As I got out of my car, dreading the walk to my first class, I double checked my schedule. Walking into the wrong class in college was always embarrassing, I did it twice on the first day of my first semester, the embarrassment of which made me print it out for this one. Grabbing my backpack out of my passenger seat, closing the door and putting it on, I put my keys in my hoodie pocket and walked to the literature building where my class supposedly was. Checking once more, I confirmed, knowing these schedules have lied to me before. I read the name "Jake Howard" and the class name, Introduction to College. Opening the door to the building and walking through, I attempted to dodge the other students running late.

Finally managing to find the classroom, I walked in, trying to ignore the stares of the seated students. I scanned the room, it being a lab converted into a classroom, still having the chemical flush shower station and various electronics in the wall. It had various long black tables with wooden legs, two chairs being at each one. Looking for an open seat and anyone I knew, I noticed my best friend and roommate, Jonathan O'Brien. He was sitting in the very back, stepping over backpacks and purses I made my way towards him, the only seats left were in front and to the left of him, in the corner.

As I sat down in the corner, he mused, "How did we leave at the same time but I got here 15 minutes earlier?"

I replied, "Shut up, I couldn't find an open spot that was close to the building. I didn't feel like walking all that distance. I slept like shit last night, I had a really weird dream too."

"Why didn't you mention that when we saw each other this morning? We could've gotten coffee or something." he asked.

"It's fine, you always have complicated ass orders. I don't wanna be known as the friend of that guy. Oh, by the way that place we usually go to, Sid's Cafe, it was closed. Someone idiot drove into it and ran away from the scene about 10 minutes before I got there."

"You're just mad my coffee has more personality than you." Jon said while pulling out his laptop, making a mocking expression. I bent down to retrieve my own, secretly flipping him off as I sat it down. The professor at the front of the room walked over and removed the doorstop, the door shutting slowly. He stopped behind a podium a wooden podium and began to speak. "Hello students! I'm Jake Howard, your professor for Introduction to Co-"

He was cut off by a knock at the door that had just closed. He walked over and opened the door, revealing the person knocking to be a familiar woman. I recognized her as one of the people who lived in the same apartment complex as me, although I couldn't recall her name. He greeted her and asked her to take a seat. She walked over to the last available seat, and sat down. Also beginning to take her laptop out and open the course page. The professor started to speak, "I'm Jake Howard and I'll be your Professor for Introduction to College. Since all 28 of you are here today, why don't we start with a little icebreaker. I want you all to get into groups of four and tell each other your name, your major, and a fun fact about yourself. I know the icebreakers get repetitive but try to make some friends guys! College is the year for experiences! Now, please make your own groups and write down all the answers on one piece of paper for participation points and attendance." This professor was a surprisingly upbeat and friendly one, one I had never seen or heard of until now.

Looking over to Jon, we exchanged glances and nodded, both asking the person in front of us if they'd like to be in a group. They both agreed and turned around their chairs, now being at our table. After everyone was seated, grabbing a piece of paper, Jon started the introductions, "Hi, I'm Jonathan, people call me Jon, I'm looking to get my major in mechanical engineering. Uhh, a fun fact would have to be that I learned how to pick some locks through the internet. Emphasis on the some." He started writing down his responses, saying, "Whoever wants to go next, go ahead. I'll write it all down."

The man that was sitting in front of me started, "My name is Gannon, my major is business marketing, and I guess a fun fact is that I've bungee jumped before."

Jon writing the information down, looked up and said, "That's cool, how was that? Scary? It's nice to meet you though Gannon."

"Likewise and it was fun." he replied. Gannon didn't seem like the talkative type.

It was my turn, I cleared my throat and began to speak, "My name is Martin, I prefer Mars. My major is environmental science. I guess my fun fact is that I've never broken a bone."

That seemed to peek the girls interest, as she spoke for the first time and inquired, "Do you mind if I ask why?"

"About the nickname?" I asked? She nodded in confirmation.

"It was just a nickname my parents game me as a kid, I was a little obsessed with space at the time. It just kind of stuck and no one calls me by my real name anymore." She nodded as if in approval of my answer. I let my curiosity get the best of me and questioned, "This might sound a little weird but are you Mrs. Adams' granddaughter?"

She looked at me with a confused expression, wondering how I knew her grandmother. I remembered all the times I had helped her grandmother with tasks that weren't exactly suited for the elderly. I chuckled.

"We live in the same building, almost neighbors. I've helped her out a fair amount when she asks for it, she's talked about you a lot, I think something about owning a book store?"

Jon interrupt our tangent, "We still haven't gotten your name or major."

The black haired woman laughed and fixed her hair, "You're right, I apologize.. Jon? Sorry, I'm terrible with names. My name is Beatrice, I go by Bea. My major is nursing. And yes, she is my grandmother. Thank you for all the times you've helped her." She smiled sincerely.

Gannon joined the conversation, "So, is your fun fact that you own a bookstore?"

She turned to him, "I mean, partially. It is a bookstore, but it's more like a privately owned library, my grandpa kind of hoarded books. He had it built for his family way back in The Cold War days, it's also one of the oldest buildings in Pineview. He passed away a couple years back but he gave it to my grandma who I help by working there. And I say partially because there are hundreds of books, maybe even more, but it doesn't get that much business so some people rent it out for studying or things like that."

