When fate plays its hand
hand 582

Chapter 0582

Every year, right before Christmas, the Faculty of Bioinformatics organized a freshman mixer for all the newly enrolled, unmarried graduate students. It was meant to help them make friends and integrate better into campus life.

Over the years, however, it had evolved into an “official matchmaking event“. To put it plainly, it became a setup to help students replace a boyfriend or girlfriend. Those who already had partners were also welcome to bring them along.

Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Miranda She spent her days rushing between Bedford College lecture halls and the lab at Dunham College.

Her mind was constantly occupied by lab procedures and data collection, even during meals. So there was no chance she would waste time on a so–called “friendship mixer“.

This was why she was so puzzled when she received an invitation. The invitation prominently displayed her full name, “Miranda Sutton“, in bold, enlarged print. That only made things more baffling.

Attendance at the mixer required signing up, so how could she receive an official invitation without registering? A thought crossed her mind, and she narrowed her eyes. She turned to see Madison, who was tiptoeing off the lab bench and quietly trying to slip away.

“Stop right there!” Miranda called out to her.

Madison froze midstep. After a couple of seconds, she turned with a guilty smile. “Uh… Miranda, you called?”

“Where are you off to?” Miranda asked.

“The cafeteria.”

“Didn’t you just eat?”

Madison swallowed nervously. “Well, uh… I’m hungry again. Need a snack.”

Yes, a snack! She definitely wasn’t trying to run away!

Miranda smirked. “Fine, but maybe you should explain this first before you go.” She held up in her hand.

the

invitation

Madison’s expression grew uneasy, and her eyes darted around. “Miranda, sweetie…”

Miranda crossed her arms, looking utterly unyielding. “No sweet talk. Just come clean and explain.”

“Um… Miranda, I’ve actually been wanting to tell you this great news…” Madison cleared her throat.

“Oh?” Miranda raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you see…” Madison hesitated, finally gritting her teeth and confessing, “I signed both of us up for the mixer. It’ll be fun, just a quick distraction, I swear it won’t interfere with the experiments or reports!”

Miranda was baffled. “If you wanted to go, you could’ve just signed up yourself. Why drag me into it?”

Madison pouted. She clasped her hands behind her back while looking down sheepishly. “I didn’t want to go alone–I wanted you there for moral support.”

1/2

She quickly added, “Plus, It’s so much more fun with people. Going alone would be boring”

This was the first fun event the department had hosted since they enrolled, and she would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t excited.

But attending solo sounded miserable, so she’d taken the liberty of registering Miranda as well.

Miranda just shook her head, speechless. Should she be thanking Madison for this?

Madison sidled up to her, holding her arm with a pleading look. “Please, Miranda, just come with me! I’ll treat you to steak!”

Miranda sighed. “It’s not about steak.”

“Not just one steak? How about two dinners, plus barbecue?”

Miranda grew quiet. It sounded more like what Madison wanted to eat!

“Oh, c’mon! Miranda, please! My dear, beautiful, brilliant, understanding Miranda!”

“Alright, alright,” Miranda finally conceded. “Just this once! Don’t get used to it!”

Madison immediately nodded. “Yes! I promise I’ll get your approval next time!”

The mixer was set for Friday night, and word had it that even the department heads would attend. Since it was an official event, they’d gone all out. There were balloons, flowers, a red carpet, long tables with desserts, drinks, almost everything.

The setup had begun two days prior, held right in the sports center. By the time Miranda and Madison arrived, the place was already bustling.

Madison looked around excitedly, taking in the usually scruffy male classmates who had actually dressed up, like peacocks flaunting their feathers.

She thought this was worth coming to. The sight was already entertaining enough!

Miranda was unofficially deemed Bedford College’s campus belle on forums and message boards. It was something she neither claimed nor acknowledged, and she rarely attended events like these..

But that didn’t stop certain people from taking notice of her. And tonight, it seemed, there were plenty of

them.

Despite not wearing makeup or dressing up, Miranda still turned heads even when she came with just her winter coat.

“Hi there, I’m Chandler Bennett, also a bioinformatics major. Would you mind if I invited you to the opening dance?”