Chapter 4: New Chapter

Shane and Andrew left the arcade and made their way home. The only thing they had to worry about from then onward, was if they got accepted into the university of their choices.

Shane knew that he had to succeed no matter what. His family depended on him, even though they would never admit it.

He jumped straight into bed that evening and went to sleep.

The next few days passed by pretty uneventfully. That was until the day they got their acceptance letters to their universities.

Andrew was the first one who got his. He was accepted for the biomedical engineering course at Cornell University. That was his dream and he could finally make it a reality.

Shane was ecstatic when Andrew told him all that over the phone. Just as he was about to hang up, his mother called him.

Shane said goodbye to Andrew and went to check his own results. His mother came to tell him that there was mail for him. The first one he opened was also an acceptance letter to Cornell University to study Engineering Physics. He smiled softly as he opened the other letter.

To his surprise, he also got accepted at Sommerset University, the same university that Maddie was going to attend. Shane couldn’t believe his luck. He let out a cry of excitement and gave his parents his two acceptance letters. His mother had tears in her eyes, and his father who had a walking stick in his hand smiled very proudly at his son. He never doubted his abilities once.

“Have you decided which university you’re going to attend?” Sheridan asked of her son. There was a determination in Shane’s eyes as he looked as his mother and responded.

“It was always going to be Sommerset. I made up my mind about it.”

His parents nodded. Shane quickly said goodbye to the two of them and jumped into the Honda to drive over to Andrew’s place. As he was driving, he realised in what kind of dilemma he found himself in. Andrew probably were under the impression that it was a given that he was going to Cornell, since Shane kept it a secret that he also applied to Sommerset. He felt like he was betraying his friend’s trust.

Shane pulled up in front of the huge Bennett residence. He pushed the hooter once or twice and then Andrew’s face appeared. The boy came rushing out as he jumped into the passenger seat. The two of them drove down to the lake in silence. Shane knew that he had to come clean. After all, that was a plan, five years in the making. He was not going to let go of Maddie.

“Let me guess, by the way you’re frowning, something lies heavily on your heart, right?” Andrew asked. Shane nodded. He was never good with hiding anything. No matter how small.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would have said it had something to do with a certain blonde,” Andrew teased him. Shane’s eyes grew wider. How was Andrew doing that. When Andrew saw he hit the nail on the head, he was sure what Shane was going to say next.

“I got accepted by both the universities of Cornell and Sommerset. However, I’m in a pinch since I really want to go to Sommerset. I also feel like if I did choose to go there, it would feel like I’m betraying your trust. After all, the goal was to go to Cornell, take over the college and become stinking rich,” Shane said with a heavy heart. Andrew remembered that promise all too well.

Shane would always tell him that once he was done with college life, he would be twice as rich as Andrew. Andrew made it clear to always remind him that it wouldn’t happen, even in another lifetime.

“I found out that Maddie applied to Sommerset and Rotherford University, so I also applied there. I can’t let go of her just yet,” Shane continued. Andrew had a distant look in his eye.

“Please don’t tell me that bull crap about ‘nobody can come between a man and his love’ again,” Andrew responded. He knew just how much Shane was in love with Maddie, but he wanted him to take the decision for him and not for a girl. After all, it was his own future that he was talking about.

"Have you come to a decision about where your next chapter starts from now on?" Andrew asked as he carefully looked at the expression on Shane's face. With an unwavering look in his eye Shane responded that he was going to Sommerset. He made up his mind about it and no one was going to change it.

"Well, let's hope you get the girl, after all," Andrew said to him with a sad look in his eye. He always knew that they were going to have to go their separate ways, and he knew just how much Shane loved Maddie. Although, he told Shane countless times that Maddie wasn't interested, Shane was determined to prove him wrong. Andrew felt it was true what people usually say about how you cannot reason with someone who was in love.

"There is less than a month left before orientation starts. I just guess we have to make the most of the time we have right now," Andrew said as he undressed and jumped into the lake with only his shorts on. Shane felt as if a mountain has been lifted from his shoulders. He was so glad that his friend understood.

The two of them swam around for quite a while, until the darkness fell. Just as they were about to go home, they heard a girl's voice scream from within the shadows. It sounded as if it came from the group of trees which stood on the other side of the lake. Without any hesitation, Shane jumped in the water. Andrew shouted that Shane should rush and he would bring the car around. In less than a minute, Shane crossed the 200 metres which stretched from one side of the lake, to the other side.

