Page 1 of Kane
Chapter 1
William
I’ve definitely forgotten something.
Something important.
But what…
I shake my head in frustration as I swivel and pivot through the throng of pedestrians on the city street. My backpack feels heavy and my little briefcase is kinda heavy in my hand too. But despite the fact that both things are full to almost bursting, the nagging thought that I have forgotten something back at my apartment just won’t leave me.
“Ah-hem!An excuse me wouldn’t go amiss!” a snooty lady says as I swerve around her.
“Excuse me!” I call back, not even turning around and I continue my hustle along the busy street.
I’m still a couple of blocks away from the Uppington Building, a place I need to get my butt to in less than ten minutes if I want to get myself a good seat in the lecture theater.
And it’s not even like I didn’t prepare myself in time. I woke up on my first alarm, no snooze, and had a quick breakfast before hitting the shower and then getting myself ready.
A quick blow dry of my freshly bleached blonde hair later and I was on my way.
But the question still remains…
“What the heck have I forgotten?” I ask myself, my words barely audible over the sound of the morning traffic as car horns hoot and big trucks honk.
I’ve been in the city for a couple of years now and I don’t ever think I’ll get used to how loud it is. Coming from a small semi-rural town, my daily life now is about as far away from how I grew up as you could ever imagine.
Not that I’m complaining.
I worked hard all through high school to get to where I am now. My first step was getting the academic scholarship to the right school for my bachelor’s degree. And then of course putting the work in to get a fully funded Masters. And finally… making sure that I got my hands on funding to come to the city to do my PhD.
If it sounds like a lot of hard work, then that’s because it was. Andis. If I thought that once I’d secured the PhD funding then everything would be easy, then the reality is something different. Alongside having to publish regularly in journals to maintain my funding status, I need to teach several undergraduate classes a week and also help with some admin in the department office.
Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do.
Nineteenth century literature is mypassion.
But that doesn’t mean it’s a bed of roses.
“Oh crap!” I exclaim as I arrive at the doors to the grand old Uppington Building. “Crap. Shit. Ass!”
I shake my head in dismay as I realize precisely what it is that I have forgotten back at my place. And it’s way too late to go back for it now.
“Hey, Davey,” I say, looking up and seeing my PhD buddy Davey waiting for me, a knowing look on his face.
“You forgot, didn’t you?” Davey laughs, rolling his eyes in friendly derision. “I knew it!”
“Yup,” I say, my cheeks flushing a little red. “Sorry.”
“Hey, I survived one night without my stuffie, I can manage another,” Davey says.
Davey puts his hand around my shoulder and the two of us walk into the building together.
We’ve been friends ever since the first day of the PhD. And it’s not just a shared love of the Brontë sisters that we have in common either. We’re both Littles. It’s not the entirety of either of our identities but it does play a pretty big part and it feels so great to have met someone I can share that side of my life with.
Whether its cozy playdates at either of our apartments or even hitting a Daddy and Little club for some slightly wilder fun then we’ve always got one another to chill and have fun with.
Although I have to say that there haven’t been many club nights for quite a while. We’re both so busy with academic work thatthe best we can usually hope for is a once a week playdate or maybe, just maybe, a sleepover at the weekend.
