Chapter 17: Panorama

*Lick lick*

“Oh hey, good morning little Pocky.”

“Un-be-lievable! I’ve been trying to wake you up for five minutes now and Pocky manages to do it first thing.” My sister is sitting next to me with her hands in her hair.

“Hush, me and Pocky are in a relationship, it’s perfectly normal.” I wink to Pocky, and she winks back.

“Ugh.” My sister fakes her discontent. “Anyway, me and the missus are going to work, don’t be to late on your first day to uni as Amicia!”

“Wait, how late is it right now?”

“Around 9.”

“Oh no.” I softly take Pocky from my lap and place her in the sofa where I was laying down just a second ago. “You can continue sleeping my lovely. My lessons start in an hour so I should run and get ready.” Pocky meows and curls up.

“Haha, you do definitely look like you are in a relationship.” Nikki says from behind the sofa. “Anyway, we should get moving too or we’ll be late as well.” She softly taps Élise on her bum and after a quick wave they leave the apartment.

“Just got to quickly comb my hair and get dressed.” Luckily my sister’s place is a lot closer to uni than where my ex-birthgivers live, and it also has a very easy tram connection so it shouldn’t take long at all to get to my lessons.

After a quick comb I try to decide which outfit I’m going to wear.

“So Pocky, what do you think? Should I go for this outfit or this outfit?” Pocky looks for a second while tilting her head before mewing at the blue blouse, white skirt, black stockings combo.

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.” I dress myself, this time not forgetting the bra, and put on a pair of stiletto black heels. Since it’s still pretty cold outside I also take a cardigan with me, just in case. Last but not least I grab my choker, put it on, and walk to the door.

“Alrighty, let’s go. See you tonight Pocky!” I say while closing the door, but not before she meows me goodbye.

It doesn’t take long before tram 7 arrives at the stop near our apartment and after a short 15-minute ride it stops practically in front of my campus. I take my agenda from the purse Nikki lent to me and take a look at where my lessons are being held.

“Pff, art-history first, I totally don’t like that auditorium either, it’s always either too warm or too cold.” I mumble to myself.

“Urgh...it’s on the top floor and the elevator has been out for weeks…” I sigh as I make my way up 15 flights of stairs.

Art-history has never been my favourite course but at least it isn’t as bad as regular history. I do kind of enjoy looking at the old-masters’ artworks. Rembrandt is definitely my favourite.

When I walk over to the auditorium I spot my professor standing by the door.

Oh darn, he won’t recognise me.

I decide to confidently walk towards the door anyway but just before I enter he stops me.

“Uhm, excuse me miss, are you by any chance Amicia Delafontaine?” He says with a friendly smile on his face.

“Y-yes sir.”

“Okay, great. I got note we were getting a new student. Since it’s already partway through the semester, please don’t be afraid to mail me if something is unclear about the course, for the rest of the faculty members that also shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”

“Oh, t-thanks sir!” I enter with a sigh of relief. “Well I guess that’s what Granny meant by paperwork.”

I sit myself down somewhere near the front of the auditorium so I can pay full attention to the class, and try my best not to fall asleep. I’ve always been somewhat of a loner in class so I never really had any groups of friends I belonged to.

“I wonder if they’ll even notice if I’m gone.” As the time of the class draws nearer, more of the students start seeping into the auditorium, some faces I recognized, others not so much.

A few of the students do stare at me for a couple of moments but most of them start paying attention to the front of the class when the professor walks up to the desk.

“So class. Today we’ll start by explaining this year’s group course.”

Oh no, I forgot this was a thing.

“Your group will consist out of 3 people maximum and the task is pretty simple, choose a piece of historical art and try completely analyse it. Try to find a piece of modern art and compare the styles and techniques used. I’ll give you a couple of minutes now to find your own groups, while I boot up this computer. Well, one could say this computer is ancient art as well.” The professor ducks under the desk to boot up the ancient relic.

I nervously look over my shoulder but see no one who’s not already in a group until I feel a tap on my shoulder. I panic and with a little yelp slide off my chair, hurting my tail in the process.

