After my short lunch I make my way to biology. While I love this lab more than any of my other classes, I stopped looking forward to it ever since Link joined that class. Mipha is already standing by our table and waves at me when I walk up to her.

"Hey Zelda."

"Hi Mipha, how are you?"

"I'm good and you?"

I look behind us. Link is not here yet.

"I'm good too."

Minutes pass and the professor enters the classroom, shutting the door behind him. Still no sign of Link. I look behind me one more time to double check, but the table is still very much empty.

"Are you looking for Link?" Mipha says in a low voice. I feel the need to lie to her. If I tell her the truth, she might ask me why I'm looking for her boyfriend. It'd be awkward to tell her that I'm returning his hoodie.

"No, not intentionally at least," I whisper and check to see if the professor has noticed our chatting. I really don't want to disturb the class, so I speak as quietly as I possibly can. "Is he skipping today?"

"No, I told him to stay home."

"You... what?"

"Yesterday evening, I stayed at the pool when my team had already left. I often stay to practice alone, but then Link came by to show me an injury. We've known each other for a long time, he was a reckless child and I used to patch him up more often than I can count. Obviously he doesn't need me to look after his scraps anymore, but I'm pre-med now, and he still comes to me when he needs medical advice. You know, for bigger wounds."

"Is he okay?" I ask worried.

"His rips are pretty beat up. I gave him an ointment and told him to take the day off. If he doesn't take the time to heal, he could lose his scholarship. As an athlete it's impossible to avoid injuries, that's why self-care is incredibly important, but he tends to forget that."

"Him being an athlete had nothing to do with his injuries though."

"What makes you say that?"

She looks confused. She must know that Link didn't get injured during his game yesterday. Or... perhaps she doesn't know?

"Someone hit him," I tell her and watch worry come over her like the heavy rain falling and tapping against the large windows outside.

"He said it happened during his game," she says, dubious of my words. "I thought they looked odd, but I didn't question his honesty."

Why would he lie to her? People only lie when they do things they aren't supposed to be doing.

"Were you there? At his game?" She asks me and I shake my head.

"I wasn't. You're probably right, he must have gotten hurt during the soccer game."

I don't know which story is true; Link's or Paya's, but I don't want to cause any problems between Mipha and him. I like to stay out of drama, that's why I won't ask her any more questions about Link. I change the topic and finish our project by the time the lab ends. Even when Link is absent he manages to distract me from my work. Still, for as long as he's injured, I don't want to be angry at him.

I have a two-hour gap between biology and astronomy, so I want to find a quiet spot to relax for a few minutes. Part of me wants to refuse to take a break, but I've been up since 5 AM and I am caught up in all my classes. I think I deserve to give my brain a break. The library is in another building and I don't want to walk there right now, so I decide to stay in the science building. 

On the top floor I find a quiet corner next to some tall windows. The floor is a dark blue carpet, and a large potted kentia palm fills the corner with life. A perfect spot to sit and read, with the rain running down the windows just inches away. I can only imagine the disgust on Father's face if he found me sitting on the floor, but I've seen other college students do it, heck, I've even seen them sleeping on the floor.

The college is quiet, the only sounds I can hear are the pouring rain and the swishing of palm tree leaves brushing against each other. The first sign of life occurs after I've read four chapters when I hear someone's sneeze echoing through the hallway.

"May science and medicine prevail," a male voice says.

"Just say bless you," a woman giggles and I take my eyes off the pages to see if my ears are playing tricks on me. I'm pretty sure I know that person. Two people dressed in lab coats, one wearing goggles, the other glasses, appear from one of the hallways and stop in front of a white door next to me. They haven't even noticed me.

"Purah?" I say as I close my book and rise to my feet.

"Zelda!" She nearly drops her books and papers in excitement. "Haven't seen you in forever! It's good to see you!"

"You too," I say and smile. I think the last time I saw her was when I was a freshman in high school when I'd sleep over at Impa's house. I knew she went to HU, but I wasn't sure if she had already graduated.

"Robbie, this is Zelda," she says to her friend. "She's my little sister's best friend. Zelda, meet Doctor Robbie, my robotics engineering professor." Professor?? He looks young.

"Oh," he smiles satisfied, "Aren't you the president's daughter?"

"That's me," I try to smile. I wish people wouldn't always recognize me for being a Hyrule.

