The other limos seem to have already dropped off their passengers, as they started to drive away from the entrance.
I grabbed my bags from the trunk and gave the driver a nice tip. He nodded politely and smiled at me before driving off.
I walked through the entrance and took some time to really grasp my surroundings.
What I assumed to be the main building of classrooms was straight ahead in the distance. There were two other buildings, each on the left and right of the main one.
This campus was every high-school senior's dream. Mine too at one point. Even though I already had my college experience, I couldn't help but feel excited to be here.
I took my time walking through campus until seeing a sign for the residence halls. There were two of them, one for men, the other for women.
I walked into the men's residence hall, into a lobby. The walls and the floor were made of pristine white marble. There was an elevator on the right, and a desk near the back, which I walked over to.
Nobody was there, but there was a keycard on it, for what I assumed to be my room.
I took it and then got into the elevator to the second floor. It opened to reveal a large common room, which was currently occupied by two other guys.
The first one had light skin, and short, black hair that was barely visible under his purple backwards cap. He had a faint mustache and beard, and wore an open black hoodie over a white sweatshirt and jeans. He was lying down on the couch, effortlessly strumming an acoustic guitar.
The second one had dark skin, with curly black hair. He was clean shaven, and wore a short sleeved, white button down-shirt, also with jeans. He had a purple and gold watch on his left arm, and he seemed to have some muscle.
"Hey there," the dark-skinned man said to me, holding his hand out, "I'm Sam Turner, soon-to-be Elite Astronomer."
"I'm Jack, Jack Waggoner. I'm the future Elite Defense Attorney," I said as I shook his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Waggoner!", he smiled.
"No need for the formalities, Sam… Just call me Jack!" I winked at him.
"Alright si-, Jack."
Sam retreated to one of the rooms soon after.
I looked back towards the man on the couch and snapped my fingers at him to get his attention.
Only on the fifth snap did he seem to break his concentration on the guitar.
"Oh… my bad, bro," the guitar-wielding man said, getting up from the couch and carefully setting the guitar onto it.
"I'm Matthew Stedman, but all my friends call me Matt. I'm the future Elite Guitarist, it's a pleasure to meet ya!"
"I thought you looked familiar!", I exclaimed, "It's an honor to meet you in person Matt. Your album, Misconceptions of Reality, is almost always on repeat whenever I'm doing casework."
"Heh. Always nice to meet a fan. That album is probably one of the ones I'm most proud of," he smiled, "Anyways, what's your name?"
"Jack Waggoner, future Elite Defense Attorney," I said to him.
"Oh, that's pretty cool," the guitarist said to me, pulling out a joint from his pocket.
Haven't seen one of those since my days as a freshman.
"Want one?" he said as he held out his hand.
"I'll have to pass. I need to be sober when meeting everyone for the first time," I said.
"Suit yourself," Matthew said, lighting his joint, "Why don't you put your stuff down?"
I had forgotten I had my suitcase with me. I brought it to one of the eight rooms available and left it there. I then went back to the common room.
"I'm going to head out and meet some of the others," I said, "You wanna come along?"
"Yeah let's go!" Matt said.
He put his guitar in a bag and put it on his back.
The two of us left the men's dormitory and proceeded north, towards a cafe. Over there, we saw two people sitting at a table: a woman and a man.
The man was dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and blue jeans, with slick blond hair and sunglasses. He looked a bit familiar, but I couldn't tell because of the glasses.
The woman was dressed in much more formal attire, wearing a business suit and heels. Almost as if she belonged in a courtroom.
She turned her head in my direction and immediately started to scowl. Like the others, she looked familiar.
Matt and I walked in the direction of the table and started to introduce ourselves.
"Brett Nelson," the man said, grabbing my hand to shake, "You might know me from my talk show."
"So that's where I know you from! First I meet a world-renowned guitarist, then I meet a famous talk-show host… this place is full of famous people!" I said excitedly.
