Touching the Heart of Ace

??Are you sure about this decision???

??Yes.??

??I don??t understand.??

??Neither do I.??

??He said he can??t.??

I nodded. ??Good.??

??But...maybe if you asked him to choose...??

??Either way I will be in hell. If he does not, I will suffer. If he does, I will suffer more.??

??I feel like I am losing you.??

??You will never lose me. You are my brother.??

??Home is one phone call away. I will always be here for you.??

I nodded.

??Mr. Scott, Dr. Hillston will see you, now.??

The perky receptionist announced after I had finished my tea.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

My new life.

Dr. Hillston was a beautiful lady in her forties. She was genuinely to happy to see me. Well, mainly because graduates from M.I.T never bothered to do their masters in this university.

But this was what I needed.

??Mr. Scott we are delighted to have you. We were bit doubtful when you did not show up on the first Configuration day. Thank you for coming today. If you do not mind, why did you choose our university??? Because someone told me that I should not stress about names and faculties of the university while choosing my further studies. He said I should only focus on what I wanted to study. Rest, I could do it on my

own.

And I was running from that person and he would not find me here.

?? Your programmes. Many colleges do not have this subject under their curriculum.??

??Oh.??

She expected more. She wanted me to praise her college for the mediocre performance and under-working faculties.

??Yes, our college is one of the daring ones. Currently only fifteen students have enrolled but with students like you, we are sure the strength will rise by following years.?? She was optimistic. ??There have to be some other reasons to choose us. We would love to hear your expectations.??

No matter how hard she was digging, I was not going to lie.

??Dean promised that he would personally handle my schedules. Unrestricted laboratory and library access, extra credits for tutoring grad-students and residence in faculty area.??

She was not happy but oh, well.

??We are not doing as good as we want to be. Administrative board had decided to bring some considerable changes.??

and we hope you will help us reach our goal.??

I was surprised. I knew about their issues but for her to be truthful was admirable.

??Yes, I have promised the Dean about the tutoring if they do not affect my studies and personal time.??

I was younger than all the students, that would be an issue while teaching the final years.

Dean was adamant that the students would appreciate it, but he was sugar-coating.

??Is there any other reason for you to choose us? We are of course one of the top twenty colleges in US but a kid of your calibre had better choices.??

??No Ma??am, no other reason. Just this course.??‒‒‒‒‒‒