I took his chips away, snatching it out of his hand, but he immediately tried to get it back, although I had seen this one coming. My right hand quickly covered his face and stopped Ira from taking back his bag of chips.
"You should eat something healthy in the morning, man. Anyway, I think it's pretty strange too."
The playful Ira turned serious when I agreed to what he just asked me. He properly sat back on his seat and listened in on what I had to say.
"But there is also the possibility of it as something like a coincidence like the coast guards were near the area at that moment, and the school, seeing every nook and cranny of the university, reported the incident on these guards, thus taking immediate action to reduce further risk."
The two of us were just getting started with coming up with theories, racking our brains when our professor popped up in the monitor.
The incident was later ruled out as an unintended assault by our professor. He was told that our classmate has ASPD or Antisocial Personality Disorder. People with ASPD may break the law or cause physical harm to people around them.
Eventually, we, students, thought of the incident as one of those accidents caused by one's personality as we were explained that some personality disorder causes harm to others.
I was always wondering why the sea breeze has a distinct smell, so I did search it up online, and what I found was this.
[Sea air has traditionally been thought to offer health benefits associated with its unique odor, which Victorians attributed to the ozone. What does the sea breeze smells like? Green top notes with fresh floral, citrus, muguet, and jasmine. Heart notes of hyacinth, rose, carnation, and narcissus. A light mask at the base of the fragrance.]
That's all which I think is complete bullshit because all that I could smell right now was a fishy smell as I stared blankly into the sky. But then I realized I bought frozen fish in the market where the ice was currently melting.
"Ugh! This fish's scent ruins the fresh citrus scent in the air! I'd better get going."
I have been jogging for several hundred meters, I guess? I woke pretty early in the morning and had nothing to do, so I decided to just do my morning routine earlier than what I had timed it. Oh, I am not alone now. I am exercising with Ira. A few days' worths of persuading paid off, and there he was, burning all those calories mixed in with his fat.
"H-How much longer d-do I have to endure t-this abuse?!"
We both had our tracksuits on, had our own stainless water bottles towels, and set a goal for ourselves for today.
"Should we take a break?"
I said as I looked back to see how Ira was doing. Surely, he was drenched in his own sweat, out of breath, and looking as though he was gonna pass out any second.
I, on the other hand, am adopting changes in my morning routine. Back when I was in the province, every morning, I would pick up twigs and carry oaks, which will be used for cooking. I would then grab my ax and began splitting oaks in half with high precision. Doing it every day for almost a decade taught me how to accurately split a wood log with my ax and how to properly strike. Yes, I did that every day, but I actually can't say that I am physically fit, for I have just been doing that for an hour or so every morning. Sometimes it's my father who did most of it when he wakes up earlier than me.
"We should d-definitely take a break! Damn— I think I am gonna have a heart attack."
Ira, as soon as he sat down on the bench in the mini-park, he chugged down his 1 liter in one drinking due to thirst. That just explains how tired and thirsty the man is.
"I can say I am impressed, Ira. You keep up with me, even though it's your first time exercising after so long."
Tiredly, Ira spread both of his arms on the bench and took a deep breath as a bucket of sweat dripped on his face.
I kept standing, used my towel to wipe off my sweat, and drank some
water to quench that thirst in my throat.
"As I thought, exercise isn't my thing! When I was jogging for about a hundred meters, I could feel my heart thumping wildly inside my chest! I thought it would gonna burst out of my body!"
"Like hell that would happen, man. Anyways, you're pretty awesome, so I guess you will continue the same routine in the morning from now on?"
The sudden fresh breeze from the trees relieved us of our tiredness, soothing our exhausted bodies with its cold gust of wind.
"Clause," Ira said, meaning he was calling me by a nickname he himself decided to give me.
"I said stop calling me Clause. My name is Esecleus. It could have been Cleus at the very least!"
"Oh, who cares."
"I care!"
"Anyways, what was your first thought when you learned that we will be staying on this man-made island for our whole college life for four years?"
Ira's question made me go back to the day when I stumbled upon the UNP's website. I was actually in an internet cafe at that time, using a computer to see any college university had my desired course. Another reason I was at an internet cafe was that I was playing an online game popular across the world. It was an FPS game.
"At first, I was very excited because I thought I would finally be free of bullying. But then I realized that enrolling in UNP and living in the university's dorms for four years meant leaving my family. I was hesitant at first, but my mother said something to me."
'Choose what you think is right and live your life to the fullest. We only have one chance in life. You won't get to experience the same thing when you are older, not in your case or in our case.'
Mother's words were flawed, but somehow they made me choose the decision which led me to where I am right now.
"Your mother sounds great. I wish I could meet her."
I wasn't particularly looking at Ira, but I noticed the slight hint of longing in his voice. He sounded sad.
"Well, as for me. I was glad that I found that one-way ticket out of the hellhole I was in."
Ira told me that he lives with his father. He was ten years old when his mother passed away. And ever since the death of his mother, Ira's father changed. He became abusive and alcoholic. I saw the terror in Ira's eyes when he specifically narrated his father's worst lash out on him.
He said his father came home drunk, wasted, and lost all of his money in gambling. Ira, at the time, was eating away all of the food he bought with his money. When his father asked him for a slice of pizza, which was only just the box, empty actually, Ira's father suddenly kicked him in the face when he could not give him what he wanted.
Poor Ira lost a tooth or two in that kick. Immediately frightened, he ran to a corner, his safe space in that devil's house. Ira stated that his father blamed him for losing his wife. His father used to be gentle, sweet, and caring when his mother still existed, but everything crumbled away when his mother left them.
"Even with all the physical abuse my father gave me, I couldn't get the strength to hate him or wish for him to just rot away. He was still my father. So, when I stumbled upon the opportunity, I immediately packed my things and ran away from home to be finally free of the demon's grasp."
Ira just laughed after remembering a rough past he had with his abusive father. Everything turned awkward after he stopped laughing, just staring deeply in the sky as though reminiscing the time he had with his mom together, excluding me in his flood of thoughts.
All I could do was stay quiet and let the silence be a wordless melody to a painful song, just the hymn of sweeping breeze to our ears.
The arrival of someone became the icebreaker in this awkward silence. She was huffing, sweating all over her bare skin, while her workout clothes were drenched in her sweat.
"Oh, so Esecleus managed to convince Ira to exercise?"
Well, who else could it be but Ms. Cristina. Her workout clothes would definitely make every man who saw her stare at her for at least a few seconds. Wearing a sports bra just daringly revealed how beautiful her curves were.
~