Tom wandered through the halls looking for interesting areas or something out of the ordinary.

He felt a little bad about ditching Arthur but he knew the bags were likely a one person job. He could always make it up to him somehow as well if it turned out to be a pain to get them back.

The hallways he passed mirrored the appearance of his own hall and he quickly got bored of the repetition.

He wondered where all the other students were. Even though the semester wasn’t set to start for a few weeks, he would have thought there would be at least a few students here.

Continuing down the hall, Tom eventually arrived back at the front of the building where he waved at the receptionist before walking out the front door.

He walked the sidewalks running between buildings and as he rounded the corner of the dorm, got another glimpse of the beautiful views and surrounding biomes.

Tom continued walking and left the dorm area in pursuit of the largest building in site. It was roughly three stories taller than the dorm and much longer.

The large wood doors opened easily when he finally reached the entrance. Peeking inside, motion activated lights lit up a large open space the size of a football field with a large central set of stairs leading to the second floor.

The room was filled with tables, chairs and study areas along with stalls that he figured were used for food. On the walls, Tom noticed a multitude of wooden doors with large glass openings that led to what he thought were classrooms.

“Echooooo” he shouted out but got little response from the room.

He headed straight for the stairs and began his ascent. On the second floor, he noticed balconies looking over in the main area along with a hallway leading deeper into the building.

Tom naturally decided that there was more to be found in this building and continued down the hallway. Each section lit up as he approached finally leading him to another set of stairs which he decided to climb up.

At the third floor, Tom once again faced an open area but much smaller than the one on the first floor. It took him much longer to navigate but he finally found another stairs where he went up once more.

This pattern of entering a space and ascending eventually led him up three more flights of stairs to the biggest door he’d seen in the building yet.

A simple push led him to the roof of the building which was rimmed with fencing. Walking forward and leaning over the edge, Tom was greeted with his best view yet of the ocean which appeared to go on forever. He stared for what felt like minutes at the waves rumbling back and forth.

Leading to the ocean, he noticed a trail leading from the smaller surrounding cabins. At some parts, the trail disappeared in the trees, but he was confident he could find the start if necessary.

For some reason, it did feel necessary. Tom wanted not just a view of the ocean from afar but to see it with his own eyes up close. Possible even touch it or jump into it but he’d save those thoughts for once he was closer.

Turning around and making his way back down the stairs and out the building full of classrooms, Tom began heading toward the trail by winding through the sidewalks connecting each cabin.

“I could have sworn it was over here,” he mumbled to himself as he rounded the corner of another cabin. The sidewalk opened to a wider dirt trail that led through a thick patch of trees that he couldn’t quite see through.

“Huh. Well, this is probably right. I hope.” Tom continued down the trail for roughly ten minutes when he smelled something new besides the earthy aroma of the forest.

“I’ve never been near an ocean before but smelling salt is probably a good sign I’m getting close right?” Ten minutes more of walking the trail and he noticed another change in the texture of the soil from hard packed dirt to a loose sand. A few more turns of the trail finally led him to his destination.

The copse of trees cleared away to a full beach with waves lapping at the sand roughly one hundred feet in front of him. Tom trudged through the thick sands carefully, not used to walking on the shifting surface.

“I can already feel this stuff in my shoes. How is that even possible ?”

Weary and with slightly heavier shoes, Tom finally reached the waves where he reached down with a hand and dipped it in the water. He noticed the cold temperature first followed quickly by the gritty feeling when he rubbed his fingers together.

The breeze kicked up and began playing with his hair as he took in the full view of the dark waters. “I can see why people crave this stuff,” he said with a grin. “This is awesome.”

Tom stood there in silence for a few moments taking in the view before turning and beginning to walk the shore. He figured he might as well enjoy the place while he was there. As he walked he picked up shells and poked the mounds of seaweed littering the shore.

Some minutes later he saw a shack in the distance with a pier jutting out into the waters. He continued walking and noticed a man sitting on the pier with what looked to be a fishing rod.

Tom continued walking and offered out a greeting to the man once he got within twenty feet of the shack. The man turned, offering a greeting of his own.

“What brings you out here young man?” the man asked yelling over the ocean gusts.

Tom approached the roughly thirty-foot-long pier figuring the old man in shorts and a Hawaiian shirt was a resident or faculty member. He figured the area should still be part of the school according to what Vincent had said earlier.

“I wanted a closer view of the ocean and got a bit carried away wandering the shore. My name’s Tom by the way.”

