Mark was the best student in his class; in fact, he was about to graduate with honours from Cambridge University. He had always wanted to make a difference in the world, to bring peace to everyone, and that's why he got into Human Rights Law: it was his passion. He studied hard his whole university life and it payed off. He was following his career the correct way, while some of his mates had fallen behind.

He didn't excel in the love department. He had just broken up with his girlfriend, an exchange student from Japan. Daniel Cleaver, his best friend, had caught her with an American while Mark was visiting his parents for Christmas. This broke his heart, but not in a devastating, crushing way. He was hurt, but deep down he felt it coming.

Summer had gone by in the blink of an eye, and before he knew it he was on his last year of Cambridge. All of his other classmates were enjoying their last moment of "freedom" before facing the real world, but Mark was concentrating more on his future than on his present; every time he felt the urge of throwing his books in the fireplace and celebrating with his friends that the sun came out, his father's voice would pop up in his head: "Mark, my boy. Remember your responsibilities. A man has to bring food on the table for his family, and that can only be attainable with work, and work is attainable through studying. Never forget that your hard work will pay off in a wonderful future."

It was Saturday afternoon and he had a History mid-term on Monday. Mark looked out the window and he saw his friends laughing and pushing each other playfully. His lips turned into a smile and he chuckled, shaking his head. Just as his eyes started to read a paragraph on slavery, his dorm's door opened, the doorknob hitting the wall hard.

"Darce!" Daniel Cleaver yelled with a beer in his hand. Mark got up quickly and let him in, desperately hoping that no one had heard or seen Daniel's act. He closed the door, and when he turned around his best friend was sitting on his desk chair, going through his notes.

"Daniel, please don't spill any beer on my books." He said in a serious and strict tone with a hint of desperation and beg.

"Oh, come on, Darcy. Loosen up a bit. It's our last year in this prison we call University. Everyone's outside totally pissed, having fun, checking out girls while you are up here in your room being a total bookworm. Have you always been this boring?" Cleaver replied. Mark thought he'd seen a hint of annoyance starting to appear on his face, but wasn't sure. Mark just stood there, hands in his robe pockets, staring at him, thoughtful.

Following his silence, Cleaver spoke again, "Look, Darce. We are all going punting on the River Cam." Mark's eyebrow raised so high that it almost got tangled with his curly hair. "Punting is not only for taking ladies on romantic dates hoping to fuck at the end of the night." Mark laughed at his comment and nodded in agreement. "It's boring as fuck when one's sober, but with drunk friends? My boy, you are in for a good one." Daniel finished his statement by drinking the rest of his beer. He set the bottle down on the desk, close to Mark's books. He gasped silently with his eyes wide open, knowing that by the closeness of the bottle, the condensation running down it would fall onto his books.

"Daniel, I'd love to. But I have to study for a History mid-term and I can't afford any distractions, especially if it involves alcohol." He pointed to the bottle and Daniel grabbed it and threw it out of the window towards one of his friends. "Oi! What the fuck?" He heard his friend yell and Mark laughed.

"Do whatever you want, Darcy. You can sit here on your boring well-mannered-British arse, wearing your matching beige flannel pyjamas and robe, or you can come with us and have fun. We'll be downstairs shooting some pool. We're leaving at 6 pm. I expect to see you there, otherwise I'll come back, grab you by the curls and throw your books in the river." And with that, Daniel left.

Mark was seriously tempted. He almost followed him to the rec room, but his father's voice kept popping in his head. Still, it was his last year and despite Admiral Darcy's voice tormenting Mark, he really wanted to have fun. He changed from his mocked attire to a pair of beige trousers and a white shirt; and with that, he left for the rec room.

All of his friends were delighted, yet surprised to see Mark leaving his books behind. One of his friends brought more beer and a bottle of whiskey, while another put the radio on loud. Mark took a bottle of beer and took a sip. At that moment, he made a personal vow to drink no more than two bottles of beer, but before he knew it, he had already drank four bottles and a glass of whiskey in one hand.

Completely pissed, they all walked to the River Cam. When they got there, they saw a small group of girls waiting in line for a punt to come along. "Hey!" Daniel yelled at them. The four girls turned around and looked at the completely drunk group. They laughed, maybe some rolled their eyes, and then turned back around to continue with their chat. Daniel started to walk towards them, but Mark stopped him by grabbing his arm. He knew that Daniel wouldn't hurt them or anything, but a drunken Daniel was dangerous. After all, he did get his arse kicked a few times for crossing the line while drunk.