"Haha, well… if you ever want an autograph, let me know," Brett said, "Who are you by the way?"
"Jack Waggoner. I'm a defense attorney, best in California. So if you ever find yourself in legal trouble, I'm your guy," I smiled at him.
"I'll have to put you on retainer then," Brett laughed, before turning to Matthew.
I began to speak with the woman.
"Afternoon! I'm-" I tried to say, but she interrupted me.
"Yes, you're Jack Waggoner. I knew that before you said it to Brett," the formally dressed woman said curtly.
"Ah, I didn't realize my feats were so well known!" I laughed.
"Well, yes… As a prosecutor, keeping track of criminal scum such as yourself is important for me," she said nonchalantly.
"I-, excuse me? Who are you?" I asked.
"Margot Gale. Prosecutor for the State of Texas, although I see myself becoming the US Attorney General at some point in the future," she said.
"And you're Jack Waggoner, Ace Attorney for the lowliest criminals in Los Angeles!"
"Oh, of course I ran into you here, why wouldn't I? I'd love to face off against you sometime, but Texas just really isn't my scene. Also, I don't know what you mean by 'criminals'. All of my clients have been proven not guilty," I said, running my fingers through my hair.
"Don't give me that shit, Waggoner. I'm not stupid. I've read enough about you, done enough research, and watched enough videos of you in court to know that you resort to illegal and immoral tactics to win. You're a blight on this country's vision of justice," Margot snarled.
"Well, whatever makes you feel better about not being on the side of true justice and freedom," I said, beginning to walk away, "Hate to cut this friendly chat short, but I've got people to meet. Pleasure to finally meet you, Margot!"
I left the three in the cafe and headed over to what I assumed to be a dining hall. I quickly removed my ring and stashed it in my pocket. Don't need anybody else seeing that and jumping to conclusions.
A public announcement system began to crackle, before a voice began to sound from it. I haven't heard one of those in so long.
"Welcome, future Elites, to Shining Futures University! We hope that you've spent a bit of time getting to familiarize yourself with the campus and/or with your fellow Elites! But if not, there's plenty of time later! For now, everybody please make your way to the auditorium for the entrance ceremony!"
I arrived in the auditorium last, and there were fifteen others, some I had met earlier. I sat next to Sam.
"That's sixteen of us," a messy brown-haired woman noted.
"So, is the ceremony gonna start soon?" A tall man wearing a sweater vest said, "I'm kind of tired, I don't do well on flights."
"I'm sure the dean or president will be here in a bit," a woman wearing a pilot's uniform said.
"I fuckin hope so," a fully-bearded guy wearing a backpack and mountain jacket said, "I'm hungry as hell."
"Is this everybody? Great, let's begin," the voice from the announcement system said.
The auditorium door opened once again and a scholarly looking man walked through. He had dark skin, was very well groomed, and wore a pristine white suit. He had a streak of gray hair, but his face was clear of wrinkles. Probably in his late forties or early fifties.
He walked up to the stage, to the podium, and began to speak.
"Hello Future Elites! I'm Drake Maddox, the current President of Shining Futures! You might have heard of me if you keep up with Wall Street and the financial industry, but in case you haven't, I'm the Elite Investment Banker!"
"I'm delighted that all of you decided to attend, and I promise you that it will have been worth your time. All of you, all of you are highly influential people who have significantly impacted your community, some on different scales than others, through your proficiency in your respective talents. We at the university believe you're entitled to Elite titles, paving your way to further success in your professional lives!"
"Some of our professors and research staff will be arriving later during the week of the official ceremony, so for now, it's just me here. If you have any questions, please feel free to come to my office on the north side of campus!"
"I'll be showing all who desire it a tour of the campus tomorrow, so no need to worry if you haven't looked around already. So, future Elites, I formally welcome you to the University! I look forward to getting to meet you all in the next few weeks! You all are probably tired, so you're free to go!"
It was pretty late in the day, so I decided to retire to my bed. There is plenty of time to meet the others tomorrow.