Chapter 2: Ill Omen?
Two weeks passed, and today was the first day of college. Martin was excited to meet and make new friends. Hampshire College did not have such a big campus but also it wasn't too small. It had all the essential requirements every other college had. His class was on the first floor. He scanned through the faces of all the students in a slight hope to see someone acquainted. Amidst those faces, he saw a familiar face. "It's the girl from the croissant shop," he recalled. The boy caught the girl's eye but she refrained herself from reacting. Martin went to the canteen with his new friends, Karan and Brian.
The college was a bit far from where he lived. It took him half an hour to reach there by any means. "Mom, can I move to the college's hostel?" Martin asked while picking the most clean-looking spoon from the tray, getting ready for lunch at the dining table. "Is it necessary to move there?" Mrs. Fernandez asked in concern. She didn't want her child to be out of her sight even for a week. It worries her and here, her son is talking about moving out. "It takes half an hour to get there, and sometimes even more when there is traffic. That's the reason." His mother held herself back from getting emotional at that moment,"I wished for him to study in college in order to secure his future but I never thought that I had to be separated from him. If I refuse then he will want to stay at home again and then turn lazy," the mother thought. She decided to let him do whatever he wanted.
Martin moved into the hostel the next day. He was living away from his mother for the first time. Lucky enough, the roommate he had to live with was Karan, his friend. "Okay mom, so I'll be living here. Don't worry much, my roommate is actually my friend," he assured his mother. "You are going to live away from me now. Take care of your health." Mrs. Fernandez could not control herself now and a tear rolled down her cheek as she turned towards the door to leave. Martin bid his mom goodbye, feeling a sense of freedom deep inside. All he could think of at that time was GAMES.
He used to go to cafés and stay there till late night, playing games. Unaware of his mother watching him. He rarely opened books.
Time flew and it was the first semester exams. Martin played games the previous night, as a result he didn't sleep and stayed at home. Fortunately, that day he didn't have his exam. He knows that books and study are not his stuff. Sometimes he felt that he is wasting his time.
After the first semester exams were over, many students went to visit their parents during the short break. Martin didn't wanted to be left alone there. His birthday was also in between the break, so he thought of going home and celebrating there.
"Hell no, you are here today!" Demelza said surprised. "Not only for a day or two but for a whole week," Martin said mockingly. He knew his sister was enjoying it while he wasn't there.
His mother knew that his eighteenth birthday wasn't too far. She knew Martin won't be the same anymore after that birthday. His mother asked sarcastically, "how are your studies going?" Martin was shook. It's a question that makes him doubt whether the person sitting beside him is really his mother who knows every bit of him. "I am the same as I was in high school." Martin was processing whether his decision to visit home was a mistake. The mother knew that her child still goes for gaming but she didn't show any hint. She waited for him to admit it himself if it were to happen anytime in future.
Next day Martin woke up with his mother wishing him a Happy Birthday in the morning. So did his younger sister. He checked for his friends' wishes but only the social media bot remembered. They planned to go somewhere out to celebrate in the evening. It was his eighteenth birthday, so it needed to be special. Mrs. Fernandez booked a table at the nearby restaurant. The three went there. The place was glowing brightly and was well decorated with colourful lighting. His mother asked, "didn't you like my choice of the restaurant?" "Of course, I did," Martin replied.
The restaurant hardly had a few customers. There was a couple sitting at the opposite corner and a girl on the next table to theirs. She wore a cap and held her head down so as to not expose her face. She was sitting close enough to be able to hear their conversations. Before Martin could think furthermore, the waiter brought a two layered cake and placed it on their table. He lit the candle and left. Martin closed his eyes and made a wish, then blew the candle while his sister was taking pictures. His mother and sister started singing the birthday song while Martin cut it.
The unknown girl was frequently keeping an eye on them, which was bothering Demelza but she was maintaining her cold notwithstanding to destroy his brother's precious day.
After they came out of the restaurant, his mother excused herself by saying, "wait, let me go to the washroom," followed by Demelza's "me too." Martin found a chair to seat himself. Mrs. Fernandez, on her way to the washroom, glanced and gestured to the cap girl, to which she smirked in response. The younger sister didn't notice their interaction.
She went to that same girl, stood in front of her and asked in a loud voice, "do you have no other business instead of watching somebody else?" Demelza's voice was loud enough to make the couple talking romantically in the corner turn their head. The girl kept sitting and refrained from showing any stimulus. Her expression under the cap showed that she wished for Demelza to shut her mouth and walk away. She wished Demelza knew that whatever she was doing was asked by Mrs. Fernandez herself.
Thankfully, Demelza walked out of the restaurant after speaking one sentence. The cap girl stayed glued to the chair, feeling humiliated. Mrs. Fernandez returned, unaware of what had just happened. "Thanks for accompanying me," she said. The girl stood and bowed her head as a sign of respect to the elder.
By the time the three reached home, it was already eleven o'clock. Demelza was yawning as she rattled the keys to open the door. Mrs. Fernandez came after paying for the cab. She looked at his son with a concerned gaze, to which Martin asked, "what happened?" And his mother replied, "nothing."
Martin went to his room on the first floor. He started feeling his arms heavy. He changed his robe, switched off the light and threw himself on the bed, feeling tired. As he landed on the bed, a strong vibration shook the materials in that room. He heard the vase kept on the table near the bookshelf fell on the floor. He woke up, switched on the light and saw the vase shattered to pieces, along with a few books lying on the ground. "Maybe the neighbours' cat barged in through the window," was his first thought.
When Martin went to get a shower, he turned the knob, and the tap came out on his hands. The tap had broken apart. "What? Since when was it broken? Is it a sign of ill omen," he exclaimed.
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