*Chapter 7: Admission*
The moment Ayla arrived at her place, the tears she had tried forcing back came gushing down her cheeks. She was feeling bitter. She cried out all her pent-up grievances , her sufferings, and everything unfortunate that had happened to her. She had thought she was strong enough to handle everything, but she wasn't. She was just forcing herself to be strong. She cried for almost an hour before she calmed down. After she wiped her tears dry, she took painkillers because she was suffering from a severe headache from all the crying. She took a shower and decided to take a nap because she had to go to work at night. She decided that she wasn't going to look for any other part-time work. She wanted to focus on the cafeteria, where everyone treated her warmly.
It was only a week to the university admissions. Ayla had gathered enough money for the first semester. Her manager released her a week early so she could prepare herself for school. She would pack clothes when she had time. She had also decided to buy a cellphone when she arrived at the capital. She figured that she would definitely need one for communication purposes about her classes. She had neither a laptop nor a phone, which made her choose to buy a phone, as it wasn't as expensive as a laptop. She had no money for a laptop yet.
On the day of the admission, Ayla paid the cab driver the fare before she alighted. As she dragged her suitcase on the pavements of Imperial University, she couldn't help but sigh at how enormous the school was. The walk from the gate to the administration block took her an hour. She enviously glanced at the flashy cars that kept on passing by . Moreover, she noticed that the students getting admitted would always be accompanied by their parents and siblings. However, she was just alone, with a heavy suitcase, and no one to encourage her.
Fortunately, she made it on time and queued in line just like the others. She had chosen to do Software Engineering as a course, so she stood on the queue with other students who had chosen software engineering.
Fortunately, she managed to be admitted that day. She looked at the key number and room number written on the key holder as she walked through the ground floor of Emerald Hostel. She opened the door and was mesmerised by the sight . The room was in good condition. It looked furnished and luxurious with ocean-blue walls, peach coloured curtains, three beds, and three couches. It looked like a flat instead of a hostel room. Maybe that's part of why the imperial university was renowned. As she dragged her suitcase in, she saw three closets too, to the right, and two washrooms on the left. It's just perfect.
Since she was the first to arrive in the room, she picked the bed on the furthest end on the wall. After spreading her bed, she took off her clothes and went to wash up. She was feeling tired and sticky from the long day. She had just begun to doze off when she heard the door unlock from outside. She sat up straight, anticipating to meet her new roommate.
However, the moment the person emerged from the door, a look of horror found its way to Ayla's face.
"Hi, we meet again." The person at the door said with a smirk.