WHERE IS HELEN?

CHAPTER 7

      Helen woke up to the sound of her alarm buzzing on her phone. She rubbed her eyes and reached for her glasses, putting them on to check the time. It was 6:00 AM, and she had to be at the university by 8:00 AM for her first class. It was hard to believe that time had flown by so fast. It felt like just yesterday that she was in high school, studying for exams and dreaming of going to university. But now, at the age of 20, she was finally here.

     She had saved up all her money from part-time jobs during high school and invested some in stocks. With a little help from her parents, she had enough money to buy her own house near Megaminds University, the dream school she was finally a student of. It was a small and cosy house, but it was hers, and she was proud of it. Just a week ago when she announced to her parents that she was going to move into her new home and experience life on her own, the tears of joy that flooded their eyes were like the sea on a rainy day. Her mother's unbearable pleas almost kept her from taking this mighty step. She couldn't simply let her once little naughty princess walk out the door. She didn't even say goodbye when the time came. Then there was the incident with Mrs. Wilson. The now forty-two-year-old hugged her really tightly, and even when she slammed the door after Helen had sat in the taxicab and left, she sat down on the floor broken-hearted, reminiscing the first time Helen and Stephanie both went on a walk alone during camping, and got frightened by a squirrel. Stephanie and Helen, however, remained best friends even until she moved in. Stephanie came to help her with her interior decorations and slept over twice before her time to go chase her own dreams came, and she had to relocate to Reeves, the next town.

     Anyway, as Helen rushed to get ready for her first day at the university, she felt a rush of excitement and nervousness. She was finally starting her journey towards her dream of becoming a lawyer. She quickly brushed her hair, grabbed her backpack, and headed out the door.

     As she walked down the street, she tried to avoid eye contact with anyone. She didn't want to draw attention to herself, especially since she was still new to the area. But in her haste, she accidentally bumped into someone, causing two of her books which she held outside the bag just because she was fascinated with people holding books on their shoulders, and she had been dying to try it, not knowing that the consequences could include, bumping into someone like she just did and be picking up books from the floor while others passed by and billions of eyes stared.

She looked up to apologize, but when she saw the young man in front of her, she was taken aback. He was tall and lean, with messy brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Her first thought was "Boy, I just met Peter Parker" until her eyes continued to survey, bringing to notice his leather jacket and the backpack that he had slung over his shoulder, "he never wore a leather jacket", the silly thought changed. Something about this cool guy didn't sit right with Helen. It felt as if she had seen him before but a really long time ago. What she could tell with much certainty was that he had an air of confidence and mystery about him that intrigued her.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to regain her composure.

"It's fine," he replied, a faint smile on his lips. "I just bumped into someone back there so... I knew karma would not let me go free, but as to when it was going to pay back, I had no idea."

    As they both bent down to pick up the books, "Ooh, you must be hated by nature to be paid back so quickly." Helen teased.

"Naa, I doubt," he giggled. "I think I'm rather fortunate that you're the one karma sent to deliver the payback."

A smile which had no business showing up, escaped the corners of her lips. She felt her cheeks grow pink, so she lowered her head and hid some intruding hairs behind her right ear.

"I won't tell you my name, neither will I ask yours," he said. "We will meet again. That way, you will trust my words when I say that nature orchestrated this, 'bumping into each other 'scene in destiny."

"Mmm," Helen curled her lips, "let see."

"Alright madam New Lady," he stretched out his hand." "It was nice meeting you. See you around, and hopefully much sooner." He winked.

"Okay, Mr. Humorguy," Helen said as she stretched out to accept the handshake. "Can't wait to see your face when you realize you were wrong."

"Ah ah, you just said 'see your face'. That means you believe we will meet again." 'Mr. Humorguy' as Helen called him, replied with a broad smile.

"Aughh, you're just twisting my words now, aren't you? Whatever! We're on the same campus, it's not inevitable, but I'll never want to meet you again." Helen chuckled, "You're getting late for class. Go already."

"Okay Ma'am, byeeeee." The young man said and commenced whistling as he walked away.

