"Wow, Max!" Roxanne cried, as she got out of my car and looked at the college. "Your college looks very cool."

"Thanks," I said, as I got out. "But if you're already impressed with how it looks, wait until you see the rest of the college."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Roxanne asked. "I can't wait for this tour."

I was pleased that she was showing more enthusiasm about it, given how very nervous and unsure she was yesterday. Maybe she was nervous before she arrived and now she felt more relaxed and confident now that she was here. "Well, then, let's get this tour going," I said.

And so the tour began. I had a few meetings to attend later that day, so that was why Roxanne and I arrived a couple of hours earlier so I could give her a full tour of Spoonerville College.


Two hours later, Roxanne's tour was over and I showed her everything. I showed her the classrooms and how big they were. Then I showed her how big the library was and how much books and computers with the internet it had for research and everything and I told her about this was where my dad and Sylvia met for the first time ever (a little thanks to me) and how both their lives changed for the better. Then I showed Roxanne the cafeteria and how big it was and all the delicious food anyone could eat in it. And then finally I showed her my department I was in charge of – the sports department.

I started off with showing Roxanne the skateboarding ramps where people would practice for the College X Games.

Then I took Roxanne to the tennis courts and explained to her how many college tennis players go to play professional tennis, such as Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open among them after they graduate.

Then I showed Roxanne the stadium where our college football players, soccer players and baseball players among them practice and play their home games before many of them go to play for the NFL and the NBL and so on.

Then I took Roxanne inside and showed her the indoor courts where our basketball players, netball players and cheerleaders practice and do their stuff before they graduate and make professional careers out of it. Then I took her to the wrestling rings where many college wrestlers go off to wrestle in the WWE. Then I showed her the boxing rings where our college boxers do their boxing matches before they leave to make professional boxing careers.

Then I showed Roxanne the gyms where people work out there and I told her that was how I got my first paid job while studying at college. Then I showed her the big outdoor swimming pool where people could swim or learn to swim.

Then I showed Roxanne the water sports practice that was happening on the nearby lake for the College Water Sports Competition, which including water skiing, wakeboarding, jet skiing, kitesurfing and windsurfing and kayaking among them.

Then I showed Roxanne the new go kart track which was built last year so people could make a career out of motorsports, including getting into the F1.

Then finally, but not least, I showed Roxanne my office. She liked everything she saw on the whole tour, but she seemed to like my office the best. I couldn't work out whether that was because it was a massive office or full of trophies that I won when I did the sports when I was a college student or other awards and medals for helping Spoonerville College become the USA's latest member of the Ivy League and the best college for sports, but I was very happy that she liked it.

"You're really in charge of all the sports in here, Max?" Roxanne asked, after she finished seeing my office.

"That's how I make a living," I told her.

"Well, I'm very proud of what you've achieved here ever since you first came here as a student," she said.

"Thanks, Roxanne," I said. "So did you like the tour?"

"Oh, Max, it was brilliant," she replied. "I loved seeing everything and I'm very glad that you were my tour guide."

"Thanks." Then I had to go to my meetings and I didn't know how long they were going to be, so I suggested to Roxanne that she should go and wait in the library so she could look at her paperwork that I picked up for her to enrol in the college if she wanted to or read a book to keep her occupied, which she agreed to.


Then after two and a half hours, my meetings were over. They were long but productive. I went back to the library and I found Roxanne still there and she was talking to some people.

"So you're making friends all ready?" I asked her, as we had our lunch in the cafeteria. I was having a burger and fries and a cup of tea.

"Oh, yeah," Roxanne replied. She was having a large Caesar salad and a glass of water. Then she told me about her time in the library, where she read some books which she found interesting and where she met her new friends.

Then I noticed that Roxanne had filled in her paperwork and which classes and activities she wanted to take if she got into college. Her classes included elementary education, special needs education, nursing and horticulture education and her activities included cheerleading try-outs. "According to the tour I gave you and making new friends and this paperwork you filled in, it sounds you really want to get into this college, Roxanne?"

"Yeah, more than anything in this world," Roxanne said. "Especially because you work here."

Then I noticed that she hadn't signed where her signature was needed. "Is there something that you're not sure off?"

"The money," she replied. "I don't have the money to pay for my college tuition."

"I'll pay for it," I said. I had been thinking about for a while and I had enough money for it, so that was why I offered.

"No, Max," Roxanne said. "You've already done enough for me."

"Listen to me, Roxanne," Max said. "I want to do this. Even though we're not in a relationship anymore, you're still very special to me as you were when we were teenagers and I want to help you the very best way I can."

Happy tears came out of Roxanne's eyes. "Thank you so much, Max. And you're still very special to me too." Then she was about to sign the paperwork and then she hesitated again. "What if this college doesn't accept me? What if I'm not good enough for it?"

"Then you can say you tried your hardest," I told her. "And you can still stay at my place and we can look for jobs for you, whether they be paying or volunteering. No matter what happens, I will help you no matter what."

"Thanks, Max." Then Roxanne signed the paperwork.


The next day, Roxanne and I received a letter from Spoonerville College saying that they accepted her and she could take all the classes and activities she wanted to do, which we were all very happy about. So for the next few days, we went shopping to make sure she was ready for her college education.

Two days before her very first college lesson, I helped her pack her stuff and moved into her dorm room. I did offer Roxanne to continue to stay at my place as the college isn't far from it, but, based on Dr. Faist's advice, she decided that she wanted to try living in a dorm room and be more independent and not rely on me all the time.

While I helped Roxanne moved into her dorm room, that was when I met her new friends she made in the library when I took her on the tour of the college and they were her roommates. There was a female mallard called Victoria 'Vickey' Woodham from the Peak District in England, who was sixteen years old and had just graduated English high school. The second one was a female Puerto Rican crested toad called Valeria from Puerto Rico, who was skipped two grades and graduate Puerto Rican high school at the age of sixteen. The third one was a male horse called Kenny Horsecollar, who was eighteen years old and was the nephew of my dad's friend Horace Horsecollar. They seemed very nice and intelligent people and the kind that didn't seem be very popular at their high schools.

"Well, I'll see you around, Roxanne," I said to her, when I was ready to leave.

"See you around too, Max," she said. "And, Max, once again, thank you for everything." Then she wrapped her arms around me.

And I hugged her back. "If I don't see you before your first lesson, Roxanne, good luck."

"Thanks, Max," she said. "And good luck with your work too."

"Thanks. Bye. See you soon."

"See you soon, too, Max," Roxanne said, before she headed back into her dorm room with her friends and shut the door behind her.

Then I headed home and got myself ready for work.

That night, I was sad when Roxanne wasn't staying in my house anymore. I just enjoyed her company so much and, deep down, I wished I could be in a new relationship with her again, but I knew that almost all couples never go back after they end their relationships and Roxanne was trying to make a new life for herself. I was just grateful we were back in each other's lives and still remained good friends and I didn't want to ruin it by any means. Besides, I still wasn't ready for another relationship because I was still deeply hurt by Mona's betrayal and her unremorseful approach to it, even though it was more than two years ago.