"Surprise, surprise!"

When I reached the entrance of the building, a small woman already waited there to welcome me. Shaking my hand firmly, she said, "My name is Anja Michailow. I'm the university's administrator. Let's go to my office and get the paperwork done." I was only able to respond with "nice to meet you" before she turned on her heels and started walking through the entrance hall in direction of the large stairway. I grabbed my stuff and followed her, having some difficulties to keep up with her speed. When we finally reached the wished room, I thankfully sat down on the offered chair. Now I felt the past hours in my bones. Especially the strenuous flight from China and the lack of sleep made it difficult for me not to fall asleep immediately. Mrs. Michailow noticed this, too. For the first time she smiled slightly. "We'll be done quickly," she said. "Here is your schedule. You'll be able to sign up for additional courses during the following week. This is your student ID. Take it with you all the time, please. It is very important, as you will have no entrance to the library or dormitory without it. Finally, here are the keys for your room. I'll escort you to the dorm. You just need to sign these forms and then we can leave." I glanced at the sheets of paper she handed me, barely realizing the content, and reached for the pen on the desk. "Done.", I mumbled sleepily, passing the forms back to her.

About ten minutes later I finally stood in front of my future domicile. The dorm was a very old building, too. It was located behind the main building, separated from the busy area of the university by a large park with lots of old, gnarly trees and mixed hedges. "Now insert your ID-card." I did like I was told to and put my card in the slot near the doorknob. Then I was handed a piece of paper with the explanation that it contained my password, which I shall enter now. Again, I followed the instruction, tipping the ten-figure code on the keyboard. [The security system of this old university is amazing], I thought. A green light lit up and a soft, humming sound was audible. I opened the door and stepped into the corridor, while Mrs. Michailow wished me a good night and left.

For the second time this evening I had this weird feeling that my stomach would turn around. Loneliness and fear tried to grip me, but I escaped by stepping forward into the barely lit house. I found a little map at the wall, which showed me that my room (which, according to the number on my key, was supposed to be room 497) was on the 4th floor left hand side. So I made my way to the elevator, waiting for it to arrive after I pushed the button, again wondering about the modern equipping of the dormitory. I was glad that I didn't need to drag my entire luggage to the top floor; that would have given me another involuntary workout. When I reached the wished part of the building, I got off the elevator and looked around to orientate myself. I turned left and walked down the corridor till its end, making out the sign "497" on the penultimate door on the right. I rummaged around for the key, which I had put into one of my pockets and, when I found it, unlocked the door to my room.

It was pretty dark inside. A small fire was burning in a fireplace right across the room and I could make out two doors left and one on the right side of the small living room. Suddenly, I saw a head popping from behind sofa by the fireside. My eyes widened when I recognized the familiar red mane and its owner, who stared back at me with an incredulous look.

"Tala?"

"Rei? REI! I can't believe it. What are you doing here?" he asked while jumping up and running in my direction. "Good to see you!"

"Thanks." I murmured whilst I was unable to hold back a broad smile because of the red-haired man's reaction. "I decided to study in Moscow. After learning so much Russian during the World Championships, I thought it would be a great opportunity to improve my language skills and get to know your culture…"

Tala grinned back and gave me a short hug and the typical three kisses on my cheeks. "That's great. So…YOU are my new roommate then?"

I nodded confirmatively and waiting for his reaction. In spite of Tala's not always easy to handle character we had become pretty good friends during the last tournament, but I had no idea how he would react to the fact that he would share a flat with me for the next months.

"That's so cool. I'm glad you are here."

[Puh…Thank god!] A soundless sigh escaped my mouth. Fortunately Tala was too busy to realize it. He eagerly continued to talk.

"Let's sit down and talk a bit. We haven't seen each other since…let me think, about three year!"

I nodded again, my thoughts straying. "Hm, I guess you are right. Unbelievable that it had been so long ago…"

[…indeed - a lot of time had passed since the last Championship and although it seemed to have been yesterday and my memories were as precise as ever, lots of changes had taken place in the past years. My old Beyblade team had split up. Max had moved to his mother in the USA, he is now becoming an arts teacher; Tyson and Daichi had decided to stay in Japan to continue their Beyblade training; Kenny had got a scholarship from the BBA and know studies IT-don't-know-what at Harvard University. I had returned to China and started a small Beyblade school. Well, and last but not least: Kai… He had said that he wanted to return to his home country Russia, but, as characteristic for him, we had never heard a word of our dual haired teammate again.]

Breaking away from these thought and drawing a mental line under the whole 'thing', I firmly said, "But now I'm here." Taking a deep calming breath, I continued. "So, what are you studying here?"

"Sports management. I made an internship at the local BBA office and found the work so interesting that I decided to go this way. I'm now starting my third semester and I love the studies. How about you?"

"I enrolled for 'Language, Culture and Management studies'."

"Cool. It's your first semester, right? But why did you choose to come here?"

I confirmed his first question with a nod, but when I prepared to answer the second I felt a wave of fatigue flooding me. I tried to smother a yawn, but I couldn't fool the Russian.

"Jeez, you sure are tired," he stated, giving me no chance to deny the fact. "You should go to bed. Your travel must have been very strenuous. The door closer to the window leads to the free, I mean, to your room." He looked in the said direction.

I shoot a thankful glance at Tala and made my way through the room, wishing him a good night. I just managed to close the door behind me before I fell on my bed and drifted into a dreamless, deep sleep.

At the same time, Tala got himself a drink (vod…water, of course) and let himself fall back onto the soft sofa. He blankly stared at the glow of the last pieces of wood. While taking a sip of the clear fluid in his glass, he leaned back and murmured, "It's going to be a very interesting term. I'm dying to see his reaction." A little devilish smirk rushed over his face and he took a second sip; then emptied the glass all at once. The clock was striking midnight.

So, that's it for now. Sorry for the long introductory part. How do you like it so far? Greets, Moony.