Begin Again

Chapter 4: Ice Breaker

"Ricominciare Bene," I muttered under my breath as I wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Italian cuisine. A four-and-a-half-star rating on Google. Average cost."

I woke up especially early today to do my research on this city. I searched for cool places to hang out and nice cafés and restaurants to dine in. I also looked up the school website to see what they had to offer. Who knows? Perhaps things had changed in the past three years.

After zipping up my bag, I smiled nervously. I had packed everything I needed for school based on the advice given by my best friends. My stomach fluttered. What if people question my sudden appearance in school? What if they noticed that I wasn't with them from the beginning?

Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down. I would have to live with it. I chose to come here, and it's probably the best choice I have ever made in my entire life. There's no room for final regrets. Besides, I'm sure Talia, Erica and Zenia have me covered. I tried my best to conjure up positive thoughts, which did the trick.

At that moment, a thought appeared in my mind. I'm going to start school at Columbia University in a few hours. To think it was only yesterday when I left my town and came all the way to Manhattan to let go of my past and reunite with my friends. Two days passed quicker than I thought.

I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. "Holy shit, I need to go," I mumbled. Time surely flies! I needed to meet up with the dean, so I had to arrive at school earlier. I didn't want the dean to think I was tardy. Being late is disrespectful!

I grabbed my stuff and dashed out of my apartment. Just then, I realised something: I didn't know my way to Columbia University. What? Are you serious? You searched about this city, this borough, even the school, and you didn't find a way to get to school?

Yes.

Well done, Alexia. You have outplayed yourself.

Heaving a deep sigh, I went downstairs and out of my condominium. I looked around to try and navigate my way. Maybe it's here. I scratched my head in uncertainty. I don't want to get lost, though. I looked at the time. God dammit.

I looked around listlessly, wondering which was the right way to the nearest subway. I mean, logically, there should be maps on the subway, and the school should be near one too. I sighed, lamenting how growing up in a small town I knew like the back of my hand and had never left had rendered me incapable of navigating through unfamiliar surroundings.

What if I end up late for school? And on the first day of school? That's such a bad omen. It will leave such a terrible first impression on the dean! So much for having a clean disciplinary record. "Oh, right!" I remembered with a jolt that maps existed on the Internet. Crying at my stupidity, I desperately pulled out my phone for the GPS. It was such a huge joke that I had forgotten to use an online map when I was using it just a few minutes ago to look up places to eat.

"Lost?" I suddenly heard.

I turned around and saw that it was Matteo Knight. "Yeah," I replied. "It's my first day at Columbia College, and I just realised that I didn't know the way." Shit, I thought at that instant. I felt stupid for speaking too much. Why did I have to mention that it was my first day at CC? I could've just said it was because I just moved here, so I didn't know how to get to CC from here. So much for pretending that I was a student at CC the whole time.

So much for being the smartest kid in town. I couldn't even pick the right words to say. Well, I already said it. It wasn't as if I could turn back the clock, so I decided to go with the flow and secretly pray that he didn't hear it.