Thursday, September 5th, 2024
Freya emerged from her room, ready for the day. She took
out the schedule. “Let’s see, first Music intro lecture at 10:00.” There was
plenty of time to have breakfast and to sketch a western view before heading
out.
Janara woke to find that Olivia was ready to head out, as
she had been the previous two days. “You seem to be an early riser,” she said,
sleepily.
“Usually,” Olivia said as she turned to the door.
“Could you wait?”
“Sure.”
Freya entered the Dining Hall. She saw Dana with several
others at a table near one of the windows. ‘There!’ she decided. She went to
get breakfast.
“Hey,” Freya said as she bounded over.
“What are you doing today?” Dana asked.
“Introduction lectures,” Freya answered.
“You don’t sound enthused.”
“I am happy to start classes.”
“But?” Dana asked.
“Like, It wasn’t always easy, having ADHD and going to
school…”
“So, you think there’ll be problems?
“The University got the information and there will be
accommodations,” Freya said. “But I don’t know how adaptable the lecturers will
be.”
“So, you’re a little anxious about that?”
Freya nodded.
Dana wasn’t sure what to say. Other than… “Well, you’re
here, aren’t you?”
Freya nodded again. “And that is quite reassuring. I
could have ended up at any other University in Aurora. But AAUA has the best
Creative Arts programs.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll do great.”
“At the practical aspects, absolutely. It’s the
theoretical aspects that I might struggle with, especially if it’s presented in
a bland manner. I know that my focus will wander in that case.”
“But I’m sure you’re confident enough to ask for help?”
Dana asked.
‘But I don’t want to have to, if that makes sense.”
“It does.”
“Thanks,” Freya said. “I’m sure that when I get there,
that at least some of the content will be presented in an engaging manner.”
On the other side of campus, Olivia and Janara entered
the dining hall. “So, you have introduction lectures today?” Janara asked.
“Yes,” Olivia answered. “Introduction to the Nordic Era,
covering the situation in Aurora at the beginning of the Ninth Century.”
“Sounds like a good start.”
“And you?”
“Intro to Auroran computer languages,” Janara answered.
“There wouldn’t be that many, right?”
“You’d be surprised. Aurora was one of the pioneers of
computing from the 1950’s onward.”
“Really?” Olivia asked. “That’s something I hadn’t heard
about.”
“It isn’t that widely known. I found it in some obscure
sites and books. But the languages themselves are known.”
“But it makes me wonder what else about Aurora isn’t
widely known.”
Freya headed towards the Music and Art Building along
relatively shaded areas of the elevated walkways. She did want to have her eyes
open during the start of the lecture. She hoped that the lecturer wouldn’t
flick through the slides too quickly, as that would trigger her overwhelm like
nearly nothing else.
She approached the lecture theater and saw that a large
number of other students were waiting. ‘I didn’t think there would be this
many.’ She looked at her tablet and saw that there was still more than five
minutes before it would start. One of the other students came over to her.
“Hi, I’m Alexia.”
“Freya.”
“I see that you’re quite artistic.”
“It runs in the family,” Freya responded. She looked more
closely at Alexia. She seemed to be much more conventional, albeit with subtle
highlights in her long brown hair. ‘But that’s just the surface.’ She knew that
there would be a lot more to her. ‘Like Daniela yesterday.’ She didn’t want to
be hypocritical.
“I’m the first in the family to go to AAUA,” Alexia said.
“They expected it to be for something practical.”
“Art can be practical,” Freya said. “It depends on the
attitude.”
“I suppose so,” Alexia said, with a thoughtful expression
on her face. “But I am studying Architecture as well.”
“That’s certainly practical, but also can be artistic,”
Freya responded.
Alexia nodded. “That is why I chose it.”
The doors were then opened. “Time to go in,” Freya said.
“Welcome to Introduction to Advanced Music Theory. I am
Professor Iona Ingurman, the coordinator for this course.”
As the lecture started, Freya
found that it was engaging and that Ingurman wasn’t going through the slides
too fast.
When the lecture finished,
Ingurman called Freya. ‘Of course,’ she thought. She turned to Alexia. “I’ll
catch you later.”
“Sure,” Alexia said.
Freya went down to the
Professor. “You want to talk?” she asked after the lecture theater had emptied.
“Yes, I wanted to know the
person behind the boring data.”
“I’m certainly a lot more
interesting in person,” Freya said with a slight nervousness that she didn’t
usually display. She sat in the chair next to the desk.
“It says several things.”
“I’m sure it does.”
“That you have ADHD and are a
synaesthete,” Ingurman said.
“That’s right,” Freya said. “I
have difficulty focusing if the material isn’t interesting or engaging.”
“That makes sense. The
university often has many students with ADHD. Anyway, it also says that you
suffer from sensory overload and get visually overwhelmed?”
“Bright or flickering lights or
strong colours can be a problem, but I have adapted.”
“A tendency to keep her eyes
closed as a result,” Ingurman said, with a tone of interest.
“Yes, but when that happens, I
can record stuff and it has helped me improve my listening skills.”
“I’m sure they’re very good.”
At the same time, Olivia arrived
at her lecture and almost panicked when she saw the large number of other
students. ‘I’ll sit at the edge,’ she decided.
“Hi.”
Olivia turned and saw a short
haired girl there. “Olivia,” she said.
“Flavia. I noticed that you
seemed, anxious.”
“I’m an introvert. I don’t like
crowds,” Olivia explained.
“You probably didn’t like
yesterday then.”
“I figured out a way. But when
classes are large, it’s hard to avoid.”
“Well, you could find an
isolated spot in there,” Flavia suggested.
“I was going to.”
The doors then opened.
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