Chapter 145: Culture Shock

Dissonance.

That was the first experience the gang had individually experienced when they arrived on campus the very next day.

For one, they all had an idea of how they’d expected the college grounds to look and feel.

It also didn’t help that there was still a lingering sense of their high school numbers somewhere in the back of their mind.

All that was thoroughly shattered, because not a single one of them could’ve anticipated such populous numbers of individuals.

Not even Aiden whom had caught a glimpse of their numbers on the weekend just a day ago.

Certainly not Theo whom had mostly spent the past couple days couped up in his dorm asides from hanging out with the boys a few times.

It quite looked and sounded like a bustling flea market… but for the rich, wealthy, high-class and well-off, a certain sense of orderliness encompassing it all despite how it seemed.

Luxury cars cruised into the grounds from both students and staffs, the expansive and exquisitely decorated banners that had been strategically put up everywhere for the freshmen sylly week adding to the overall allure of Pacific Height’s already expansive grounds.

The buildings were no joke either, a whole lot of them reminiscent of a modern central hall, that toed the line between lavishness and efficiency.

Perhaps the only downside was that they occupied way too much land, hence making the slug of moving around campus on foot all that more annoying.

Afterall, they were disconnected from each other like little archipelagos instead of being structured as one as they dotted every single inch of the grounds with pathways linking them up.

Thankfully, they all seemed to centralize around the admin block, so that was cool.

Theo had mentioned they could all meet up at the pocket park just in front of it before they dispersed to their respective introductory classes.

Then, there were the manicured lawns, tall trees, little gardens and several student hotspots.

These ranged from relaxation sheds, gazebos, pergolas, courtyards, pocket parks… among a couple, for students to catch their breaths, study or just chill at.

Everywhere they looked, these students themselves looked to be dressed in one designer brand of clothing and accessories or the other.

Granted they were just about as much students whom had dressed comfortably like they had, there was still this underlying sleekness and understated style to it that just couldn’t be beat.

It was, however, the first time Aiden–and likewise his buddies–had seen such staggering congregation of questionable and revealing dresses in their lives thus far… largely from the female demographic.

Even then, they chalked it up to a bit of culture shock on their parts.

New York had a very fast-paced and business-oriented economy and an unbeatable commuter culture, so the unspoken yet unanimous dress code was often utilitarian than it was anything else.

Though it could be argued that they could have a similar level of scantily clad ladies on the streets in the right season, the gang weren’t particular the outgoing type enough for it to be a constant K in their minds.

LA, on the other hand, with what was perhaps its party-centric, transit and coastal culture, had conditioned its inhabitants to heavily favor athleisure, activewear, and more airy, undone styles.

That was Aiden’s logical conclusion at least.

Soon enough, he arrived at the park, Theo already waiting there.

A backpack slung over one arm, the curly haired-youth was holding a literal map of the college grounds in his hands, his head tilted slightly as he studied it with a confused squint.

A clique of pretty freshmen ladies sat on the park bench nearby, stealing glances at him as one of the ladies muttered something along the lines of him being cute and that her friend should ask for his number.

“Hey, Theo.” Aiden greeted, his tone relaxed as he humorously added;

“It’s pretty convoluted, isn’t it?”

Theo gave him a friendly smile in response, only for it to turn slightly sheepish as he returned his gaze to the map;

“How big is this place?”

“I mean I’ve memorized the entire map, but I still can’t make heads or tails of where our classes are supposed to be…” his voice trailed off as he scratched his head briefly.

“It’s all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey…” he muttered immediately after, pulling the map closer to his face as if it would help him identify where he was supposed to be headed better.

Theo’s feelings towards the whole layout felt that much more disturbing since he was literally living on campus grounds and was already dreading having to stumble into the wrong place given his introverted nature.

Even the day he’d arrived, he had been taken straight to the college dorms for the scholarship students so he hadn’t realized how very yarn-like everything was.

Meeting up with the gang hadn’t posed a problem either. He just needed to retrace the route the Resident Advisor (RA) had guided him through upon arrival.

“Don’t worry. I know exactly where it is.” Aiden then said as he retrieved the map from him, his brain memorizing everything in pristine detail in under a couple seconds.

“Found the school forum yesternight and asked around on its general platform ahead of today. A couple of our seniors were kind enough to help.” he casually added as he returned the map.

Theo blinked for a moment. Then he gently facepalmed whilst muttering;

“I should’ve thought of that.”

“Don’t sweat it. Happens to the best of us.” Aiden patted him gently on the shoulder.

Meanwhile, one of the ladies whom had been whispering amidst themselves on the park bench had intended to walk up to Theo and ask for his number…

…only for her to have sat right back down upon Aiden’s arrival.

Her friends couldn’t even blame her.

It was already bad enough that she’d felt a whole lot of pressure just walking up to him alone.

Now, his friend who just happened to be a showstopper as well just had to join in.

Once again, their hushed whispers continued, Aiden and Theo unaware of it as they resulted to engaging in a mundane discussion pertaining to the new game they were working on whilst waiting on the rest of their friend’s arrival.

A couple minutes later, the girl in question found her courage again, her friends cheering her on… only for Casper to arrive in his usual show of exuberance;

“Yo! This place is something else, guys!”

“You sure we’re in the right space and not just some fashion convention?!” he poked a thumb over his shoulder, gesturing vaguely behind him.

That earned a light chuckle from the duo as they reciprocated with greetings and bro handshakes seconds after.

The lady immediately sat still, and this time she and her friends looked to each other, wondering how in tarnation every single one of them happened to be such eye candies.

It didn’t even take long after that.

Clyde, Benjamin and Larry arrived, not a single one of them detracting from the gang’s joint aesthetic.

It even had one of the ladies muttering that they could pass for an upcoming indie boy band… which was rather ironic considering what Hi-Fi Radio was.

The gang moved from the area afterwards, their conversations continuing, leaving the lady to sigh in resignation as her friend simply told her she’d get the chance to try her luck again.

Probably.

The sextet soon arrived at the Engineering Department, the architecture of the building deviating slightly from the hall-like architecture and assuming a more modern and expansive storey-like structure of four floors.

By now, the female population of students had died down considerably, shifting into a more male centric space as all six went into the building, bidding each other farewell as they split in half.

Though Clyde, Benjamin and Larry would be having the same first classes since they were majoring in Music Tech and Audio Engineering, Aiden, Theo and Casper weren’t.

Afterall, all three had got in for Computer Engineering.

And though Casper’s interest lay elsewhere, there hadn’t really been much he could’ve done at the time given his old man had been on the prowl for any deviations for him.

Still, the blonde-haired youth wasn’t particularly bothered. He knew he could always join a couple clubs to further his interests and passion.

Besides, he was pragmatic enough to understand the major he’d gotten in for was lucrative enough to fall back on should everything go kaput down the line, hence why he stuck with it nonetheless.

Just because he and his father didn’t see eye to eye, didn’t mean he’d rule out the vision the man had to a certain extent, not when he could glean something from it.

There was a fine line between being dumb, and being rebellious, and he had his head screwed on just right to not fall into the former category.

It also helped that he could use a whole lot of technical knowledge of the ins and outs of what Aiden and Theo were always jabbering about given they were the developers in their indie team.

If he planned to grow with them, then he had to level up as well. Not enough to know it all, but enough to follow along efficiently.

In any case, the trio soon arrived at the door of their first class, only for them to run into a familiar face.

Thank you for reading!