It was midday, the campus was packed with students. It was the last month of the school year when the university would have events scheduled for the entirety of it. Every bench had couples snuggling up on each other or friends hanging out. Over at the field that stretched almost 3 kilometers in the center of the campus, there was not a single patch of grass unoccupied by gatherers and stalls selling food or ones for entertainment purposes. Amidst all the festivities, Mei was carving a path through the groups of people in her way.
"Crap! I'm gonna be late! The professor never lets anyone interview him, I had to pull out all my connections just to set up this meeting." Her bright yellow headband shined under the sun and blinded those in her way, not knowing that she came charging at them with the full force of a bull. Even though she was going full speed, she leaped and vaulted over obstacles to avoid as much damage as she could. However, seeing the trampled flowers in front of the famous 'couple's spot' and all manner of decorations that were put up the night before being brought down by Mei, she was not doing very well.
She knocked over someone's drink. "Sorry!" She barely missed colliding with another professor.
"Excuse me!" She glanced at her watch to see what time it was.
"Yes! At this rate, I'll be able to at least go over the important stuff. But I can't go interviewing a figure like him drenched in sweat." Mei slowed to a jog, took out some cologne to mask the scent, and reached for her notes. She dug through her bag without looking at where she was going.
"Woah!"
A second later Mei found herself on the pavement. There were papers scattered around her, she grabbed one that was still finding its way to the ground.
"Isaac Aikawa?" She read aloud from the paper she caught in the air.
"Yeah, that's me."
The voice came from the guy who was also on the pavement in front of Mei. He had black frizzy hair and was wearing a white shirt with a smaller black one inside but visible above the chest area. His dark jeans that matched his shoes perfectly now had spots of dust on them from the fall. He stood up and extended a hand towards Mei.
"Here I'll help you up." Mei took his hand and pulled, they were now inches away from each other. The guy was a few inches taller than Mei.
"Isaac? Is that you?" Mei observed the guy from head to toe.
"What's with that face? Of course, it's me." Isaac chuckled and finally noticed his papers flying out in the wind. He scrambled to gather the ones on the floor and the ones flying in circles.
"Hmmm… bad coordination, fluffy hair, firm but wimpy voice, and…" Mei looked at the paper she was holding "...bad handwriting. It is you, Isaac!" He had finally gathered up the last of the scattered papers.
"Yes Mei, it's me. Oh! Are you okay? You came out of nowhere and next thing I know we're both on the floor." Isaac leaned in to ask.
"Come on Isaac, we've been crashing into each other since we were kids and you always end up crying all the way home. Yes, I'm fine!" Mei gave an assured smile. "But there's something off about you though." Mei squinted and put her hand to her chin while the other one poked and prodded at Isaac's face.
"You know your hand is incredibly dusty right now." Mei ignored Isaac as she seriously tried to figure out what was wrong with him. She looked around the area where they fell.
"Oh! There it is!" Mei shouted excitedly which came with her signature snapping fingers and eyebrow raise. Unfortunately for Isaac, she was gripping her nose at the time Mei clenched both fingers on her hand. Isaac covered his face with both hands in reaction to the pain while Mei went over the bushes beside the pavement and picked something up. The pain had dulled when Mei returned to Isaac.
"Here!" Mei leaned closer to Isaac's face then stood on her toes and put his glasses on him. Isaac's face grew a bright red, it could be from being flustered or the pain that was still dwelling in his face.
"I knew something was missing. And good thing no one stepped on your glasses huh?" The two shared a laugh that slowly faded.
"So, what's with the papers Isaac?" Mei curiously asked. "Oh, these? It's just some ideas I had, sketches mostly. Just got back from the Fine Arts College and they seemed pleased." Isaac explained, but Mei noticed how he seemed tired as much as he was excited.
"How about you? Seems like you have an angry mob after you." Mei looked behind her and saw how much damage her mad sprint did.
"Oh yeah, that. Rikki is for sure gonna kill me." Mei bowed her head and imagined the mouthful she would get when she gets back.
