"Looks like we'll have a full schedule tomorrow." I said looking at all the classes that had been written down.
We had just spent the last two hours scouring the Columbia University course list and writing down one class from different majors that Ciri might be interested in. From History to Women's Studies to Astrophysics, we had them all.
"You don't have to go with me if you don't want to."
"You kidding, I want to spend time with you. And helping you find something you want to do with your life is a good way to spend my time." I said before kissing her.
"Thanks. I guess I should show you my appreciation." she said seductively.
"That is good manners." I said as we were about to get it on before I got a message from the DGC.
"Hold on." I said before checking the message to see that it was from Ame.
Amelia: I forgot about the secretary thing, sorry. (⊙_⊙;) But there's no one I recognize.
Matt: Too bad then. Thanks for checking anyway.
Amelia: Of course. (⌐■_■)
"Who was it?" asked Ciri.
"Ame. I asked her to check if she recognized anyone on the list of potential secretaries, but she didn't. Guess I'll have to do some background checking myself before I hire anyone."
"You can think about that later. I was about to show you how good my manners are."
~
After our row, we showered and I cooked food before we went to sleep early since we had a full schedule the next day.
Waking up early in the morning, I woke Ciri up and told her to get ready while I made breakfast. Quickly making some bacon and eggs, I ate before Ciri was done getting ready, and then she ate while I got ready. Our attire for the day was casual, so we could fit in with the other college students. I had gone for jeans and a black tee while Ciri had gone for brown pants and a white tee, very similar to her regular Witcher outfit.
"You ready to go?" I asked as I had just finished getting ready.
"Yup, let's go." she said, excited at the idea of her first university lecture.
"We'll have to stop by the school's bookstore to get you a notebook and pen so you can write down any thoughts you might have."
"Sounds good."
~
A short cab ride later, we were now at the prestigious Columbia University.
"Wow. A real college campus." said Ciri as she looked around.
"Meh, seen better."
"Really?"
"As far as college campuses go, this one is on the smaller side. Though it being located in NYC makes sense for it to be this size."
"Bigger doesn't mean better though, right?"
"No. Columbia is one of the most prestigious schools in the world, so we're okay on that front." I explained.
"Good. Come on, move faster I don't want to be late for my first-ever class." she said pulling me along.
"You're not even a student yet." I said, smiling at her enthusiasm.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
'Hopefully, that enthusiasm doesn't get snuffed out after experiencing school for the first time.' I thought, knowing that school can be as much soul-sucking as it can be fun.
Since the campus was not all that big, and we were not normal humans, we made it to the bookstore in a few minutes. Unfortunately, Ciri was stuck trying to decide which notebook to buy which ate up the extra time we had.
"Ciri, just buy them both." I said seeing her try to decide between a notebook that had the school mascot, a blue lion, or the school's symbol, a crown.
"You're right, why am I trying to decide between the two? Now, pens." she said.
"Already chose one for you, come on." I said handing her a Columbia pen before we went to pay.
"Wow, you're really pretty." said the female cashier while ringing us up.
"Thank you, you're very pretty too." said Ciri.
"Are you a student here?"
"Not yet, we're just dropping in on a few classes to see what I want to study." explained Ciri while I paid.
"That sounds fun, good luck." she said after handing me the change.
"Thank you, bye." said Ciri before we walked out of the store.
"Already making friends. Seems like you'll fit in nicely." I said.
"It's easy to make people like you, it's harder to stay friends." said Ciri, reminiscing about her past.
"It's okay. Besides you have the group as friends." I said grabbing her hand in comfort.
"It's fine. I've mostly moved past that at this point."
"If you ever need to talk."
"I know. Thank you."
"Good. Okay, first up is Anthropology." I said as we walked to class.
~
"So?" I asked Ciri as we left the class.
"Seems interesting, but I don't like how broad it is. I think I would rather study Archaeology than Anthropology, seems more interesting." she said.
"Okay, Anthropology is a no. Luckily, Archaeology is up next."
~
"Okay, I'm done. I can't do this anymore." said Ciri with her head on the table.
We had just come out from an Astrophysics class, which was our tenth class of the day. The only reason we were able to fit in so many was because we would only spend 30 minutes in each class before moving on.
"We just have one more class, Architecture. And I know the guy teaching it, he's a good teacher so it'll be more interesting." I said, rubbing her back.
"Fine, let's get this over with. My brain is overheating and I want to go to sleep." she said as we walked to Ted's class which luckily was later in the day.
"We're here early, that's good." I said as I opened the door to see Ted at his desk, setting some things up for the class.
"Come on in, take a seat." he said not looking up.
"Professor, mind if we sit in?" I said causing him to look up.
"Matt? What are you doing here?"
"Checking some classes out with my girlfriend. Ted, this is Ciri." I said introducing them.
"The girl from the picture."
"What picture?" asked Ciri.
"Ciri, this is Ted, a friend and I showed him a picture of you so I could convince him to help me plan the date."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Ted." he said hand outstretched for a handshake.
"Ciri, nice to meet you. You helped him with the date?" she asked shaking his hand.
"Just a little."
"He's being modest. It was his idea, I just switched it up a little."
"Well, you have my thanks. I would've made my move eventually, but it was still very sweet." she said.
"I'm glad it worked out for you two. But, why are you here again?"
"Ciri wanted to check out some classes from different majors so she could find something she wants to study and your class is the last one on the list."
"Cool. Well, you're free to sit in on the class. I'll try to make it as interesting as possible."
"I don't doubt it. Looks like class is about to start so we'll sit down, Professor." I said as we made our way to some empty seats.
"I didn't think you had other friends except us." teased Ciri in a whisper.
"Haha."
"So, when'd you meet him?"
"I was walking around New York the first day I got here and I ran into him on the streets. I recognized him from before and we started talking and that was it. Then when I went to a medical conference I bumped into Barney, another person I recognized, and we ended up going to a bar. That's when I saw Ted there. Then we all drank and talked." I said to her, emphasizing the word before to let her know I meant my past life.
"Wow."
"Yeah. They're cool people. Hopefully, you'll get to meet them one day. But right now let's pay attention."
~
"So, what'd you think? Do you like architecture?" asked Ted after class was done, only to see Ciri with a glazed look.
"I think the math did her in." I said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Sorry. The whole building creation thing is cool and interesting, but the numbers part, not so much."
"Yeah, I get that. Well, that's okay. It's better to be passionate than miserable." said Ted.
"Wise words. Well, it was good seeing you, Ted. I'll see you around." I said.
"You too. And nice meeting you."
"Nice meeting you as well." said Ciri as we left the classroom.
"And we're done for the day." I said.
"Finally. I have to think about today and make a decision."
"Don't rush it. We have plenty of time."
"You're right."
"Anything stand out to you?"
"I liked Archaeology, History, Biology, and Astrophysics. Especially Archaeology."
"You could always double major if you wanted to, but I recommend doing one first."
"I need to think about it some more. But right now, I'm hungry, so let's go eat some pizza." she said, almost drooling thinking about the pizza.
"Okay, let's go."