all the sports teams were horrid.

My stride was halted and my neck craned around to find the source of a semi familiar voice calling out what was now confirmed as a new nickname for me. Sleepy.

"I told you I could give you a lift." Eros continued as he reached me.

He didn't stop once het met me, forcing me to keep walking once more and attempt to match his pace. I didn't miss the sly looks I got from a group of friends stood together by the door as we entered the building. I'd love to tell them to mind their own business but I wasn't one for needless confrontation.

"A generous offer, really, but I didn't want to put you out. The bus was fine." I assured him.

"Nonsense! The bus stop is like 2km from your house. What time is your first class tomorrow? I'm picking you up." He insisted.

"As much as I'd love to go back and forth about this all day, I really need to be finding somebody before my class starts." I replied, hoping the change of topics would throw him off.

"Who are you looking for? I might be able to help." This man was too generous.

I looked down at the paper in my hand, reminding myself of their name, before answering.

"Uh, Nereus? I can just go to the main office and ask for help." Just stating one person's name came out so unsure and questioning.

I mentally face palmed myself, resisting the urge to do so physically, before reminding myself to go easier on myself. Despite this internal battle with myself I didn't miss the minor stumble in Eros' step as I mentioned Nereus' name but he recovered well.

"Oh no don't worry about the office. I know where you'll find Nereus." He continued, he seemed to typically have a certain kind of light bounce to his voice and demeanour but it seemed faint for a moment.

I followed Eros as he abruptly took a right turn and I struggled to keep up for a moment. It was then that I noticed we were getting varying sly looks from fellow students as we walked through the busy halls. While the facial expressions all varied they seemed to match those that I was faced with at the main entrance. It was making me a little uncomfortable but I ignored it to the best of my ability.

"Thank you for last night by the way." I kept the conversation going as I matched his pace once more.

"Don't mention it." He grumbled as we took another turn.

"Seriously, you didn't have to do that. Thank you." I insisted but apparently that was the wrong thing to do.

Eros stopped sharply and turned to me with a stone like face as those walking by turned and looked. In this moment I wish the ground could swallow me whole.

"Seriously Maia, don't mention it." He told me quite curtly before turning to start walking again.

I silently followed him as he went down another corridor and outside through large double doors. I had followed him to an on campus café and I kept following him as he weaved his way between tables until he found the right one.

"Maia meets Nereus. Nereus meets Maia." He said as he sat down with a huff and minimal eye contact.

While he hadn't exactly been extremely warm and bubbly from the moment I met him I didn't understand why he was suddenly so particularly cold.

"As much as I'd like to say nice to meet you Maia, our first encounter seems to have been tainted by captain piss pants here. Sorry about that." Nereus stuck their hand out as they introduced themself.

I tried to hold back a chuckle but it slipped out anyway which earned me a smirk from Nereus but a grumble from Eros. A bold first impression but they weren't exactly wrong either.

"Same to you. Although thank you, I've been wondering what my nickname for him might be and I think captain piss pants might just take the cake." I joked as I also extended my arm out into a handshake.

This time I lost all confidence as Eros shot a foul scowl towards both of us but Nereus simply laughed at his gaze.

"Don't worry about him. He'll perk up once I get a cup of tea into him. Would you like anything?" Nereus offered as they stood from their spot.

"Camomile tea if they have it. Thank you." I responded, still nervous after the cold look of Eros even despite Nereus' friendly reassurance.

"You've got it! And please sit, I promise he doesn't bite." And just like that Nereus was gone again.

"Hard", Eros mumbled in response to the biting comment, "So how do you and Nereus know each other."

"That's on a need to know basis and you, captain piss pants, simply want to know." I responded as I took a seat.

"Touché." Was all I got in response as he rolled his eyes and began checking his phone which jogged my memory.

"Hey how'd you get your number saved in my phone?" I asked.

"Easy, I saw you enter your passcode earlier and added it my number to your contacts before I took you home." He responded without even looking up from his phone.

He spoke like it was quite obvious and simple but that theory had not cross my mind.

"Somewhat invasive don't you think?" I pushed.

"Not particularly. I never looked at anything, not even any of your contacts. I went in with the aim of adding my number and texting myself with it which is all I did." He countered.

I hummed in response and we sat in silence until Nereus returned.

"One spearmint tea for grump lord and one camomile tea for" Nereus froze as they placed the warm cup in front of me.

"It's Maia doofus." Eros reminded them ever so kindly.

"Don't call me doofus or I'll take the tea back dork." Nereus ended their banter quickly with a clearly very serious threat.

"Hey Nereus, do you mind me asking what pronouns you prefer?" I asked, seizing the opportunity to change course of the conversation.

As amusing as it may be to see a grown man crying over flavoured hot water, I wanted the drink to cheer him back up not further upset him. I still don't entirely understand how he got to this mood to begin with but I wasn't enjoying it.

Nereus managed to answer simply with they/them before Eros jumped back into the conversation.

"So you don't know each other." He stated confidently with a look that added "I've caught you out" to his statement.

Nerves surrounding the fact that I didn't want to have to explain my medical situation or the fact that the university are accommodating in the sense that they have other students who will take extra notes in class just for you. Nereus was basically my study buddy to help me keep up with the course amongst my medical journey. However upon signing up to help out they had to agree to not tell anybody, other than teachers, what they were doing without my permission of which I hadn't given yet. Nereus quickly made eye contact with me, almost as if to check whether Eros was to know, before swooping in to save me from the conversation I really didn't want to have right now.

