"This is it huh?" Ken muttered, his bag held over his shoulder.
He looked at the black gates and felt a surge of excitement from within. Ken saw some people walking through the open gates and into the campus even though it was still fairly early in the day.
"Hey! Are you here for orientation?" A chirpy voice called from beside him, getting his attention. But after turning, he saw no one standing next to him.
"What the hell?" Ken murmured, thinking he might be hearing things. Either that or Mika had somehow figured out how to remove her monotonous voice.
"Down here…" The voice sounded annoyed.
"Oh, sorry about that." Ken said, feeling slightly embarrassed. He saw the small figure of a woman who was below his shoulders.
The girl was dressed in trendy attire and looked to be of Korean descent, though Ken wasn't sure. She had long black hair and wore glasses, looking rather cute with her annoyed expression.
"Ahem… As I said before, are you here for the orientation?" She asked once more.
"Yes, sorry I was just taking in the sight." He admitted, apologizing once more for his rudeness.
The girl smiled warmly in response, "Okay great, you'll need to go to the student center: Alfred Lerner Hall, it's this way." She said, beckoning him through the gates.
However Ken stayed in place, "Um, I was told to head to the Dodge Fitness Center." He said, looking a little confused. Either the woman was giving him the wrong information or he was a special case because he had a sports scholarship.
"Oh, are you part of the sports program?" She asked, her eyes evaluating him. "Let me guess… Basketball!"
"Eh? No no, I suck at Basketball." Ken admitted, shaking his head dismissively.
"Okay don't tell me…" The girl thought for a few moments before a look of realization popped onto her face. "Volleyball! Hehe, I'm good at this."
Ken let out a sigh, wondering why he met such a weird person soon after arriving. "I play baseball." He admitted, wanting nothing more than to leave.
"Ohhh, that was my next guess." She assured, nodding her head. "Well anyway, just head in and go West along College Walk and turn right before you hit Amsterdam Avenue. You'll head past a hall before finding a set of stairs, that's where you need to go."
'Eh? Just how big is this campus…' Ken complained inwardly.
Seeing the unsure expression on Ken's face, the woman smiled, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it… The size of the campus I mean. Anyway, see ya round."
"Ah… Thank you." Ken called out as he watched the girl walk away.
He stood still for a few moments, going over the weird interaction. He hadn't even gotten her name, yet she'd helped him a lot.
'Are all college students this helpful?' He thought.
"Oi, how long are you gonna stand in the middle of the pathway for?" A voice called out, causing Ken to turn towards it.
"Hmm? Ah, my bad." Ken said, realizing that he was blocking the way. He walked into the gates, deciding it was time to head to the Dodge Fitness Center.
As he walked away, he could hear the guy talking crap about him, causing him to frown.
'I guess not everyone is as friendly as that girl.' He thought wryly. But Ken didn't mind that much, he certainly wouldn't be getting into a fight the moment he walked into the campus.
Ken walked for around 10 minutes before finally finding the steps that the woman had spoken about. He had made the correct decision to arrive early enough that he had some spare time.
After descending the stairs, he saw a blue banner on the wall.
"Columbia Bobcat's… I guess that's my new team." Ken muttered. He liked the color blue, so he was looking forward to what kind of uniforms and merchandise he could get his hands on.
He headed through the open doors and into the facility.
"Hi, I'm just hear for the orientation." Ken said, speaking to a woman at the entrance.
"Sure, head down the hall and its on your left."
After receiving directions, Ken did as he was told and made his way into the facility, his eyes scanning the place he would be attending for at least the next 3 years.
As he rounded the corner, a glass cabinet filled with trophies and photo frames greeted him, detailing past champions and accolades of the Bobcat's teams. Not only that, the walls were also painted with different athletes from past teams.
All in all, Ken was rather impressed by the look of the facilities, at least the little he'd seen. It wasn't until he continued down the hall that he entered a large area.
His eyes widened as he peered over the railing, seeing a full sized court on the level below him. It looked similar to the indoor volleyball courts, but for now there were badminton nets set up with a few people playing.
Ken looked around the current floor he was on, seeing machine weights and cardiovascular machines such as treadmills and the stair master.
'I didn't realize this place was so big… And there are two more floors I haven't seen yet.' Ken mused inwardly. For now, he decided to head to the meeting room for his orientation before he got lost.
With this purpose in mind, Ken walked down one of the halls, coming to a stop outside one of the rooms.
He peered in, only to see a few people gathered already.
"Hello, I'm here for the orientation." Ken announced, unsure of who he needed to speak to.
An older man with stark white hair turned around before placing his glasses on. He was wearing a dark blue polo shirt and khaki's, but looked rather fit despite his age.
"Ah, Ken! You finally made it." The man said, clearly happy to see him.
"Coach Reynolds, it's nice to see you again." Ken said respectfully, holding his hand out for a handshake.