“Thompkins is the name. I’m one of the professors at the school and do a few advanced classes out on the water with the upperclassmen.”

“I think I’m in the first-year group, so I doubt I’ll have the chance to go out with you anytime soon.”

“Maybe so but know that anyone with an interest in these waters is welcome to visit. This area is one of the few that any interested students can use without professor permission. The only rule is not to travel too far down the beach to where the sand takes on a red hue. That’s where the area picks up class restrictions.”

“Besides walking, what do you recommend doing out here?”

Thompkins tapped the fishing rod in his hand saying, “Fishing is what I usually find myself doing out here. Feel free to grab a rod from the shack. Grab something from the bucket for the hook and you’ll be all set.”

Tom considered his options ranging from seeing more of the shore, heading back home and fishing with the old professor. Looking out at the water, he figured a bit of fishing would be fun.

Tom nodded to the man before turning and heading to the shack. The door creaked heavily at his touch and a musty smell hit him in the face once it opened fully.

The light was dim, but Tom could see numerous poles resting on the far wall along with a few buckets on the floor with what looked like fish parts.

Tom grabbed one of the poles and a fish chunk from the buckets which he stuck onto the hook as securely as possible.

Tom returned to the old man and started examining the rod for a way to cast.

Without turning his eyes from the water, Thompkins offered, “The trick is to click the button on the bottom of the rod and release it at the peak of your throw.”

Tom did as suggested, but only managed to get the line out a few feet where it landed with a small splash.

“A valiant first throw. The last step is waiting for some action.”

“I don’t need to get it out farther?”

“Some would recommend it but in a place like this anything can happen,” Thompkins replied with a grin.

Tom sat with his feet dangling over the water and waited. He made occasional small talk with Thompkins but assumed he should save his school related questions for Vincent. The minutes flew by with only small comments passing between them.

Tom let out a yawn, stretching his arms out to his sides. From when he had first set out, the sun was beginning to fall past the horizon.

“I may head in soon Mr. Thompkins. It’s getting late and I have what I’ve heard are some rigorous summer classes starting tomorrow.”

“Whenever you’re done feel free to reel in and put the rod up.”

Tom stood up from the pier and started reeling in when he felt a strong pull.

“I think there’s something on the line.”

As the words left Tom’s mouth, a massive fish longer than Tom was tall leaped out of the water before diving back in. Tom didn’t feel his mouth drop but he suddenly found it lying open.

“That’s a marlin boy! Brace yourself and get ready to reel!

Tom barely registered the words as the rod was almost ripped out of his hands. He managed to hold on and started pulling up with all his strength.

The fish was pulling the line out and Tom quickly switched his right hand to reeling. The line stopped but Tom found himself in a standstill where turning with everything he had got him nowhere.

“You need to reinforce the line before the fish snaps…”

Just as the words left Thompkins lips, a loud pop came from the rod and Tom landed flat on his butt.

Tom sat there shellshocked not believing what had just happened before turning to the other man and asking, “What on earth just happened?”

“My mistake lad. I assumed most students coming here had experience with reinforcement. You need to add your energy to the line to give it strength so the fish can’t get away.”

Still sitting on the ground and looking out to sea, Tom continued, “Why on earth don’t you just use stronger line. I can barely even transform quickly much less reinforce something.”

“It’s for training. You’re meant to start reinforcing the rod and line once a big enough fish bites. You’ll learn the skill in your classes soon enough.”

“I can’t believe it was that big a fish.”

“They can get up to twelve feet and even larger here. A shame it got away. You likely could have bonded with it.”

“Wait really? How does that work?”

“You’ll learn soon enough in your classes. Don’t be too beat up about this lad. My father used to say that you’ve never truly lost a fish unless you forget how to get to the pond. This place may be bigger than a pond, but that fish is still out there.”

“I think I may come back some time and try again if that’s alright?”

Thompkins smiled saying, “That’s the spirit. I already told you it’s a public beach so feel free to return at your leisure. How about you head back now? It's going to be dark by the time you get back. I’ll put the rod away for you.”

Tom finally got up off the ground and bid the old man goodnight before heading back down the shore the way he had come.

The entire way back through the sands, the forest, the walkways on campus, and finally into the dorm, Tom couldn’t get the sight of the marlin out of his head.

When he finally reached his apartment and got through the door, he heard Arthur saying something about baggage and ice cream, but eventually managed to escape the verbal onslaught and make it to his bed.

He wondered what else this place had in store for him as he drifted off to sleep.