"Rikki? How is he? You're not stressing him out too much are you?" Isaac asked Mei with a jaded look.
"Hehe, of course not. Besides, he did trust me with the important task of… SHIT! THE INTERVIEW!" Mei rummaged through her bag to get her notes. She dusted herself off and fixed her headband.
"Hey, how do I look?!" Mei asked Isaac with the best smile she could make.
"Er… Uhm…" Isaac looked at Mei one more time and composed himself.
"Amazing as always Mei." Mei's face showed a little blush but she was in a hurry.
"Let's hang out again Isaac, how about later?" Mei asked.
"Today is… no good. I'll tell you when I have some free time though." She smiled, thanked Isaac, and went off sprinting again.
"Glad to see you haven't changed Mei. Though, I hate that you had to see me like this." Isaac skimmed through his papers to one that had big red marks on it that all said the same thing,
REJECTED.
~~~
The setting sun gave a blinding flare as the rays reflected on the glass-paned Fine Arts Department building. Mei raced up two sets of wide stone stairs leading up to the building's entrance. Past the metal detector and security check, she hurried over to the receptionist's desk.
"Hey! Sorry, I have an interview today with Professor Kira. Is he in his office now?" Mei asked as she tried to catch her breath. The receptionist gave her an uncomfortable look until another staff member walked up and whispered something to her. Apparently, Mei showing up at the receptionist desk asking about interviews that were already over the scheduled time was normal across all departments. And this was no different.
"Good afternoon Miss. Looking at Professor Kira's schedule, he had just left a couple of minutes ago for a conference." Mei felt as though she turned into stone at that moment. It has been months since Mei had a good story and she thought getting a story out of the professor would get her out of the journalism block she had. After hearing her chance had gone, Mei felt the exhaustion of running a few kilometers in one go without rest. She placed her elbow on the receptionist's desk to stop herself from falling over. Her legs were throbbing.
"Miss? Are you feeling okay?" The receptionist concerningly asked.
"Yes, yes! I'm fine, I just… need to sit down for a sec." Mei spotted the waiting room was on the second floor, she whispered many swears and limped back out the building.
Sunlight was fading as Mei stepped out of the building, feeling defeated. On her way out, she noticed the Fine Arts College trophy case and a painting hung inside of it. It showed the mixing of the evening sky and the setting sun with a little girl staring at the beautiful yet sinister view. Beneath it had an inscription saying 'Clashing of opposites vying for control over those down below'. She would have taken more time to appreciate the artwork if not for how fatigued she was.
Mei dreaded walking down the stairs and rightfully so as she lost her footing and found herself falling from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Being too fatigued, she closed her eyes and readied herself for the impact that never came. Mei opened her eyes and saw a guy with long brown hair tied behind his head in a bun with emerald eyes looking at her concerningly.
"My hero!" Mei yelled in a princess-like voice while opening her arms towards Rikki.
"Gross." Rikki squinted and immediately took his hands off of Mei's back, letting her fall some inches to the ground. Some leaves were disturbed from the impact. Mei grunted but did not have the strength to retaliate.
"So seeing as how you came out of there looking like a zombie, I take it you missed the interview?" Mei mumbled some gibberish while still on the ground.
"You know no one can understand you when you talk like that, right?" Rikki smirked, placing two fingers on his temple while shaking his head.
"Anyways, I had Sydney check in with her friends about Kira just in case. Says he's often spotted having a meal at the local café, the one near the bus station." In a flash, it seemed as though Mei had gained new life. She rose from the ground, thanked Rikki, and sprinted towards the campus exit. Rikki was left alone at the bottom of the stairs as the sun had completely set. He took his phone out and called someone.
"Hey, the festival just started but I'm already tired. Wanna hang out?" Rikki removed the phone from his ear as if he expected the receiver's reaction which was shouting that could not be understood. "Alright, I'm heading over. Tell me about it when I get there."