Jon's face suddenly became serious.

"Bea."

"Yes? Jon?" She said questioningly, while turning to him.

"Do you sell any comics?"

"We have a decent bit, we've also accepted donations before, I remember getting a large amount from some avid comic collector who had passed away, his wife didn't know what to do with them. What are you looking for?"

He looked at her even more seriously.

"Everything. What's the stores address? I will be there tomorrow." He instantly took out his phone, unlocked it and slid it in front of her. "Please type the address."

Jon got extremely serious when it came to comics. After hearing avid collector, and a wife clueless of their potential value, he felt there was something valuable among them. He was essentially exactly like the collector Bea mentioned. He had a bookshelf with over 200 of his own, most collected from his favorite series and limited editions.

She held back a chuckle, "You got it, I look forward to seeing you as a customer. You'll get a discount since we've suffered through the same icebreaker. I also have a personal collection of some that my grandfather had if you're interested in browsing through those."

She finally finished typing on his phone and slid it back over to him, I was able to catch a glance of the screen while she was sliding it. It looked like a phone number along with said address. I looked up and seen her face slightly flushed. I smirked, hard. Bea seemed to have an interest in him, and Jon was extremely clueless when it came to situations like these, also what some might call dense. Those two were stuck in their own world talking about comics and their favorite issues of such.

I exchanged glances with Gannon, feeling the need to talk or it'd be extremely awkward. "Soo, do you play any sports?" I asked because his large physique was the cover that allowed me to covertly flip off Jon earlier.

"I play a lot of football and frisbee, but both are community games hosted by the gym I work at. What about you, where do you work?"

"I work part time at an outdoor equipment store near Sid's Cafe, it's a pretty relaxing job, I also work as a pet sitter for a couple people." I replied. We began to talk about previous pets and animal encounters.

The chatter of countless conversations came to a halt when the teacher started to ring a bell. He had a golden lobby bell on his podium, although it was not the strangest thing to be seen in college. After the room silenced, he began to speak again, "I believe everyone's done with the responses, now please go to the course page and click on assignments. There should only be one thing there, a group presentation titled, Random Research Group Assignment, please click on that and wait." Following his instructions, I found the assignment and waited for him to speak again. He crouched down behind his podium and pulled out a sombrero, holding it upside down. The class began to chuckle.

How many things does this guy have hidden behind his podium?

He continued his lecture. "The groups you have now are the groups you will have for the next week when working on this assignment, it isn't even open today since I don't believe in making you guys work on the first day-" Several students began to cheer for him. He continued, " As I was saying, these groups will be the ones used for this project, the assignment will open tomorrow. Today, one of you from each group, will pull one of the ten subjects printed out and put into this magical sombrero." He rose it into the air and dinged his bell, warranting muffled laughter from the class once again. He began to walk around, walking over to our group first. He held out the sombrero to Bea and said, "Please look away and grab one Miss..?"

"Adams." she stated while looking away and pulling out a strip. Holding it up to inspect it, she read out "Astronomical Events; example: Eclipse, Planetary Transits, Asteroid Flybys, etc."

He walked over to other groups, allowing them to pick out their randomized subjects. Professor Howard spoke again, "This may seem a bit scary at first glance, but the goal isn't to make an exceptionally informative presentation. It does need one focus that falls under your subject..." I was drawn away from his lecture by my rumbling stomach, I had skipped breakfast and I was getting extremely hungry. Snapping out of my hunger induced daydream, I focused on getting through the class.

After the class was over, we were stopped by Bea, gathering our attention for a question. "Do you guys wanna study at the bookstore tomorrow after classes? I think it'll be better to get it out of the way, I could close it and we do have a space expert in our group." Making presentational waves with her hands towards me.

"Woah woah, I'm not an expert. That was quite a bit ago. But I'm down to get it off my plate, I know other professors won't be as chill as Professor Howard was." I retorted.

Gannon spoke up, questioning, "Should we make a group chat? I also don't really wanna work on this any longer than I have to."

As Jon and I exchanged numbers with Bea and Gannon, we made plans to meet at the bookstore the next day. Walking to our next classes together, Jon mused, " What's up with him and that bell?"

"I know right, I wonder what else he had behind his podium. Did you see how big that sombrero was?" I replied. We chuckled and split up to go to our next classes. Throughout the rest of the day, lectures, introductions, and discussions filled the hours until finally, a late afternoon descended upon us.

Back at our apartment, Jon plopped onto the couch with his laptop, already binging his new favorite show, while I headed to the kitchen to whip up a quick dinner for us both. Over dinner, Jon shared his plans to look for the last issue of a series he'd been trying to get his hands on. As we chatted about our day and different professors, I couldn't help but feel it had been a draining but successful first day. After dinner, we settled into our usual routine, each of us engrossed in our own pursuits. Jon delved into his show while I caught up on reading for my environmental science class. Eventually, we both called it a night, ready to tackle the group project.

As I lay in bed, the events of the day replayed in my mind, but beneath the surface, a sense of angst lingered. Something about today felt strange, and I couldn't pinpoint what. Unable to shake my feeling of uneasiness, I put it my earbuds and started my playlist, turning over in an attempt to get some sleep.