Methis Delis POV
Lunch moved quickly after that and soon we were all done. I got up from my seat and headed to class. Class was going to be brief as we were just going to be given little orientation as to the projects we were currently working on. If there were any complaints from the companies about any student, it was going to be addressed in that class.
I entered the class just in time as the Professor was coming into the class too. Xander came just two minutes after I had come. It was just a few minutes late but he seemed to have a smile on his face that showed he was pleased with the time he arrived – Xander had arrived at later times. One time he came an hour late and gave an excuse for traffic jam as if he was the only one living in the city, once, he said he had to buy a new shoe because his old one was swallowed by his cat. An excuse meant to amuse rather than to get out of trouble and amusement it did as everyone including the professor burst into laughter and he was let go.
We all took our seats and the professor carried on with his teachings. “Today we will be talking about teamwork. We have all worked in a team whether you admit it or not; whether you were conscious of it or not.
“And in those teams, we notice that there are certain people we would love to team up with again and there are those who if we were given the option to team up with, we’ll rather pass, right? now those people who we prefer to work with are known as team players or in very lame teams, they are good team members or mates.
“Now there would be some changes to the project systems to accommodate the team initiative so go by the notice board on your way out and you’ll see who your new teammates are. Remember that while some of you might remain on the project you are working on with just a teammate added to you, some of you will be taken out of your project completely.
“Now off you go. All of you. Good luck.”
We all exited the lecture hall and we were off to the notice board to check out the new list, praying that I be taken off the football story and paired with someone else on another project. On the list, I found out that I and Xander was still under the same firm, however, there was a change that had been made. Xander was no longer on the book fest project. He had been transferred to cover the football story I was currently covering. But they had not moved me either. I and Xander were now on the same team.
I left the notice board and on my way out bumped into Xander.
“So we both are on the same team now, eh?” he said more than he asked.
“How do you know? You weren’t even at the notice board,” I questioned him.
“Someone told me.”
Of course. Someone always told Xander. He was the cheeks man around here. not that he was over-interested in any of the girls who showed interest in him anyway but he had a certain swagger that attracted people towards him and in recent times, I was feeling that pull but I promised myself that it was only on the basis that he was brother to my best friend Sophia so there had to be that natural connection between us.
“So off to the stadium, shall we?” he said.
“Yes. I’ll show you the way.”
“It’s the city stadium, Methis. It is a landmark. I know the way.” He laughed.
And so we both walked out towards the stadium. I was not even there yet but I was already dreading every second that awaited me there. I was very sure the HR did not read the ‘interest’ section on my résumé because if they did they would notice I hated outdoors and there was a reason for the omission of sports. At least I was not going to be alone on this one. Xander was here and even though they might post him to a different task, it was more comforting to know that there was a friend in the same building.
We decided to take a shortcut down an alley of antique shops. I loved this route because it was quiet and clean. Not a lot of people must know of its existence and if they did, they must be ignoring it because the emptiness of sound was too unreal to believe that such a place existed not to talk of in a civilized city such as this one.
As we passed the shops, I glanced at the different old exhibits. Staring at the old arts gave me a sense of longing. A longing for something I had not discovered yet. Sometimes I wondered about the dates and situations concerning the existence of some of the pieces, some other times, I just looked past them.
Moving through a window that displayed vintage cinematics and books, my eyes caught a cartoon that had an illustration of a wolf on top of it. I stopped and my breath hung in my throat. It has been four years since you-know-what and I have tried my best to blend into society. I had not thought of it since. Even now I tried not to. I heard Xander’s footsteps cease and I looked up. I saw him glance from me to the cartoon with a puzzled look. I smiled and walked over to meet him.
“Let’s go,” I said. As we moved on, I took one last look at the cartoon.
If only they knew.