Matt gave one more disappointed glance at Chris, his hooves tapping against the industrial hardwood floor of their shared space before heading out, before heading out. His head was swimming with ideas as to why the programmed might have failed, that he completely forgot the emitter behind. He really hoped he hadn’t spent a whole six months of his pay from his part time job on a scam. Pushing the consequences of that thought out of his head, he focused on the long walk from the specialized dorms, that had been modified for Chris’ needs, on the outskirts of campus to the main population. The campus was prestigious, which was another word for old and reluctant to change, so when Chris had been accepted under some kind of scholarship there had been some problems.
Originally they had wanted to adapt some abandoned stables, a relic of some long forgotten equestrian team that had over the years been converted into a classroom and office space. However, the renovations they had done never actually removed the stalls or various equipment thinking that it added history and character. As Chris put it, his parents nearly set the building on fire as soon as they stepped inside. They refused to let their son be equated to a common animal, and the school saw the wisdom in adapting their plans. Even if Chris had enjoyed the idea of a single house on campus, he had learned early on not to get in the way when his 1000 pound, mustang mountain, of a father got on the warpath. The school as a result, had adapted one of the storage facilities, and the only building with a freight elevator big enough on campu, into a small multi-student apartment. How Matt got lucky enough to join him had always been a bit of a haze, the first few weeks of college life had been hell, but now they were in a rhythm. There were just some things Chris needed help with when living in a public space like this, and Matt being able to have things like a private bathroom was more than enough to make the deal worth it.
What he had not planned on was the rumors.
It was the middle of October, and as Matt cut his way through the quad to make his way across campus to the library he passed by several groups of students trying to spend every waking moment outside before testing, and the cold came along to make everyone miserable. From girls trying to get a tan and stare at guys, to guys trying to look good while playing sports, to several art students trying to catch the color of the changing season around them, and all sorts of others hanging out and relaxing.
As Matt went about his business he could feel eyes on him, and they made no signs to hide it. The student body as a whole was curious about Chris, after all he was the only living myth they’d probably ever see. But that curiosity didn’t give assholes the permission to treat him like an object. It was why it had been difficult for Chris to find more roommates than just Matt who were willing to fill up the empty space. Even Matt, had been approached several times by people asking him all kinds of personal questions.
“Does he really only eat oats?”
“Does he sleep standing up?”
“Do you get to ride him?”
At the third time someone had nailed a horseshoe on their door while they were away at class Matt was pretty well done, even if Chris was unphased. Though Matt imagined that was why he spent most of his time online.
So Matt made a point of being seen in public, he refused to give anyone the satisfaction, even if it had already made things a little tense once or twice. His emotions were raw, as if he hadn’t already been dealing with things for a few months now. As the library came into view Matt was glad that no one tried to stop him today, and yet as he felt the weight in his bag he couldn’t help but think that he could use a reason to test that program again.
“How would they like it if they were the new topic of conversation?” Matt murmured to himself, as memory after memory seemed to come unwarranted to the front of his mind. If people really wanted to see the legend first hand, he could at least make his pocket book feel better by pretending he was making a difference.
He let out a heavy sigh then looking down at his bag taking his eyes off of the area around him
Like a stupid program could go that far.