    As Helen hurried away, she couldn't help but look back at him, watching as he disappeared into the crowd. There was no denying that something about him had caught her attention. Little did she know that this chance encounter would be the start of something unexpected and life-changing.

     She made her way to the hall, feeling apprehensive. It was a huge room, more like a stadium, with rows and rows of seats, and she was worried about finding a spot since she was the last person to arrive, and almost every seat was occupied from what she could see.

      As she entered, she saw that the seats were arranged like at a stadium, with each row higher than the one in front of it. She began to climb up the stairs, looking for a free seat. Every row was packed with students, and she started to feel shy, being the only standing.

     Finally, she saw one empty seat and started making her way towards it, smiling. But just as she was about to sit down, her pen fell out of her hand and descended downwards. Helen watched it tumble down several rows of seats, muttering, "Really?" under her breath.

     Feeling flustered, she quickly climbed down the stairs, trying not to make too much noise even though she felt the entire class had turned to look at her, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She grabbed the pen like a thief snatching a woman's purse, and as she did, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to look and behold, the same guy she had bumped into earlier, holding out his hands with one of those cheerful smiles on. She couldn't believe it. What were the odds that they would end up in the same class? "This day keeps getting better," she whispered to herself.

"Do you need help finding a seat?" He said with a grin.

Helen felt a sense of relief wash over her. She followed him to his row, where there were two empty seats.

     As they settled in, the professor walked in. He was an older man, with grey hair and a stern expression. He wore a tweed jacket and a pair of glasses that sat low on his nose. Helen couldn't help but smile at his outfit, feeling a bit more relaxed.

The professor launched into his lecture, and Helen tried her best to keep up with her note-taking. But every once in a while, she would sneak a glance at the guy sitting next to her. He was taking notes with an intense focus, and every now and then, he would nod along with the professor's words. Helen tilted her head on one occasion to have a good look at him to justify the thought running mind. "Why do I feel like you're stealing stares at me?" She asked with a wink.

A grin formed around his lips at her question, "What made you ask?" He whispered.

"We-ll," she hesitated, "people nod profusely when they have something illegal going on."

Her new friend chuckled at her detective skills, then he rolled his eyes to the right to look at her. "I didn't know my silence was hurting you."

"Augh, you're so annoying -"

"Just the way you like it." He commented.

She punched him in the belly, and a silly frown formed on her cheeks, then he held the area and pretended to be feeling pain. "you're so strong." He teased.

She winked at him and whispered, "Drama King." Then she turned to look forward, causing him to laugh silently.

Just when it felt like the good times would never come to an end, disaster struck. The professor walked past her and accidentally bumped into her desk, causing her notebook to fall onto the ground. The entire class turned to look at her, and Helen felt her face flush with embarrassment.

      As she tried to gather her things, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Let me help you with that," her mystery friend said, picking up her notebook and handing it to her.

Helen felt a wave of gratitude towards him. He was being so kind to her, even though they had just met.

"Thank you," she said, feeling a bit flustered.

He just smiled at her, and for the rest of the class, they whispered back and forth, exchanging notes and jokes.

It was the perfect start to what Helen knew would be an exciting journey.

The class soon ended, and the two made their way out together, chatting about the lecture and their thoughts on the lecturer's outfit. Helen felt happy as she realized that she had made a new friend on her first day at university. She stretched out her hand for a handshake, then "Helen," informed. "Yes, fate orchestrated our meeting. Sorry about the awkward morning."

"Naa it's fine," he said, reaching for her hand. "I'm Alex Champion. Nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too Alex." she expressed.

"So... this is the official beginning of our friendship, huh?" He smiled, "I had a good time. Can we sit next to each other again during our next class? I'd appreciate that, and also your number?" He scratched his head like a confused person, then he handed her his phone.

"Sure, me too. I had a good time. I hope we meet up again." She disclosed, she dialled her phone number and clicked to send a message to her phone which read 'Gotta go'.

Alex giggled and waved at her as she gave the phone back to him and turned around to walk away.