Sara and I board the mag rail shuttle in silence, squeezing past the rest of the passengers to find a relatively empty place to stand in. I never liked riding the mag rail, it might be fast and there's a station right next to Rutger's, but I could never get used to the sensation of being jam packed like cattle in the train.

"This is a good spot." Sara pronounces as she leans against the compartment's wall in relief. I nod in agreement, recalling the first time Sara and I had seriously interacted.

It was at the start of the school term and Sara and I had so happened to board the same compartment of the mag rail. We had met each other before of course, it was only natural when Sara lived a few doors down from me in the same apartment complex. But before that day, our contact was just limited nodding and sort of grunting at each other. That's the whole deal about life in a city. You could stay next to someone for several decades and never get to know them.

So it was natural that I would only get to know Sara when she was in the process of being molested on the train.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Sara asks as both of us watch the city blur past the train through a nearby window.

"Just thinking back to the day you lost your ass virginity." I grin and snark back.

"I am still an ass virgin." Sara pouts, "And I don't like being reminded about my ass being pinched by some greasy guy."

"Huh huh. Ass." I giggle to myself while leaning on a railing.

"Stay classy, Robbie." Sara sighs and shuts her eyes.

"I gave that guy a right good beating though." I quickly protest in the face of my friend's disappointment.

"You also needed me to explain to the police why that man was going to be eating from a straw for the next few months." Sara's eyes open a crack.

I helplessly shrug at Sara's rebuttal. Who knew that guy was so fragile? He was certainly acting tough just before my fist met his face.

"I'm grateful Robbie, I mean it." Sara's tone is warm this time.

"I know." I nod, not really needing to here her thank me again.

"No one else stood up for me on that day. Only you." Sara flips her braid about meditatively, "You're, how should I put it -?"

"Reliable?" I say.

"I wouldn't say that." Sara's gaze turns critical as she sweeps me with her eyes.

The thing about Rutger's is that there both is and isn't a uniform that students need to adhere to. There's a recommended dress code. And we need to don the Rutger's grey blazer. But other than that, students are free to choose what they wear.

Sara follows the recommended dress code. White blouse, modest knee length black skirt and tie, completed with the Rutger's blazer. Pretty and neat being the whole theme tying the outfit together. I on the other hand wear whatever I damn want. And it just so happens I felt like wearing a Hawaiian shirt today with a comfortable pair of jeans.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I can't believe no one has called you out on how you dress." Sara shakes her head in disbelief.

I tap my own blazer meaningfully, ignoring the fact that it looks totally out of place on me. Sara snorts good naturedly as the train whizzes past the city's central square and the one hundred and fiftieth wonder of the world enters our field of view.

"Look at that." Sara whispers in awestruck tones.

An absolutely massive sakura tree is rooted firmly right at the central square, its branches spread out like a looming open palm. The tree's skyscraper tier height would have made it an attraction on its own, but that wasn't all it offered. The city's most famous tourist photo backdrop bloomed all year round, regardless of season. Even during the iciest winter, not a single one of the tree's blossoms would ever winter.

Or so the city's tourism office claims. The flowers could be plastic and glued on to the tree for all I knew.

"Its quite something alright." I nod along rather indifferently.

"They say that any couple who confesses before the tree of eternity will have a happy marriage." Sara's expression turns dreamy and disturbingly spaced out.

"You actually believe that?" I barely manage resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"You know what all girls really want, Robbie?" Sara turns to pout at me, "Pure love and heart pounding romance!"

"Isn't that stereotyping?" I guffaw.

"I'm a girl, so it counts as expert opinion." Sara scoffs with a proud look on her face.

"I wonder though." I muse to myself as Sara returns to staring at the Tree of Eternity. Sara and I have barely anything in common with each other. I mean, sometimes I need to try, really, really hard not to start insulting her over the banal crap that flows from her mouth. Its honestly pretty weird that we get along as well as we do.

"Some days I wonder whether coming to the city was worth it." Sara slumps back against the wall, "But maybe this place has what I've been looking for all my life."

"Right, you're a scholarship student from the boonies." I remark as the mag rail leaves the Tree of Eternity behind, "Keep your chin up and things will work out. Probably."

"You're not being very reassuring, Robbie." Sara laughs, "I'll take it as encouragement though."

"Yeah." I mutter to myself. Something in that conversation had thrown me off balance.

"You're sure that you're still on scholarship?" I ask just to confirm.

"Yes?" Sara tilts her head, "Same old scholarship. If I had a more generous stipend, I wouldn't need to work part time, that's for sure."

"Yeah." I sink back into rumination. Sara's a scholarship student. Sara's my friend. Sara's my classmate. I know these things as facts. Clear, indisputable facts.

But why am I Sara's classmate?

I'm a delinquent and spend most of my time polishing my fighting skills. Do I even bother with studying in the first place? How in the world am I keeping up academically with a model student like Sara?

How?

I rub my temples in resignation. The headache is starting again. I really need a refill of my migraine medication. Either that or I need to ease up on attending fight club, my packed schedule probably isn't doing me any favors.

"You feeling okay?" Sara's voice interrupts my internal monologuing.

"Peachy." I mutter, blinking hard a few times to clear up the metaphorical fog covering my brain. Just need to power through this episode. The headache always goes away as long as I ignore it for long enough.

"Well, you can stop ogling my legs anytime now." Sara jokes as my gaze is anchored downward.

But I'm not looking at her legs.

I'm staring at the rat sitting squarely between the two of us.

And the rat is staring back at me. Right in the eyes. An eternity passes between man and beast. The rat's mouth moves.

"Robbie!" Sara suddenly nudges me, "We're at our stop!"

"Right!" I snap back into the groove of things and quickly follow Sara out of the train. We join the heaving mass of humanity surging out of the metal coffin. A quick glance back tells me that the rat's gone.

"Hey, what do you think about Paul?" Sara asks while walking with brisk steps.

"Why're you asking me?" I smirk in return, "Shouldn't you get to know him, like, by yourself."

She taps her chin and replies, "I trust your judgment, Robbie. So what do you think about Paul?"

"Here's some advice. Don't use me to scout out potential boyfriends." I cluck my tongue in reproach.

"It's not like that!" Sara huffs as we reach the gates of Rutger's.

But I can't keep my mind of that rat I saw in the train. And the blasted headache is starting to build up again.

And I worst of all, I swear that rat was saying something when our eyes met.

You finally can see me.