The Charmer

"Your class is just down the hall. I'll meet up with you this afternoon for lunch. Good luck!" Emi waved goodbye.

Ryder was given a map of the school grounds but how in the world was she going to remember where all her classes where in this maze of a castle? Emi attempted to show her where most of her lectures were on the small tour she gave yesterday, but the hallways and running back and forth across the quad proved to be exhausting so Emi became her escort.

After her roommate left, the hallway began to quickly empty with only one door still opened at the end with students piling in so she assumed it had to be her class. Looking at her schedule, it was Earth Biology. The class had to do with the study of the nature and status of earth's biodiversity. Ryder's never heard of it before but how to preserve the earth and its inhabitants and ecosystem sounded interesting. She also signed up for the class because it was a requirement for graduation.

Students were quietly talking amongst themselves when she walked in. If she didn't know any better, she would think she stepped into the room where all the beautiful people in the University gathered. The girls were tall with flawless skin, some with porcelain faces, others kissed by the sun. Even the boys looked like they stepped out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. They all seemed to have a natural beauty to their features.

Even the professor. "Please take a seat," she said, motioning for Ryder to take no particular chair among the columns of seats available. The professor had long, straight, golden hair and brown eyes. She was also wearing a short lab coat that hugged her body well.

Ryder moved around the students standing in the aisles catching up with friends and chose a seat near the middle section where other students spread out, some quietly observing her as she prepared her notebook. Not seeing other students receiving the same curious looks, she wondered if she stuck out like a sore thumb that badly.

With the hundreds of students that entered and exited the University every year, every semester, it was as if they could detect she was new. No particular group seemed talk about her, but the random stares she received said otherwise.

What's their problem? She thought.

"All right everyone…please take a seat as I begin the lesson, I hope—" the instructor stopped talking halfway into closing the door. Ryder and a few others looked up from their notebooks.

Someone had stuck their book in between the door and the doorjamb just before getting locked out of the classroom. Opening the door to let the last student in, she shook her head at the boy walking guiltily into her class. "Declan Finn, now I know you're not trying to start off this school year by making it a habit of being late to my lectures again like you did last year."

The students snickered as he sheepishly smiled at her, "I'm terribly sorry Professor Dahoon. I went home for a few months. Still trying to adjust between time zones and all. I promise to do better this year."

"Let's hope so." She looked unconvinced and unaffected by his puppy dog eyes, motioning for him to join the rest of the students in an empty seat.

Declan Finn was tall and handsome. He looked like he played sports with the slim muscular physique he had, maybe swimming, volleyball, or European soccer. His eyes were hazel, hair a bronze color and cropped short. He also had a dimple in his left cheek that was visible with the slightest expression under his thinly kept beard.

He smiled at Ryder when he passed her row, heading up two more rows and sat almost right behind her. She felt her cheeks warming from getting caught staring. Almost every male student she's seen at this University was attractive and he was no exception.

"As I was saying," the professor glanced at Declan before continuing to close the door, "I hope you all enjoyed your time off—got to venture out in the world or visit your families back home. For those of you new to Mirkwood University, welcome. I am Camellia Dahoon. But you may call me Professor Dahoon. Welcome to Earth Biology."

After her introduction and what she expected of her students, Professor Dahoon passed out the syllabus and briefly went over what she'll be discussing for the first week. Ryder was thankful all the materials and assignments were laid out in writing so she could get a head start. She promised herself that she would do her best in her academics and not let the past year distract her again.

It was her senior year. Her final year before she had to face the real world. But what she wanted to do after college still wasn't clear to her at this point. A degree in International Relations could have her at a desk job or the opportunity to travel to different countries. She would see how governments worked, gathering intellectual materials from fields such as technology, engineering, economics, and history, just to name a few.

Ever since she was young, Ryder was interested in how other countries operated and always imagined to be some sort of delegate for an important cause—someone who made a difference. Ryder's father told her that when she was younger, her mother always said she knew her daughter would make a difference in people's lives someday. Taking an interest in this type of career was a way to keep her mother's memory alive.

The most logical thing to do after college for most young adults was to find a job and be counted among the workforce. But Ryder thought she might just also wander around for a while until she's ready to face actual adult responsibilities.

Her father, Henry, left her with plenty of inheritance money, more than some people could imagine in a lifetime. There was time to decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life before going broke and begging for scraps out on the streets. The inheritance was something she didn't mention to people because how many girls her age had bricks of gold stashed in a foreign bank, locked in a secured vault under their name?

Ryder knew her parents came from some wealth, although they never talked about it, so a decent inheritance was to be expected. But where and how her father came into obtaining the bricks was a complete mystery. She was unaware bricks like that even still existed. Most importantly, she wondered if Aragorn knew what her father had left her. Ryder never did quite understand his explanation of how he was her uncle if he wasn't one of her mother's siblings.

"Hey…excuse me..." the whispering voice behind interrupted her daydream. Cautiously turning around while the professor still busily talked, Ryder saw it was Declan Finn. He smiled at her when they finally made eye contact. The first thing she noticed was his lips and the smile he carried, then his hazel eyes. She wasn't really sure if it was her attention he was seeking until he smiled again with his dimpled cheek. "Could I borrow a writing pen? Mine seems to have lost its ink." He shook the black pen in his hand indicating that it wasn't working.

