Rival Arrival

Chapter 2 - Frustration

"Ren!" Celeste yells down the phone the next day, as she's on her way to the university campus. "How the hell did you forget mention that the apartment you found for me is directly opposite Adrian's?" People begin to stare and whisper in hushed tones as her voice grows louder and louder, fury splayed across her expression.

To say she was fuming would be an understatement.

After finally somehow getting back into her apartment the previous night, Celeste had an essentially sleepless night, tossing and turning as she replayed every moment of that painstakingly embarrassing encounter.

First of all, she had no clue Adrian even went to the same university. Realistically however, it's not too surprising - they both wanted to study medicine for as long as she could remember, and there's no better university in the country than Marion.

"You know exactly how I feel about that scum." She lowers her tone, having stepped through the main gates and not wanting to attract any more attention. As if she hadn't already got enough of that yesterday.

"Calm down," comes the uninterested answer through the phone. It was obvious how little any of this meant to her brother. He probably even enjoyed it.

"Look, if it was that big of a deal to you, I'm sorry," he says earnestly, causing Celeste to stiffen guiltily. "The only thing I've heard from him is that he's starting at Marion. I had no clue he'd be staying in the same building, let alone on the same floor."

"Sorry, R," she blushes, regretting her overreaction. "I know it's not your fault. In fact, I wouldn't even have had a place to stay if it wasn't for you."

He scoffs as though he wasn't expecting that. "Since when have you become so appreciative?"

Before she could answer, the medicine faculty office appears in her frame of vision, prompting her to utter a quick goodbye and end the call. Sighing, Celeste vows never to miss the induction tours for anything ever again. It was such a pain to catch up - exactly the reason she's standing in front of the department office, nerves bubbling up inside her at the thought of having to be introduced to her life as a freshman on her own.

Placing a foot hesitantly through the door of the grand building, her lips part in an astonished gasp. 'It's absolutely stunning.' Celeste admires the marble arches and pillars that line the central hallway, the echo of her shoes on the mahogany floor sounding just as rich and deep as the material beneath her feet. And to top things off, the ceiling is speckled with bunches of twinkling lights, reminding her of the sparkle of stars in the night sky. 'Absolutely exquisite. How do I even deserve to study here?'

Carrying down the corridor in a trance of awe until she reaches the door for the main office, she knocks on the door, entering upon hearing a cheerful "Come in!"

"You must be Miss Celestine Vora, correct?"

The voice that greets her belongs to a middle aged woman, with a beaming smile. She gestures eagerly at her desk, indicating to Celeste to take a seat. Despite being a bit taken aback, she follows her instructions.

"It's nice to meet you! I'm Mrs Santos, the head of the department. We are very delighted to have you study at Marion!" A warmth bubbles inside Celeste at the compliment. Being appreciated was an unfamiliar feeling to her.

Director Santos does a quick run through of the basic information - the layout of the campus, opportunities on offer, and schedule of lectures. The only thing left was student IDs.

"Now, listen up," she says, slowly getting up from her seat, "this ID I'm about to hand you is extremely important. Without it, you won't be able to get past the security barriers at the entrance of the building for med students - you'll essentially be locked out and won't be able to attend any of your lectures."

'Definitely can't afford to fall behind already,' Celeste makes a mental note to always keep it on her, otherwise she'd lose it. Perks of being clumsy and forgetful.

Having collected her badge and given her thanks, Celeste is about to leave. But she glances over it, and cringes immediately.

'Shit. Do I really look like that?' Her stomach roils at the photo printed on, thoughts of doubt flitting through her mind. The light makes her skin look sallow and pale, with the reflection causing her willow brown hair to look extra greasy.

'Oh gosh, I can't deal with- '

"Miss Vora!" The unexpectedly shrill call brings her back to her current surroundings. Pin drop silence fills the room, all the members of staff having stopped what they were doing and glancing briefly at her, confusion written on their expressions.

Mrs Santos looks a slight bit concerned, "That's the third time I've called you?" she ends the statement questioningly, but after Celeste doesn't explain, she carries on swiftly, understanding her embarrassment from the glow of her cheeks.

"I forgot to tell you, you need to have the ID activated before it works." Sensing Celeste's desire to leave, she quickly adds on, "That's alright, though. I'll have another student activate it for you. It's quite simple."

Practically sprinting from the room with a small smile, the last thing Celeste wants to do is go to class. Especially not after what an embarrassment she'd made of herself. How distracted must she have been for the whole office to notice?

'Why did I let one photo get to me? We've been over this, I'm beautiful. No matter what,' she says to herself in an attempt to reassure herself, feeling the tears threatening to spill.

In an attempt to distract herself, she decides to wander around campus and explore the facilities on offer. Besides, she has around an hour to spend before her first lecture.

Without a doubt, the library was her favourite. So much so, that she lost track of time. Being surrounded by books tended to have that effect. They were the only things that never fail to bring her solace, to give her a sense of fulfilment.

Running as fast as her legs could carry her, she flies down three flights of stairs to the ground floor of the central hall, which leads to the entrance of the medicine building. All the department buildings are linked via the hallway, a fact she was thanking the stars for right about now.

Catching sight of the security barriers, she gets her ID ready, and comes to a halting stop, her lungs burning with the physical effort of running.

'ID rejected.'

The security screen buzzes, the light turning red. Panicking, she taps the sensor again.

'ID rejected. Seek help.'

'I don't have time to see help, you stupid piece of crap,' Celeste thinks, tapping impatiently, only to keep receiving the rejection message.

"Stuck, are we?" A low voice laced with amusement comes from somewhere to her right.

Adrian's signature smirk adorns his overconfident face, the corner of his smile tipped upwards.

'ID accepted.'

To her horror, the security gates beside her opens, as Adrian steps through the barrier.

Eyes aghast and lips parted slightly in shock, Celeste goes to try again, but Adrian's voice stops her.

"There's no point," he laughs from the other side of the barrier, a hint of unwarranted disgust hidden in his tone. "Next time you get someone else to do your work, the least you can do is check that it's actually been done."

The recognition hits like a brick wall. "You're the student who was told to activate my ID," she whispers, horrified.

"Took you a while, Sherlock." He shrugs insultingly. "Time to be more responsible, huh?"

Celeste clenches her fist at the audacity of the statement. "How dare y-"
 
"It was my pleasure, no need to thank me," he cuts her off, turning around with a triumphant glance.

His nimble legs carry him up the stairs with ease, as he ignores Celeste's outraged shouting behind him. About to disappear around the corner, he throws out one final, condescending retort.

"Welcome to Marion, Love."