Graduation hats were flung into the air like confetti, Eryn Ash stood just outside the university’s hall, clutching her Oxford cap with both hands that were now just about drenched with sweat as she waited for the emcee to announce her name to come up to the podium to get her diploma. Unlike other students which received a paper when they graduated, Eryn, though she too was getting a piece of paper, was getting a honour’s degree for her work in Chemical Sciences, something in which she obviously excelled in.648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQ3Nfc4Lp7
“Eryn Ash, please come up to the podium.”
A clear, crisp, and resounding voice boomed throughout the hall, nervous and anxious, she walked up with her heart in her throat and took a wavering smile towards the students as she shook hands with the principal as he passed her the paper that she had worked her whole life for.
“Oh my god, it’s really here, it’s really here!”
Applause like thunderclaps filled the hall as the entire cohort gave her a standing ovation, Eryn took it all in, her friends cheering, her peers looking up to her like a role model, and her teachers that taught her all they knew had all been worth it up to this point. Eryn cleared her throat as she began a speech that would mark the end of her school life and also the school year.
Right after the speech, Eryn had that gleam in her eyes, right now she felt accomplished, as though her future was out there waiting for her, and indeed it was. She thought to herself, had she not taken the plunge to finish her final year in university, she’d probably not be here right now, standing in the school’s parking lot and smiling to herself while clutching her degree in her slim fingers. Looking back into her life, she was always surrounded by friends that had a hedonistic existence for excessive drugs, cigarettes, and partying; they never had any time for studying or anything that relates itself for that matter. Alas, her life was starting to unfold around her and standing in the parking lot of her campus wasn’t helping her much, though she had a rough upbringing, that was what shaped and moulded who Eryn Ash is today, and she never once regretted any of it.648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNcwgKofdU
Ferris on the other hand, Ferris Cranel, born into the prestigious Cranel family and the expected role model and also the first born to inherit the family’s fortune was now, sitting in a corner of the school hall that once housed over 4000 university students was now empty, exception of one janitor whistling to the tune of Vanessa Carlton’s Million Miles. Ferris reminisced the earlier part of his day, getting verbally assaulted by his step-father which always wanted him to be the man of the family, his mother who had never once cared for him, now wanting him to be the ideal heir and the rest of his decrepit family always judging him for his every action and word in this big world.648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaWZiGpOVa
Later during the same day, Ferris had been sitting at one of the chairs in the hall and looked up at the podium, which then had Eryn standing on it, reciting her speech and smiling away. He thought to himself about what she had said during her speech and made some remarks mentally,
“Must be nice having a silver spoon, no a gold spoon, definitely a golden spoon, up your tiny mouth since you were born, you had everything you ever wanted.”
Ferris sighed, though Ferris was part of a rich family, never once had they considered him to be inside the bloodline until just recently, they would give him just enough money to make it through the month and nothing more, they would glance, glare at him like he was some outcast, not human nor beast, just something that existed to hinder them. Ferris never paid them any heed; as long as he could survive he wouldn’t even need their help.
“You are no son of mine.” “Why are you here? You’re such a pest.”
Were just some of the insults his ‘family’ would spit at him, Ferris would always show the whites of his eyes in defiance to his family, being a nineteen year old teen was never easy for Ferris to come to grips with, his raging hormones and his changing body were just some of the things he had to put up with on a daily basis. Though his rough upbringing, Ferris worked hard to finish up his studies and ended taking a spot in the top tens of his cohort and almost barely grazed the line that would allow him too, to get a certificate of distinction.
“Crap.” He said, pulling himself away from that daydream, sighing and putting his face towards his hand to get some rest, he was having a rough day.
The janitor signalled to him that the hall had to be locked for the night and motioned for Ferris to move his sorry self somewhere else to mope about. Picking his bag and personal belongings, mainly a wallet and a smartphone, he began to drag himself towards the exit and to the empty parking lot and into a small weather-worn red Mazda convertible that he pooled his savings to acquire. Ferris turned the key into the ignition chamber and the car sputtered to life, the headlights shone bright as he took a step on the accelerator and began to drive off into the evening.
A few miles away from the campus, he saw a public hostel, or as commonly called, a ‘communal dormitory’. Figures, even the places he stayed at reflected him as a person, shabby, deteriorated, and broken. He parked his car into the parking lot and started to gather his items into a medium sized black duffle bag, and proceeded to walk towards the dormitory’s lobby when from his peripheral vision, a luggage bag slammed into his knee causing him to topple and in the process also, knocking over the owner of said luggage bag.
“Watch where you're going.”648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxMij4TWSf
Ferris said as calmly as he could, making sure that whoever was there couldn’t feel how much spite he was giving off from his eyes, if looks alone could kill, Ferris would have easily slaughtered whoever dared to come into his pa—,
“Excuse me? You’re the one not looking where you’re going!”
