Chapter 39: the first Sunday I

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: the first Sunday I

Sunlight filtered softly through the curtains.

For the first time in nearly a week...

There was no alarm.

No orientation.

No lectures.

No clubs.

No volunteer programme.

Just a quiet Sunday morning.

Vivienne stirred beneath her blanket before slowly opening her eyes.

For a brief moment, she simply lay there, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Then she remembered.

St. Albion’s.

The dormitory.

University.

A small smile found its way onto her face.

She reached over to the bedside table and picked up her silver flip phone.

9:47 a.m.

"...I really slept in."

A small notification blinked on the tiny external screen.

1 New Message

Vivienne flipped the phone open.

Amelia

Are you two awake yet?

A second message followed a few minutes later.

Or are you planning to sleep until lunch?

Vivienne couldn’t help laughing.

Behind her, another groan came from the neighboring bed.

"...Who’s laughing this early?"

Claire’s sleepy voice was barely recognizable.

Vivienne glanced over.

"It’s almost ten."

Silence.

Then Claire abruptly sat upright.

"...It’s what?"

Vivienne turned the phone around to show her the time.

Claire stared.

"...How did that happen?"

"I think we were tired."

Claire let herself fall backward onto the pillow again.

"...I refuse to believe morning moves that fast."

Vivienne laughed.

"I don’t think that’s how time works."

"It should."

Another vibration interrupted them.

Claire reached for her own flip phone.

A familiar ringtone echoed briefly through the room.

She smiled as soon as she saw the caller ID.

"It’s Amelia."

Without hesitation, she answered.

"Good morning."

A loud voice immediately came through the tiny speaker.

"Took you long enough!"

Claire held the phone slightly away from her ear.

"We were asleep."

"I gathered that."

Vivienne could hear Amelia laughing even from across the room.

"So?"

"What’s today’s plan?"

Claire looked toward Vivienne.

Vivienne shrugged.

"I have reading to catch up on."

"So do I," Claire admitted into the phone.

A brief pause.

Then Amelia spoke again.

"Eleanor’s already on campus."

Vivienne blinked.

"Already?"

Claire laughed.

"I knew you’d say that."

"She’s been at the Student Reading Lounge since nine."

"...Of course she has."

Amelia giggled.

"I told her we’d never wake up that early."

Claire shook her head fondly.

"She’s making us all look bad."

"So..."

Amelia continued.

"Why don’t we study together?"

Vivienne looked toward Claire.

Claire looked back before nodding.

"...Honestly?"

"I was about to suggest the same thing."

"Perfect."

"I’ll give you two an hour."

"Meet us there?"

"We’ll be there," Claire promised.

The call ended.

Claire closed her phone with a soft click before looking toward the shared bathroom.

She sighed dramatically.

"One bathroom."

Vivienne laughed.

"And one hour."

"I suppose that’s just enough."

—

An hour later...

The two stepped out into the cool Sunday morning.

Compared with the bustle of weekdays, St. Albion’s campus felt almost peaceful.

A few students wandered between buildings carrying books beneath one arm.

Others sat beneath the shade of old oak trees reading quietly.

The crisp morning air carried the distant sound of church bells from somewhere beyond the university walls.

Claire breathed in deeply.

"...This is nice."

Vivienne nodded.

"It feels completely different today."

"It almost doesn’t feel like the same campus."

Together they made their way toward the Student Reading Lounge.

Unlike the silent university library, the lounge had been designed for discussion and group study.

Large wooden tables filled the room.

Tall windows overlooked the central gardens.

Students quietly reviewed notes over cups of coffee while small study groups discussed assignments in low voices.

It felt calm.

Comfortable.

Lived in.

Near one of the windows, Eleanor was already seated with several books neatly arranged before her.

A highlighter rested beside an open notebook filled with remarkably tidy handwriting.

She looked up as the two approached.

"Good morning."

Claire laughed.

"You’ve been here a while."

"Since nine."

Vivienne instinctively glanced toward the large clock hanging near the entrance.

11:03 a.m.

She blinked.

"You’ve been here for over two hours?"

Eleanor nodded as though it were perfectly ordinary.

"I lost track of time."

Claire placed a dramatic hand over her heart.

"You really are making the rest of us look bad."

Before Eleanor could answer, another familiar voice interrupted.

"I brought supplies."

The three turned.

Amelia walked over balancing a cardboard drink carrier in one hand and a paper bag from a nearby bakery in the other.

"I figured none of us had a proper breakfast."

Claire immediately accepted one of the coffees.

"I take back every bad thing I’ve ever said about you."

"You’ve never said anything bad."

"Exactly."

Everyone laughed.

Amelia placed the paper bag in the middle of the table.

"I wasn’t sure what everyone liked."

"So..."

"I bought a little of everything."

Croissants.

Cheese bread.

Cinnamon rolls.

Within moments, the pastries had disappeared into appreciative hands.

Claire smiled contentedly.

"I think I like Sunday."

"So do I," Vivienne admitted.

Once everyone had eaten, books, notebooks, loose sheets of lecture notes, and pencil cases gradually spread across the table until barely any space remained.

For the next few hours, conversation naturally faded into quiet concentration.

Every so often, someone asked a question.

Eleanor patiently explained a difficult concept.

Claire occasionally groaned whenever another Chapter of reading appeared.

Amelia dramatically declared every third page "illegal."

Vivienne...

Read everything twice.

The material itself wasn’t impossible.

If anything...

She understood it.

But the pace was.

Lecture notes referenced Chapters she hadn’t finished.

Reading lists stretched over multiple pages.

The professors assumed everyone could absorb information remarkably quickly.

Vivienne quietly turned another page.

So this is St. Albion’s.

She had expected one of the country’s finest universities to be demanding.

Actually experiencing it...

Was something else entirely.

Across from her, Eleanor looked up.

"Everything all right?"

Vivienne smiled.

"It is."

"I was just thinking."

"About?"

"...That I may have underestimated this university."

Claire laughed.

"I think all of us did."

Amelia nodded immediately.

"I thought foundation year would be easier."

"It isn’t."

Eleanor smiled sympathetically.

"The first few weeks are usually the hardest."

"You’ll adjust."

Vivienne nodded.

"...I will."

She meant it.

Seven years.

It had been seven years since she’d last sat in a classroom in her previous life.

No wonder she felt rusty.

But...

She wasn’t discouraged.

If everyone else could keep up...

Then so could she.

She simply needed to work harder.

Claire finally closed her textbook with a dramatic sigh.

"My brain officially needs a break."

Amelia didn’t even look up.

"I’ve been waiting for someone to say that."

Eleanor glanced at the clock.

"...It’s almost two."

The table fell silent.

Claire blinked.

"...It’s almost two?"

Vivienne looked up from her notes.

"...We studied for nearly three hours."

Amelia slowly closed her notebook.

"I don’t know about the rest of you..."

"...but I’m starving."

Claire immediately stood.

"I vote we have a very late lunch."

Eleanor smiled as she packed away her books.

"I don’t think anyone’s going to disagree."

Vivienne closed her notebook with a small smile.

"...I think that’s the best idea we’ve had all day."