My Sworn

The New Kid

It was a cloudy day on the main campus of Mondew Public University. A soft, cool wind drifted through the trees and wafted along the sidewalk, making the hair of the many girls scattered around campus to flutter in the air. Small flecks of snow drifted through the air with the wind.

"Wow, Heather, is that a new blouse? You didn't show that one off when I came over to your place!" Heather Freeman's best friend, Sharon, squealed the moment she saw Heather, before jumping over to her to embrace her in a hug.

"It's a new one. My mom was hiding it all this while." Heather, being her ever reserved self, chuckled lightly before embracing Sharon in a hug. She brushed her dark curls behind her shoulder before she and Monica made their way into the building of the Department of English.

"A little birdie told me we were getting some new students." Sharon whispered in Heather's ear.

"New students? By this time? Who in their right mind would jump right into school by this time?" Heather frowned. While it was not unheard of, it was still unusual for someone to resume so late into the semester. There was a test right before the Christmas break that the new student had missed. Their time was sure to be packed, catching up.

"Mr Tohilla said that the guy is pretty smart. Pretty good looking too, you know what I mean." Sharon nudged Heather in the side, prompting the two girls to burst into a fit of laughter as they walked into the hall where their class was holding. The lecturer of the class walked in a few seconds after them. He gave a nod at the two girls before heading to a desk that was beside the podium at the front of the class. There was still half an hour left before the class started, so he was going to sort out the work he had for the class for the day.

"Tohilla is looking extra nice today, don't you think?" Heather asked Sharon. The lecturer they were having was the earlier mentioned Tohilla. He was quite young, just in his mid twenties, and with the glasses that framed his sharp face, he was the bother of all the girls at their level.

"He is, but I have my eyes elsewhere right now." Sharon easily brushed off Heather's tease. They both knew that Sharon was head over heels for their lecturer, and hearing how she brushed off the tease shocked Heather.

Heather turned over to look in the direction that Sharon was looking in, and found herself dazed. The new kid sure did know how to look good on his first day.

His face remained stoic as he went through some notes that were placed in front of him. His chiseled jaw clenched and unclenched from time to time, but he never took those sharp, dark eyes off the letters that he was reading.

"Oh, damn, I think I need to go to the bathroom." Sharon whispered.

***

Aiden sighed internally as he skimmed over the page of the notes that had been provided for him by the lecturer of the class they were having in a few minutes.

'I already know all this.' Aiden thought to himself. He closed the book with an audible sigh and raised his head up, letting his eyes roam. He easily caught more than a dozen people turning their gazes away from him and he could only do his best to suppress another sigh. The way humans were easily attracted to physical beauty left him feeling mentally strained, but there was little he could do. His good looks ware in his genes.

Ding!

A sharp bell claimed the attention of everyone in the lecture hall as the lecturer made his way over to the podium to begin his lecture. Aiden took a look at his watch.

8:00 AM

It was time for the lecture to start. The lecturer's diligence was a breath of fresh air for Aiden.

"Good morning everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas break?" Mr Tohilla spoke into the microphone that was fixed to the podium with a smile on his face. "I can see some new faces this year. I hope we can all get along this semester." He nodded before flipping open his book.

"Please turn over to Page 89 on your Standard English Textbooks. I presume you all have the latest edition by Ese." He raised his book over the edge of the podium to show the students the kind of book that they would be using. Most of them already had that copy of the book, save for the select few who had not gotten theirs for various reasons.

Like that, the class began. Aiden listened attentively throughout the entire session. Each session lasted for two hours, and by the halfway mark, he could already count at least twenty people who had lost interest in what the lecturer was saying and had begun operating their smartphones.

"Psst, hey. New guy." One boy behind Aiden suddenly nudged him, asking for his attention.

Because the seats were arranged in a descending order, Aiden had to turn back while facing up if he wanted to face the boy, so he simply tilted his head to show that he was paying attention to what the boy was saying.

"Do you wanna come to our New Year Party? It's holding on Friday night, and with the way the girls are eyeing you, if you showed up, a lot of them will too." The boy whispered into Aiden's ear.

'A good way to socialize and blend in. I should probably attend it.' Aiden thought.

"Sure, I'm free on Saturday. Where is the party happening?" He asked.

"Here, just add your number, and I'll send you a text." The boy passed Aiden his phone. Aiden quickly typed in his number and saved it before passing back the phone.

"I'm on Viber, so you can send me a message there." Aiden told him.

"Cool, I'll do that." He grinned widely at Aiden before settling into his seat and turning to the boy beside him.

Aiden just sighed internally again and returned his focus to the ongoing lecture.