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5 years ago, at Lunde College of Law.
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I stood in front of the college entrance with a black file wrapped around my arms along with a huge luggage beside me.
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My mouth fell open when the sight of a massive building greeted my eyes, as if the building came straight out of a fantasy film. The building itself looks like a modernized palace designed in a baroque-style structure. The walls were coated in pearl white paint and it's exterior were surrounded by hundreds of beautifully carved statues.
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Around the building's compound, were a number of aesthetically built fountains which formed a luxurious path near the entrance gate. It looks absolutely magical. I have no idea how the human hands could construct something as extraordinary as this. One thing for sure, it must've cost a lot.
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I walked towards the main entrance where a banner welcoming its students was hung high above it. My eyes wandered around the empty hall as I entered the building. There were no signs of any other students except me.
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My gaze then fell onto a lady sitting behind a glass wall which divided the space between us. Pasted on the glass wall was 'Students' Registration Counter'.
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I quickly made my way to the lady.
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"Excuse me, ma'am. I'm here to register."
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"Your name?" She asked while filling up a few blank spaces on a piece of form.
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"Evelyna Grace." I answered while handing out my black file. Not even taking it, she pushed away the file from my hand. I tilted my head, quite perplexed by the cocky treatment given by her.
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"Evelyna Grace..." She mumbled my name as she scrolled through the screen of her computer.
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"May I know where the other students are?" I asked curious.
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"They'll be here at 9 tomorrow. For the grand orientation." She answered, still focusing on her computer.
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My brows furrowed. I didn't know there was a grand orientation. Did I come to early? But the letter said today's the registration day. Well, maybe it's just me.
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Suddenly, the lady made a brief pause while scanning carefully at the tiny words on her screen.
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"Oh, you're on a full scholarship?" She asked, looking quite surprised.
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"Yes." I replied with a nod.
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She suddenly handed me the form she was filling earlier.
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"Please sign here." The lady pointed on an empty space on the form. I took it without a second thought and followed her instructions.
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"Well, this is quite a rare sight. Looks like you're a really excellent student to receive a full sponsorship." She took back the signed form from me.
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A small smile crept over my lips. It was nothing much, but her words of approval made me felt exhilarated. It's as if all my hard effort had been approved by the people here.
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To be admitted into Lunde College of Law is every person's dream. It is one of the world's top law schools with an international reputation for the quality of its teaching and legal research, hence, the fee is also quite expensive as it's triple the amount of normal colleges.
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Each year, out of billions of applicants around the world, only two top students will be awarded a full sponsorship from the college itself. So, basically the students here are either from a family of status with tons of money or a full scholarship holder like me. If it weren't for this scholarship, I couldn't even afford myself going to this college.
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I admit that I did push myself hard to acquire this scholarship and it paid off well in the end. In my family, there's only me and my mom. Dad? Well, he died when I was ten due to an unexpected accident. If he's still here, he'll be so happy that he might throw out a month worth of celebration just for me.
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I smiled bitterly. However, I quickly shook the thought off my head. I missed him. I missed him a lot and will always do, but I don't want to be overly emotional on my first day of college.
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"Miss Grace, here's your name card." The lady's voice snapped me out of my deep trance. I quickly reached out my hand to take the name card and orientation booklet from her.
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"Thank you." I said with a small bow as I walked away.
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••━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━••
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At the hallway to my room, a thick emerald carpet was laid along the path. Beside the narrow hallway were a number of white wooden doors facing each other. I looked at the name card on my hand. On top of it is a tiny picture of my face. I carefully read the contents underneath the picture.
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Evelyna Grace
Student ID: 2016882
Room No.: A34
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"A34..." I murmured as I glanced over the silver-plated numbers on the doors. I kept on passing by the doors until my steps stopped in front of a single door with the number A34 on it. My room.
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I put my luggage aside and twisted the doorknob, but the room was locked. A bit flustered, I tried twisting the knob again but failed for the second time. I took a step back. That's weird, there's not even a keyhole on the door. How do I even open it?
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"Oh, great!" I muttered angrily. While scratching my head, my eyes wandered around the hall to see if there's anyone I could ask for help. Unfortunately, the hall was so empty I doubt even a single human being would pass by. I leaned my back against the door and took out my phone from the pocket of my jeans.
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Absent-mindedly, I dialed a familiar number and placed the phone firmly against my ear.
