To Live Again, For the First Time!

As the sky darkened, going from a light blue shade to a warmer palette, the temperature also dropped from the usual scorching heat to a nice warmth.

Theodore, Kayden, and Jenna had already left their bench, going back to their own dorms to drop off their stuff.

They had agreed to meet up an hour later before heading off to the secret roasted meat and noodle shop in an alley close to the school campus, a place Gen, who had already been around the campus one year longer than the others, had found.

The food at the place was delicious, but the business wasn't good due to two main reasons.

One, the secluded and hard-to-find location.

Two, the inappropriateness of eating steaming food in the usual hot weather, which was really the only weather around here.

Though at night, when it cooled down to a certain extent, it wasn't bad.

Not bad at all.

What most people didn't know, however, was the fact that this place had the best drinks around!

Gen, as one who prioritized the drinks over the food when going out with friends, found this to be the only place to go.

Naturally, this time, things were not different.

Theodore and Kayden were currently taking a shower, which was the norm considering the weather in Basilian.

Rather, it would be uncomfortable they didn't.

Unless one stayed indoors all day with the AC on, not bothering with the crushing electrical bill, they would likely have to take at least 2 to 3 showers a day, just to feel comfortable.

But I mean, the electrical bill was really no joke!

This was why, though this university was ranked second, at times, people who did not care for specific teachers and faculties or the locations of the university would rather opt for the third or fourth-ranked if they couldn't get into the first.

It was a matter of livability, especially for those who were not accustomed to the heat.

As for those who were born in Basilian, well, that aspect wasn't as much of an issue.

For the others, especially those who lived in the north… haha, good luck and all the best to you.

Theodore rubbed his messy hair with his white towel.

The shower sounding behind before halting to a stop.

Kayden came out of the bathroom wearing some of his nicer and lighter clothes.

"Your dressing rather nicely for eating out at that place," Theodore commented with a chuckle, covering his mouth to hide his teasing smile.

The eatery wasn't particularly shabby and Kayden wasn't dressed particularly nice either.

But this was, after all, someone who often just wore hoodies or t-shirts.

Now he was wearing a rather nice new dress shirt that wasn't exactly formal.

"But of course!" Kayden was clearly used to the teasing.

"If I don't dress well, how am I going to make a good impression?" He said casually, but there was clearly still a blush near the base of his neck.

Dress to impress, am I right?

"Bro, I think you're a little late for that. In all seriousness," Theodore didn't know if he should laugh or cry at this moment.

Why did Kayden sound like he was going on a blind date rather than meeting up with friends?

"True, true, but as you know, humans are forgetful beings," Kayden seemed to have already thought things through in the past few days, weeks, or even months.

He was rather resolute.

Theodore chuckled.

"I'm sure that's true... Mm, I believe you,  I really do! But it sure didn't sound like it when Gen told me about that time you wet your bed..." Theodore stifled a laugh with his hands at Kayden's expense.

Kayden's face instantly darkened at Theodore's poisonous tongue, but the helplessness in his eyes could not the concealed.

"That was over a decade ago!" Kayden said through gritted teeth.

"Mmhm," Theodore did poke at his friend's sore spots any longer.

He stood up and threw his wet towel in his laundry bin before slinging his arm over Kayden's shoulder, showing his support for this man's endeavors.

"Then let's do this brother!"

Theodore had already agreed to be this roommate of his's wingman.

He couldn't back down now, right?

***

Outside of the dorms, three people met up.

The sight was in fact quite strange as their wardrobe didn't match up at all.

It was hard to tell if they were even headed to the same place…

Jenna was wearing a pretty black skirt that reached right above her knees and a comfortable beige jumper with accompanying accessories.

Kayden was wearing jeans and a clean, ironed dress shirt.

While Theodore was wearing a fitting white shirt and comfortable track pants, which went well with his figure, not forgetting his comfy jacket that was both light and could keep the wind out.

If there was any at all.

The only thing was, one of them looked like they were going on a date at the park, one of them looked like they were going on a date to a nice restaurant, while the other looked like they were about to hit the gym or something.

In fact, Theodore seemed to have been wearing nicer clothes when they were just studying outdoors.

They seemed like they all had different ideas of what they were going out to do.

But interestingly enough, none of the three seemed to care about this mismatched wardrobe.

Simply walking off as if it were the norm.

When they were like that, speaking and walking casually despite looking out of place, others seemed to feel like... maybe it wasn't out of place at all??

Anyways, they quickly made their way off, getting to the place 5 minutes before the agreed-upon time after a few twists and turns.

The closer they got to the right alley, the fewer people there seemed to be around, but once they got to the right place, there wasn't a lack of customers.

Though it was quite obvious that most of these people were not from their university.

At the entrance, the three simultaneously noticed the hand that was waving at them.

It seemed like, in the end, Gen had still made it here first.

And well… here was, another person who didn't get the memo.

Gen was dressed… to party?

She seemed like she could go to a nightclub and be thrown into the dance floor and fit right in.

Anyways, the four of them made their way together to the table that was occupied by Gen beforehand.

"It seems like no one got the memo!" Gen laughed out loud, her voice, quite melodious.

"What was the memo?" Jenna lifted an eyebrow with a cheeky smile.

"Since it's a celebration, and I'm paying, shouldn't you guys be ready to party all night after this? I thought you would be ready to suck me dry, but it seems like you guys are preparing to have a meal and go out for a walk before heading back," Gen said mockingly.

As a matter of fact, any of the three could be easily seen making such a move.

"Sucking you dry, huh?" Kayden seemed to think about it for a bit, but in the end, he said nothing else on the matter.

Theodore chuckled at the side knowingly while the other two didn't seem to have thought anything of it.

Gen sat down on the innermost seat which was close to a wall as they were seated at a corner while Kayden sat down beside her.

Theodore moved to sit across from them, but before sliding into his seat, he still asked Jenna, who had yet to sit, which seat she would like to take.

In the end, Jenna ended up seated across from Gen and Theodore across from Kayden.

They were booth seats, so things just ended up like that.

Who knew that such a small detail would end up making this night so much more difficult than it should have been?

And yes.

The word was difficult.

Anyways, that would be a matter of the future, like a couple of hours into the future.

"Well, if you want us to empty your pockets, it's not impossible for us to do it here either."

Theodore mused.

"No thanks," Gen's answer was instantaneous, eliciting a peal of laughter from the other three.

It wasn't as if the three of them didn't know of Theodore's appetite.

One of the reasons Gen had treated them in the evening was because of that very reason.

Theodore didn't quite like to stuff himself before sleeping after all.

But if he put his mind to it.

Theodore could surely clean out this girl's credit card.

The only thing that would stop him would be the number of ingredients there were at this place.

In the end, Gen even put her hands in her pockets and flip them inside out to show that she had nothing in them except for a tampon, which she promptly put in Theodore's hands.

"There! You've emptied out my pockets!"

This time, it was Gen's turn to laugh.

And boy did she do so hysterically.

As for Theodore, his face darkened a bit before he gave Kayden a glare that blatantly said, "look after your girl, will you?"

Theodore didn't even skip a beat before handing the tampon to the man seated in front of him, whether that person wanted it or not.

He even did so with a huff.

At that moment, Jenna who had been observing quite keenly seemed to have picked something up from these short interactions... but nothing conclusive.