"I'll go ahead and start the computer," Robbie says to Purah. "Hand me the keys?"

Purah reaches into the pocket of her lab coat and gives him the key to the room. I throw her a confused look after he's gone inside. It's inappropriate to spend time alone with a professor, but Purah begins to laugh before I can finish my thoughts.

"I'm his assistant," she explains. I didn't even say something, but she must have noticed my discomfort.

"Oh, okay," I say casually, trying to hide the fact that I thought something totally different.

"Are you a freshman?"

"Yes, this is my third week at HU. What about you? Are you graduating soon?"

"I'm afraid not. I'm going for my PhD."

"Wow, that's great! What major?"

"Not sure yet! I'm double majoring in computer science and neuroscience and won't have to settle on just one for another year, lucky me!"

Purah says it so lightheartedly as if it wasn't a big deal that she's double majoring. To her, it probably isn't a big deal. She's always been called an eccentric genius, but I think she doesn't see herself like that. She's just her enthusiastic self who happens to be good in the classes required for her degree. Academically speaking I look up at her.

"How's Impa doing in her classes? I haven't spoken to her since the start of the semester."

"She's doing great," I say, not knowing if it's true or not. I actually have no idea how Impa's grades are and I feel like a horrible friend.

"That's good to her. I was afraid she'd slack off. I gotta go now, but hey, I'm usually in this classroom or the lab next door if you ever want to come hang out or talk. Or explore the world of robotics."

"Thanks, I will," I say and mean it. I head to the staircase. I have ten minutes left before class starts, and I'd like to be early to give a good first impression. Purah is, in many ways, very similar to Impa, though I find that she is even more energetic and headlessly balancing the insanity of a maniac and the craziness of a genius. I must have been too deep into thoughts again, for I bump into another student at the bottom of the stairs and apologize instantly. When I look up at his spiteful green eyes, I almost regret saying sorry.

"Is everyone at this school blind or do people just enjoy bumping into me!"

His shirt is soaked from the rain and his wet hair is falling into his face. I take notice of his bruised arm and feel a sudden breach of rage.

"You bumped into me as much as I bumped into you!" I hiss back at him.

"You should be the one to dodge! I'm 6 ft tall, open your goddamn eyes!"

"Stop hitting other students!" I burst and cover my mouth in regret. This isn't me. I don't confront people. Lately I've just been so irritated that I can't always keep my thoughts to myself. Their fight is none of my business, I remind myself. I should just let it go and walk away but...

"What did you just say?" He barks and steps closer.

"N...nothing."

"If you have something to say to me, say it!"

"You shouldn't hit other people," I repeat. "Only birdbrains get into fights."

"Huh?" He growls, his brows furrowed.

"I don't know what happened between you and Link but you had no right to hit him like that!"

"How about you mind your own damn business?"

"He could lose his scholarship if he's too injured to play," I defend Link.

"Why do you care? I thought you didn't like him."

I'm glad that more students are filling the staircase, giving me a few extra seconds to think of a reply. I lower my voice so that others don't notice our little... dispute.

"This is not a matter of favoritism. I don't like it when people hurt each other. What reason could there possibly be to bust Link's lip and bruise his face and rips like that?" I know I said I wasn't going to ask, but I have to know if Link is innocent.

"How asinine," he huffs, ignoring my question.

"Is it because Mipha is dating him now?"

"What?" he says through his teeth and clenches his fists. "Trust me, there are lots of reasons to fight Link, and while I truly wish it had been me, I'm actually not the one who punched him. Think twice before you jump to conclusions."

"Wait, what? It wasn't you?"

"Blind and deaf?" he mocks and pushes past me.

"But your arm... It's all bruised?"

"That bruise is from my bow. I didn't wear my arm guard yesterday."

"Then who did Link fight with?"

"Some guy from another school. It's been a long time coming."

"What do you mean?"

"They've been rivals for years, always provoking and challenging each other even outside of school."

"Where did they fight? And when?"

"The pier, I think. Listen, if you're so curious, why don't you go ask Link yourself and stop bothering me?"

Revali doesn't look back when he walks up the stairs, pushing himself past the other students as if they were air. For a moment, I remain standing at the bottom of the stairs, thinking about the pier. Link must have gotten into that fight only shortly after I left that Saturday night. I wonder if things would have gone differently if I hadn't left that day. Maybe then Link would be fine.