TPI : chapter 1

In all truth, I'd been waited for this moment for long time now. Lots of sleepless nights, sore heads, red eyes and hard work had gone into the foundation that blossomed into this. This was a moment that was 12 years in the making; and now, it had finally arrived. I had no words to express it, yet here I am, writing down how I felt- that's how desperately happy I had become...

...I'd been chosen as a student for The University of Students with Special Abilities (USSA), Carvale; pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mathematics.

Maths had been a passion for me, maybe even more. Ever since I was given a little abacus by my grandfather for my 5th birthday, I was hooked to calculations. Well, unlike the other students at school, things like calculus, and trigonometry seemed to make sense from a very early age. They were my friends, they were family- to me, mathematics was love. Geometry classes always seemed like more of a lovejoy ritual, rather than a school subject; a hobby which I prized and adored. And it was something I grew with. Now, don't get me wrong here, it's not that I was totally anti-social and loved nothing more than equations; but, it's just that the time that other people spent on plucking their 6-strings or videogames; i spent on my text books and the interwebs, solving various questions and problems; or whatever would draw interest to my number-craving heart.

The interview last week, was absolutely and shamelessly brilliantly. I had been confident and respectful in speech, and mum had made sure that I look like a perfect dweeb. Something the department would consider to be the smartest that anyone has ever looked in their whole life. It would've been quite a shock if they had sent me a rejection letter; but the letter of admission instilled a pleasant surprise of its own. And now, the day had come when I was to attend my first class at the University. Time flies.

It was a normal, average, everyday morning, save the butterflies in my stomach, and the unstriated nervousness that was evident in every little thing I did. Also, I was more punctual than I had ever been. My first class was supposed to start at 8:30 am, and reporting time was 8:15. I had set my alarm clock to ring me awake at 6am, but i didn't need it, as my sleep was shallower than usual, and i woke up at 5:53; and subsequently, started to get ready. Mum made the usual bacon and eggs for breakfast, but i was in no mood to eat. We left for USSA at 7 and reached by 7:17; almost an hour early. I got out of the car, kissed and hugged mum goodbye(who was trying her best to treat the day as ordinarily as her acting abilities allowed her to) and then made my way through the huge front gates of the university; where the brightest minds of our state learned all that they effectively know.

The building ground was a modern (and quite huge) structure. It had everything, from full size football grounds, to soccer fields, to one of the best libraries in the country. Also, the front lawn was huge and had many trees, small ponds with little fishes, and stone pathways zigzagged across the grass. I was observing the garden-like structure of the university-front when a boy, who had a familiar face, and seemed to be the a little older than I was, turned towards me, and gave me a "wait-a-second-who-are-you?" look. He had short, dark-brown hair, a lean frame, puny little eyes, and thinner lips than Matthew Perry.

"You're new at the university, aren't ya?", he asked as he started walking towards me.

I smiled and said, "Yeah, well, first day."

"Brett", he said as he held out his hand. "I'm Walter", i replied, as we shook hands- a firm handshake, dad would have been impressed.

"Ah, Mathematics freak, yeah? Gotta' watch yerself around those numbers!"

I was a bit shocked at how he figured out that bit. "hmm, not really a frea.."

"Just a maths lover- a romancer by nature, gotcha", he interrupted me, "everybody is, nowadays."

"So, you're a freshman.. or...?"

"Oh no! I'm just here to meet a professor for a special request... er, actually more of a permission to use the library", he said.

"Oh, okay. So... what is it that you do, Brett?", I asked him.

"I'm a Psychology student; from Lambert University. It's not as big as your coop", he smiled, "I need the library for a little project I'm doing on compulsions and how they drive a persona."

"Oh, cool." I was impressed but I really had no other reply. I was rather bored as well.

Then we spent some moments in awkward silence as we thought of new things to spark a conversation with; while Brett whistled an unknown tune, and i looked around aimlessly.

"So this proje..." I started; he interrupted, "You should really calm down about this university thing. I can tell you haven't slept well last night. And, you should not have bacon and eggs for breakfast; it's not good for your heart. Also, learn to drive, or you'll be murdered in college. And, yeah; buy new shoes, these old sneakers are killing your feet, ain't em? No matter how important they are to you, comfort comes first!"

