University: A First Time For Everything

Now, at the correct age and time, William began his foray into the world of higher education. Having spent a useful year working in the restaurant and saving up, he was able to afford his very own house as well as paying for university fees from his remaining inheritance money. The university was right there in Taiwan, and what's more, it did exactly the course that had caught his eye.

You see, William was not like other students. He found Maths boring, and Science dull. He didn't see the point in studying music or film, and he was already fluent in his two other languages; he didn't need a degree to tell him that. Instead he applied for a very under-subscribed course, and got in very easily with his excellent grades and spotless record.

He arrived on his first day at the correct lecture theatre, and took a seat in the middle of the room. He didn't want to sit at the back - too far away - or at the front - too nerdy - but the middle was just fine. However, he waited and waited and waited, but no one else showed up. He wondered if arriving fifteen minutes before the lecture was too early. Perhaps he had the wrong room; he checked, but no, it seemed he was in the right place.

He was just about to give up when something at last happened to give him hope: another student walked into the room. He was a good height, with clear eyes and stylish hair, and a long brown-and-grey striped scarf wrapped around his neck. Inexplicably, there was a pencil behind his ear. His shirt was orange. He looked around, quizzically, and since there was no one else, he took the seat next to William.


"Hello." He said.

William was astonished; he looked around for someone else he hadn't noticed or some sort of trick, but on further reflection it seemed the boy really was addressing him. "H... Hello..." He replied, hesitantly.

"You're here for the course, right? Chinese History with Ornithology."

"Yes, that's right." William agreed.

"I'm Chichang. Yilan." The boy said. "So, what's your name?"

"William."

"William? Not very Chinese, is it?"

"Yes, I know." William sighed.

This, believe it or not, was the beginning of a very beautiful and strong friendship. William had never had a friend before, so it was very exciting for him to finally have one. He and Chichang were the only people on the course, and their professor was quite nice, so they spent a lot of time together and had fun every day. They even went shopping together, although William was very careful to check his bag every time he left a shop, just in case he was arrested by Mike Kevinson again. However, these fears seemed to be ungrounded - since he had become friends with Chichang, Mike Kevinson had been nowhere to be seen. William wondered if he was getting in trouble less because Mike Kevinson was not there, or whether Mike Kevinson was not there because he was getting into trouble less. A truly mysterious question.

One day, during a particularly challenging assignment, William buried his head in his hands and let out a long groan, unsure of how he could finish it.


"Hey friend, what's up?" Chichang asked.


"Oh, it's just this work. I'm smart, but this is too hard." William said.


"Just perservere." Chichang said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You know, whenever I come up against something I can't beat, I just keep trying. Maybe I'll need help or maybe I'll have to start again, but I always keep trying until I beat it."


"Really? You've come up against a lot of hard times, then?" William asked.


"Well..." Chichang sighed. "Let me tell you about my life."