VARSITY 9 | BL

THIRTEEN | T3

"Can I help you?" The guy's voice was deep for a seventeen-year-old, and he stood to be at least 6'4" (193cm) and towered over Wen and Toma, who came up to Wen's chin. His expression was almost blank, and his eyes were hooded. He looked rather tired and did not seem too fond of the idea of dealing with strangers after having just settled in.

Wen looked at the guy's light green eyes before shifting his vision to Lay, who was still standing in front of him with a reddened face. A towel was wrapped around the guy's waist, so Wen assumed he had just gotten out of the shower. From there, he could put two and two together and figured out what had caused Lay to squeal just moments before.

"Ready for dinner?" Wen inquired of his friend after nodding his head in a short greeting to the taller male.

Lay nodded before quietly saying, "I'll be out in a moment." Gesturing to Wen, Lay explained, "This is my friend and his roommate. They're across the hall." Then, turning to gesture toward the tall, shirtless guy, Lay introduced, "This is Liyam, my roommate."

Realizing the two, who suddenly knocked on his door, were there for his roommate, Liyam nodded at Wen and Toma politely before turning and walking back into his and Lay's dorm.

"Did we...catch you at a bad time?" Toma inquired as he looked around Lay and gawked at Liyam's wide back as the green-eyed disappeared into the right side of the dorm.

Lay only became more flustered at Toma's question. "N-n-no, why would you think that?" Before Wen or Toma could explain their reactions, Lay blurted, "Give me a second," before quickly retreating back to his dorm and closing the door.

Suddenly left standing in the hall, Wen and Toma slowly turned to look at each other. Shrugging his shoulders, Toma turned back to look at the door as he and Wen silently waited for Lay to return. After a few moments, the door to Room G407 unlocked, and out came Lay. He had thrown on his blazer and straightened his tie to complete his uniform. Slipping on his shoes, Lay joined Wen and his roommate in the hall.

"Sorry about the wait," Lay apologized with a dip of his head.

"No worries!" Toma chirped as he extended his hand. "I don't think I properly introduced myself earlier. I'm Toma, Wen's roommate."

"Lay," the dark-blue-haired haired returned as he carefully shook Toma's hand.

"Nice! Now, let's go get some food!" Toma stated excitedly as he began leading the way down the wide hallway lined with numerous other dorms.

A few other students trickled out from their rooms to join the trio in searching for the dining hall. Wen had pulled up the map to the dining hall on his holowatch and was verbally guiding the two in front of him as the three made their way down to the first floor of both Building G and Building F. According to the map, the cafeteria was located on the first floor that was shared between the two residential buildings. The first floor did not have any dorms on it but rather the dining hall, student center, media lounge, multiple study spaces, and an exercise center.

The further down they went, the more students appeared and also began making their way to the dining hall. Following the notification's instructions, all the students on their way to dinner were dressed in the navy and light grey uniform of Azari. Both females and males were given options of pants, shorts, or skirts and tie or bow. It was completely up to the user to decide how they would wear their uniform as long as all pieces were accounted for.

It did not take long for the trio to find the dining hall along with the other fifty or so students who were also on their way. Several lines of students hungry for dinner were already formed when Wen, Lay, and Toma walked into the massive room. There was ample seating and food, and many students were already seated and enjoying their dinner. Wen's mouth watered at the aromas alone. The food smelled incredible, and he could only hope it tasted as good as it smelled.