Here's a bit of the book for your reading interest...
River City University was the city’s primary tertiary institution. It accommodated thousands of courses, a multitude of industries, and a cavalcade of successful students. Ranked in the top five educational establishments in Earth colony, it had also won numerous awards in various disciplines, making it one of the most desired universities on the planet. At last semester’s enrolment tally, there were approximately four hundred and fifty thousand students studying here; three times that number studied externally via Network correspondence from countries around the world. There were even external students studying from the Lunar and Martian colonies. In total, there were over one million students currently enrolled here...
And I was one of them.
Located about forty-five minutes south of the city’s central business district, the two hundred and seventy-five hectare campus was so vast it boasted its own district code and incorporated at least three different suburbs. RCU was such an immense, overwhelming, and – at times – intimidating environment to be in. There were many occasions where I would just stop and look around at where I was, truly honoured to be here at all. Even now, at the end of my educational career, I still felt that way. I thoroughly enjoyed being at university; it felt like a second home sometimes, a place to escape life and just be in a completely different world. The thing that fascinated me the most was how little I knew of the actual university itself. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of offices and lecture halls and tutorial rooms which I’d never ventured into – and probably never would unless there was some major conflict with room bookings. So many areas were common ground for a variety of students but would go completely unvisited by many others, I realised.
As I wandered through the university’s Central Park, I couldn’t help but admire the buildings. The architectural designs were another aspect of the university I’d fallen in love with over the years. While other campus’s consisted of fairly unique forms based on specific eras of history, RCU’s buildings were a mishmash of periods and styles, each with their own grandeur flair of elegance and panache. Buildings would range from the typical classical motif of large granite-sandstone walls and marble flooring, to the more modern industrial designs with exposed structures, crisp white surfaces, and minimalist space-saving layouts. Some buildings boasted colourful artistic sensibilities with extravagant, gravity-defying engineering and cubed glass conservatories that jutted out at awkwardly weird angles from the walls.
Each building, it seemed, mimicked the style of students within. The more creative courses boasted artistically inspired designs while straight-forward no-frills type programs such as mathematics, information technology, and engineering were stylish yet simplistic; science and medicine had the cleanest buildings, with stark minimalistic colours and straight lines; education, literature and history sometimes had more of the classical motifs. Spotted amongst the numerous faculty-themed structures were several sizeable lecture theatres where presentations and large classes could take place. These plain rendered-brick buildings were much more generic in comparison to surrounding architecture, their only purpose to facilitate vast auditorium-styled seating and generous multimedia displays.
I came towards the science faculty’s building; a large seven-storey steel-grey box-like structure with a lot of straight lines and dark tinted windows. Immense solar panels squatted heavily on the roof, their glistening super-black cell arrays angled by automated servos to face the sun.
I glanced down at my watch and realised I was late.
Shit.
I hurriedly entered into the building’s ground floor through a series of sliding doors which quietly glided open as I approached. Bland fluorescently-lit corridors branched off in a number of directions, walls occasionally highlighted by noticeboards, posters, or water fountains. I followed a corridor off to my left towards a small classroom half way along. Reaching the doorway, I pushed it open to see the expectant faces of a few of my classmates. As soon as I entered, they realised who I was and went back to whatever they were doing. They must’ve been anticipating the tutor who still hadn’t arrived; everyone was getting restless, already wanting to leave.
I wasn’t late after all, I thought luckily.
The class was made up of just fifteen students, all of which were looking as excited as could be on the last day of term. There was a soft murmur of discussion across the room as everyone described their holiday plans to each other. I overhead some saying they were heading overseas or interstate, while others were just going to hang around campus or visit family.
I scanned the room for an empty chair. Towards the back, I noticed Ryan’s familiar face and dirty blonde hair. He gave me a quick wave and I made my way through the maze of desks to the vacant seat beside him.
‘Hey mate,’ he greeted as I sat down.
‘Heya,’ I replied, throwing my satchel bag under the desk.
Ryan Larson was my age, a little taller, and had the somewhat typical surfy look to his ruggedly masculine features. At first glance, Ryan’s wavy blonde hair, golden suntan, and piercing blue eyes tended to make him look like an Arts student prankster sitting in a physics class as part of a dare. He certainly didn’t appear like the kind of guy who would be a genius at science. Renowned for his fast and energetic love-life, crude expressions, and an unflattering taste for deep-fried kebabs, Ryan was also in the top-tier percentile of the class. He aced every assignment without trying, had won numerous awards, and was completing his degree on a unique scholarship he’d received in high school. He seemed to have it all: genius-like intelligence, handsome looks, inhuman metabolism, and a chain of gorgeous women who were always willing to have some casual fun.
I was a little different. I couldn’t handle that sort of lifestyle. While my educational level was on par with Ryan’s, I needed some sort of routine, a little bit of predictability, and a subtle amount of conformity. I favoured being average and I hated to think how I would keep up with countless women each month like Ryan seemed to do.
And you would rarely see me eating anything deep-fried.
I guess, despite its seemingly notable limitations, I actually thrived in the status quo. I didn’t know what I would do if I was faced with anything other.
‘So did Samantha and Rick get to the lake alright yesterday?’ I asked.
Ryan scoffed. ‘I reckon they thought they were already there before we even drove off from your place.’
I frowned. ‘How do you mean?’
Ryan smiled. ‘As soon as we got into the car, they were all over each other. Didn’t come up for air for the entire time I was driving.’
I chuckled.
‘I was tempted to pull over and watch,’ Ryan added, raising his eyebrows.
‘Gross.’
He shrugged. ‘Still, I’m sure they’ve christened most of the rooms by now. Good for them I say. We’ll see how long it takes for them to get bored of each other... I’ve got fifty bucks saying they’ll be talking about coming home within three days.’
I chuckled. ‘Although I’d like to tag your bet so I could get some extra cash for the holidays,’ I replied, ‘I highly doubt boredom will be part of their anniversary.’
‘We’ll see...’ he said.
‘Why so pessimistic?’
‘Keeps things entertaining,’ he shrugged.
I frowned.
‘So you want to head off soon?’ he asked.
Our tutor still hadn’t arrived, I noted.
'Dude, I just got here,’ I replied.
‘We’re giving her another five minutes before we leave,’ he said.
I nodded. Most classes had an unwritten condition that if the lecturer or tutor hadn’t turned up to teach within fifteen minutes of their scheduled lesson, we, the students, could leave without penalty. In most cases, lecturers and tutors alike felt the condition was suitable, as it didn’t require them to give notice to anyone if they weren’t going to make it. Most of us students didn’t mind either… it saved us any extra effort of learning and, quite often, hours of homework.
The door suddenly swung open and a young woman – not much older than the rest of us – rushed into the room. I heard a couple of the students groan as they stopped monitoring their watches.
‘Hi everyone,’ she said breathlessly, ‘sorry I’m late.’
To be continued....
