Danny waited patiently for the bus of the 7:30 to arrive. He was 5 minutes early, as he normally is. Danny always liked to keep in control over things. Whenever he went somewhere, Danny made sure to be at least 5 minutes early. If he had something to do over the week, Danny would always put it in writing in his pocket agenda, a paper one he kept close by at all times. Danny was a little bit old-fashioned about it. He didn’t like the idea of keeping his day-to-day business in his phone or computer, no, Danny liked paper better; he enjoyed the feeling of scribbling his thoughts, and enjoyed having a place to organize them at all times. Some would say he was a little bit of a control freak.

Danny gave one last look at his watch as the bus turned the corner and he slowly followed the line to prepare to embark. He wondered if the bus driver also liked to be early. For the last 3 weeks since he moved in, Danny noticed the bus always arrived a couple minutes early.

Danny moved to Lakeview for the start of his college life. Lakeview was a medium sized town in Canada with a few hundred thousand residents, and it could be said to be mainly a university town, since most of its denizens and economy circled around the college itself.

The private university of Lakeview was primarily a medical school with enough renown to be considered a high-end one in the country, assuring most of its students a sure employment after graduation.

Danny was one of the few students living off campus. He rented a house in the periphery of the city instead. Although he did not have to pay for housing in the dormitory because of his well-earned scholarship, he still preferred living by himself in a less populated area.

Danny took a seat at the end of the bus and opened his agenda, noticing that today there would be a group assignment for the Introduction to Anatomy class. While you could not say that Danny had difficulties talking with others, he did not try to make new friends during the first weeks of class.

While others were hopeful and excited to be living away from their parents for the first time and the start of their long-awaited college life, Danny kept to himself. Sure, many approached him; he was a nice-looking guy after all, with his 1,75m height, dark brown hair and eyes, and a tranquil smile often plastered on his face. Danny was always respectful to those around him. He was not too forward but was talkative enough to avoid any awkwardness with whoever chatted with him.

But despite that, as groups of friends were forming, Danny still kept his neutral distance. If you were to ask anyone about Danny, they would probably answer: “Oh, Danny? He seems like a nice guy. Talked with him a few times, but don’t know much about him”.

After Danny alighted from the bus, he slowly walked to his assigned classroom. The university itself was quite modern looking, differently from the traditional outlook that one would expect from a renowned college. Funded by a billionaire in the year 1997, it was recovered from a state of poverty to complete wealth. Provided with the best equipment available and very competitive remuneration for the staff, the institution rapidly overcame it’s not so dazzling past.

Calling it a complete turnaround would be an understatement. From the bottom of the list, it went to higher end in terms of prestige, ranking and standing, whether it was inside or outside the country, and in the last 10 years it started an exchange program of which Danny was proud to be a part of.

Danny was the son of a British reporter and a Brazilian singer. Since he had lost both of them while still young, he had lived his life in an orphanage in Brazil, and in his later years he moved to England and stayed there until finally moving to Canada for his studies.

Danny entered the class with time to spare, moved to his usual spot alongside the corridor, and waited for the class to start at eight o’clock.

As the bell rang signaling the end of the class, Jane stood up and stretched, which in turn gave her friend, Janice the perfect opportunity to poke her in the ribs, causing her to flinch erratically and hit their new friend Chris.

Jane was redheaded and had green eyes. Her freckled face, long-hair, pale skin and small nose together with her small 1,60m height, and voluptuous body gave her an impression of a friendly neighbor, or a doll really. Janice on the other hand, could not be more different. She was a tall and slender dark-skinned beauty, with toned muscles that gave away her athletic background. She stood at 1,80m height, had curly and short black hair and a very outgoing way of speaking.

“Goddammit Janice! Could you just once, for Christ’s sake not do that! Sorry about that Chris”

“Sorry Jane, you should have known better than to give me such an opportunity!”

Giggling in triumph, Janice stared down her best friend, amusement in her eyes. They knew each other since kindergarten and were like two peas in a pod. They shared the dream of becoming a doctor in their childhood, and now they were achieving it together in the same place. Janice actually got in a slightly better university with an athletic scholarship, but gave it up to stay together with Jane.

“It’s alright Jane, it didn’t hurt”. Said Chris, a shy looking boy with short blond hair and blue eyes. He was rather small for a male, with only 1,65m and usually did not speak unless spoken to. He met the two girls after bumping into Jane in one of the corridors, and just like that, due to the girl’s clumsiness, became friends.

“Get a room already girls, some people are trying to relax here”

“Shut up Carl!” Said Janice as she punched Carl in the arm, laughing as he recoiled from the pain.

“Damn girl, did your parents raise you in a cave or something?”

“Do you want another one?”

“Obviously you were raised as a fine damsel, with incredible etiquette, and wondrous…”

“Okay, that’s enough you damn liar”. Said Janice with a sneer on her face while interrupting Carl’s monologue.

Carl was a dark-skinned man. He had 1.95 height, shaved head, and came as a package deal with Chris. Much like the two girls, he and Chris were childhood friends, and while they were very different as their personalities and countenance may suggest, they completed each other incredibly well.