I suddenly realized how much my toes were hurting. but I wouldn't take them off; on such an important day, because it was the last gift my dad had given me before he passed away. I'm not taking 'em off for anything.

I was shocked, "wait, how did you know so much about me??! Who the heck are..."

"whoa whoa whoa!!!", he interrupted me again. "Listen, I'm sorry, but I gotta go. The professor I was waiting for, has arrived, and I'm already behind schedule, so... goodbye, t'was a pleasure.", he said, as he turned around and started pacing towards a man who had just entered through the University gates.

Suddenly, he paused, hesitated, turned, and shouted, "Buy a Playstation", he shrugged, "No, you look the Halo types. Get an Xbox! It'll help you cope with stress!!", and then resumed his journey towards the man again, who had already entered the library, by then.

I was  dumbstruck and freaked out, as I saw Brett disappear through the library door. I kinda felt violated too, but, I shook the shock off, and checked my watch; 7:50 am. I marked the directions in the university prospectus, and started to move towards class. In the end, the strange interaction with Brett had helped me to settle myself down about taking my first steps in USSA. And to tell you the truth, the rest of the day was a bit uninteresting. USSA was like any normal university, and i felt at-home during my college orientation lecture. I met up with some of my probable classmates and professors- they seemed as enthusiastic as I. Even made some friends on the first day, which was a good way to start off; and was quite impressed by the cafeteria food.

When I got home, I saw that mum had returned early from work. She was very excited as she asked me to tell her how my first day was. I didn't have much to say, really- I'm a boy of few words, but she kept bombarding me with inconclusive little questions. Slowly, I opened up and told her almost everything in fragments. How the professors were, some of my batch mate's names, the cafeteria food; everything except my meeting with Brett; which had almost disappeared in my thoughts and anticipation of the next day at my favorite dream-come-true university. She seemed a bit disappointed by the lack of highlights in the whole day; and to tell you the truth, even i was expecting a more-eventful next day (maybe because I had half-known people at the university now). I had dinner; said my prayers and thank-you's, and went to sleep early that night. I slept well.

Next morning, I woke up at 6, thanks to the alarm clock, but was a lot more calm, cool, and sure of myself than 24 hours ago. While I was getting ready to bid goodbye to my sandy eyes and morning breath, I heard a thump on the door; the paperboy had delivered our morning daily. After brushing, I made my way to the front gate. Mornings felt incomplete and uneasy if i didn't read the newspaper; so, I took the paper from the porch, and realized that it was something that I had skipped the previous day. I started shifting through the pages, to see if there was anything worth attention. As I was turning one page after another, a photograph in page 7 caught my eye; I went back, and looked at the report under the "Local News" section. It was the face of Brett, smiling back at me from the parchment; and the Headline read, "Local youth cum private-eye helps nab USSA book burglars".

I was shocked. I went into the dining room, sat down, and I quickly ran my attention through the whole article, and registered that Brett had a detective agency ("could you call it an agency? 'Cause it seemed like he was the only person in it") called "The Private I" ("That's a bit pompous, yeah? And is this legal, or even legalized?")  or, "TPI" as he liked to call it. He had been doing small time cases for quite a while now, and was quite famous amongst the folks down south of our town, mainly because that was where he lived. I set the paper aside and fell into deep thought. My mouth gaped wide open as I leaned back into the sofa, recalling my conversation with the boy I had met the day before.

Suddenly, I had a passing thought, "Mum! hey mum, you awake?", I shouted from the dining room.

"Yeah honey, I'm making breakfast.", she replied from the kitchen. I got up and made my way to the kitchen.

"hey, mum, is it okay if I told you what I want for my next birthday, right now?", I asked, even though its was two-and-a-half months away.

"Wally, as long as its nothing too dangerous or perverted;" she chuckled. I didn't reply- just looked at her blankly. After a millisecond worth of awkward silence, she continued,"ah, well, it's going to help me save for it if you tell me now, so its okay. go on, honey.."

"Well, mum", i smiled, "I think I want an Xbox"...