Crowded Room

2. Lost and Found

Camila tries not to waste much time getting ready for her first day of classes the next morning, but she’s so nervous and yet excited that she changes clothes three times. She ends up settling for a pair of high waisted blue jeans with a white cropped top and white sneakers. She braids her hair quickly before taking her backpack and following Hailee outside. The two girls decided to look for their classes together since they were both kind of lost. It was crazy to think how they were literally walking in the middle of New York City while getting to class. The campus was the city itself and she thinks to herself she might never get tired of that.

 Turns out she had most of her classes with Hailee, but not all of them. She sat in the end of a crowded auditorium by herself and thought she was going to lose her mind because of the amount of notes she was writing down. People would think you wouldn’t have to write so much during a theater class, but theoretical classes were there to prove them wrong. She was just thankful she had her glasses on instead of her contacts because sitting in the back and having to write so much were already tiring her eyes.

 When it was time to meet Hailee again, she exited the auditorium and made her way out of the building, trying to find her roommate in the crowded street. She looked for Hailee for a while, until she realized she was far away from the building she had her class in. It was so typical of her. Getting lost on her first day. She was about to turn around and find her way back to their dorm when two girls approached her.

 “ Hey.” A blonde girl smiled at her and Camila tried not to freak out about talking to random people on the street. “ I’m Taylor and this is my friend Charli. You’re a freshman, right? We saw you earlier in one of the buildings with your friend. You seem a little lost. Do you need help getting somewhere?”

 “ Uhh…” Camila is not sure if she should trust anyone, but the girl seems really nice.

 “ Don’t worry. We’re not going to do anything to you.” The one with short black hair and bangs tells her with a laugh.

 “ I’m Camila.” She says quietly, hoping she was misjudging their intentions.

 “ It’s nice to meet you, Camila.” Taylor tells her, hooking her arms with Camila’s and guiding her down the street until they reach the park between the dorm buildings. “ I love your glasses by the way. They’re super cute.”

 “ Thank you.” Camila smiles shyly at her.

 “ So, what’s your major?” Charli asks her, walking next to Taylor.

 “ Theater.” She tells the two girls, who seem eager to know more about her. “ What about you two?”

 “ We’re both majoring in songwriting.” Taylor says with a smile. “ Oh, look, isn’t that your friend?”

 “ Oh, Thank God.” Camila sighs in relief when she sees Hailee walking to them.

 “ Hey, where were you? I was looking for you everywhere and you didn’t even text me back.”

 “ Sorry. I got lost and then…” She’s not sure how to explain how she was rescued by two random girls.

 “ She got lost and we rescued her.” Charli laughs before they introduce themselves to Hailee. “ Oh, you two should come to Shawn’s party with us tomorrow night!”

 “ That’s a great idea!” Taylor says excited. “ It would be a great opportunity for you two to meet new people.”

 “ I don’t know.” Camila says, thinking parties are not really her thing.

 “ Come on, you have to come. Shawn always throws the best parties on campus.” Taylor tells her.

 “ Who’s Shawn?” Hailee asks with curiosity.

 “ My cousin.” Charli tells them.

 “ Or the biggest manwhore on campus if you prefer.” Taylor laughs.

 “ I thought he was your second best friend.” Charlie says in a mocking tone.

 “ That’s exactly why I’m allowed to warn them.” The blond says. “ Don’t even look at him if you’re looking for a relationship. But other than that, he’s a great guy.”

 “ Tay, Ash is waiting for us. We should go.” Charli says, looking down at her phone.

 “ Right.” Taylor says. “ What’s your dorm? We’ll pick you guys up tomorrow for the party.”

 “ We’re at Founder’s Hall. Thirteenth floor. Room 3B.” Hailee tells them before Camila can protest. They watch the two girls walk away and Camila can't believe she just made two friends in the weirdest way ever.

 “ You just gave them our address. What if they’re serial killers?”

 “ They’re students just like us, Camila.” Hailee says as they make the ten minutes walk back to their building. “ Just relax and live a little.”

•☆•☆•☆•

 “ Another party, Niall?” Shawn asks, losing his tie and laying down on his couch with his phone on his ear. He had hated every second of the dinner his father made him go, so maybe a party wasn’t a bad idea.

 “ It’s the first week, man. There’s going to be a lot of freshman girls wanting to have their college experience. I can’t wait for it! Besides, I already told everyone, so I guess there’s no turning back now.”

 “ You know I don’t go for freshmen. They’re too clingy.”

 “ You’ll always say that, but I do remember last year when-”

 “ Please, don’t! That girl stalked for a whole month before she realized I wasn’t going to date her. She’s the reason I don’t like freshmen.” Shawn sighs, trying to erase that dreadful memory from his mind. “ Is Taylor there?”

 “ No, Joe just left to meet her. I think they’re having like a double date or something with Charli and Ash.”

 “ I’ll call her tomorrow then. I think her friend Laura might be mad at me.”

 “ I don’t they’re really friends, they just have one class together.” Niall tells him.

 “ That’s good, because I accidently called her Chloe.”

 “ No, you didn’t!” Niall laughs on the other side of the line.

 “ Yeah, laugh all you want.” Shawn says, standing up from the couch and walking into his bedroom. “ I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

 Shawn gets rid of his clothes and passes out on his bed, thinking all the drinking he might do at the party the next day would make up for the terrible night he had. His apartment always looked like shit afterwards, but he was the only one who lived outside of campus, so it was easier to party there.