"Does it affect you in any way, shape or form how we know each other? No, it really doesn't. I haven't asked how", Nereus interrupted themself again, "Maia what are your pronouns?"

"She/her, thank you." I responded, curious to know where they were going with this.

"I haven't asked how she's infiltrated the infamous wall the brooding Eros has up to block everyone out. By people I clearly don't mean me, we all know you love me too much. Now mind your own business buddy." Nereus finished.

I could see this pair had a strange relationship however it brought humour to my day so I wouldn't complain. I couldn't help but wonder though, was this it as far as Eros' group of friends went? Just one person? I know I say quality over quantity and so far he has more friends here than I do but was he really known for being gloomy and choosing to only have one friend?

Despite knowing Eros for less than 24 hours this didn't sound like the man I had met. If it is, how had I gotten this far with him?

We all sat at the café table with an essence of waiting and patience in the air. Nereus looked expectantly at Eros but I was lost. What were they expecting from the man of mysteries?

"Feeling perky now?" Nereus asked with a hopeful tone.

"Yeah yeah yeah. Sorry for getting cantankerous." Eros brushed aside the hick up in his mood.

"Wow, tea really does fix everything." I chuckled at the sudden turnaround in mood earning a triumphant smirk from Nereus.

"They say one cup of tea has the same healing properties as several hours of sleep." Eros commented quite confident of his fact with a roll of the eyes at my comment, at least Nereus thinks I'm funny.

As the queen of fun facts I can't say I can confirm this one but I also couldn't entirely deny it, Nereus wasn't wrong about a cup of tea perking him up. I sat there content with my own silence as the two continued to complain about the start of a new semester. They were already mourning the end of their summer break and their first class hadn't even begun yet. After some time Nereus stood up, pulling me up with them and ending the conversation.

"We should probably start heading to our class now. Usual time and place for lunch?" Nereus questioned already leaving the table while leaving Eros no time to answer the question.

"I'm guessing you wanted to talk about our little arrangement but I'm guessing Eros doesn't know about that. You didn't seem comfortable being open about the topic around him." They fired away as soon as we were out of ear shot from the man of topic.

These people walk so fast. It's almost like they're scared the past 5 seconds will catch up with them if they slow their pace in the slightest. I know there aren't any roses around and stopping to smell the scent of 40 different colognes mixing together from young men that don't know restraint isn't the most appealing thing to stop for but taking an extra 6 seconds to get from A to B won't hurt. I miss home, people at least walked at a pace where you'd notice if there were French roses to appreciate.

"I'm not exactly comfortable being open about my medical condition with many. Some friends back home know and I'm not opposed to opening up about it to future friends when the time is right. Not exactly a topic to use as an ice breaker or conversation starter though." I explained as I follow them without question.

First day at university and I'm going to get lead to an equipment shed and murdered by a stranger. Way to go Maia!

"That's fair. Is there any particular way you like your notes written?" Nereus asked as we continued to what I could only hope was somewhere to sit and stop what I call running but is known around here as walking.

"Well in short I prefer dot points that flow easy and colour coding where necessary but soft colours not bold colours, I can't focus on anything if it's bold." I respond trying to give an answer that will help me but not make me seem picky.

"Soft not bold, got it. Anything else I should know?" They double checked as they began to slow down.

I could only guess we were nearing our classroom.

"You walk at about 188 beats per minute." I said the words before I thought them through.

I wasn't wrong, I had memorised the song 'Elevated' by State Champs which had a bpm of 188 and I realise Nereus walks to roughly the same beat as the song. However I had never meant to actually voice that little fact. Thankfully Nereus found my odd titbit humorous and simply chuckled as they pulled me through a classroom door.

"Give me a second." They requested as they chose our seats.

I did as requested and gave them their requested time. I used this period to observe my surroundings, something I found myself doing often and honestly quite enjoyed. I noticed the lecturer wasn't here yet and approximately one third of the classroom was filled with students already. I wondered if that was all the students this class had. It was surely enough to meet the quota on minimum students but not enough to feel super crowded either, it was just right.

"Here it is!" they mutedly cheered triumphantly as they shoved their phone towards.

I scanned over the picture on the phone as Nereus explained what I was looking at.

"This is called the Cornell method. So I'd write key words, study prompts, questions that connect points, etc. over here in a small column to the left. I'd use the right side to write down main lecture notes, use concise sentences, abbreviations, lists, etc. On the bottom I'd have a small summary column for main ideas and things you can use as quick reference." Nereus explained and I nodded along as I took in the information.

"What's this one called again?" I asked already lost.

I truly struggled to take in information at the best of times some days but I could feel the after effects of yesterday's seizure still. This small inflow of information was truly overwhelming and my brain was struggling to process it all.

"The Cornell method. I think it'll probably be the best match for you and your learning style, simple with none of the fancy and fluffy bullshit." They further explained this decision.

I couldn't help but snicker at Nereus' to the point choice of words.

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Just remember that if you use colours they have to be soft ones." I reminded them as the room was silenced by the entrance of what one could only presume was the lecturer.

"Welcome to your first class of the year. For those who don't know, I'm Ms. Corriveau and today we'll be starting on the OHS unit. Are we all ready to start taking notes?" My new lecturer introduced herself.

She's very to the point but I get the feeling she won't make me laugh like Nereus does. I truly adore Nereus' presence and hoped we could be good friends. One day I might even tell them what it is that requires me to have them write notes for me as that's not explained upon sign up. But for now I had to entirely focus on the present. I knew to try and get anything out of this class today I would have to put my all into focusing.
Is Nereus ready to take notes for two? I know I'll surely need them to be on the ball today.