Chapter 103 - Riley

Although the teachers had given them free rein to have fun the night before, they hadn't forgotten the purpose of their trip. That's why they called them together for breakfast first thing in the morning to give them instructions for the rest of the day.

"Today, we are going to visit NYU together. Fortunately, they're prepared for a large group, but you'll still have to split into three groups." As soon as the students heard the word "split" come out of Mrs Simons' mouth, there was an immediate whispering amongst them. Luckily, the teacher had anticipated this and immediately added: "I trust you can do it on your own, and we won't need to".

There was an instant murmur of agreement from the crowd of students.

"Great." Mrs Simons clasped her hands together. "We'll leave at nine sharp. Anyone who's late will stay in the hotel, is that clear?"

Mrs Simons seemed satisfied with the students' response and gave no further instructions, but Evan had no doubt that she intended to give them another lesson in politeness later on. Apparently, her main concern on this trip was that they would embarrass Marwell High School more than anything else.

And he was right. As soon as the students regrouped in front of the bus, Mrs Simons began telling them to behave and not to try anything funny on the university grounds, especially if they were considering whether to apply.

That was Evan's case, too, so he took her words to heart all the more. The same heart that was now pounding like crazy because he couldn't wait. He'd been dreaming of this university for years, and even though it was just a tour and he hadn't been promised anything, it still meant a lot to him.

"You're going to give yourself a heart attack." Angie, who, thanks to the wolf's hearing, must have felt what was going on inside him, leaned towards him.

"I'd die happy," he replied cheekily. It was only a joke, of course, because thinking about death meant thinking about his mate dying, too, and Evan would never allow that to happen, and it was only thanks to this thought that he was able to calm his troubled heart.

"So." Mrs Simons clapped her hands to get the students' attention. She stood in the middle of the bus corridor, holding a megaphone in case of need. Thankfully, she didn't have to use it, for which both Angie and Evan's hearing thanked her.

"Our tour will consist of several parts. First we have to check in at the admissions office. Then there will be an informational part during which we will all be together. Someone will tell us about the history of the school, how to apply, and what courses are available," she began, and judging by the reaction of the students, no one was looking forward to this part.

"That will take forever," Cory cried from the back of the bus.

"Calm down." Mr Hodge appeared at Mrs Simons' side. "This is not a fun trip. You are here to inform yourself about your future."

"Exactly," Mrs Simons agreed immediately. And even though there were more groans from the already bored students, she ignored them and continued with the instructions. "After the information part comes the campus tour. At this point, you will be divided into three groups. Each group will be escorted around the campus by current students. They've been specially selected to be able to answer all your questions, so don't hesitate to ask about anything you're interested in."

A mischievous smile appeared on the faces of the students, which Mr Hodge immediately understood and decided to intervene. "Questions about studying, not about parties and alcohol," he emphasised.

In the middle of the bus, a hand was raised in the air.

"Yes, Courtney?"

"Then what?" she asked.

"Then we'll leave it up to you. According to our information, we are not the only school having a tour there today, so there will be various activities on campus for you to participate in. We will arrange a time to meet at the bus, and you will have the rest of the day off. Satisfied?"

"What kind of activities?" someone from the back of the bus asked.

But instead of an answer, he got a question from Mrs Simons. "Do I look like a seer?"

Laughter echoed around the bus, and no one dared ask another question after that fiasco. The two teachers sat back in their seats and the rest of the journey passed in relative silence.

When they finally arrived, the four friends immediately moved closer together and were not the only ones to form a group.

"One last warning," Mrs Simons said in a firm voice. "I don't want to hear anyone shouting, I don't want to see anyone leaving the group, and I don't want to hear any stupid remarks. Is that clear?" She waited for her students to confirm verbally that they would behave themselves before she went into the main building to announce their arrival.

In the beginning, their guides were two students and two department heads. The elders told them about the history of the university and the academic programmes, while the students explained how to apply to their university and what extracurricular activities the school offered. In total, their presentations lasted almost an hour, and although Evan had listened with great interest at first, he had to admit that he too was getting bored by the end. It wasn't that he didn't want to know more, but he was sure that some of the information could easily be found on their website.

Fortunately, it was then time for the campus tour itself, and they split into three groups of 16 students each. And since there were only two teachers with them, they could only go with two groups, and it was the one Evan was in that ended up unsupervised because, according to Mrs Simons, the most polite students were assigned to it.

"She's not talking about you," Aiden leaned over and whispered to Angie. He immediately regretted it when her elbow landed between his ribs.

He clearly wasn't going to give up without a fight though, muttering "Princess Dumbass." This time Evan managed to save him from Angie's arm and pulled him to his side. Lola also took her place at Angie's side, and the four of them went straight to the back of their group, knowing that they couldn't keep quiet the whole time.

Their guides were two senior students. Jessica was a third-year Anthropology student, and Stanley was a fourth-year Global Finance student.

They both seemed very friendly, and although they were nearing the end of their studies, they were still full of energy, which was a good sign.

