Chapter 1 – A chance encounter
Since my undergraduate studies, every action taken was directed at my eventual inauguration into the academy. As such, after successfully graduating from my home country, England, with a bachelor's degree and a masters, I applied for a doctoral position in the United States. I once played a game during my childhood which declared New York City to the be the chess board of the world. Naturally, this led me to choose the prestigious New York University for my PhD, a city which never sleeps for a gentleman who cannot. I must be honest, I felt like I was being called to New York, like a magnet pulling it's opposing half to become one. After saying my goodbyes in England and settling my affairs, I packed my belongings and boarded a plane from London to New York City. After my flight finally arrived at my new home, I took a taxi from the airport to my apartment in Manhattan, to get a well-deserved night of sleep. The next morning, after carrying out my morning routine, I dressed in brogues, jeans and a tweed jacket, and set off to my doctoral induction. After arriving at the institution, I was chaperoned into a noisy and busy lecture hall where we would receive an outline of how the next four years would unfold. I sat down away from the rest of the crowd, and took out a cookie from my laptop bag. Just as I was about to take a bite, I was startled by another doctoral candidate.
"Hi! Can I have that cookie? I'm sooooooooo hungry!" I glanced over to my right and saw a woman of fairly short stature, I estimate 5 foot 3, with short, pink-reddish hair. Her hair was decorated with a red bow above her left ear, and she was wearing black jeans, a crop top, and a small, brown leather jacket.
"Uh… I…" I was in shock at her blunt approach, and quite frankly amazed that she would request food from a gentleman whose acquaintance she did not know.
"Oh you're from England? That's so fancy! Are you like, a lord or something?" She had sat down next to me at this point, what a strange question. Was she being serious or sarcastic? One found it difficult to tell, having only been exposed to the Americas for less than twenty four hours.
"No…" I said, still amazed at how this conversation with my new friend was unfolding.
"So you're not from England?" She sat down next to me and rested her head in her hands, staring at me across the lecture rooms desk.
"No, wait, no, I am from England, but I'm certainly no lord. One wouldn't be entering a career with such little financial reward if that were the case." Though academia would grant an individual some measure of affluence, in comparison to a lordship, it was meagre.
"Oh, okay, it's still cool! Thanks for the cookie!" She took a bite out of a white chocolate chip cookie, crumbs falling from the side of her mouth like little boulders landing on her jeans.
"But I didn't? Wait how did you do that?" I looked at my hands and somehow she had managed to take the cookie from me without my knowledge, was this all some Darren Brown-esque misdirection to deprive me of calories?
"Elementary, my dear Wilson." She said, mocking my British accent in a slightly insulting, but bordering on cute, manner.
"Watson." I replied.
"Watson!" She corrected her early mistake, pointing at me with her finger at a forty five degree angle so as to not be rude. She was happily munching away on my cookie, one I had brought over from England. Despite only having known this girl for a few minutes, I had the feeling that we would get along great.
"What's your name, thief?" I pondered, smiling at my new friend in as charming a manner I could under the circumstances, offering out a hand.
"Sayori, Sayori Campbell. What about you, cookie crumble?" She said, smiling and stretching out her free hand to shake mine. It would be very un-British to have not shook her hand, after all, I am representing England.
"Flynn, Flynn Carson." I said keeping that charming smile on my face.
"Well, Lord Carson, what made you decide to leave England?" Sayori asked inquisitively.
"There are plenty of reasons but, I guess you could say I wanted to live a fairy tale." Perhaps in time I would let Sayori know why I needed to leave England but for now, one's secrets will remain that, a secret.
"Well Flynn, once upon a time…" She replied, her voice trailing off into the distance.
Three months later
"You know one day, you won't be late to giving your lecture!" I shouted, banging on Sayori's bedroom door. We had really hit it off and, after a few weeks, decided to move into together. Not romantically, you understand, but she had rapidly become my dearest friend in the United States.
"Sorry! I'll be up in a sec!" I heard Sayori stumbling around her bedroom, no doubt looking for snacks, her bow, and fresh clothing. It was usually myself who washed the clothes. After a few minutes of waiting, she was finally ready to walk to campus.
"Phew! Okay, let's go!" She said, closing her eyes and beaming a smile at my way. We exit the apartment, and began to walk the short journey to NYU.
"Have you given it any thought?" She said, swinging her arms side to side like a kid in a park.
"For the last time Sari, we can't get a dog in our apartment!" As much as we both love dogs, our landlord was adamant when we signed the tenancy agreement that we were not allowed any pets. Besides, how could we keep a dog secret in an apartment complex?
"But they're so fluffy! Anyway that's not what I was talking about, I mean have you thought about coming along to the literature association?" She said, turning her head to look at me.
"Oh come on Sari, we've gone over this before. I spend all my time writing my PhD and lecturing undergraduates, I don't want to spend my free time writing too." As much as I enjoy intellectual pursuits, one requires time away from academia to function.
"'Oh come on'" She said, mocking my British accent and grabbing my arm.
"I can't I need to write my PhD." Truth be told I was keeping ahead of schedule, and was more than on track.
"You're always writing your PhD, you spend all your time working, or hanging out with me. Come on live a little, it'll be fun! Besides, you need a girlfriend!" Sayori replied. I was quite shocked. Me? A girlfriend? I can't say I've ever needed the company of another. I have certainly enjoyed the company of another, but need? That was a powerful sentiment. Reluctantly however, I must agree. Sayori is right, my life has descended into a cycle of work, hang out with Sari, sleep, repeat and – as much as I love the life of the solitary academic – there is only so much moral philosophy one can indulge in before insanity peeks its unwelcome head around the corner.
"Look, Sari, I know I'm not a soldier anymore but, the thought of making friends with anybody without a military background it's just, they don't – they wouldn't understand me. I look into a mirror and I still see a soldier staring back. They don't even see a soldier." I said, staring into the distance, with forlorn memories playing in front of my eyes.
"Well, you made friends with me silly! So stop being all grumpy and come along. Just this once! And if you don't like it, well, I'll shut up about it." I contemplated her proposal. What could the harm be? If it's not for me well, it's not like I have to go back.
"Ugh… Fine. I'll come along." Resigning to her never ending requests.
"Yay! Thank you! I'll text you the room later!" Sari gave me a quick hug which took me off guard, I still wasn't used to her extreme levels of affection, even after three months. By the end of our conversation we had reached campus and walked inside, ready for a day of research and teaching.