A small voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts midway, he looked down to see a averagely built girl with dark auburn hair that had split ends around the top of her head, she had fair skin and had the clearest emerald green eyes that Ferris had ever seen.
“Tsk.” Not wanting to drag out the argument any longer, Ferris conceded and turned away, looking back at the girl once more and picked up his duffle bag and began to walk into the lobby.648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDBUzJnXbP
“What’s his problem? Sheesh, I knew it wouldn’t be easy making friends but seriously?”648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3w8hW3DH3d
Eryn picked up her luggage bag and began to picture the man she had just bumped into, silky grey hair that was let to hang loose and ended around his earlobes, ocean blue indigo eyes that looked like they saw through Eryn and straight into her soul, and his body was well built and was obvious that he had been hitting the gym recently. She caught herself mid thought and mentally put a note to stop her whenever she tried to think of him, he was a guy she just met after all.
“Hello there, I’m Eryn, Eryn Ash from Oxford University and I placed a reservation at the dormitory near the top of the building?” She glanced at the receptionist; a dark brown coat surrounded her interior clothes which were much more business-like and rather intimidating.
“Yes, Miss Ash, here are your keys to your dorm, your room number is 1399, please take care of your keys as they do cost quite a hefty sum to replace!”
A ghost of a smile could be seen drawing itself across the receptionist’s face just as fast as it vanished, as Eryn turned around and headed to the lift. When the elevator descended, Eryn made her way up and looked for her room number and there it was, a golden plaque that was screwed onto the door frame and proudly gleamed ‘1399’, she pushed the keys into the keyhole and took a moment to let it all sink in, where she had started and where she stood now, “This is it Eryn, this is where your life begins.” She turned the key, and when the keyhole turned, unbeknownst to Eryn, a peculiar man from inside the room spun around in his chair to face the door, mouth forming into a smirk with his eyes half-lidded. 648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYFYIa7nMp
And when Eryn opened the door, she saw a familiar man with his flowing silver hair and sleepy eyes now eyeing her as she stood at the door, mouth still smiling but now showing his white teeth.
“Close your mouth darling, you’ll catch a fly.”
He said, smiling as Eryn who’s mouth was as said, agape, looked at the man that sat in front of her, if this was a joke, it really lacked in the joke factor, she couldn’t say anything but motioned for the man to leave his seat and exit the room through many, many convoluted hand movements, but the man smiled and simply said,
“Aw darling, you wound me. Don’t you know how to say hello to your new roommate? The names’ Ferris Cranel, the guy you so politely bumped into earlier in the parking lot.”
If Eryn was scared before, she was now beyond mortified. Right now, she was about to become, no, she already was living with a guy that she barely knew, what if he did things in his sleep that she would find obnoxious? What if he was a good for nothing bum and would mooch of her, but, alas, she couldn’t do anything but accept it. Eryn sat down on the bed and they both had a long stare at each other, none the smarter to make a move, Ferris broke the silence by pointing towards the bunked bed and signalled that he would sleep at the top most bunk before pulling himself away from their awkward impromptu staring contest and strolled towards the bathroom and started to have a shower.
“Great, at least he has some manners; maybe it won’t be so bad?”
Eryn had a tendency to look at the better side of life in the worst of times; she was always the more optimistic person of whatever group she joined be it in preschool, middle school, high school, and recently, university. She started to drift back into her days when she was interrupted by Ferris stepping out of the shower singing,
“Stone hard, machine guns, firing at the ones who run,”
Eryn knew that song, it was a classic rock song, David Guetta’s Titanium. Subconsciously, she began to continue his tune by singing along with,
“Stone hard, those bulletproof guns.”
Realising what she had just done, Eryn cupped her hands to her mouth and looked up at Ferris, who already had a wide smile spread across his face,
“So you like to sing huh? What was your name again, Elise? No that’s not it, ah! Of course, it was Eryn wasn’t it?”648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDBVbfUAWs
A long silence followed afterwards as Ferris stood in the hallway, hair still damp and wet, alongside Eryn turning a bright red hue, her eyes couldn’t concentrate and begun to drift around the room when she then realised that Ferris motioned her to say something and when she finally opened her to speak mouth, she regained her composure and said,
“Yes, that’s right, I am called Eryn. So considerate for you to remember it, Cranel.”
She tried to sound professional and went to her bed to read her book. Ferris on the other hand, had a hard time understanding what just went down, never in his life had Ferris heard his name being called with such venom imbued into it, and it wasn’t even his first name, it was his surname as a matter of fact. Still, there was nothing much he could do the relationship with Eryn just yet; they had just met after all. Ferris sighed as he clambered up the creaky ladder and began to drift off.648Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUNKnvhcVW4
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