THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

13

||JACKSON||

I stared at my schedule in hand and traversed along halls and corridors with my bag suspended from my shoulders. Itching with how embarrassingly lost I was, I didn't want to ask anyone for directions, but I feared to attend late for my first class ever. My vision scouted the perimeter for anyone to ask for advice. A particular boy caught my attention and I came up to him. "Hey there," I waved my hand to draw his attention.

"Hi," he tilts his head with a small smile.

"I'm sorry to waste your time, but can you direct me to..." I took a moment to glance down at my papers and read out my lecture room. Kindly and luckily enough, the boy claims to know where it is and even offered to walk me there. I thanked him for his generosity on the way. "No problem. I understand how hard things can get in college, especially if you're not used to it yet," he nodded.

I smiled at his endearing politeness, I thought I could as him ask a bit more about how things work here, "do you happen to know if there are any decent places to work for cash around?" I said inquisitively.

"Oh sure. You know, if talented in the art department, you could work on doing commissions for people, or typically tutor; sometimes you can find flyers posted around the campus of others asking/providing services. Occasionally, if lucky, you can also work for the community here. I heard that the place is looking for someone to tend the grass, vegetation, and other which has good pay, though hardly anyone wants to apply for that..." he mutters.

The mention of doing labor on landscaping really interested me and I quickly responded, "Wait really? How do I get accepted?" I said enthusiastically which caught him off guard.

He blinks in surprise, "I didn't think of you to be the type to act so eager on cultivating dirt, but I guess I can inform you," he shrugs then provides me with details that it is almost the same as registering for a job; forming resumes, discussing plans, etc. When we finally reach the entrance to my first class. "Again, thank you very much," I repeated.

He lets out a chuckle, "you're welcome, erm..." his voice fades as he doesn't exactly know what to refer to me as.

"Jackson," I grinned.

"Jackson, my name is Kyle," he smiles. He raises his wrist with a watch and bites the bottom of his lip, "ah, you should get going," he ushers me. Giving him a farewell wave, I open the doors and was greeted with a few stares as I advanced to my seat in silence. Choosing the ones in the middle but slightly to the back, I sat down; not the furthest away from class because I wasn't sure if I would be able to hear the professor properly, and I wouldn't be able to see very far. I feel insecure about my eyesight and I refuse to wear my glasses in front of others out of embarrassment. I pulled out my notebook and pens to get started on my assignment.

The day passes unexpectedly swifter than I thought and I was just done with my last one for today. I figured that I should head to the library and create a resume for myself. In the distance, a could see a few people exiting a facility with books in hand; assuming that it is a library because of that, I start walking towards it. As I step in, it is in fact a public library with only a couple of individuals inside. Trudging myself around, I found a place with computers to work on. Now that I think about it, I probably should have brought along my laptop from home. Occupying in front of a monitor, I stared at the screen and saw that it needed a password. Frowning, it was the same case for all of the other ones as well. Looking around, I saw a fairly young girl tending a circular desk in the middle of the library, busy with a few papers and books. Approaching her, I asked, "excuse me, how do I use the computers over there?" I pointed.

Her eyes gave me an indescribable look as she roamed from top to bottom, "do you need a password?" She chuckles. I nodded timidly and she takes a slip of paper from a tiny container and hands it to me. "Anything else?" She asks.

"I'm good, thanks," I flashed a grin. She smiles at me with a small wave before resuming her work. Going back to the computers, I squinted at the paper and inputted it to the bar to type it in. Gaining access, I searched up Google Docs to get things going. "Let's see here..." I muttered to myself. Physically active, interested in gardening, I haven't actually been employed before... the lit screen was a bit hard for me to focus and it was almost straining my vision for nearing myself to it a lot. Still, I haven't brought out my eyewear. Grunting at annoyance, an idea popped in my head and I just increased the size of my view. Zooming in, I sighed in relief.

It took a while to finish only at least half of it. Yawning a little bit, I decided to finish up today and wore my backpack. "Come back soon!" The same girl at the desk said and I waved at her. Walking around campus, I checked the time on my phone and saw that it is 6:12 pm right now. I was about to make my way back at the dorms when I caught a glimpse of Damien walking and noticed me as we. "Oh hey Jackson, wanna come with me to the gym?" He offered.

Tilting my head, I asked him, "did you eat?"

"I eat way early so I can work out as soon as possible."

Looking down at myself, I gave a pat in my stomach and let out a breath, "sure."