Hands Up!
Finally, after getting off the plane, I took out the French pocket guide I had bought, hoping I would actually use it someday.
But sometimes, it's better to read the emails sent by the school administration instead of acting like such a tourist.
I realized this three hours later, after arriving at my room for the next year, while still fumbling with my stupid pocket guide.
“Fuck, they already told me how to find my way. At least they don't know what an idiot I am… yet.”
At that moment, the girl who was supposed to be my roommate walked into the room. She paused when she saw me, then closed the door and headed to the bathroom. I thought to myself, "Classic French."
When she came back, her hair pulled back and her makeup removed, she leaned against my desk, watching me.
Her hair shone golden in the evening sunlight spilling into the room. Her eyelashes were short, her lips small… but she was beautiful enough that the sun made her look like a goddess.
"Bonjour," she said.
"Mhmm, Bonjour," I replied. Our eyes met, and she moved away from the desk to sit on her familiar bed.
"Are you from the south too?"
I followed her with my eyes. "From the south? I’m here for Erasmus." She raised her eyebrows in surprise—though not really—and I could feel her watching me.
"I’m from the south."
"Ah, I noticed. It’s obvious."
"Is that so? How?"
"They say southerners are more friendly. You’re the first person to talk to me today, which is a big deal."
A faint smile appeared on her face. I spent the next few hours unpacking my things. My roommate—whose name I hadn’t even asked—had gone to the room with a few other girls who came to pick her up. I was tired after the flight, so I collapsed onto the bed.
When I woke up that morning, the girl wasn’t in room. At first, I thought it was strange, but when I looked at the clock, I realized there were only five minutes left until the first lesson.
Since I have a habit of leaving everything to the last minute, I didn’t arrive at school until the first lesson was already over.
Université de Saint-Michel... I was finally here, at the place I had been waiting to be for weeks.
When you’re a 20 year old girl going to university in another country, you expect everything to be like a teen drama.
But when someone you’ve never met chooses to bump into you in a huge hallway instead of stepping aside, life suddenly returns to its old, faded colors.
The person who bumped into me kept walking without even looking back.
Behind him, I caught a glimpse of a very tall man—broad-shouldered, with brown hair and pale skin.
“Yeah… Pardon! What a difficult word to say,” I muttered, half to myself.
Luckily, people here didn’t seem to care much. Even though I was on the floor with my books scattered everywhere, no one paid attention—except for a few brief glances.
As I gathered my things, I noticed something,something that shouldn't be there. Among my books lay a student card.
I looked at the card. It was clearly the ID of the student who had bumped into me earlier—whose face I hadn’t seen.
"Jean-Charles Laurent, sophomore in Industrial Engineering."
After gathering my things, I started walking slowly down the hallway, still staring at the card. The photo on it was impressive—much better than my passport photo.
“Wow… he’s handsome. But still rude. And a sophomore, huh?”
I put the card in my pocket first. After a while, I quickened my pace. I was looking around for this Jean-Charles who had disappeared into the corridor in front of me.
After climbing the stairs, I turned left and saw him at the end of the corridor. He entered a door on the left with a pack of cigarettes in his hand. The sign above the door read "Balcon."
I finally slowed down a bit and walked down the corridor towards the balcony. Actually, renovations were being done on this floor, so there was no hallway light.
When I approached the balcony door, I heard a scream. It was loud, deep, and startling. I was taken aback at first, then I entered the balcony.
The balcony was large, and when I looked at Jean from behind, I saw the bag I'd seen earlier. At first, I didn't understand where he'd gone, but when I looked down from the balcony, everything became clear.
Down there, the man whose photo I'd just looked at lay motionless.
"Oh my God..."
The students who were in the garden had gathered around him, and when they looked up, all they saw was my face. I was literally frozen there.
As I held my breath and looked down, the others were shouting, calling for an ambulance.
Then a girl appeared behind me. "Stay there and put your hands up. Don't try to escape."
I turned around and looked at her. A few men came running from the balcony door. I was still in shock—it was hard to comprehend what was happening.
"I... I didn't do anything," I stammered.
The men didn’t even listen; they handcuffed me roughly behind my back.
The girl shouted, crying, "Charles... You pushed Charles! Stupide pute!"
"Non! I didn’t do anything. I just… I swear it’s just… He had already fallen when I came to the balcony," I tried to explain, stuttering from fear and the unexpected event.
The man holding me started to pull me roughly toward the balcony door.
"You will tell the police about this. Go. I told you to go!"
No one listened to me. I was taken to the police station by the officers who had been called… I had gotten into terrible trouble on my very first day.