There were other students in his row closer to him who he could ask but he asked her instead. Ryder didn't know him so the assumption that he was trying to flirt with her was something she didn't want to entertain.

"Sure," she whispered back, hoping the professor hadn't notice the lack of focus on her part. She reached behind her to hand him one of her extra pens while he leaned forward to take it.

Their hands briefly touched. Ryder noticed how rough his fingertips were. She was sure he had to play some kind of sport that involved his hands. They weren't rough to the touch like someone who worked with their hands their entire life, but just enough to know that he didn't mind getting a little dirt under his fingernails…although he looked like he had nice manicured hands.

"Thanks, I owe you one," he smiled again.

For the remainder of class, she could feel his eyes on her back, like he was observing her or trying to figure her out. It was sort of a sixth sense she had around people. It was also a bit unnerving, which made it hard to concentrate on what the professor's lecture. But still, she jotted down notes to distract herself from her thoughts.

When the hour ended, Ryder quickly gathered her things to rush to her next class that Emi said would her take a good walk to another building.

"Ryder Grayson?" she heard someone ask before she was able to exit out the door. It was Professor Dahoon.

"Yes?"

"Hi. I didn't mean to stop you so suddenly," she said with an apologetic smile. "I just wanted to formally introduce myself to you. You might get this a lot today, but I've heard a lot about you from Aragorn. He's very happy you're here. I hope you'll enjoy your school year at MU."

"Thank you," she half-smiled in return. "Me, too."

That was…strange? She thought.

Why was her uncle talking about her with her instructor? Were they close friends? And what did she mean by, 'You might get this a lot today'? Who else knew she's here? Aragorn must have announced her arrival to the faculty staff so if she gets more instructors introducing themselves to her she'll assume that's the reason. It felt like people having heard stories about her and know her on some level when she'd never met any of them.

Briefly glancing in Declan's direction, he took his time with his belongings while talking to a group of friends in the process. He caught her gaze immediately, which quickly sent her out the door after saying goodbye to the professor. The speed walking Ryder did, however, didn't do much to evade Declan from catching up to her with his long legs.

"Hey…it's Ryder, right?" he said as he matched her steps.

"Yeah," she briefly glanced at him, holding tightly onto her book bag and trying to remember the way to her next class.

"Thanks again for lending me your pen." In her haste to leave, she forgot to ask for it back. "Here."

"Thanks…" She took it from him and placed it in her bag's side pocket.

"Where are you headed?"

His question was harmless enough and to not seem rude with their first real conversation, she took out her schedule, "I have…International Politics next."

"Tree Beard Hall."

"What?"

"Your class is in Tree Beard Hall," he told her. Ryder looked at the map attached to the paper trying to figure out how to get there. Declan subtly smirked at her. "Listen, my next class is in the same building. I can take you there."

"Thanks, but I'd rather find it on my own," she half-smiled.

She'll eventually need to learn how to navigate her way through the campus and if everyone kept escorting her, she'd never find her classes without a guide. One of her goals is to know Mirkwood University like the back of her hand—even though that goal will surely take a while.

"We're headed in the same direction," Declan countered. "It's across the quad and a good ways if you don't know the shortcut."

Contemplating on whether or not he was telling the truth, she didn't want to risk it. Being late for her classes on the first day and interrupting while the lesson has started is embarrassing. Declan would know that, but the entire class staring at him earlier didn't seem to faze him.

"Fine. I'll take you up on your offer."

That made Declan smile, the single dimple on his cheek showing, making him the second person Ryder's met at MU. "I know this campus pretty well. I can draw you a better map of your classes if you want," he continued as they walked side by side toward the quad.

Students watched them, mostly the female students whispering to each other, while they made their way across campus. "I see you have a fan club."

"Pardon?" Declan looked around and shook his head at what she referred to. Chuckling, he turned back to her, "Just because I'm on the swim team doesn't necessarily mean I have a fan club." He gave the girls a short wave that were more than happy to return the gesture.

One of Ryder's guesses was right. He was a swimmer. "You don't need to be an athlete to have a fan club," she smirked.

He returned her response with a grin. "And what about you, Ryder Grayson, are you into any sports?" he asked, ignoring the real meaning behind her comment. She assumed he heard her full name when Professor Dahoon spoke to her.

"Gymnastics."

"Nice. The gymnastics team here is pretty good. Are you planning on trying out?"

"Yes, I have an audition this afternoon."

And before she knew it, they reached their destination. The route they took was quicker than Ryder imagined. Checking her watch, she still had a few minutes to spare. She didn't remember the entire way, but hopefully tomorrow she recognized some of the landmarks when she took the same path to Tree Beard Hall.

"Told you," Declan smirked again.

"And so you did," Ryder gave him the satisfaction he was looking for. "Well…thanks."

"My pleasure, Miss Grayson." He did a formal bow with his head bent down. When he finally looked up at her, he was still smiling.

Ryder good-humoredly rolled her eyes and walked away, "Quite the charmer, Mister Finn."

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