Night fell over the large NIST campus in New York State. Located in a remote area near the city of Woodbury, the campus was a center of excellence in science and technology, where cutting-edge research was conducted in a variety of fields, from quantum physics to biotechnology, only last month it also began to be used to train the state's next generation of geniuses.
The sky was starry and a gentle breeze blew between the modern and imposing buildings, which housed various kinds of establishments, from laboratories, offices, libraries, and classrooms, to clothing stores, movies, supermarkets, and karaoke bars.
Artificial lights illuminated the sidewalks and the street that connected the urban area to the student area, and this path was lined with green areas where trees, flowers, and benches could be seen. The silence was almost absolute on this stretch, except for the occasional noise of a staff car or a nocturnal animal. As it was Sunday night, the campus seemed asleep, but some were still awake.
As Klaus walked through this place, with his hands in his pockets because it was a bit cold, he saw in the distance a laboratory building and through the windows of this building it was possible to see that some dedicated students were still in the laboratories, which impressed him. They wore white lab coats, gloves, and masks, and seemed to handle sophisticated equipment, such as microscopes, spectrometers, and lasers. Well, this dedication was not to be impressed, after all they were involved in projects that could change the world in the future, or at least contribute to the advancement of knowledge.
"Um. Sometimes I forget that this is a program for geniuses," Klaus said with a simple smile on his face.
So it wasn't hard to imagine that other dedicated students were still in the libraries, studying for exams or doing their assignments. They were probably consulting books, magazines, articles and websites to make their notes, summaries, schemes and presentations. And they were definitely more prepared to face academic challenges than Klaus, who spent most of his time in Rise Online, except that maybe this was where he was a genius, who could say?
Finally, most of the students were surely already in the dormitories, relaxing or having fun. Klaus had learned that in some of the dorms the students had gathered on Friday in their pajamas and watched movies and TV series, as well as played video games and listened to music while eating popcorn, pizza and chocolate. Without a doubt, this was a great way to meet people, as well as bond for the coming months. They were enjoying some of this 'college' life or at least trying to relieve the stress.
The girls' dormitory 1-A was one of the liveliest on campus. It was a four-story building with a brick facade and large windows. Each room had two beds, two desks, two closets, and a shared bathroom. There was also a communal kitchen, a laundry room, a living room, and a gym on the first floor. This was a cozy place, and there was a rumor that the order of the dormitories on campus was equivalent to the importance, grades, and talent of their residents.
Therefore, when approaching this dormitory, Klaus already felt a little intimidated.
The yellowish lights in some of the rooms were still on, so there were still some girls awake, and he could hear a mixture of laughter and voices coming from inside the dorm.
Luckily, Klaus didn't get close enough to the dorm to be seen by any of the girls who were still awake. So he just stood under a pole, waiting for her to come to him as he said he would.
Meanwhile, in her room, Ashley was getting ready to leave when her roommate, and friend, came out of the shower with a white towel wrapped around her body. Her roommate's name was Helen, a black-haired, brown-eyed girl who had strangely taken a liking to Andrew the day of the karaoke. Ashley didn't want to tell anyone about such a sudden encounter with Klaus, she preferred to keep to most people's respectful view of her, so she was trying to leave the dorm without being seen by anyone.
The two girls' room was cozy, with two single beds on opposite sides of the room, a shared closet, and two desks. The walls were decorated with pictures, posters, and notes from friends and family.
"Where are you going at this hour, Ashley?" Helen said, looking at her friend with narrowed eyes and crossed arms.
"I'm going for a run," Ashley stated, and indeed she was in a sportier outfit, with a top, a blouse tied around her waist, shorts and running shoes. In addition, Ashley even had a ponytail.
"At this time of night? I thought you would go to bed early because you have several optional subjects tomorrow." Helen said as she grabbed the hair dryer from a drawer in her desk.
"Yes, but I don't think I will be able to sleep if I don't expend some energy." Ashley stated as she walked to the bedroom door.
"Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you acting weird today, Ashley?" said Helen, looking at her with a wary little smile.
"Oh, it's nothing," replied Ashley, trying to sound natural. "I'm just in a bit of a hurry." said Ashley, looking for an excuse so that Helen wouldn't be so schismatic.
"Okay, but be careful. And don't take too long, it must be really cold out there." said Helen, still skeptical.
"Okay, see you in a bit!"
Ashley left the room and took a deep breath, feeling relieved that she had managed to leave without arousing suspicion, at least that's what she imagined.
...
Edited by: DrHitsuji
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