"NYU is a school for people who like to get to know each other. We have students from different parts of the world, cultures, and religions. We do not discriminate against anyone, quite the opposite. We have many clubs and opportunities to find people with similar interests. So if you're worried about not fitting in, you'd be the first," Jessica laughed at her remark.

She certainly proved her point, as every time they passed a large group of students, she said hello to at least one of them.

"She's right, but don't be fooled. It's not just about finding your people. We have a wide range of courses to choose from, and the professors are very strict, especially with the first years, because they want to find out if you really have what it takes to study here," Stanley interjected.

"Yes. Yes. But the two of us are still here, which proves it's not that difficult, so don't be intimidated." Jessica patted his shoulder with her hand.

"They kind of remind me of you two," Lola commented in a whisper.

"You're right," Aiden admitted, frowning. "I feel like I'm looking into the future."

"We're way more fun," Angie commented critically.

"Nope, that's just what you think," Aiden corrected her and ducked down just to be safe.

"We spend most of our time at home watching movies, where's the fun part?" Unlike his best friend, Evan had no delusions, and as he knew they only had two friends at North Hallson and they were the ones who didn't fit in, he knew they weren't as much fun as Angie thought they were.

"We can be fun wherever we want," was Angie's argument.

None of them had time to protest as their guides led them to the next location - the library. So far they had seen some classrooms, a student centre, and a cafeteria. Jessica and Stanley informed them that their campus also had a performing arts centre and sports facilities, but they only visited these if any of the students were interested.

The library was huge. Shelves and shelves of books stretched across the room, and Evan even saw shelves so high that a ladder was attached to them. The whole room smelled of old books, and Evan had no idea where to look first. Although he knew it would be impossible for him to find his favourite fantasy books here, this room still reminded him of a hidden paradise. It wasn't a supernatural library, but it was still a library, and that was enough for him.

"I'm not a book person, but this is unreal," commented Lola, who suddenly appeared at his side.

"I'm in heaven," he assured her, and she gave him a smile. Her innocent smile didn't last long though, as Lola's mind worked differently, and Evan ended up with blushing cheeks as she leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Imagine all the places you can hide with your boyfriend."

What was worse though, was that Evan's imagination was too powerful, and he had to quickly distract himself before his thoughts went too far.

"Aiden! Wait for me!" he shouted in a whisper, taking quick steps after the blonde before he could disappear around the corner. All he could hear behind him was Lola's laughter.

After the tour of the library, the group moved to the courtyard where there were many students and various booths. Jessica and Stanley explained that all the programmes and clubs wanted to introduce themselves to them and that, in addition to the presentations, they had prepared various competitions for them, which meant that they were free to go their separate ways and their guide services were no longer needed.

"Where now?" Evan turned to his friends, who were looking around.

"What do you think will be the most fun?" Lola asked first.

"No idea," Aiden replied.

"Do you think they'll have something to eat somewhere?" Angie had other priorities.

"I'm hungry, too," Evan admitted.

"So should we split up?" suggested Lola. "I'm not hungry yet. What about you, Aiden?"

"Me neither."

So the four friends split into the same pairs as on the bus, and while Evan and Angie went to the left, Lola and Aiden went to the right. One team was looking for food, the other for fun.

"I'm pretty sure we need to find some cute girls with cupcakes and cookies," Angie suggested, her eyes carefully scanning the people in front of her.

Although Evan wasn't sure if he was as hungry for something sweet as his friend, he wasn't going to spend all his savings on this trip, so he wasn't going to turn down free food. "Sounds good."

And so they began to walk between the booths, holding hands so as not to lose each other. There was a lot of noise around them, which didn't exactly please their ears, but luckily they were used to it from school, so they managed to ignore it. Besides, they concentrated more on their empty stomachs and also on their sense of smell to find something tasty to eat. The advantage of werewolves.

They eventually found those cute girls with cupcakes, just as Angie had hoped, and luckily they were kind enough to give them both a couple of different ones. As they ate, the girls, who introduced themselves as Amee, Destiny, and Malorie, managed to fill them in on all the gossip.

"Now I want to study here, just to find out how much of it was true," Angie commented once they were out of earshot.

"Of course you do," Evan laughed, shaking his head.

The two of them were using their wolf's sense of smell to find their friends, as it was almost impossible to spot them in the crowd. And that was saying something when their friend had blue hair.

Fortunately, they knew they were approaching, even if they could not see them.

They couldn't make out their voices over all the chatter either, and although they were getting a taste of what their college life would be like, neither of them complained, preferring college life to their pack life. Besides, Evan was sure he could smell a few wolves among all these people.

"Evan! Angie!" Lola's voice reached their ears eventually, and they both turned in the direction it came from. Their steps quickened with a clear purpose and as they did, a familiar scent filled Evan's nose. He was sure he knew exactly what he was smelling, but for some reason, he couldn't place it. As if he had forgotten.

However, the moment Evan got a direct look at his friends, everything became clear.

The movement around him suddenly seemed to stop, and all Evan could focus on was the view in front of him. And even though appearances could be deceiving, that smell... It couldn't be.

The guy next to his friends turned his head as if sensing his gaze, and as their eyes locked, there was suddenly no doubt left.

"Riley."