It was another start to the school year, the buzz of busy chatter spread throughout the school grounds as multiple people ploughed through the open gates of the university. The sight of so many people made me queasy; unfortunately I am one of the most unsocial people on earth, even my own family hardly set eyes on me. All summer I'd spend my time hidden away from society in my room content with the company of my books. It's the way our current generation is, which has caused my unhealthy habit of shying away from the outside world. I can be quite critical in the way people portray themselves. I suppose this has come about through my strict civilised upbringing compared to those who have has an average relaxed way of life. They have no idea the expectations which lie on my shoulders I have my family's reputation to uphold; failure within education is not an option. People who know me expect harsh, smart- aleck comments to be placed upon them if they don't tread carefully. That is why returning to university can be one of the most daunting experiences. I tend to lock myself in the confinements of my dorm room, mostly to uphold my sanity and perhaps protect innocent from my ridicule.
It let out a low irritated growl as I clung tightly to my worn out messenger bag, the tips of my knuckles turned white as I weaved through the masses of people trying to avoid any sort of contact. It was hard to miss the distinct essence of fear which would literally leak from the seams of the new arrivals uniforms. Top buttons done up so tightly in the way one would expect to be strangled by. Shirts expertly tucked in leaving no escape for the unruly material to break free and hang limply over trousers which were hoisted to ankle length. Ties, tied up in what seemed to be a typical scouts knot, the ones which took at least half an hour to redo if an immature passer by tugs hard at the edge to create an unseemly undoable tangled mess.
Eager to get to the safety of my new dorm room I started to rush my feet shuffling across the tiled floors in an effort to speed my pace up the chaos of the crowded halls overwhelmed me. I suddenly became disorientated losing my sense of direction. Ignoring this complication I ploughed forward to accidently run into a poor expectant person landing with a thud on the cold tiled floor. Shaking my head I tried to recover my vision until the hum of a flustered voice lulled me from my confusion. "Ah! Oh sorry mate. Uh didn't see you there." My head shot up trying to find the source of the voice which had lifted me from my daze. My eyes rose to see a boy a few years younger than myself. His eyes were screwed up and he had a hand scratching the back of his head displaying his embarrassment accompanying this was a sheepish smile. Not fully registering the situation I had not comprehended that a hand had been shoved in front of my face, blinking I realised they had offered me their hand. I took the hand in mine grasping it gently as I was pulled up lightly till I stood steadily on my feet.
I knew it my hand was being vigorously shaken as the boy before me exclaimed cheerily "Alfred. F Jones at your service." His sheepish smiles had now merged into a cheesy grin, with wide open eyes which revealed deep pools of bright blue which shone with enthusiastic optimism. This had delayed my response to the boy who spoke with a distinct American accent. With a stutter I managed to reply "Ar-thur, Arthur Kirkland."
"Oh this is great can't believe it got another friend on my first day which I can add to my list num-ber eight!" He suddenly declared at this he finally released my hand from his firm grip. At this comment I could not control the roll of my eyes and the tired huff which escaped my lips. Forgetting this boy had actually pursued a conversation with me I quickly expressed my need, or want to leave by badly exclaiming the lie "You must excuse me ur I have a er a an important meeting. Yes! Meeting to attend uh yes so, you must excuse me. " My eyes lowered to the ground at an attempt to cover up my terrible improvisation. You go to extremes when all you wish is to do is go hide in a dark corner. I only deemed it safe to return my gaze upward when I heard the reply "Yeah sure of course mate see ya later yeah!"
With that I gave a slight nod and sped off, my cheeks gained heat and flushed a dusty pink. In the distance I could hear the faint call of a "Bye!" Which I could only guess came from this Alfred. F Jones! I simply raised my right hand as an indication of my knowing of his regards. At which I hurried round the corner of the still crammed halls the track down the location of my dorm, where I could shelter myself from anymore social exchanges.