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry for that.” I hear a girl say with an American accent, as I try to hoist myself back on my chair.

“Carol, you really should be more careful with stuff like that.” The girl behind her says.

“Alright, alright.” She lends me her hand and pulls me back up.

“T-thank you.” I stutter, still a bit taken aback, biting away the pain.

“Are you alright?” The other girl says with a concerned tone.

“I think so, I just landed a bit badly…”

“Oh... so uhm… I know the timing of the question is a bit off, with Carol hurting you and all…”

“Hey, it was an accident!”

“But would you like to join us for the group work?”

“Don’t ignore me!!”

I giggle - these girls look pretty fun. “Sure, I guess so!”

“That’s great! My name is Hailey by the way, and this is Carol.”

Carol waves, this time from a bit further away to avoid hurting me.

“My name is Amicia.”

“Well met.” Hailey smiles. “Are you new here Amicia? I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.”

“Uhh...Yes, kinda. I used to study at home because of  illness....” I lie.

“Oh… I hope it was nothing that bad.” Carol states.

“It’s fine now; it’s all in the past.”

“Good to hear.” Hailey sits down next to me. “Hope you don’t mind us sitting here?”

“Go ahead; I’d be alone otherwise anyway.”

“It’s always more fun together.” Carol smiles as she sits down next to Hailey.

Did I just make my first friends?

The rest of the lesson just gives some more information about the task at hand, together with some examples of previous years. After that the professor continues on with the lesson of last week. It does feel kind of strange that just a week ago I was following this lesson as my… old self.

“For next week try to read up on chapter 22 in your textbooks, as it’ll be useful to understand next lesson better, it’ll be an abstract one. See you all next week and have a nice weekend.” The professor rounds off his powerpoint and starts shutting down the pc.”

“See you at practical arts in a couple of hours Amicia?” Hailey packs her things and stands up from her seat, Carol does the same.

“Yep, I will be there.”

“Cool, see you there!” they say as they walk out.

I guess I could’ve asked them to get some lunch together. Oh well.

I put my notepad back in my purse and start to make my way to one of the university’s cafeterias.

I think I want a tuna sandwich….mhhmmm...tuuuunaaaaa…

Saliva is already building up in my mouth when I suddenly catch a glimpse of granny waving at me in the corner of my eye. I wave back.

Wait a second… Granny?!

By the time I realize who I just saw and turn my head she’s already gone.

What the hell?

I start running in the general direction I spotted her in. I should be able to catch her if I can keep up the pace. I round the corner to the left as I catch sight of her again, already standing at the next corner, waving at me. Then the next corner, the next, and that one after as well.

Are you bloody taunting me?

I sprint over, seeing her take a right turn, just a couple of seconds more and I can catch her.

I take the corner at full speed and *BONK*

End up flat on my ass for the second time today.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch. That hurts.” I say to myself, grabbing my elbow in a jolt of pain, apparently I scratched it too on the fall.

“Oh, hey, are you okay?” a girl’s voice calls out to me.

I open my eyes and look up. It’s the girl from the mall, standing there in a university track suit. Her bottle of sports drink on the floor. Luckily it’s still closed.

“Here, let me get you up.” She gently takes me by the arms and slowly lifts me off my but.

“T-thanks…”

“No problemo! Oh, you are that super cute girl from the mall, aren’t you…” She quickly covers her mouth. “I’m sorry, these things just slip out sometimes... I have like no filter…”

“Don’t worry about it. Aren’t you hurt?”

“I’ve had worse.” She jokes. “I definitely prefer if girls hit on me not quite so literally.”

I giggle, which makes her blush even more.

She scratches the back of her hat… “Uh...You definitely managed to get some speed on those heels there, who were you chasing?”

“Uhm….I thought I saw someone I know, did someone come by?”

“Not that I’m aware off, you’re the first to pass by here in 15 minutes. This part of the campus is usually super silent, I often come here to cool off... calm down after training. It has a pretty nice view too.” She points at the row of windows.

