"Hey, wake up." Azil was woken up by someone nudging him aggressively. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of one of his roommates.
The guy he met on the first day was called Haver and he was always wandering around at night. The other two were not much better. Their names were Lois and Alder. Lois was the most mature out of the three but he was also the most indifferent and Alder treated him like they had known each other their entire lives. The person who woke him up that day however was not the responsible Lois or the friendly Alder but Haver.
"You borrowed my charger last night, where is it?"
When Azil had explained his memory loss to them, they had all reacted differently. Lois seemed annoyed for some reason, Alder was worried and Haver had a strangely serious expression.
Despite that, they had still acted as if he had just told them something that wasn't that life changing and then forced him to drink. After drinking unsurely, Azil ended up blacking out and waking up with the worst hangover possible after which he swore never to drink again.
Since that day, his roommates had mostly left him alone and given him space. They helped him whenever he asked so he figured he could at least put up with them.
Azil blinked wearily and fumbled around his bed. He had spent most of his time acquainting himself with the new world with the help of Violetta and Alder or memorizing as much as possible. His memorization had hit a wall after 300 pages and he began to mix up information. He knew it was because he didn't understand the information enough to prevent those mix ups and it frustrated him but how could he tell someone to teach him the basics when he was already in college?
"It's somewhere here."
Haver didn't seem impressed by his half-hearted search efforts. "Search harder." He paused, "Didn't you mention you had some exam today, why are you still sleeping?"
That's when it dawned on him. He had borrowed the charger to charge his phone which he was depending on for alarms but a phone was a device he was not used to having so he had fallen asleep instead.
"W-what? What time is it?!"
Haver raised an eyebrow, "It's a little after 7, why?"
Azil got up immediately. His exam started at 8 and he wasn't familiar with the distance enough to get there himself.
"Haver, are you free?" So he did what he always did when faced with a difficult situation and asked for help.
***
Azil didn't like doing anything in a rush. As he sat in the car, he enjoyed the passing scenery and clear blue sky without thinking about anything that he had studied till then. Was it the perks of being scholarly? He felt at ease as they passed by sights he had become slowly accustomed to.
Haver had unexpectedly agreed to his request with almost no hesitation. As time passed, Azil wondered if he had been too quick to judge him. It wasn't like anyone would guess someone lost their memory after not being around for a few days. Rahey was the type to go out every once in a while too. Yet, Azil didn't think he could break the ice.
They were almost at the college when Haver coughed awkwardly, "Are you prepared for the test?"
It was a sentence he seemed to be saying to an alien. Apparently the Rahey of the past never studied and had a much better drinking tolerance which explained the odd distance between him and his roommates. They didn't know how to deal with him who was acting so out of character. Azil wondered if he should try more to fit into Rahey's character but gave up on that thought quickly.
"I've done whatever I could." He answered, still staring out of the window.
"That's good..."
Haver dropped him off at the gate soon after. "Well see you around."
"See you." Although Azil had gotten better at expressing himself. Perhaps he could become friends with them after all.
Heading to the classroom was instinctive. It reminded him of his first day there and running to the classroom with a sharp intuition. That intuition had vanished for a while once he became more conscious of the situation but it returned in the present and gave him whiplash.
"Good to see you're not late again, Rahey." Professor Lyne gave him an indecipherable look. Out of everyone in his life, he seemed the most surprised by his change but was the least outward about it. The Professor was probably wondering if he would live up to his promise or not but at the same time, he seemed to suspect something too.
"Rahey!" Violetta waved at him from the third row where she sat. His other classmates just shot him confused looks. He hadn't spoken to any of them which must have shocked them because Rahey usually would. Some of them had tried to start a conversation with him but it always ended quickly because he didn't know what to say or their names for that matter.
"Good luck!" She yelled and he smiled and nodded in return.
He took his seat at the first row. He didn't know why but he wanted to sit in the same seat again and actually write something down as if to prove a point to himself. Was he trying to honour Rahey somehow?
The exam started without much fanfare.
"Do your best everyone. This paper's one of the easier ones even if it's organic chemistry."
A collective groan filled the air but was gone immediately as everyone got busy answering the paper. Azil inhaled deeply. After the paper, maybe it was a good idea to confide in someone about himself. But before that-
He put his pen down with a steady grip and started writing.