The sounds of chair legs being dragged on the floor, cutlery against plates and bowls, various conversations filled the chaotic atmosphere of the cafeteria of the campus of Business Administration. It was past noon and the big refectory was already crowded. All the places were almost taken. The students elbowed their way through to pass between the rows of tables, to get their tray, to get out of the room or just sit down.

Having finished their last class of the morning early, Oahn and his friends had come to eat their lunch before noon. The meal soon finished, they rested a little before starting again their long day of classes. Zoning out, Oahn was brought back into reality by the loud voice of one of his friends. Laying his gaze on him, he sat up straight on his chair.

"Honestly, why did the Human Relations classes become a main course? Five years ago, they were only optional," his friend with the loud voice said, exasperated, as he sat down on his chair.

"Moreover, what will this course bring to our careers? Aren't there people we employ just for that?" Another friend of his added.

"Also, we are heirs, do we really need to study? Whether or not we follow the courses, in the end we will have the company in our hands, right?" Someone to his right said.

«If only life was that simple...», Oahn thought. Yes, they were heirs. Yes, in a way, the family business, often ran by their father, became their inheritance long before their parent's death. But did that justify that they didn't have the obligation to study or not to take courses of which they will never practice the profession? No. At least, that's what Oahn thought. Oahn knew that this heritage looked like gold to other people eyes, but in his eyes, it was water. It was put into his hands from birth and it was up to him to preserve it, being careful that it never falls from his cupped hands. Unfortunately, like all the heirs of the country, only the power of money was important. They only saw that and lived at its expense. They never looked for the after or if the cliff would collapse. Unlike them, Oahn knew that this inheritance was not definitive.

"Why does it matter to you? Main course or not, who said you had to go there or be attentive?" Oahn cut the conversation in a calm voice.

The voices fell silent and the eyes of his friends fixed upon him, discountenanced. A bad rictus was formed in the corner of his mouth, that's what he thought: they were only good at complaining but could never do any action.

Oahn got up from his chair, took his things, went to the kitchens and put down his tray. After drinking a glass of water, he left the refectory.

Outside, the good weather had given way to the clouds for a few days now. The cool wind mingled with his hair and made his skin shudder. Oahn zipped up his thin jacket and also put on the hood. With his head down, he watched his feet take him to the campus of the Human Sciences.

Halfway through, his friends had joined him. Playful voices gave way to complaints. Oahn withdrew into silence again.

Since high school, Oahn hadn't had real friends. Never again had he felt an unspeakable loyalty to anyone. Never had he felt such strong feelings that he qualified the four boys who were walking by his side as full members of his private circle. Of course he spent his days and most of his weekends with them, but they knew him as well as a distant cousin. Oahn had so many secrets and stories that he couldn't tell them. Not in his world. So he was close to them because in their company he felt normal. Not in his place or accepted. Just normal.

Ten minutes later, they arrived in front of the main building of the campus of the Human Sciences. They went inside as a group of royal people. In a way, they were. In the eyes of modest people or scholarship students, they were Princes. In the eyes of royalty, only Oahn and some other university students were Kings and Queens. In this group of five, only Oahn was really part of the royalties of the country. At least he was a member of one of the richest families in the country. Families that were part of the castle above the heavens. In a few words: he was untouchable.

With a superior look on their face, the five friends headed for the wall decorated with posters and the notice board. Oahn stood in front of it and ran through the letters. He read a large part of them before his eyes fix on the white letter. He read it carefully and several times. The more he read it, the scarcer the air in his lungs. And bigger was the ball in his belly. He had never read such words. They were deep and true. Oahn had the impression that someone had transcribed his thoughts on this piece of paper. And that thought alone made him sick, because he realized how much everyone was lying and how much he was lying to himself, wearing a mask every day that nobody could see. It made him sick, because in the end the harsh reality was that he was more alone than ever.

"Seriously, where do they think they are? Are these people as sick as the classes they're taking?" A friend of Oahn made fun of the things in front of them, which quickly made Oahn return to the reality of the moment.

"So boring...," another boy said.

"They are pitiful," someone else said bitterly.

The remarks of his friends made his blood run cold. How could he think of removing his mask when he heard every day this kind of words? How could he walk in the street being himself, without an armor, if mouths could speak like that? How to be yourself when anyone criticized the only small action you did?

"Oahn, you're coming?" One of the boys in the distance asked him, already heading for the amphitheaters.

Oahn consented and joined his group of friends, leaving behind the secret of his existence hanging on the board.

At each end of the day, that was what he waited the most: the last ring. No matter how the weather looked like outside, his legs were always working faster than his conscience. The last ring sounded like a deliverance to his ears. He liked what he was learning in class. He liked the subjects his teachers taught them. He liked that his brain was boiling and still had this crazy desire to learn more. But even if he liked what he was doing, it would never replace the sensation that came over his body once the announcement of the end of the last class had been said. He rushed out, like a child who had been told that the first snowflakes of the year were falling or that it was finally the summer vacation time. His heart filled with such craziness. Outside those four walls, he could finally breathe. That was what he waited all day long: to stop holding his breath.

Oahn and his friends quickly left the amphitheater and ended up again in the hall of the main building. Slightly behind his friends, Oahn watched them go outward. As his steps approached the glass doors, they slowed down their pace. Oahn wanted to reread this letter one last time before it disappeared forever. He wanted one last time not to feel alone in this world anymore. He wanted one last time to feel close to the person who had written down these words, silently conveying to them that they weren't the only one to feel such a sensation. Just one last time; but his friends prevented him from doing such action. Their thoughts haunted Oahn's mind.

"Oahn, what are you doing? Hurry up!" The boy with the loud voice said loudly.

Oahn vaguely replied that he was coming, then he did something totally stupid and reckless: he went quickly to the board, picked up the white letter, folded it and put it carefully in his bag. Once that was done, he joined his friends, smiling as if nothing had happened.

"You took awhile!" One of the boys complained. "What were you doing?"

"One of my shoelaces was undone," Oahn lied.

The boy nodded and they left without asking any more questions to their friend.

And it was at the moment when Oahn had regained control of his life, leaving only a red drawing pin in the middle of this notice board, that two fates had just been binding forever.