"Here's a folder for you: it has all sorts of information about campus, our majors, scholarships, the whole nine yards. Oh, and what size t-shirt are you?"
"Uh, medium should be fine," Dib replied.
The cheerful admission office receptionist gave him a smile and told him to have a seat while she fetched a complimentary t-shirt from the back. Dib suspected she was trying to be extra nice because of the shadow of fear that had crossed her features when he first entered the building—he got those looks often from new people, thanks to his scars. He watched a slideshow play on the large TV across from him, but even over the top 40 hits playing in the background, he could hear the hiss of whispers from the hallway the receptionist had disappeared into. Probably giving the admission counselor and tour guide a warning, he thought.
The receptionist returned with a girl in a college sweater who introduced herself as Liz, the tour guide.
"Nice to meet you, Dib. Just you and me today?" she asked after shaking his hand. He made sure to reach out with his real one.
"Yeah," he said. His mind flashed to Zim curled up in a ball in his back seat.
"Alright then," she smiled. "Let's get started!"
They walked together through the blustery campus, occasionally ducking into buildings so Liz could show him a classroom or a lab or tell him a historical tidbit about the college. She periodically checked if he had any questions and sometimes asked him a few.
"You've driven a long way to get out here—any particular reason you decided to look out of state?" she said as they crossed the campus green (or white, she joked).
"Just wanna get away from it all, I guess," Dib answered, hoping she wouldn't dive too deeply into the subject.
"I can understand that," she said. "For me, home is about an hour and a half north of here. That's obviously not as big of a distance, but I had the same feelings when I started looking at schools. I wanted to find somewhere that felt like it was my own space, and this school wound up being my favorite, so here I am two years later!"
"Cool," Dib said. "Sorry, what did you say your major was?"
"That's okay! I'm in the biochemistry program. That's actually why I stuck around over winter break—I'm helping one of the professors run an experiment." Liz said proudly. "I saw on your sign-up form that you're undecided, but is there anything you're thinking about majoring in?"
Dib laughed internally, thinking of how over-the-moon his father would be if he majored in biochemistry. "I'm really not sure. My dad's a scientist, so he's always wanted me to get into the field. I'm just not sure I'm interested in that. But…" he trailed off, uncertain if he should reveal what his true passions were. "I, uh…think journalism would be cool."
"Nice! I have a friend in our journalism program and she's learning a lot of really great stuff. It's a lot of writing, obviously. I sure couldn't do it!" Liz laughed, opening a door for him as they entered the campus library. "This building is actually the oldest on campus, so it has a lot of cool architectural features and weird little nooks and crannies that are great for studying. Also, I'm pretty sure it's super haunted."
Dib couldn't stop himself from visibly perking up. "You believe in ghosts?"
Liz nodded emphatically. "Oh, yeah. Especially after hanging out in this building past midnight. Like this one time, I was in a study nook, by myself, and three books fell off a shelf for no reason and I swear I heard this creepy laugh. I was seriously freaked out. But, that's what led me to join the ghost hunting club, and those people are some of my closest friends now."
Dib thought his jaw might hit the floor. "You guys have a ghost hunting club?"
Liz proceeded to tell Dib all about the exploits of the ghost hunting club, from their on-campus investigations to their trip to a major paranormal convention the past spring. She had to remind herself multiple times to stop gushing about it and tell him more about the school, but of course Dib didn't mind one bit. When they reentered the admission building, he felt like the tour had ended too soon.
"Thanks for telling me about the club," Dib said. "I was kind of nervous to say it, but paranormal research has been a passion of mine for a long time. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be a paranormal investigator. I, uh…got made fun of a lot." He laughed, though it sounded sadder than he had intended.
Liz gave him a sympathetic smile. "Trust me, I've gotten weird looks from people when I mention I'm in the ghost hunting club. But, actually, most of the students here think it's pretty cool; we're one of the biggest organizations on campus! But, Dib," she said. "Don't be afraid to tell people what you're passionate about as you're looking for schools. That's the awesome part about going to college—you're in a new place where you get to meet people who share those passions, and you can grow as a person because of it. Sounds kinda cliché, but a fresh start can be pretty powerful."
He swallowed and nodded. "Yeah. Thanks, Liz."
"It's been really nice talking to you," she said, extending her hand. "My email is on one of the cards in your folder, so if you ever want to chat again, you can totally reach out. I'm gonna go grab your counselor now so you can go over more logistical stuff."
"Sounds good," he replied, taking her hand again and then watching her go. He gave her a final goodbye before he followed the counselor back to his office.
"See ya," she smiled. "Maybe we can hunt ghosts together next fall."
The counselor closed his door, blocking Liz from Dib's sight. He thought it would be very nice to hunt ghosts with her, indeed.