I walk up a bit closer to them. Since we are pretty high up it gives a nice overview of the city.

“Woah, I can see my house from here.”

She laughs and walks up to my side. “That’s such a cliché thing to say.”

“Hey! But it’s true!” I pout.

“I believe you.” She grins. “Name is Sam by the way, short for Samantha but nobody really calls me that, except my mom if she gets angry at me.” she holds out her hand.

“Amicia.” I shake it.

“So the catgirl has a name.” she giggles

I instinctively grab for my choker.

Phew, it’s still there.

“Were you testing out some cosplay animatronics or something? I’ve been curious about that ever since I spotted saw you all.”

“Kinda, my sister’s girlfriend is really into cosplay and she wanted to field test them.”

“Oh I see! They were really cute! Especially yours - they looked super life-like!”

“T-thanks I’ll definitely tell her!”

Sam goes quiet for a while, while the both of us just stare quietly at the panorama in front of us.

“So… I was wondering… I know this is all pretty sudden and all, but…” She goes quiet again.

“But what?” I turn my head towards her, with a slight tilt.

She bites her lip and I can hear her whisper under her breath, inaudible to human ears but not to mine. “Omg, too darn cute…”

I smile, pretending to not have heard anything.

She clears her throat. “But would you like to come watch my basketball game tomorrow? It’s just here in the gymnasium. It’s the first big game of the semester and I’m nervous as hell...”

“And you would like a familiar face in the crowd…”

She nods. “But you obviously don't have to!”

She definitely sounds like a very kind and fun person...she’s also quite cute herself…

“Hmmm, what will I do…” I toy her around a bit. “I think I will.”

“Will you?! Thanks! Oh, and the match starts at 14:00!”

“I’ll definitely be there!” And of course this is the moment when my stomach decided to interrupt our talk with a loud growl. My face goes tomato red in an instant. “U-uh, sorry, I’m pretty hungry.”

“I can hear that.” Sam laughs. “Want to go get a sandwich or something? We can go get it and eat it here.”

“That’d be great!”

We head down towards the cafeteria, buy ourselves some food, I obviously go for the tuna sandwich, Sam goes for ham and cheese, after which we head back to the hallway we met in.

“Still have lessons in the afternoon?” she sits herself down on the floor, I do the same next to her, the sun shining through the window, warming up my skin.

“Yep, still got practical arts.”

“Oh, you are an art student then?” she takes a bite from her sandwich.

“Yeah, at least I get to do something practical after art-history.”

“I get what you mean.”

“What do you study, Sam?” I take a bite of mine.

“Physiotherapy. I’m happy I can train with the basketball squad after some the theory lessons. Keeps me focussed.”

I smile. “Sounds interesting, but I don’t think it’s something for me.”

“Hmm, I understand, sports aren’t for everyone. What are your hobbies?”

“Uhm… I like to play games.”

I start going on about Turn of Destiny and recount the tales of combat I’ve had, omitting my transformation and about the boardgame I was playing yesterday with my family. Until I notice Sam has been quiet for a while.

“Oh, sorry, I was monologuing wasn’t I?” I blush.

Sam smiles. “Don’t worry, I like it when girls talk passionately about things they love. I really like listening to you.” Her comment makes me blush even more.

After we finish our sandwiches we deposit the trash in the bin and say goodbye.

“I should probably go shower before the next lesson, can I get your number so I can text you?” She asks.

“Sure!” that’s when I realise. “Oh… I forgot my phone kinda broke…”

“Darn, that sucks.” She scratches the back of her head, not really knowing how to react.

“What about I write down your number and I’ll text you when I get a replacement.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” She dictates me her number which I write down in my agenda.

“See you tomorrow? Two o’clock right?”

“Yes! I’ll definitely try to win!”

“Trying to impress me?”

“Maybe a little.” She smirks and walks away, waving me goodbye. “Have fun at your lesson!”

“You too Sam!” I let out a sigh of contentment, clasping my blouse with my right hand.

I’m so glad I met her.