The next few days were a daze to me. All I could think of was my wild weekend, the failed night out of celebration with my supposed friends, my fated meeting with Mea Kaika, and all of the drama that followed with her. I was drunk with her, unable to think of anything else. Which was rather inconvenient, as finals were this week. I had long hours ahead of me, a long week too. Fortunately, I had been doing well in my classes and genuinely enjoyed the course work, so while this was certainly a culmination of large effort, I would really be tying off loose ends, which was rather satisfying. I had a thesis paper to write, a research effort I’d been working on for the last year, which had been effectively finished months ago. I’ve just been tweaking and fine tuning the writing of it since then. Other than that, I had a few written exams to take which would take some rote memorization and refreshment, but otherwise, would be very doable. I felt fortunate that I would be certain to graduate the coming weekend. I daydreamed of putting that ceremonial garb on my head, looking ridiculous in those robes, and having the dean of the college hand me my piece of paper, filled with promises, on that stage.

What would come next is what scared me, however. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and at the same time, I knew exactly what would happen. My father invested in my education because he knew it would produce an educated man to follow his example. He would expect me to pursue a career in politics, just as he had. I just wasn’t sure how much time I had to enjoy my life before he came to collect his dues. I owed him, after all.

I walked out of the last classroom with a taste of sadness in my mouth, lingering. I’d enjoyed the time I’d spent here, learning, gaining a new perspective, conductive research. And now, I'm finished. Assuming everything went as well as I expected, then I will graduate as I figured, and had my master’s degree in sociology. I’ll walk across that stage with my fellows, be bestowed the honors that I’d earned, and begin the rest of my life. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d just completed a chapter of my life I’d never be able to revisit.

This had been the worst of struggles to concentrate this week, though. My mind had been filled with thoughts of a certain Nari’e woman, of her wild, thick hair, her fluid liquid golden brown eyes, her endless curves; they tortured me from dawn to dusk. It was all I could do to gather enough focus to write anything down for an exam, or present my studies. But fortunately, everything went well enough that I felt I would be alright. I didn’t regret my thoughts, in any case. All I wanted to do was see her again.

Saturday, she had whispered to me, when we’d last spoken, right before we’d almost kissed. Or maybe I was delusional, who could say. I was certainly that. But I’d made it out alive, or at least, I thought I had. All I could think of was Saturday, of seeing her again. OF course, she hadn’t specified when or where, but I would wait for her all day if I had to, all week, all year. She was worth the wait. Knowing her was worth all of it.

It was a Friday, only one day away from Saturday, when I’d officially finished with graduate school. I had plans to come home, relax, watch a movie and sip on whiskey that was a gift from my father, before figuring out what I’d do for the rest of my life. I was headed there now, half paying attention to my surroundings, but mostly not, while I called my car to come pick me up. I’d driven today, as I knew I’d be too tired to walk home.

Waiting outside the student union building for my car to arrive, I spotted Joh and Lip coming this way. They gave me an upwards head nod before approaching. They were in my class, of course, along with an exceptionally large lecture filled with almost one hundred other people. Aruga State was a gigantic university, particularly known for transforming students into government officials, and was religiously frequented by the nobility class. The two twins walked up to me, looking out of place without their third friend usually attached to their hip, Malley. I nodded back in hello.

“Glad to be done, eh?” Joh said to me with a half grin.

I inhaled deeply through my nose and exhaled, as if blowing away all of the stress it took to get here. “Doesn’t feel real yet.”

“Heh, I know what you mean,” Lip said, grinning just like his twin. “You going to celebrate this weekend? We’re going to.”

I thought of the last time I’d spent time with them celebrating; getting nearly blind drunk, being mugged, and then lastly, meeting Mea Kaika. It wasn’t all bad. But I wasn’t quite prepared to willingly spend time with them like that anytime soon.

“No, nothing crazy,” I said casually. “Just family, I think.” Hopefully that would be enough for them; I didn’t want them to try and make plans for me when I was trying to meet Mea. It would be hard enough to come see her, let alone working around their shenanigans.

“Makes sense,” Joh said, Lip nodding in the background. “We’ve got family obligations, too. The gears never stop grinding, am I right?”

“Ha, you’re right man.” My car pulled up to the curb, pinging my WaComm to signal its obvious arrival. “Hey, well, my ride’s here. I’ll see you around.”

They waved goodbye as I slid into the vehicle, eager to escape those two. While I was sure they mostly meant well, they weren’t really my friends. I didn’t quite enjoy their company, even though they were classmates and fellow nobility.

The car began to cruise up to speed, the movement lulling me to sleep. The stress and efforts of the day seeped into my brain, allowing me to doze off comfortably as my car took me home.

Ping ping

I’d arrived at my apartment before I’d even realized my eyes had closed. The pings were two separate notifications; the first, the most obvious one, was that I had arrived at my destination. The second was a message from my father. I ignored it for now, instead, stepping out of the car, sending it to storage, and then walking up to my apartment. I ached to think of nothing at all; my brain was spent, tired, worn out. No more thoughts, thank you.

While waiting for the elevator to take me up, I scrolled through the WaComm newsfeed. Another article speculating about the rampant murderer, intent on killing more nobles. I shrugged that off; nobody of note had been killed yet, and the police were sure to catch them any day now. Ridiculous that it’d gone this far.

My apartment was a welcome sight, the wallscreen beckoning me, the whiskey bottles in the liquor cabinet singing their siren songs, promising a relaxing evening to myself. I couldn’t wait. I poured myself a shot as soon as I walked in, before even taking off my shoes. A flick on the WaComm, and the wallscreen was on. I sipped at the dark amber liquid in the crystal glass, the burn as it slid down my throat so sweet. I slumped into the couch, the cushions as soft and welcoming as a cloud in pillow form.

A few minutes later, I remembered my father had messaged me. I sighed; I guess I should check it, as it could be an urgent message. I twisted my wrist to read the message on my WaComm.

Important dinner meeting. Be at the estate 1500 tomorrow afternoon. Black tie.

I threw my head back against the pillow, the whisky sloshing in my glass from the movement. Some stupid dinner I had to be at, another group of people I had to schmooze with my father. More politics. And, as usual, it was formal. I’d have to put on my best suit, or at least one of them. I guess there could be worse things.

But just because I had to be nice and put together tomorrow didn’t mean that I had to be tonight. I finished the whiskey in one shot and turned up the volume on wallscreen. Tonight’s just for me.