Hades' Halls

The Underwhelming joy of freshers - Part 3

Beneath the heady scent of roses and behind the shining bespoke furnishings, there was a definite feeling of trouble. Especially behind the gleaming smile of the man who had opened the door to them, the well-dressed one with the styled goatee and blatant narcissistic disposition.

Georgie shook her head to dispel the thought. She was imagining things....it must be the onion rings, she knew she shouldn't have asked for the big plate.

Walking along the hall, past the living room, drawing room and properly disguised broom cupboard, Georgie made it to the back of the house to the kitchen. Laughter was emanating from the open door and as Georgie crossed the threshold into the bright, cosy room, the cause of it was not made apparent.

"Engineer!", exclaimed a red head, pointing a finger at Georgie.

A waiting silence followed this baffling outburst as Georgie looked around the table. Everyone was looking at her but though she had graduated top of her class and wore the title 'nerd' proudly, Georgie could not for the life of her figure out what was going on.

"Well?", asked a striking boy with white blond hair who looked to be a couple of years older than the rest. Judging by his accent, he was not a native to Britain.

"Well, what?", asked Georgie, looking towards Seb in search of an ounce of sense.

Catching her eye, Seb opened his mouth to respond but the first girl who had spoken cut him off.

"I'm right", she said, smugly.

"About what?", asked Georgie.

"About you", said the girl. "What are you studying?"

"Engineering", said Georgie, beginning to get a grasp on things.

"Bingo", said the red head, turning back to the others. "Honestly, once you start looking you see these things."

"Naturally", said Georgie, deadpan. "Now would someone mind catching me up on what I've missed. I've got a feeling it's important."

"It's this thing Lydia can do", said Seb, gesturing to the red head. "From your clothes she can tell what subject it is you're studying".

"That's fascinating", said Georgie, genuinely intrigued. "How did you know I was an engineer?"

"Easy", said Lydia, shrugging. "You're wearing bootcut jeans therefore more desirous of comfort than style, Doc Martin's which imply you anticipate being on your feet all day but in ox blood not black, again suggesting you wear them for comfort. Nevertheless, from the waist down, you would be classified as 'casually cool' but that description stops at your waist. A woollen aran tank top? Not even mathematicians would wear that. Unlike Mats' here with his sleeked hair and top button up, you are not in finance. You are also not 'geeky' enough for a scientist. Therefore, engineer."

They all waited for Georgie's reaction. With a wardrobe dissection as brutal as that, the response could go either way.

Georgie looked down at her tank top. She liked aron.

"Fair enough", she said with a grin, taking a seat next to Seb who shifted his chair slightly to give her more room.

Not because he wanted to, be because it was the done thing.

"So you've worked out what everyone does?", asked Georgie.

"Yep", said Lydia. "As I said, Mats is doing finance. Eloise is clearly medicine. Seb is doing film studies and obviously I am Old English literature".

"You didn't do me?", said Advik, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair so the front legs came off the ground. "Go on, have a go".

"No need", said Lydia. "Go on Mats, you tell him."