On the other hand, Dove felt someone tapping on her shoulder and as she looked up, she saw her father standing there. Without saying anything, she scooted to the other side and he took a seat there.
"How does it feel?" Andrew asked.
"The first day here feels like a surprise, "Dove answered. "It's like I'm walking into a dark cave without any clue about my destination but it's not a bad surprise, it's good actually. I feel at peace here."
Andrew nodded her head as if he was understanding what she was saying. "Until a few months ago, I was merely an alumnus of this university. But look at me now. What am I doing? Life is a series of surprises. Some are pleasant surprises and some are unpleasant and it depends on us how we balance the quantity of two."
"It slipped my mind that you were in this university once upon a time, " Dove whispered. She was so overwhelmed by all the things that she never thought about this thing. She looked at him and saw him staring at her and before she could say anything, he beat her to that as she found him saying, "I can read your thoughts on your face, Birdie." He placed the food takeout on her lap and added, "Have it before it is still warm."
"What is it?" Dove asked as she began opening the package.
"Since you made it your responsibility to save the planet by going vegan, then it becomes my responsibility to help you save the planet, " Andrew said and she smiled at him. They sat there for a while and she had her dinner. Although he already had dinner with other professors, she still insisted that they shared the food.
The two of them were chatting when Scarlett and Aisha arrived with medicine for her.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were with someone, " Aisha said. As she looked at the man sitting with Dove, she furrowed her brows as she believed that she had seen this person somewhere but couldn't recall where. But she was sure that he was a familiar figure.
"Good evening, professor Harrison, " Scarlett said in a soft tone.
Andrew greeted her back gently, surprising Scarlett. Usually, he would only acknowledge the greeting by noting his head.
"Aisha, Scarlett, meet my father, " Dove said, shocking Scarlett. Aisha didn't show any surprise as she wasn't aware of him. "Dad, that's Scarlett. She is in the Education Department. She is my roommate and she helped me with my luggage too. This one is Aisha. She is in the computer science department. She is also my roommate. Both of them helped me settle in my dormitory."
"Thank you for taking care of my daughter, "Andrew said. He looked at the time and added, " I will drop you, girls, at the gates of the dormitory. You will get late if you wait any longer."
The girls agreed. When they were in the elevator, Scarlett looked at Dove and whispered, "Your dad is a professor at this university?"
Dove nodded her head. "You know him, don't you?"
Scarlett nodded her head. "He is very nice to you."
"He is my father. Of course, he will be nice to me, " Dove laughed.
"But my father is not, " Scarlett whispered, looking at her feet.
Dove and Aisha hugged her. "You have us. We will be nice to you. Don't worry."
Just like this, an unexpected friendship was formed between the three of them.
The next morning, Dove had no classes. She was sleeping when she heard Scarlett requesting Aisha to come with her to a seminar. Aisha being Aisha straightly refused. There was no way she would torture herself by attending any kind of seminar, especially with Scarlett who was a nerd.
"Please come with me, " Scarlett requested. "I got passes for two of us. I hate to see one getting wasted when you can attend and learn a lot of things."
"I have no interest, "Aisha said. " Baby, I will treat you to cake in the evening. Please, I can't come with you. Why don't you ask Dove? She has no classes today. She may accompany you?"
Scarlett, who was not wearing glasses this morning, turned to look at Dove with her big watery brown eyes and Dove swore that if she had said no at this moment, the girl would have started crying.
"Okay, " Dove said in a sleepy voice, making Scarlett's eyes shine with mirth.
____
A/N: Hey, life is not all about Romance, friendship and family is a big part of it!