It was October 1st, 2017, in my hometown of Frankfurt, Germany. I had finally been admitted into Vanguard university, and had even managed to snag a dorm room on the second floor, room #A-256.
I woke up to the sound of my alarm blasting an obnoxious pop song I'd set the night before as a "Joke," I'm not sure who the joke was for... I slapped my phone until the noise stopped, and I proceeded to flop back onto my pillow. I groaned awake as my tail twitched under the covers. The sunlight filtered through my blinds, feeding my body with its energy, I could feel it buzzing in my chest. First day of university. First actual day, not like the stupid orientation week or a mindless low-pay job. A freah start, just me and my classes.
I sat up and rubbed the sleep off my eyes, letting out a small yawn as I did so. I glanced around my dorm room, the walls were bare and undecorated, just a plain coat of white paint that covered the bricks and concrete. The room was small, way smaller than my room back home, If I laid flat on the ground and extended my arms up, I'd reach the opposite end of the room, and I'm pretty short. I had packed a poster of my favorite handball team; The London tigers, I'd hang it on the same day after I was done with my classes. Despite my recent arrival at my dorm, my desk was already a mess, notebooks, half-finished poems, and a bag of chips I'd forgotten to throw out were splattered across it, you couldn't even see the wood the desk was made out of anymore.
I'd set a mirror on my desk the night before, the reflection catching my eye. I grinned. My rusty red fur was a mess, it was sticking up in every direction, my neck fluff seemed to form a scarf around me, and the white marking on my face shun bright against the morning light. I ran a hand through my fur, trying to tame it, I reached out for my brush and tried my hardest to look neat. Unfortunately, my fur had won the battle, I gave up after a short while. "Good enough" I muttered as I turned away.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through all the notifications I'd gotten overnight while I rummaged through my closet trying to find my outfit for the day. The university had sent all the freshmen a bunch of spammy emails, telling them about the dining halls, the Eichelcafe, dorm management, how to find your classes, etc. I confidently deleted all those notifications, after all, I'm pretty smart, I could manage my way through university without having my hand held.
A text from my twin sister, Adina, popped up on my notifications, I expanded it to read the entire message. "Don't be late, loser. First impressions matter." I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile. She was probably already on campus, on her way to class, I stayed in the westernmost wing of Vanguard, everything related to physical education was kept here. The football field, basketball court, gymnasium, were all in my close reach. Adina had chosen a STEM career as a biochemical engineer, so she stayed in the easternmost wing, making it so we'd need to go out of our way to even see each other.
As Adina walked to her classes I was debating whether to wear my comfy hoodie or the shirt that made my fur look extra shiny. Clearly one of us had their priorities straight, and it was me.
I settled on the hoodie, today I need to feel comfortable, after that I can start showing off this fluffy fur. I threw on a pair of blue jeans, I'd just bought this one and it was super comfortable, the fabric was stretchy making them really nice to wear, even for shorts jogs. As I laced up my sneaker, my mind began wandering. What if I couldn't find my classes? What if I said something stupid during ice breakers and everyone thought I was a moron? What if- I shook my head, my ears flicking. "Stop overthinking, Ilhan," I told myself out loud. "You've got this."
The smell of coffee hit me as soon as I opened my door, the dorm's kitchen was a floor below, yet the scent of every student on their morning rush managed to seep through the flooring. I checked out the dorm's coffee machine, it looked like a plane's console, buttons upon buttons, levels I was too scared to even touch, and the codescending stare of a guy that was waiting for his turn on the coffee maker. I gave up, and headed to the Eichelcafe, a nice cafe on campus, that was also on my way to my first class. The place had a few students there, everyone was hanging out with their multiracial group of friends, if they were sitting on grass while one of them was playing the acoustic guitar, they'd be fit for the college's website pictures.
I stepped up to the counter, the smell of freshly ground coffee and baked pastries made my stomach growl. "An Americano, please," I said, glancing around the cafe. The barista raised their eyebrow, I am one of those freaks the enjoy bitter coffee, not the taste, but the adrenaline rush I get from how bad it tastes.
From the corner of my eye, I spotted a gray wolf sitting alone on a table, his head was bent over a sketchbook, and he was drinking some purple, frappe, thing. He looked... interesting. His fur coating looked so soft like those overly fluffy pillows you immediately fall asleep on, he had a faint stain of paint on his cheek. I thought about approaching him, maybe telling him about it.
But the barista slid a mug across the counter, snapping me out of my trance. "Here you go," she said with a smile. The mug had a cartoon panda that said "Stay pawsitive!" I took a sip and nearly choked, bitter as hell, but it did the job. My body was buzzing awake, and I grinned. "Thanks!"
I checked my phone and saw the time, nearly choking once again. "Crap. I'm gonna be late!" I muttered, I swiftly grabbed my backpack by only one strap, from how quickly I did it I thought it'd snap on me, as it was heavy, stuffed with notebooks, pens, and some snacks, but I bolted out the door in a rush.
The hallways were a blur of fur and noise as students rushed to their classes. I dodged a wolf who was texting while walking. Seriously, how do they not trip over their tails? I slid to a stop in front of the elevator. It was taking forever, so I took the stairs instead, my tail swishing behind me as I bounced up two at a time.
By the time I made it through the building, I was slightly out of breath but grinning like an idiot. The campus was alive with activity, students lounging on the grass, professors hurrying to their offices and classrooms, and the smell of food from the campus cafeteria. I took a deep breath, the crisp morning air filling my lungs, and felt another surge of excitement. This was really it. My new life for the next 4 years.
I pulled out a picture of my class schedule and quickly scanned it. First class: Introduction to Interspecies Communication. It wasn't my kind of thing, but I needed to choose at least 3 general education subjects, along with it I also chose Calculus I and Philosophical Thought. I didn't care for the intricacies of my chosen gen eds. As long as they weren't boring I'd be good. I had to cross Silberplatt park to reach my classroom, it was a large green area, tall trees, canines playing with frisbees, and a stone path that ran from one end to the other of the park.
As I walked, I caught a glimpe of a wolf sitting on a bench in the park. He looked like the same one from the Eichelcafe. How did he even get here so fast? Did he teleport? He was still sketching something on his notebook. His silver fur caught the sunlight, and for a second I stood still and just stared. Then I shook my head and kept walking along the stone path. No time to get distracted. Not on my first day!
I made it to my first class with exactly two minutes to spare. The room was already packed, I scanned the rows for an empty seat. The front rows were all taken up, only the back ones had free space. My eyes landed on a spot near the back, a wolf with silver fur was right next to the wall, he looked familiar, but I didn't think much of it at the moment. He looked like he was in his little world, staring right in front of him, focused on what seemed to be nothing. I hesitated for a second.
Wolves always looked serious, and I didn't want to bother him, but before I could step back the professor was already walking in, so there was no choice.