She was already waiting for me.

– You're here already? I'm sorry I'm late: I'm having trouble with my bike» I apologized as I approached her.

Ellie was a very pretty girl: long, thick, dark hair, high forehead, beautiful gray eyes, she was very friendly, and it was nice to be in her company.

We entered the college, gave our coats to the checkroom, put on our robes and caps, and went to find the right classrooms.

– Did you sign up for any classes? – Ellie asked me.

– No. Do I have to? – I was surprised.

– No one's forcing anyone» she smiled. – It's just that there are a lot of clubs at college, and a lot of sports teams and sections for different sports. What are you into, for example?

I wondered: can playing snowballs be considered a sport?

– I like a lot of things, but now I can't choose something specific, – I honestly admitted. – I can, though: I like to play badminton.

– You see, you can sign up there. And you don't have to choose one thing – you can be in twenty clubs at the same time. I signed up for theater, music, church singing, reading, and more. I'll have to look at the schedules for all of them» Ellie told me.

– Music class? Do you play an instrument? – I asked.

– Yes, the saxophone.

– Wow, that's great. I don't know how to play anything… But my brother always says I'm a master of playing on nerves.

«Everyone here is incredibly talented! And I can't even play anything! Nerves don't count!» – I thought with annoyance.

– Well, I'll think about it at my leisure, and I'll definitely sign up for a club» I promised Ellie.

We parted and went to our classrooms.

When I walked in, I felt awkward as many students immediately turned their heads toward me. The attention made me nervous and I sat almost in the front row.

It was the first lecture of my life, and I was excited and happy at the same time: I was sitting in an Oxford auditorium! There were a hundred people around me, though, and it was disconcerting: I knew very little about people and college classes, having only seen them in movies and TV shows.

I could feel someone's eyes on me the whole time, but I didn't try to find out who it was: I thought that if I fidgeted, I would look frivolous and stupid. I was already very awkward: at recess, many guys would not take their eyes off me and ask me how I was doing. At those moments, I wished I was invisible.

As the classes came to an end, I was so mentally exhausted that I wanted to get away from the college as soon as possible. I took off my robe and cap, put on my coat, and walked briskly towards my bike.

– Sweet blondie, wait a minute! – I suddenly heard behind my back.

I turned around and saw that a guy was coming toward me. I was confused, but I thought that maybe he wanted to ask me about my schedule or to give me something, otherwise he wouldn't be late.

I immediately realized that I was dealing with a Playboy: expensive, carefully selected ironed suit, expensive, leather, rubbed to a shine shoes, expensive black coat. All of this was accompanied by an obnoxious, sugary-sweet smile and gel-smooth hair.

– Hi. – He held out his hand to me.

– Hi. – I wanted to shake his hand, but he intercepted my palm and brought it to his lips. I pulled it away.

– I'm sorry, I couldn't resist: you're so damn beautiful» the Playboy said with a flattering smile as he looked me over.

I felt like he was just groping me with that stare-it was unpleasant and damnably insolent, and I wanted to leave.

– What did you want? – I asked him directly.

– To know your name, beautiful. You ran off so fast and didn't even leave your precious slipper.