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Constantly waiting for the person to pick up the call, my eyes suddenly fell onto a small black box attached on the wall beside the door. That's when I realized something. I took out my name card again and placed it against the black box. I cracked a small smile when a green light flashed from the black box along with a beeping sound. Oh, so this is how you open it!
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Aggressively pushing the door open with my shoulders, I pulled in my huge luggage as a small groan slipped from my lips.
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"Eve, how's everything? Good?" A sweet voice suddenly echoed through the phone.
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"Yeah. I'm officially a Lunde student, mom!" Exhilarated, I replied to her with a wide grin on my face. I can instantly sense the thin wrinkles forming at the corner of her eyes as she cracked a warm smile for me.
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"Oh, dear. It must've been hard for you to handle stuff alone. I wish I could be there to help, but I need to get this paperwork done by tomorrow."
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"No, no. It's okay, mom. I can handle this myself. It's not that hard, though." I replied after closing the door with my back. As I let out a breath of relief, my eyes widen to the view before me.
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"Woah..." I exclaimed, astonished by my room. Two single beds were placed separately side by side with a cute coffee table in the middle. There's also a mini pantry and a medium-sized fridge provided. Warm sunlight shone all over the room from its tall, huge windows. I grinned wider when I saw a flatscreen television installed on the wall. This is more than just perfect!
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"What is it?" My mom asked curious.
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"Mom, believe me when I say, this place is the best!" I said while pacing towards the balcony. The view was outstanding. I could see the glistening lake from here, along with the beautiful greeneries surrounding it.
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"You deserve it, dear. Enjoy yourself a little there. You’ve been working hard for too long."
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I let out a long sigh.
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"I know." I gave her a short reply.
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I knew what she was thinking because I'm thinking of the same thing too. We were silent for a while, floating in the same headspace.
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"If only your dad's still here." Her quavering voice cracked the silence, but she quickly regained control. Not even surprised by her response, I stared blankly at the evening sky. I knew she'll say it somehow, but I won't say anything about it because we both hoped for the same thing. Hoping for dad to be here with us. I wanted to give her a comforting hug, but I know it won't be possible. We're miles and stones apart.
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"Mom, it might be hard for me to come home on the weekends, my schedule seemed a bit packed." I said while squelching the edge of my shoe on the floor. I can sense a glint of disappointment on her face.
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"You thought I didn't know? I already called the people there. It sounds really draining and I'm really worried about you."
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"Nah, I'll be okay. I'm good at studying and you know it."
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She groaned. I smiled at her response.
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"You got good brain genes, mom. If it's not for those genes, I wouldn't have made it this far."
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"Oh, god. Glad you know that." She answered. I chuckled while imagining my mom rolling her eyes after hearing me bluffing about her.
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"Plus, I think I'll be getting a roommate." I said while glancing over the two beds and study table.
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"Be nice to her." She warned.
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"I will, mom. Don't worry." I turned around and leaned my back against the balcony's railing.
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"I pity your roommate." She said with a heavy tone.
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"She's going to have tough time with you." She added teasingly as a laughter burst out from her mouth and I followed after. We talked about a lot of stuff. She also promised to visit me often, but I refrained her from doing so. The ticket here costs a lot, and I don't want her to waste too much money on that. Instead, whenever I'm free I'll go to her myself.
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Without realizing, we continued to talk until the sky turns dark and the cold night breeze started hitting my bare skin. I shivered as I quickly ran inside and threw my body on the bed. Guessed my mom had already forgotten about her paperwork. I giggled softly, amused on that thought.
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"By the way, mom... I hope you're going to be fine tomorrow." I said while wrapping my body around the thick comforter.
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"God, I totally forgotten about it! Sorry, but I need to hang up now." Her voice instantly changed at the sudden realization. It sounded a little rushed.
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I pursed my lips, quite sad to end the call.
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"Okay."
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"Oh, and please take care of yourself and tell me if you need anything."
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I gave her a soft hum while nodding my head.
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"Gonna miss you, mom. Good night."
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"Gonna miss you too, dear. Night." She replied followed by a long beep. I sigh heavily while staring at the black screen. Feeling a bit disappointed, I groaned while pulling the comforter higher, covering my face. She ended it so fast.
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I stayed in that position as my heart started to long for her. I missed her already. As time went by, my eyes slowly began to droop. Moments later, I dozed off into a deep sleep, with a little bit of hope that I could meet her in my dreams.
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