Nadir: Strictly Dormitory

H21172 - Finally, after hours of orientation, I was given my own room, my own privacy. Actually it was a twin sharing room, meaning that I would have a roommate. Apart of me was excited to meet a new friend, since I didn't have any besides Mark. Who knew we might be bosom friends. However, another half of me was rejecting her already. What if she got into my way? Well, I could easily destroy her, said my nasty thought. Yes, that's exactly what I would do if she became such a troublesome.

I unpacked all of my things and started to arrange them in the locker provided when I heard footstep approached closer and closer. I listened very carefully where it headed to. With the training I'd been through, I could easily tell it was heading towards my room. And my judgement was 100% accurate, the sound of footstep stopped right in front of my door. I watched closely as the door knob was twisted, waiting patiently for whoever might enter.

A girl, about my age, with a serene look appeared from the opened door. "Hello!" She greeted me with her friendly appeal.

"Hi," I replied, short and neutral.

"I'm Natalie Cork, you can call me Nat," she introduced herself. She paused for a while and scanned through me. "Oh my gosh! You are so gorgeous. I wish I could have your pretty look and beautiful auburn hair," she said, full of admiration.

Her praise stunned me for a few seconds. Nobody ever expressed such a pleasant comment to me, and this was so least expected from a stranger whom I met for less than a second. Crypticvilleans were really weirdos, something that I can conclude after being here for three-quarter of the day.

"Did I say something that I shouldn't?" she asked, upon my silence.

"No, of course you didn't," I looked at her and continued, "I'm Izabelle, and you can call me Izzy." I tried to be friendly as well.

"Oh, Izabelle, what a divine name. I could say I've already envied you." There she went again with her obsession towards me. "You know what, I think we can be great friends."

I nodded. Or it could be worse. I worked back on my things, before I became more annoyed by her complimentary attitude. But Natalie was just being Natalie, she didn't even know when to stop. She continued with her story, then switched to Crypticville, followed by the success of Wentworths, and it went on and on. And I did what I did best - simply ignoring her tale.

-to be continued-

Nadir: The Legendary Wentworth

“Welcome to the Fortress of Crypticville, the center of knowledge for the greater good,” greeted Prof. Alan Wentworth in his welcoming speech, the Principal, and also the Caretaker of the fortress. In his mid-50’s, he looked very confident and proud in his black tuxedo.

The Wentworths were the one responsible for building the fortress. Starting with Lord Wentworth back in 1909, it was built to protect the village from the civil wars. Since then, the responsibility of taking care the fortress was passed down from one generation to another.

The role of the fortress had evolved from an excellence citadel to a peace-loving center of education. Those who became the Caretaker were highly respected and gained nobility from its people. No wonder there was a trial of coup d’etat couple of decades ago when Prof. Wentworth was first appointed as the new Caretaker, planned by his first cousin, Murray Wentworth. It was all about power. The feud lasted for years, and both families suffered a great lost. Prof. Wentworth lost his newborn daughter during the final battle, and as a result Murray Wentworth was banished from Crypticville forever. No one knew where he was since then.

“Not a Crypticvillean, are you?” the sound of a male voice asking, surprised me. I didn’t expect to be acquainted with anybody at this very moment, at least not yet.

I turned my head, searching for the source of the voice. To my surprise, a tall, dark and handsome guy with a gay smile was standing on the left side of me. "Huh?" was the only response I could give.

"Sitting at the back here all alone, definitely not a Crypticvillean," he said, still smiling. "Do you mind if I sit there?" He pointed to an empty seat next to me.

"Yeah, sure," I replied.

He lowered his bag hanged on his right shoulder, sat on the empty seat, and put the bag on his lap. "So, where are you from?" he asked, tried to be friendly.

"Drexs," I answered, short and firm.

"Drexs?" I could sense an astounding tone in his voice. "So tell me what brings a highly civilized Drexsan into a small village like Crypticville?" He asked for clarification.

"Looking for a new and fresh air," I said, halfly smiled, and quickly changed the subject "so what does a Crypticvillean do sitting at the back here?"

He burst out laughing. "You caught me," he said, and continued smiling. "I'm Adam, Adam Wentworth Pyer" He finally introduced himself. Wentworth Pyer? I gave him an astonishment strange look. "I'm half Wentworth," he explained, as if he understood my puzzled look.

"Half Wentworth I see," I nodded, and glanced at him. I could notice a dimple on his left cheek, which added to the sweetness of his face. "It must be your mother." I tried to guess.

"Exactly," he said, and smiled. This guy must be loved smiling, I thought. "She was so proud of it, and insisted on using it as my middle name."

"Was?" I asked, half surprised.

"My parents died when I was 4." There was a short hiatus before he continued, "you see, Prof. Wentworth is my distant relative. But after the tragedy, he brought me in into the family. So I guess now I'm fully Wentworth."

Interesting, he could be the key for me to start the hazard. I looked at him. "I just met you for a few seconds, and you've already told me this?"

He smiled again. "That's one good thing about Crypticvilleans. We trust people." Or it could be your greatest weakness. I gave myself a triumphant smirk. "Sorry, I still didn't catch your name?" he asked.

"Izabelle d'Conway," I replied, and flashing him the best smile I could give. Seemed like the first victory was already on my side, and many more to come. This was just the beginning...

-to be continued-