He quickly jumped out of the water, only wearing his swimming trunks and to his surprise, he saw a group of five men surrounding one girl. Shane didn't waste any time and immediately jumped at the tallest guy who was closest to the girl. The tall man didn't have any time to react. It was only when he landed with his back on the ground, that he realised someone attacked him. The four other men were clueless as to what happened, but when they saw that their leader were on the ground, all of them were on edge. Just then, they saw a naked boy putting his hands around the shoulder of the girl that they were attacking.

Since it was dark, the girl couldn't make out the face of the man who just protected her, but deep in her heart she was very grateful. Shane ran with her as quickly as he could, since he didn't see the merit in attacking the other four men as well. He had one mission: to save the girl and get away with her while she was unscathed.

At that moment, the Honda pulled up next to them, and Shane pulled the girl into the car. The girl was terrified at first, because even though Shane saved her, who's to say he wasn't a kidnapper? When she saw Andrew's face in the driver's seat, she let out a sigh of relief. She knew the boy and she knew that there was no way he would ever be a kidnapper.

The three of them drove off and Andrew only stopped once he reached the library. Since the library was across the police station, he felt that the girl would be safe there. The three of them were quiet for the whole trip until they arrived there.

"Thank you so much for saving me, uhm..." the girl said as she tried to remember Shane's name. She knew the face since they were in the same class, but she just couldn't remember what his name was.

"It is Shane. And it is a pleasure, Melissa," Shane responded. The girl had short hair and she wore glasses. She had an aloof expression which contrasted the fear she showed earlier.

Melissa was in the same class as Shane and Andrew, and she was the girl who scored first in their class. In the whole grade she was only second behind Maddison. It was by no means a lie to say that she was very academically gifted.

"Thank you too, Andrew. I don't know what I would have done if you guys didn't come over to save me. I might have been swimming with the fishes right now," she said. Just thinking about that, she felt a cold shiver running down her spine.

"It was nothing at all. How could we just leave such a damsel in distress to fend for herself?" Andrew said. He then pointed a finger to Shane and said: "I just guess you have to thank your hero."

At that moment, Shane took his shirt from the passenger seat and started to put it on. Melissa looked over in his direction and she could see his muscles. It was as if Shane was a completely different person when he was naked. Melissa never noticed all the muscles he had. She also never saw how handsome his face looked and how dreamy his eyes were.

Since Shane wore glasses and he always bought clothes which were one size too big for him, very few people knew just how handsome he actually was. They always thought that he simply had an average appearance and that his clothes fit him just right. That's why his mucles were always hidden and his Superman face, hidden behind his Clark Kent disguise.

Andrew cleaned his throat when he saw Melissa was looking for a minute too long at Shane. He was glad to see that someone got to notice what Shane was hiding, and deep in his heart he wished that Shane would at least give her a moment's thought, but he knew how Shane was around other girls who wasn't Maddie.

“Thank you very much, Shane. Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel towards you,” she said as she was slightly blushing. Shane finished putting on his shirt and smiled at her while responding that it wasn’t a problem at all. Anyone would have done what he did if they were in his shoes.

The two boys said goodbye to her and Shane dropped of Andrew at his house.

The next few days flew past and finally it was time for orientation. Shane said goodbye to Andrew since Andrew went to a university that was 2000 kilometres from home towards the east.

Shane, however migrated 1500 kilometres westward to Sommerset University which was located in the beautiful state of California.

Since he had his driver’s license, Shane thought it would be less hassle for him at university if he drove with his car. The journey took him a little more than two days, which wasn’t as long, since Shane saw it as him going on an expedition. That was the first time Shane ever travelled so far, especially on his own.

He spend the two nights at motels along the way. On the third day, he arrived in the beautiful city of Los Angeles.

The coastal city was a sight to behold. Shane knew that if he ever got time, he would leisurely explore it, but he had business to take care of first. He had to make sure he arrived on time at his dorm, and get settled. Tomorrow was the day of orientation and he couldn’t miss it for the world.

Shane arrived at his dormitory and got settled for the night. He heard that he was supposed to share his room with another student, however the student hadn’t arrived just yet. That night, Shane slept like a baby.