Chapter Text
Wemmbu’s first mistake was assuming the campus map would make sense.
It didn’t.
He stood at the front gates with the paper trembling slightly in his hands, the corners already bent from how many times he’d folded and unfolded it. The morning air was cold, the kind that made his fingers stiff, but he didn’t dare shove the map into his pocket. It was the only thing he had, the only thing that was supposed to help him survive his first day.
He was a freshman.
A brand‑new transfer.
And he didn’t know a single soul here.
Not a face.
Not a name.
Not even where the cafeteria was.
He adjusted the strap of his bag, pulling it closer to his chest like a shield. His dark purple hair fell into his eyes, still damp from the rushed shower he took after oversleeping. He didn’t fix it. He didn’t fix anything. The messiness made him feel smaller, easier to overlook.
That was the goal.
He walked through the courtyard with tiny, careful steps, trying to blend into the flow of students who all seemed to know exactly where they were going. Groups laughed together, people shouted across the lawn, someone skateboarded past him like it was nothing. Everyone looked like they belonged.
Wemmbu didn’t.
He kept his head down, eyes flicking between the map and the buildings around him. None of them matched. None of them looked like the pictures online. He turned left, then right, then doubled back, pretending he wasn’t panicking.
He didn’t want anyone to notice he was lost.
He didn’t want anyone to notice him at all.
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The office
The main office was louder than he expected
phones ringing, printers whirring, someone arguing about a missing form. He stepped up to the counter and waited, hands folded neatly, posture small.
The receptionist glanced up.
“You’re the new freshman, right? Wemb… Wembi?”
“Wemmbu,” he whispered.
“Rightt…. Here’s your schedule. Have a good day.”
English 101 was supposed to be in Building C, Room 214.
He found Building A.
Then Building E.
Then somehow Building G.
He circled the same fountain twice before realising it.
By the time he found Building C, the hallway was already full of students. He slipped inside the classroom just before the professor started talking.
Every head turned.
Not dramatically… just that natural curiosity people had when someone unfamiliar walked in. Wemmbu kept his gaze down, handed the professor the note, and took the empty seat in the back corner.
He didn’t unpack anything except a pen. He didn’t want to make noise. He didn’t want to be the “new kid.” He listened quietly, taking small notes, keeping his breathing steady.
He didn’t know anyone’s name.
He didn’t want to.
But he felt a few glances from across the room. Quick, subtle, but there.
He ignored them.
Between classes, he got lost again.
He turned down a hallway that led to a different hallway that led to a staircase that led to a dead end. He tried not to look confused, but his map was shaking in his hands.
Eventually, he made it to lunch after all the amount of times he got lost throughout the day.
The cafeteria was overwhelming. too loud, too bright, too full. Wemmbu scanned the room once, not for people, but for escape routes.
He found a spot behind a vending machine, half-hidden by a pillar. Perfect. He sat down, unwrapped his sandwich, and pretended to scroll through his phone.
He didn’t look around.
He didn’t want to.
But someone else did.
By the final bell, Wemmbu was exhausted not physically, but mentally, emotionally, socially. He’d spent the entire day trying to stay invisible, trying not to get lost, trying not to look like he didn’t belong.
(He indeed looked like a lost puppy my sweet sweet wemmbu🤧🤧🤧)
He walked out of the building with the same careful steps he walked in with.
He thought he made it through the day unnoticed.
He thought he stayed invisible.
He thought no one saw him.
He was wrong.
Someone had.
More than one someone.