"Oh, come on, Darce. I'm not going to do anything to them. Just a little chat." Daniel slurred. Mark was still grabbing his arm tightly, but Daniel didn't seem to recognise the pain shooting up and down his arm from Mark's tight grip.

Jeremy, Mark's friend whom he met on the first day of Cambridge and remained close friends ever since, approached them and told Cleaver that if he wanted to chat with the girls, who were now leaving with a punter standing at the back of the punt, he should, but sober. A punt came along and they got in it. They headed over to the first bridge, and soon enough the girls' punt was next to them.

"Hello, little ladies," Daniel slurred. All girls but one ignored him. "You know, Marvin here isn't the only one who can punt, ya'know?" Daniel said, pointing with his beer at the nice man standing at the back of the punt.

"I honestly doubt that. Especially if you're drunk." One of the girls, probably one who had rolled her eyes, said with a scoff.

Jeremy sighed, chuckled, and his hand met his face in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, ladies. We're about to graduate and we're celebrating. Unfortunately, my friend here is having too much fun." Daniel grinned drunkenly and eyed a blonde girl with blue eyes who has looking at him playfully.

"It's fine. We totally understand. There's no harm in having a little fun, plus you're about to start a whole new chapter of your lives. We're here on holidays, and we just found out what Universities we've been accepted to. I'm Magda, by the way." The girl with red hair informed the group. Jeremy was completely smitten with her, probably love at first sight. She was eyeing at him the exact same way, and Mark couldn't help but smile.

"Well, isn't that exciting. Any of you attractive babes attending Cambridge?" Daniel slurred.

"Not quite. We're mainly staying at the London area." Another girl answered.

By the time they stopped chatting, the punting ride was over. Daniel suggested continuing the night at a bar, to which all of the girls agreed. Mark, however, already drunk, but drunk enough to know his boundaries, decided to pass and return to his dorm.

"Oh, come on, Darcy. Don't be such a goody good. Have some fun with our new friends. They say they have this friend called Bridget something, and that she'll be arriving anytime soon. You really need some shagging, especially since that Japanese girl cheated on you, and you need to let all of that stress out. Just one shagathon with this girl. What do you say?" Daniel wiggled his eyebrows and Mark glanced at the group of girls. He took a step forward, convinced by Daniel's encouragement – he'll probably pass on the shagathon –, but, just as Daniel was about to start clapping and yelling, Admiral Darcy's voice came to Mark's head. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Cleave. Maybe some other time. I've already had too much to drink, and if I keep going on I'm not going to make it."

"Whatever." Daniel muttered and headed towards his friends. Mark looked at them apologetically and headed towards his dorm.

Too drunk to keep studying, he laid in bed, not even bothering on changing into his old man pyjamas, as Daniel had once described them in the past.

You know what? He thought. I should have some fun. It is my last year and the only thing I've done is bust my arse studying. Reminiscing my Cambridge years what will my memories be? Me locked up in my room or in a library silent room studying?

Mark picked up his phone and called Daniel. "Where are you? I'm joining you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Upon entering the pub, Mark almost regretted going back to his friends. The music was too loud, everyone was even more drunk than before. He just had to suck it up and force himself to enjoy his night out. Leave the old man inside you in your dorm. Today you are young Mark Darcy who doesn't care that the music is blasting through the speakers and damaging your eardrums. Who cares?

"Mark! You made it!" Jeremy, who was talking to Magda, announced, yelling.

"Darce! You left your flannels and came. Not sexually." Daniel yelled just as the song that was playing stopped before moving on to the next one. Mark's cheeks turned a red as everyone laughed, but he shook it off, drunk enough not to care. His best friend went over to him with a bottle of beer and a glass of whiskey and told him to drink them all. And that he did.

Mark noticed that there was something off about the group of girls. And suddenly it hit him; they were outnumbered. They now had another member on their group. Probably that Bridget girl, Mark thought.

He started to walk towards his friends, but stopped midway, caught off guard by what he had just seen.

The most beautiful woman turned around, offering tequila shots to her friends.

The most beautiful woman he had ever seen; blonde; big, blue eyes; not too skinny, not too big – just perfect.

The most beautiful woman in the world who had just spotted him looking at her with his mouth open, and smiled at him.

The most beautiful woman in the world: that Bridget girl.