Chapter 142 - Orientation

He made sure to wake up earlier than usual the next to next morning. Not that he slept early, but he was way too anxious to feel sleepy. He wondered if this is how Ashton felt everytime he moved. Till now everything went well and he looked forward to new things. 

In his class he saw all the new faces gawking at every individual that entered the room. It didn't seem like they were checking the candidates. It appeared as if the students were waiting for the professor to show up.

Caleb found an empty spot close to the alley a few rows later. He sat down and looked around himself wondering whether or not he should engage in any kind of interaction. He found few students who had already started to chat, and few sat idle just like him examining their own surroundings awkwardly. 

Even if he didn't know anyone here, he felt glad that he wasn't the only one who felt like this. He also noticed a few eyes at him checking him out from time to time. He had a handsome appearance which tended to be eye-catching. Caleb was used to getting attention even if he never got it from these people so he didn't mind it as much.

"Is that seat available"? A girl who appeared next to Caleb asked, pointing at the seat next to him. Caleb shook his head and allowed her and the guy who was accompanying her to get inside. 

"I am June by the way." She introduced herself with a friendly smile. "And this is John."

Caleb following the same suit replied, "I am Caleb. Nice to meet you two".

"Do you have any idea what they are planning to do"? She asked. 

Caleb shrugged, "I am just as clueless as you are".

The trio chatted for a while getting familiar with the others whilst they waited for any professor to show up. Turns out those two were cousins and even though she was a year older they were starting college together. 

When the professor finally showed up everyone gawked at her with their utmost attention. "Everyone, welcome to Willmount University", she began in a soft but stern voice. "Today is your first day of the upcoming three years of your life here. In this time you will learn a lot of new things, maybe unlearn a few things too. Make lots of friends, rivals and get to know each other better in that process.

But most importantly, you are here to grow as a person. And with that spirit I welcome you all to the next phase of your life". She finished. The entire hall was filled with a round of applause, after which she continued "I am Professor Luna Maverick, I would be teaching you Psychology 205. But today, we would be learning what lies ahead of us.

I am going to give you an idea of what to expect. How things are done here. What's the curriculum.How the exams are conducted here, and when. Stuff like these. Soon my fellow professors, who would be teaching you other subjects will be joining me". She explained. 

She had a presentation prepared that showed various aspects of what to expect. In a nutshell, the session was precise and informative. A lot of students had already developed a liking towards her.

After her big presentation when most of the teachers had arrived she introduced all the teachers starting from principal Baldwin. The entire session ran for around 2 hours after which they were given the green card to go.

Today there won't be any official classes but students were free to roam around the campus to familiarize themselves. Each student was handed a map of the campus along with the brochure at the time of admission. Tracing that each chose their different ways.

Some students returned to their dorms. Some stayed back and roamed. Some were hungry so they ran to the cafeteria. At one point it was hard to tell who was a new student and who were the seniors. 

Caleb stuck to the cousin duo he met back at the hall and they were happy to have him join us. They wanted to check out the gym and thus decided to check that out. The entire area was huge and was quite well equipped for professional training. Of course Caleb enlisted for football so this didn't matter much. Although he would like to meet the college coach. 

June was a swimmer, who had won multiple championships until she made it here. She was in fact recruited by even better colleges but she wanted to be closer to her family so she stayed back. Her cousin, however, was in here for basketball. 

Seeing them made him wonder if he made a rash decision, but then again he took months of contemplation and self doubt to come to this decision. Maybe it was time he stopped wondering 'What if this was a mistake'.

The trip ended with a short exchange of "Good bye" "See you later" and all that. Caleb was yet to make it out of the building when a guy ran up to him, "Hey, you are in for sports right"? Caleb nodded reluctantly. 

"Great, everyone from there is having a sort of get to know together party. The seniors invited us, and let's just say it's better to not refuse them". That guy explained. He handed him a pamphlet which held the details required for him to be present. 

The time of arrival mentioned there was 6:30. All of them gathered at the giant playground adjacent to the administrative building of the campus. As far as Caleb could tell, almost each and every junior was present in the ground compared to that the amount of seniors were less.

The seniors introduced themselves one by one. They asked each and everyone to introduce themselves as well. The seniors did come off a bit bossy which reminded Caleb of himself during pack activities. 

From each and every department at least one member was there so that they could give an idea on how things work. The captain of the football team named Sean Bailey finally managed to catch Caleb's attention. He demanded the new candidates introduce themselves and not to get into the wrong side Caleb abided without much hassle.

He shared his contact info after which he let the juniors go. Most of the interactions were over by eight and they invited the juniors to a tiny party they were hosting. Since it was the first day for the juniors, it was a welcoming gesture from the upperclassmen. 

Caleb wondered whether or not he should go. The problem is, he needed to ensure to have enough connections so that he could make it through college without unnecessary trouble. On the other hand, he also needed to ensure that he was back at home in time so that he could chat with Ashton.

He sent a text to Ashton explaining that he might be a little late this night, before he went to the party. By the time he was back it was close to midnight, but thanks to his wolf stamina he was far from exhaustion. He has had way more challenging days as a leader.

He tried to check if Ashton was awake at that hour or not. Caleb tried to explain everything that happened to him. [Today was so different, and yet, so awesome]

[I know] Ashton mumbled 

[You know?] Caleb scrunched his eyebrows. 

[Remember how you said our connections are way too deep. I can see what happened] Ashton explained. 

[Wait. Are you telling me you can read my memories now?] Caleb panicked.

[What? No!] Ashton exclaimed immediately. [I mean, not that I am aware of. It's just...when you were explaining you were kind of imagining everything. Your strong feelings must have made a clear impact cause I could see them as vivid images in my own head] Ashton explained. 

[Oh, thank god] Caleb sighed. "You scared me for a moment there". Caleb ended up chuckling. 

[Don't worry, I am not interested in invading your privacy just because we are mates] Ashton clarified from the other end.

A giant smile Crept up on Caleb's face but it turned to a frown when he noticed his roommate giving him dirty looks, "What"? Caleb asked him skeptically. 

"Dude, whom are you talking to"? Warren asked. It was evident he was worried Caleb was going crazy.

"I have an earpiece on my other ear" Caleb pointed at the ear that was away from Warren's sight. "I am chatting with my boyfriend".

A sigh of relief from Warren was followed by, "Oh, thank god". He got back to eating and said, "Sorry to interrupt. Continue".

That night both of them slept later than usual. It was their first night this much apart and therefore they were both yet to get used to it. Once the clock hit 1, after much insistence from Caleb, Ashton finally let go of the link and both of them drifted off to sleep.