He would look at the dark-skinned girls on campus, but none of them seemed to be the same as the person from the club. Of course, had it been anyone else at school he would have had just as difficult a time looking. His memory was absolute garbage when it came to drinking. So he concluded he could never be sure and tried his best to ignore his curiosity at all costs.
"So?" Keiko said to him as they walked through the hallway of the Student Union Center on their way to the dining hall. "Any luck finding your girl?"
"First off—"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I mean, we were both thinking she might go to this school, right? But what I really wanted to ask you was..." Keiko swerved around and ended up in front of Rikyu. "This. Didn't you join the Environmental Science Club?" She was pointing at a poster—one of the 20—hanging on a large billboard in the middle of the hall. It was the ultimate billboard, filled with every possible university event imaginable. And because of that, Rikyu squinted in an attempt to find what Keiko was referring to.
"Um. Yeah. I joined but haven't been able to go to the meetings yet because of my advisor."
Keiko stood on her tiptoes and pointed closer to one of the posters in particular. "This is the main yearly event, the end-of-winter retreat to a cabin in who-knows-where. You should go. Me and Shiora are going because of Mira."
"Uh, Mira who..." Rikyu contemplated.
Keiko clicked her tongue. "Seriously? She's Chu's younger sister."
"Ah," Rikyu took out his phone. "That's right."
"No way, don't tell me you're looking her up."
"Mm mm," he shook his head. "Just checking the dates of Environmental Science Club meetings."
She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "I can't believe this guy."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the billboard, Mira and Sereyin stood there, looking at the latest postings. Mira looked excited, pointing at the same poster Keiko had been pointing at earlier.
"Sereyin, this is the club event I'm talking about. They don't have enough people going to get the discount for the mountain retreat, so they're letting us bring up to 3 people. You want to come?" she asked.
Sereyin hummed, deep in thought. "Does it require joining the club?"
"Nope, not at all!"
"That's good because I'm still looking for a job. I'd love to join next semester though if I have a set schedule that doesn't conflict."
Mira jumped in excitement. "It's the best trip of the year! You'll love it."
Sereyin didn't imagine much of it being fun. All she could think about was the torturous trips she would take with her middle school where there was nothing but kids in 3-day-used clothes who refused to shower and were pretty much mean to each other 24/7 out of a phenomenally misguided desire to be cool or out of pure unbridled spite. But maybe this would be different. This was college. And generally speaking, Handese culture was known for being more polite than UniCountian (United Counties) culture.
Of course, this didn't stop the visceral gut reaction from hearing the words "mountain retreat." Reluctantly, Sereyin said "sure..." and immediately, Mira beamed.
"I'm so glad!" Mira said. "The more friends, the better."
Sereyin almost asked who the other friends were, but Mira's phone began to buzz.
"Ah, I need to get that. It's my brother," she said. "I need to head out, too, so let's talk more about the trip later tonight, kay?" She waved. "See you!"
"Y-yes. Later, Mira." Sereyin smiled and waved back as Mira picked up the call and headed back towards the dining hall.
When she disappeared into the crowd of students, (the usual afternoon bunch after most classes ended at 18:00), Saiji turned in the other direction towards the exit.
A vaguely familiar scent, something resembling old furniture and books, but definitely not the same, wafted around her.
She was reminded, for some reason, of that night at the club when she had the audacity to make out with a guy wearing glasses.
Shaking off the cringe parasite that had latched onto her stomach, she walked in the opposite direction of Mira towards the exit.
'No more thinking, Sereyin. It's fine. Everything's fine," she thought.
She walked out of campus quickly this time around, knowing that there would be a package at the post office near her apartment.
She was right. The usual package signed "Reika" waited like a kind and sturdy beacon at the post office. She thanked the worker who retrieved her package, then even more quickly headed back to her apartment with the package slipping in her arms. As soon as she got inside, she opened it. The usual vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, rice, and sweet and savory snacks were packed in there with the utmost care.
Reika was the best. Sereyin could see how Reika had become friends with her mother. When she was a child, the few times she had seen them interact, they were always laughing and complimenting each other. Either that or they would give each other words of support when they seemed down. She wondered if there was anyone like that for her.
Lodged deep in the package, buried among the scallions and garlic was a small handwritten note from Reika. It said, "Seri, it's tough out there finding jobs, a little more so when you have a different skin color since not everyone is accepting here. But I believe in you, keep strong. I'll always be here if you need me. Your sibling is routing for you, too!"
Sereyin hugged the note to her chest and the ends of her lips trembled slightly.
At least she would get some good cooking in this week.