By the time I arrived at Valdora, it was already late at night. The northern air in September carried a chill.As I dragged my suitcase out of the station, I looked at the brightly lit, unfamiliar streets. I didn't feel panic. Instead, I felt a strange sense of calm.I still had some time before the freshman registration, so I found a cheap hostel near the campus. It was an eight-person dorm with bunk beds, costing five dollars a night.The others in the room were all students from different places—some preparing for graduate exams, others looking for jobs. In the evenings, we'd share local snacks and talk about our dreams."Are you here for college?" The guy sleeping on the bunk across from me, Gabriel Grant from Eldridge, asked. He was preparing for the civil service exam."Valmore College, huh? That's impressive."I smiled but didn't say much more.That night, I slept soundly.Without Mom's nagging, Wilson's pity act, and Melanie telling me to stop making a scene, it was so
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