Campus

Chapter 1 - Flight

The flight from Australia felt like it took weeks, when really it was just twenty hours, twenty long hours with multiple babies crying and an old lady whose snore shook my whole seat. The plane landed in Houston at eleven in the morning. After collecting my miserable one suitcase I made my way towards the pickup and drop off area. A giggle involuntarily slipped from my lips when I saw my cousin holding a makeshift sign that read "Biggest bitch in the southern hemisphere."

We locked eyes not long after and I watched as the sign floated to the ground and Kat break out into a run, naturally we both went in for a jump hug in different directions and simultaneously came crashing to the floor together. Ignoring the hundreds of eyes that were set on us Kat giggled, "You clumsy bitch."

I gave my cousin a tight and very awkward side hug due to our tangled position, "I missed you too" I snickered.

Kat gathered herself up with a flourish and I had to hold back an eye roll. Kat though we are cousins, got luckier in the genetics department than I did. A five-foot-five blonde hair-blue eyed goddess. Her added height on my five-foot-three and her tight curves makes her appear petite and the picture of the girl next door. Kat however is everything but the girl next door, no, she once made me steal my parents car so we could drive across state territory and sneak into a Harry Styles concert, to this day I still cannot recall how she got us passed security, she has charm that will rival anyone but I'm sure there was more. If sneaking in was not bad enough the girl stripped and streaked across stage. I got grounded for three months, needless-to-say, she's a bad influence.

"How was the flight?" Kat asked giving me her hand and helping me up.

"Long and awful, I think I lost my hearing in my right ear thanks to the prehistoric dinosaur snoring for thirteen hours straight next to me." We both giggled as Kat linked her arm with mine and steered me towards the pickup area.

Maxine, Kats mum was waving us over, "Alyssa darling, it's so good to see you" Max said bringing me into a tight squeeze.

"You too Max, I'm glad to be on solid ground if I do say so." Turbulence is a nasty motherfucker. Max laughed, her husky voice like gravel, she went to speak again but Kat tugged on my arm pulling me closer to her.

"Stop smothering her mum, she's just landed and she's jet lagged."

I wasn't jet lagged, quite the opposite actually but Max and Kat have always had an off dynamic that I make a point of keeping out of. Kat and I squeezed into the back of the yellow Volkswagen beetle with a sigh after a sweat inducing battle to fit my suitcase into the miniature boot. On our drive Kat kept pointing out all the landmarks of Houston and Max took a detour home to show me the university I'll be attending. The University of Houston, it was a public college, and I'm only here to complete my final two years of psychology before returning to Australia to complete my Master's degree in Psychology. My psychology lecturer in Sydney told me about the scholarship and encouraged me to apply, I did so with no hope of actually being successful but when I go the call and yelled down the phone that I wasn't buying it and that the prank was useless I was surprised to learn that the scholarship advice attendee did not find my antics funny and confirmed again that I was successful.

"It's massive." My eyes bounced all over the campus site as we drove past, the lawns where pristine and the flower bushes kept neat. The buildings look new too, not like the ones at my old university that had four different species of mold growing near the windows.

"I still don't know why they didn't accept my transfer, how fucking cool would it have been for us to dorm together?"

"Language!." Max snipped from the front seat scolding Kat. Not that that will do anything to contain the potty mouth she has on her, dirtier than a Mc Donald's dishrag that one. Kat goes to the University of Texas in Austin and even though Max lives in Houston, Kat chose Austin to get away from Max though she visits regularly.

"Yeah, It would've been nice to know at least one person before starting."

*

"Come on." Kat whined at me. It's been just over a week since I arrived in Houston and Kat is leaving in two days for the start of semester. She has been pleading for me to go clubbing with her since I arrived and I have exhausted all the excuses in my arsenal.

"Kat, I have to get ready for school." I put on my best puppy dog eye's but she saw straight through them, "Bitch please, you barely have a suitcase full of shit, we are going out."

Would it be so bad to go out? I could use a drink to stifle my nerves of being the new girl.

"If you get me into any shit, and I mean anything that involves concerts, stripping and bad decisions, I swear to god I will never speak to you again." Deafened was an understatement of the absolute abuse my eardrums took from the squeal Kat let ring through the house.

"I have the perfect dress for you."

Before I could protest, I was rag-dolled up the stairs of the three bedroom house and thrown onto Kat's bed. I watched as she fished out the dress and hung it off her wardrobe door before insisting on doing my hair and makeup. Where Kat was light features, I was the opposite. My dark brown hair often gave my hair brush a run for its money with the curls that hung low over my back, and my green eyes often complimented the chocolate brown curls. Kat pulled the curls back and twisted the hair around her finger before using a claw clip to secure it, leaving a few strands out to shape my face.

Kat was patted a sparkly gold eyeshadow over my eyelids, I swatted at her hand when I saw her coming close to my eyes with a sharp and pointy metal object.

"Oh absolutely not, don't come near my eyes with those!"

"They're just tweezers, I do this all the time." Kat pressed when I was still resisting. She applied a thin layer of glue to the eyelash, blue on it and then aimed straight for me with those metal eye removers.

"Just keep freaking still, I do this all the time."

"You're going to take my fucking eye out" I hissed. I quite liked my eyes.

"There, fucking perfection, was that so hard?"

I ignored her sass and stood to look in the floor length mirror crowding the left corner of the room. My eyes raked over myself, scrutinising, The maroon dress Kat picked out had a sheer lace covering my waist and ribbing over my ass, it really made my curves stand out and honestly, made me look hot as hell. The thin spaghetti staps held the dress up, not revealing too much cleavage, though I was severely lacking in the titty department, but I made up for it in my ass, I know my assets-no pun intended- and I'm fine with it.

I heard a wolf whistle come from Kat, "Yeah you did all right." I teased her. She swatted my arm disapprovingly.

"I did great, I should fucking charge for this." She held my shoulders and slowly spun me around, a smug self-assured smile on her face.

"Rude, are you saying this was hard work for you?" The smile on my face was evidence of my teasing. We were always like this, nothing really cut through us.

"Right, let's get you laid!" Kat said pushing me out the door leaving no room for argument.