The browning of leaves was a normal view during September. Autumn meant a pathway covered with honeylocust, and the sound of a jay every building you pass. Every once in a while you could spot a woodpecker around your local parks.
The Kazan University of applied sciences and arts started its first semester during this beautiful period. The campus grounds always smelled like leaves, with an earthy feeling. Then there was the fine smell of apples and cinnamon from the canteen bakery. You could spot the seniors setting up tables for the year's club. And that is exactly where Laila headed.
With one hand dug deep in her overcoat's pocket and the other wrapped around a girl approximately her height or just an inch short, she marched her way towards the cheap plastic tables.
"This year is gonna be mine Mila, I can feel it in my bones!" a ball of mist escaped her lips as she spoke. The girl entangled with her was covering her ears within her shoulders, leaning in Laila's chest a little more.
"Are you sure it's not just cold that you're feeling in your bones?" she spoke in a muffled manner. She squinted on the sense of the other girl running away. Mila sprinted towards the varsity table, making sure she doesn't slip over the carpet of leaves. She looked back to find her friend on the other side of the pathway, shouldered by a huge boy with thick glasses.
"Mila! This is what I want to do this year." Focusing her eyes from behind her fogged-up glasses, the girl read the poster heading, "coding club". She chuckled out loud, making her way towards Laila.
"Are you serious right now? You want to learn coding in your final year of college."
"Yes! I told you right, this year is a new me. I'm too tired of being the cheerleader best friend. Besides, I think I look great in glasses and button-downs." A smile shined down on Mila. They were in their last year of college. Fortunately, a Bachelors's degree takes four years of your young adulthood, that is if you don't fail any semesters.
The university was considered one of the best in Russia. Neither of the friends was proper residents of the country. At least not Laila.
The girl migrated in her final year of high school, right after her father's death. Being an only daughter, her stepmother decided it was best for Laila to move in with her godfather. Don't get this wrong, Laila's stepmother loved the girl dearly and was a soft motherly figure growing up. She quickly bonded with her ten-year-old daughter and almost looked genetically similar.
She sent the girl to her godfather solely because he was well settled and rich. He could look after the child's education better than herself. Laila was blessed with a fairly high IQ, but the girl wasn't immediately enrolled in Kazan. Being an immigrant on a student visa, her godfather had to bend some strings. Luckily, his connections with the higher-ups worked wonders.
Mila and her father were Ukrainian, but her mother was Russian. Her grandparents visited her every year if she couldn't. So she grew up bilingual and extremely well settled with the two cultures.
They met each other in the first year of college as roommates. Initially, they conversed in Spanish, because both of them had assumed the other was Mexican. It was only after a month and a half when Laila heard Mila talking to her parents on the phone when she understood she racially miscategorized her roommate. It became an ice-breaking and equally hilarious incident which they narrated to every person they met.
The air turned crisp and cold as a gush of wind draped another layer of leaves on the pathway. Laila picked up one long dry leaf of bamboo and tied it around her finger. She took the felt tip pen and signed herself up for the coding club.
"Thank you for signing up. This is the first year we've put up a table and the response is quite slow. Also, the dean has asked us to assemble in the main hall." The kid across the table gazed at Laila, checking her up and down. He grinned with an eye roll as he picked up his bag and started strolling towards the hall. The others followed through, immediately listening to what the boy had to say.
"Looks like anyone thinks they can join coding."
The girl gasped for air getting super annoyed. Mila held her back asking her to be the bigger person. They rushed towards the assembly hall, finding a place to sit. Laila spotted her classmates across the hallway as they waved towards her.
The hall was wooden floored with a glass-covered dome. The lounging area was a semi-circle with chairs spread around. The podium stood alone in the center on a stage barely five steps high. The chirping of birds in the open ground was layered with pesky professors and students. The students were generally from the higher end of the society, or as we call them: the rich brats of Kazan.
But that didn't make them privileged. They were equally competitive and smart. The professors knew better than make them do anything they didn't wish to.
They loved their job very much.
Hidden behind the perfect image of future hospital owners and young CEOs were fucked up kids with elite standards. Their parents had given them absolute power over their decisions at Kazan as long as they didn't drop out. Even gangsters knew they needed a diploma for status in this society. And to experience the lavish life of a Kazan student, they did simple favors.
Nothing huge really, just a donation for the new statue in the place. Or the fountain replacement around the boys' dormitory. Simple favors. The trust board was filled with VIPs which is not that big of a deal for such a high-end university.
The muttering of students and teachers alike toned down as the dean stepped on stage, Mr. Vas Kuznetsov. He was perhaps the only man respected by each breathing soul present in and around campus. His family was known all over the globe for their efforts in reforming the educational sector. He had a broad face with greys peeping from the freshly dyed hair and beard. His style sported a three-piece suit during university tours and occasional suspenders and hats. He adored his bow tie collection, wearing a new one every day.
"Young ladies and gentlemen...also the non-binary folks, I take great pride in welcoming you to our university. To the newly enrolled students, I am your Dean and guide Mr. Kuznetsov. Now, I'm not here to give you a big speech about your experience as a student here at Kazan, you have an admission booklet for that. If you made it till here, I suspect your morals are already embedded. So I won't try to influence you. Heck! you shouldn't have to listen to a man who shows up on campus only once a week. Rather, I'll give you a piece of advice.
Experience your life. Dye your hair, change your closet, drop that class, take up a new hobby, fall in love, and fall OUT of love. Don't waste your life in hopes of building an empire because you won't have stories to tell. You have to graduate, find your jobs, and move out. But don't contain your spirits for the sake of someone else's bullshit.
To my beloved seniors, it's your last year with us. So you better do something mind-blowing." With the words of wisdom dripping from Mr. Vas's, Laila gazed at the friend. Her mouth whispering, "I'm owning this year."
*the spoilt noona is back bitches! keep looking up to this book. also, you are my soulmate's first chapter reached a hundred reads. thank you for all the support. I love you.*
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The truth About cypher ✓
Mystery / Thriller"You were supposed to enjoy your last year as a college student not a thug with bounty over your head." . . . Laila had a life which was picture perfect. A student at Kazan University, she worked her way up. With good friends and a God Father who lo...
