As usual, once the professor dismissed the class, David was the first to leave. He darted out of the classroom and headed straight home. He made no friends in his first year so he had no reason to stay any longer than required.
The Eden campus was beautiful and the envy of students all around the globe. Beside it was a long river that leads further into the city. David enjoyed walking home along the riverbank as it was usually quiet and hardly anybody was there around the time he would leave the campus.
He treasured these walks as an irreplaceable moment of his day. His head is filled with the soft sound of birds flapping, the gentle flow of the water, and the calm whispers of the breeze. This is the only time in his day that he can drown out the negative thoughts that take residence in his head.
David stopped for a moment and let the scenery wash his stress away. He put down the hood of his hoodie and let his messy jet black hair tussle around in the wind. The setting sunlight delivered a warm kiss to his pale skin. He knew the feeling wouldn't last forever so he savored every moment.
"HELP ME! PLEASE!"
David was suddenly interrupted by this immediate cry for help. He turned around to see a strange, red-haired girl rushing towards him. The girl grabbed the collar of David's hoodie and looked up into his eyes.
"I'm in terrible danger!" she said with a desperate look on her face, "Please, you need to save me! I'm being attacked!"
David's heart began to race. He knew that he was no good in a fight. He's always been skinny and unathletic his whole life, there would be no way he could win against an attacker. Every bone in his spineless body was telling him to turn and run away, protect the quiet life he had spent his whole life building up to. Despite all this, David was determined to help this girl. He knew he had to protect her because… well because she was pretty cute. To a social outcast like David, this was everything.
David put on the bravest face he could possibly muster and stared straight into her eyes. Fighting every flight response in his head, he placed his hand on the red-haired girl's shoulder.
"Calm down," he said stoically, "Tell me the details later. For now..."
David paused. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. The red-haired girl looked up at the seemingly reliable David, anticipating his decision with bated breath.
"For now... let's run," insisted David, no longer able to keep up his heroic facade.
David fought against his cowardly urges and was overwhelmingly defeated.