A dark black-haired girl in a fashionable dress and two paper cups filled with drinks walked into her lecture room-Objects and the meaning of artifact life. Her hazel eyes swept across the room, and stopped at Thea sitting by the window with an old book in hand. Thea was curling her hair originally, wearing reading glasses and seriously reading the book.
The girl smiled, approached Thea and declined her other friend's offer to sit together with a friendly smile.
"Morning bookworm." She placed a glass of cappuccino in front of Thea casually.
Thea raised her face, pushing her reading glasses that were drooping down her nose. "Morning, Selene." She smelled the faint aroma of coffee, milk and chocolate. "Thanks, but...you keep buying me coffee every time we have morning class together. Next time I'll buy you a juice."
Selene waved her hand casually, smiling brightly. "Never mind." She put her bag behind her back, sipped her espresso and looked at Thea's book.
"Found another good book at the flea shop?" asked Selene.
Thea nodded.
Selene no longer bothered Thea who looked serious reading a book, she reached into her bag trying to take out her laptop. Her forehead frowned as she found a greeting card from her father telling her to study hard.
"That old fart...I'm not a kid anymore."
Thea turned her head at Selene's mutterings, she smiled playfully at the greeting card Selene took out of her bag. The style of writing on the card was stiff and stern, in stark contrast to the sweet flowery style of the card.
"Your father really cares about you," Thea said.
"Yes, but I'm not a child anymore." Selene crumpled up the card and threw it into the classroom trash can. "You're the only one who can make a nice comment about seeing a greeting card from my dad. The rest of my friends will laugh and mock me."
Thea tilted her head slightly to the side. "Because...that's sweet. You said your father is a busy man, but if he even took the time to write a greeting card, that means he really cares about you."
"Hah...never mind, stop talking about my father." Selene casually pulled out Thea's book and flipped through the pages. "You know what? I'm sure you'd love to come to my house. I have a lot of novels in my room, if you want history books my father also has a large collection of books in his office."
"You've said that several times."
"True, but you don't want to come to my house at all. Come on Thea, this weekend come to my house."
"..." Thea was always hesitant to come to Selene's house. On campus, many people idolized Selene, apart from being the daughter of rich people, Selene was also famous for being outgoing with her fashionable appearance, stylish especially because she was smart. When Thea got close to Selene, many sneered at her. People found it strange that Thea, who was quiet, bookish and a transfer from Asterleigh, a village far from Cavenharlt, could be so close to Selene. Thea just wanted a peaceful college life, she didn't want any strange rumors about her.
"Next time."
Selene let out an anxious groan when Thea again refused her invitation. "It's always like that."
But the girl didn't say anything else as Professor Aldwyn walked into their classroom. The half-bald old man with the remaining white hair and thick glasses walked confidently to his desk, put down his book and cleared his throat loudly as if he wanted all the students to focus on him.
Yet the room had been eerily quiet since he walked in.
A few minutes later, the students began to study seriously, some of them taking notes and others opening their laptops – some were dozing off. At the front of the class, the projector screen was on displaying a statue of a Greek god missing one arm, and Professor Aldwyn was busy explaining to the students.
The lesson progressed with a casual discussion as the Professor started asking questions, Thea sometimes raising her hand to answer excitedly making Selene smile with pride that her best friend could open up a fun discussion space in their morning class.
Thea waved her hand as Selene walked into the café. She had already ordered Selene's favorite apple juice.
"How was the meeting?" asked Thea as Selene plopped herself down on the seat in front of her.
"Hmm good." Selene sipped her apple juice and let out a satisfied sigh as her thirst was quenched. Selene then told Thea about the meeting she had just had, what events and booths would be held at the festival.
"There will be food, games, cultural competitions, and a costume parade." Selene was silent for a moment, chewing the cheesecake in her mouth. "I submitted your name earlier, by the way."
"Huh? Submitted what?" Thea gave Selene a shocked look.
Selene grinned. "You'll be one of the few people in our department who will be parading a costume at the festival."
"Costume?"
"Yup, maybe you could dress up as a representative Greek goddess? Or a princess of an ancient kingdom?"
"Selene, I'm sure I'm not suited to that. I mean...wouldn't you be more suitable?" Thea shook her head no. Selene had jet black hair, hazelnut eyes with a bold look and a tall, slender body.
"You're right too." Selene flicked her hair back, confident as ever. "But, I'm the festival caretaker remember? I'm too busy to walk around in costume during the festival when I have so much work to do."
Selene looked at Thea earnestly. "Come on I'm sure you'll fit right in."
Thea still looked disinterested and objected, she pretended to open her textbook. Selene rolled her eyes anxiously and pulled the book out of Thea's hand. "Hey..." Thea exclaimed in protest.
"Listen to me first."
"Aren't we here to study? Why are we talking about the festival?"
"This conversation is more interesting. I'm tired of talking about studying all the time when we're in a cafe like this." Selene pursed her lips. "Come on Thea, you'll be so pretty in that costume. Your body is small, your hair is the color of wheat and your gray eyes are mysterious. It fits like a goddess."
"Sel, I don't fit into this. I just want to be a passive person in class who is recognized as a nerd rather than an active student."
"Boring," Selene sneered. "But don't you want to get out of your comfort zone? Every now and then, try participating in campus activities more actively than usual." Selene cupped both of Thea's cheeks. "People should know how beautiful Theavine Elwood is."
"You're overreacting." Thea shook Selene's hand away from her flushed cheeks. "What costume should I wear if I come?"
Selene smiled widely because Thea was finally interested, even if just a little. She opened her bag and pulled out a drawing sketch from inside. "I'm sure you'll fit right in the Greek goddess dress, you'll be Persephone and I'll find Hades for you."
Selene chuckled jokingly as she explained the costume sketch she had planned for Thea. A long, layered chiffon dress, soft rose pink from the top and darkening as it went down to a deep purple color, symbolizing Persephone the goddess of spring slowly dwelling in the underworld-Tartarus.
"Look...you will be beautiful wearing this." Selene showed her sketch with excitement.
Thea's brow furrowed. "But this sketch doesn't seem perfect."
Selene scratched her cheek while chuckling awkwardly. "That's right, there's still a lot to add, accessories, crowns and all." Selene handed a copy of her sketch to Thea. "You're good at this, aren't you? You take care of the head and I'll do the rest. Please..." She looked at Thea with deer eyes, a rare thing for Selene, a girl who was overconfident and unwilling to beg.
Thea let out a resigned sigh. "Alright I'll just help with the head. Then Selene...if I trip and fall on the cloth you have to help me, yelling that I fainted from exhaustion."
Selene laughed at the thought of such an embarrassing incident. "Deal. I swear I'll help you if there's an embarrassing incident."
Their conversation was interrupted when Selene's cell phone rang, she opened it and her lips curled into a frown. Without asking Thea knew it must be a message from Selene's father.
"He asked why I wasn't home yet," Selene explained unprompted. Suddenly Selene pulled Thea's shoulder to stand next to her, then quickly took a picture of her and Thea.
"Hey..." Thea exclaimed in protest. The photo looked ridiculous because it had a shocked face.
"Sorry Papa can't believe I'm with a friend." Selene sent the picture of her and Thea to her father.
Thea sighed tucking her hair behind her ear. "Well, if it helps you convince your father, but you should delete it immediately."
"Why? You look cute here." Selene chuckled. "Oh yeah Thea, this weekend you should come to my house. I'll go over the costume again."
Thea rolled her eyes. "You didn't give up on inviting me to your house at all."
"Because I want to show you my bookcase collection."