Chris had a hard time in school. Other kids often picked up on him for his shy demeanor, but with the protection of Carl, he did not have to suffer very much as few kids would willingly take head on the black giant. Carl on the other hand suffered a lot with the death of his mother and later remarrying of his father.

Through the whole process, Chris and his house were always there for him. True, Chris never said much, but Carl never wanted someone pitying him, asking if everything was fine, wondering why he was so angry all the time. Therefore, that little asylum meant the world for him.

When they both decided to pursue a medical career and apply for college, they supported each other and made it together. So, when Chris made some friends, Carl obviously got pulled along. The fact that he was very into Janice was only a minor bonus.

“Okay guys, stop your teasing and let us focus. The teacher said we have to make groups of five for the group project. If we don’t get five, we might get split up to fill other groups lacking members. We just need one more person, who should we invite?”. Jane interjected before Janice and Carl escalated things further. She could clearly see that both were interested in each other, but neither had made the move yet so the last week had been full of this back and forth between them.

“I don’t know, how about John? He seems fine by me”. Said Carl

“No way, that guy is always perving out on Jane, always staring her”. Janice quickly rejected.

“Wait really? He seemed like an okay dude to me, is he bothering you Jane?”. Asked Carl in a concerned tone.

“I think we should invite Danny. He seems very smart and organized, always taking notes and sitting up front”. Said Jane while pretending John was never a topic to begin with.

“I talked to him a couple times. Very polite and all, never got really close though, he seems nice”. Muttered Carl while still absent-minded thinking about John, the alleged pervert.

“I like him, he looks like the kind of guy who keeps to himself and is cool with everybody. Other groups might ask him to join before us, we should hurry if we are going to invite him”. Said Janice.

“What do you think Chris?”. Asked Jane.

“I… he… he looks like a nice guy, I mean, I never spoke to him, but he seems to always pay close attention to class… I mean, not like we don’t, but… yeah I’m okay with him”. Said Chris, startled that he was put on the spotlight.

Although Chris already felt like the two girls were his friends, he was still adjusting to getting closer to them. He still could not talk freely and openly with them as he did with Carl, and Jane and Janice both being very beautiful girls definitely did not make things easier.

However, having Carl around to explain that it was nothing personal, and put on words whatever he had difficulty to say ensured the girls understanding. It was just a matter of time before this discomfort he felt went away.

“Then we are set, I’m going to talk to him first, I’ll call you guys in a moment”. Said Janice, while getting up.

Danny finished organizing his notes on his laptop before looking at the time on his screen, which showed it was 12:01 pm. The class has just ended and it was time for lunch break. He did not plan to approach any specific group for the assignment. Whatever group he ended up on was fine by him. Three weeks in, and he already had a good relationship with the majority of the class, however distanced it may be. Therefore, whichever group he may end up in, he was sure to know at least one or two people.

He organized his things inside his backpack and stood up, ready to leave for the cafeteria, when Janice approached him.

“Hey Danny, do you remember me?”

“Of course, Janice, our university’s swimming club prodigy! What can I do for you?”

“Heh, I don’t know nothing about prodigies and what not, but you can indeed help me. Say, have you decided which group to join yet?” Asked Janice after quickly getting the pleasantries out of the way.

“Not yet, no, I was planning to go have lunch first, would you care to join me?” Replied Danny in an amicable way.

“Sure Danny! Can my friends come along?” Replied Janice while pointing at their group chatting a few stairs steps above them.

“The more the merrier! That is your friend Jane over there, right? And I do remember talking with Carl, but never got the opportunity to meet the other one” Answered Carl with a nod and a smile.

“Yes, that’s Jane, good memory! I myself am terrible with names, I cannot remember anything. Right, that’s Carl’s best friend, Chris. He’s a little timid and doesn't speak a whole lot but you get used to it. He’s really sweet.” Janice said while signaling her friends to come down.

“So, Danny, do you want to join our group then? We are missing one person as you can see”.

“Sure Janice, thank you for inviting me. I haven’t really thought about what to do about the group project. Oh well, guess that issue went away by itself now”. Laughing while thanking Janice, Danny turned to the newcomers while she introduced everybody.

“So, Danny, as you recall, this is Carl, Jane and this is Chris” Danny shook the hands of Carl and Jane while exchanging pleasantries and mentioning passed conversation topics, much like he did with Janice and her swimming practices, before finally stopping before Chris.

“Hi Chris, I’m Danny. Janice mentioned you are a bit shy, so if you don’t mind, we can skip that whole handshake business, and just… nod or whatever”. Said Danny laughing.

“Ah… erm… a nod would be fine, I guess?” Answered a bewildered Chris.

“How did you know that Chris feels awkward with handshakes?” Asked a surprised Carl.

Danny grinned before answering, “I lived a few years in an orphanage when I was young, and one of the girls there had the same issue. We were good friends until each went their own way. I noticed you guys greeting each other the other day with hugs, but never Chris, so when Janice told me he is shy, I just assumed he felt the same way as my friend”.

“Thanks Danny” spoke softly an appreciative Chris.

“Wow Danny, that was some detective level shit right there”. Commented Janice loudly before the group moved on to the cafeteria while discussing the upcoming classes and the project they now had agreed to share.

When classes were over at around 17:00, Danny said goodbye to everyone after agreeing to be part of their assignment group.