Bad Reputation - Shawn Mendes

3 - College Life

Eleanor.

2 years later.

I have graduated from high school finally and am currently working full time at Tim Hortons. I saved up enough money for college expenses and will be attending college in a few weeks time but I'll move in to my dorm tomorrow, which i am very excited about. My job at Tim's have been great, Kenzie and I get along fine but we don't talk very much. She does seem like a nice girl but i couldn't open up to her. Deep in me, i still have trauma from what happened between Chloe and I so i was afraid that if i got close to her, she might betray me.

"Goodbye Elle. I'm going to miss you. " She says as I'm mopping the floor getting ready to close. "Bye Kenzie. I'll miss you too." I reply and she waves goodbye. I turn on the radio so that i don't have to mop in silence and the song Stitches by Shawn Mendes plays. It reminds me of my first day of work when i saw him, but didn't recognise who he was. He was mysterious to me at that time but after googling him, i realised he's a famous singer who's also from Canada. His songs were not too bad, and once in awhile i would blast them in my car. It's quite sad that I didn't see him anymore after that, i was kinda hoping he would come back. But after a few weeks of anticipating him, i gave up on that. Something about him just draws me towards him, it makes me want to get to know him.

I continue mopping the floor and jamming to the song. I then counted the money in the register and tally everything before locking up the door. "Bye Tim's, it was fun while it lasted." I say to myself after locking up. I hop in the car and drove with the music on a low volume. I wanted to take in Pickering one last time before i move to Toronto, which isn't that far away but still about 2 hours drive. Pickering has had many memories for me, good and bad. Although I'm sad to leave my dad alone because he was the only one who stayed by side the entire time, i can't wait to get out of this place.

I pull up to my house, and see that the lights are still on. I swing the door open and yell "Dad you still up?" "Yeah I was waiting up for you." He says while walking out of his room. "Thanks Dad, but you didn't have to." I say while setting down my keys and bag. "It's just that you'll be gone tomorrow and I'm gonna miss you, pumpkin." He says and i walk up to him and give him a hug. "I'll visit you every holiday." I assure him and he nods. "Let's get you ready to bed, i know you have to wake up early." I say as i walk him back to his room. He sits down on his bed and asks me to bend down slightly so he can kiss my cheek. We say goodnight to each other and i leave the room. It breaks my heart that he has to work so hard for me, which is why I never told him that i was being bullied in school and that i don't have the best reputation.

I go to my room and grab my pyjamas before heading to the showers. I took a nice warm shower and put on my comfy pyjamas. I lay down in bed and decided to scroll through Instagram. Most of the people my age are already in college so i see them having the time of their lives, I can't wait for the college life. I check the time and it was past 1 am, and i was getting tired. I put down my phone on my bedside table, and close my eyes. I have to do some last minute packing and leave before lunch. It's going to be a drive, but I'm pumped about college.

———

The sun was streaming into my room, which made me wake up. "Fuck i forgot to close the blinds." I scold myself while rubbing my eyes. After a bit of stretching, i got out of bed and washed up. I also headed downstairs to eat breakfast before packing up any last minute items like toiletries and furniture. I changed out of my pyjamas into comfy shorts and a t-shirt to prepare for my drive. I carried all the boxes and place them in the trunk of my car. I wrote down a letter for my dad and placed it on the kitchen counter before leaving. I'm gonna miss him so much, we've never been apart. I walked out of the house with a heavy heart and started the car, as much as I didn't want to leave my dad, i had to. I then turned on my playlists and drove away to Toronto, awaiting the college life.

"Turn right in 200 meters and you'll arrive at your destination, Hillman College." My GPS announced and i follow. I park at the carpark near my dorm and check in. "Room 305" I murmur to myself while carrying 1 of the boxes. I arrive in my room and it was empty. I took a good look at my room and smile. Although i was sharing the room with someone else, i was glad that the room was divided and we would have our own little space. Since i was there first, i had the chance to pick which side i wanted and i chose the side on the left. I slowly went back and forth from my car and the room to take the boxes. And when i was entering with the last box, there was a girl and her mom in the room.

I swing open the door and they both looked at me, the girl smiles and walks towards me. "Hi, I'm Aaliyah. Nice to meet you." She says. "I'm Elle." I add and put down the box. "I'm so excited to be staying here with you!" She exclaims and hugs me. I am excited too, but not as much as her i think. "Y-yeah." I say, secretly wanting her to stop hugging me. "What's your major?" She asks after letting go. "Psych major, you?" I answer. "I'm an English major." She tells me and walks back to her mom. I nod and start unpacking, and so does she.

After about an hour or so of unpacking, I finally finished setting up my room which i was very proud of. Aaliyah was almost done as well, and her mom stayed to help her which I didn't mind. We had a few small talks here and there, which was kind of awkward because I didn't really give long answers. But i just didn't want to say too much especially not when i had just met her. As i laid down on my bed, there was a knock on the door which made me sit up. Aaliyah opens the door and greets the boy standing in the hallway. "Shawn!" She calls and he hugs her. He enters the room and looks at me. It can't be Shawn Mendes, can it?

Authors Note!

Oh my god, Elle and Shawn meet again HAHA. Honestly i don't live in Canada so I'm not really sure of the culture, the seasons and such but I'll try to make it as realistic as possible. If there is anything you'd like me to know about Canada, please comment it down it'll really help me. Also do remember to vote if you like this chapter hehe!