CHAPTER 6 — Finding My Place
577 Words
Monday morning arrived with a chorus of alarms echoing through Hall C.
Someone down the hallway was playing music far too loudly.
A girl shouted, “Who took my bucket?”
Another voice answered, “Check the bathroom!”
Seraphina buried her face deeper into her pillow.
“So this,” she mumbled, “is university.”
Across the room, Maya laughed while tying her hair into a ponytail.
“Get up. Orientation starts in an hour.”
Seraphina groaned dramatically.
“I’ve been here for one night, and I’m already tired.”
“Welcome to adulthood.”
“I’d like a refund.”
The room erupted in laughter.
By the time they reached the orientation hall, almost every seat was occupied.
Students squeezed into rows, fanning themselves with notebooks and admission letters.
A lecturer adjusted the microphone.
“Good morning, everyone.”
“Good morning, sir,” hundreds of voices replied.
“For those of you who are new, congratulations. You’ve worked hard to get here.”
Seraphina glanced around the hall.
Everyone looked different.
Different accents.
Different personalities.
Different dreams.
Yet somehow, they were all beginning the same journey.
After the orientation, Maya stretched her arms.
“So…”
“So?”
“Food.”
Seraphina didn’t need to think twice.
“Lead the way.”
“I was hoping you’d know where the cafeteria is.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope.”
The two of them laughed before joining the stream of students wandering across campus.
“I swear this place is a maze,” Seraphina said after taking what felt like the fourth wrong turn.
Maya pointed toward a building.
“Maybe we ask someone?”
Before Seraphina could answer, a boy walked past carrying three trays of food.
“Excuse me!” Maya called.
He stopped.
“Do you know where the cafeteria is?”
He smiled.
“You’re standing behind it.”
The girls looked at each other.
Then slowly turned around.
There it was.
A massive building with a sign that read:
UNIVERSITY CAFETERIA
Seraphina covered her face.
“I’ve never been this embarrassed.”
The boy laughed.
“It happens to everyone.”
“Please pretend you never saw us.”
“No promises.”
As he walked away, Maya nudged Seraphina.
“I like him.”
“You like everyone.”
“True.”
The cafeteria buzzed with conversation.
Students filled nearly every table.
Some looked just as nervous as Seraphina felt.
Others behaved as though they’d lived on campus their entire lives.
She balanced a tray in one hand while searching for an empty table.
“Over there!” Maya pointed.
The four roommates ended up eating together, trading stories about home, siblings, and the confusion of registration.
By the end of lunch, Seraphina realized something.
She had laughed more in two days than she had during the last few months of secondary school.
The realization settled warmly in her chest.
Maybe this fresh start wasn’t just a phrase people liked to say.
Maybe it was real.
That evening, Seraphina stood outside the hostel balcony, watching the sun sink behind the campus buildings.
A cool breeze brushed against her face.
Students crossed the pathways below, chatting and laughing.
For the first time in a long time, tomorrow didn’t scare her.
It excited her.
She smiled to herself.
“Maybe,” she whispered, “this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
- Writer
