The next two days, both Steve and Ken got acquainted with the campus. Since they'd already received their schedules, Ken made sure that he knew which buildings held his lectures so he wouldn't be frantically running around.
Being on an athletic scholarship, he needed to make sure that his grades were also up to scratch, otherwise he could lose it. There was also the baseball practices he needed to attend every week day.
Ken and Steve both had chosen Economics as a major, but their electives were different. While Ken chose a couple of sports related electives like "Introduction to Sports Coaching" and "Sports Science and Performance", Steve surprisingly picked art.
Unbenknownst to Ken until this moment, Steve had some talent in painting, something he would have never expected.
Soon enough, the very first day of their college life began. The two made their way over to Schermerhorn Hall, a name that even after hearing many times was difficult to pronounce.
Due to Ken's obsession with being punctual, the two were one of the first to arrive at the classroom. As they walked in, two sections of gray chairs spread out before them in an arc.
In the direction the chairs were facing was a desk, and a large projector screen that was set up in front of the blackboard. To two kids right out of High School, this set up was very foreign, if not a little intimidating.
"Where should we sit?" Steve asked, his anxiety rather evident.
"Somewhere in the middle?"
Ken didn't want to sit in the front row and get called out by the professor on the very first day, therefore it seemed safest to sit out of the general vicinity of the professor.
Around 20 minutes later, the room had filled up considerably, almost reaching capacity. It was said that the first day of class was usually when the most people would be attending at any one time. Some would even disappear almost entirely as the semester progressed, only arriving when it was required.
"Alright, welcome everyone." The figure of an older man walked into the room, making his way to the computer behind his desk. He briefly glanced at the students before pressing a few keys on the keyboard.
He frowned for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Damn technology… Why does it always do this to me." He cursed under his breath.
"Ahem. Welcome to your very first lecture at the prestigious Columbia University. My name is Professor Cohen and it is my duty to teach you…" He stalled for a moment before rifling through some paperwork on the desk.
"Microeconomics!" He eventually said, flourish his hands.
"You there, can you tell me what the definition of microeconomics is?" the professor asked, pointing to girl in the front row.
Ken let out a sigh of relief, happy with his decision to sit in the middle rows.
"Sir, microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies how individuals and businesses make decisions about allocating resources, and how they interact with each other." The girl said promptly.
"Bingo. It seems you know your stuff. Can anyone give an example of microeconomics?" He asked, raising his head. Some of the students in the class raised their hands, but both Ken and Steve remained still.
"You there, tall guy." Professor Cohen said, a small smile pulling up the corner of his lips. His hand was pointed at Ken who had been minding his own business.
'What the hell? I didn't even have my hands up.' Ken thought, feeling aggrieved.
"If a business implements something like a budget, or cuts costs to maximize profit, this is an example of microeconomics." Although Ken didn't have a great knowledge of the subject matter, he at least knew the introduction.
The professor's smile subsided briefly before nodding. "Excellent. It seems you read the pamphlet." He said, eliciting a laugh from the other students.
'This bastard…' Ken was utterly confused. He had answered the question correctly, yet the guy had said some backhanded response in order to ridicule him.
Even Steve was staring blankly in confusion after witnessing what had happened.
Thankfully, the professor left him alone the rest of the lecture, though it was unclear why he had singled him out in the first place. They left the room after an hour and a half and headed towards the next lecture.
"What was that guy's problem?" Steve asked, still hung up on the exchange earlier.
Ken shrugged, "Maybe he just has something against student-athletes?"
Since he hadn't met the guy before, this was the only thing that Ken could think of. Many people on athletic scholarships were not great at studying and often made the lives of professor's difficult.
However, it still felt rather annoying to be stereotyped from the beginning.
"Maybe he'll change his tune after he realizes you're actually smart." Steve consoled, patting his friend on the back.
Ken let out a small sigh, but decided to move on. He just hoped that the guy wouldn't personally try and make things difficult for him in the future.
"Let's go, we've got mathematics next." Ken said, dropping the conversation.
"Oh yay, I can't wait." Steve replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.
By the time the two finished their mathematics and finance lectures, it was already 2:30pm. Even though it was only around 4.5 hours of lectures, they were both mentally drained.
"We've got an hour till practice, let's grab a bite to eat on the way to the dorms."
The two went past a black food truck. There was only a small line, so they decided to go there.
"Rice!?" Ken was surprised upon seeing the butter chicken and rice on offer, instantly feeling his stomach growl in anticipation. He hadn't expected there to be a place like this on campus.
The food was delicious, and Ken finished his entire serving in under a couple of minutes, letting out a satisfied sigh. If he didn't have practice soon, he would have gotten another serving.