Anything and Everything

Chapter 2: Excuse me

As I sat there staring out the little window, all I could think about was how nervous I was to be 20 hours away from home. It was so nerve-racking that I pulled out my phone to text my two best friends. I have been missing them recently due to both of them leaving for college. Tawnie was going to NYU, and Ivey was going to UH in Houston so she could be closer to her boyfriend. I quickly texted them a quick message asking them to call as soon as they could. Before I knew it, I was nodding off to sleep.

"Excuse me, excuse me," I heard softly.

"Huh, what? I'm sorry, what's going on," I said as I sprung out of sleep. It was the woman beside me who was knitting a very small quilt. She gently looked at me with softened eyes.

"The flight attendant just announced that we will be there in one hour. I didn't want you to sleep through the landing and get left behind."

"Thank you," I said before looking back out the window at the clouds and the sun glistening so brightly.

Finally, I was off the plane and straight through the airport. I rushed straight outside to get a taxi before everyone took them all. I whistled for one and put my suitcase in the car.

"Where to Ma'am"

"University of California, please," I said in a rush, not wanting to miss my move-in time and orientation.

I had arrived just in time; everyone was rushing by around campus, mothers and fathers running after their children and grabbing boxes left and right all across the yard. I quickly gave the money to the driver, grabbed my suitcase, and stood on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to do, where to go, or even who to ask.

"Get out of the way," a group of boys shouted as they ran past me, holding a boy in the air. They were all chanting obscure phrases and screaming at the top of their lungs. How childish. Did they honestly need to do that at the busiest time?

"Do you need help?" a girl with a clipboard said as she stood right in front of me. She wore all pink, with a little cap on that read orientation leader.

"Yes, I'm looking for my dorm; my name is Florence Bradley," I said, looking at the huge campus.

"Florence, Florence, ahh here, where are you? Oh, here you are. It seems like you will be in the building named Shasta. It's right by the dining hall," she said, pointing her finger towards the east part of campus.

"Thank you," I said before heading that way. I had two dodge-flying footballs and crying mothers. Sadly, I even listened to the school band play the same song over and over.

As soon as I made it to the building, people were rushing in. There were girls and guys everywhere hugging and yelling.

As I looked at my phone, searching for my room number, someone backed into me, causing me to drop my phone on the floor.

"Excuse me, watch where you're going," I said, picking up my phone and looking at the person who had made me drop it.

The boy towered over me. Well, it could be that I was only 5'1, but still, he seemed so tall. He wore a white shirt with jeans, and his sneakers were slightly dirty but still seemed to be taken good care of.

"Shit, my bad. I honestly didn't see you there. Are you okay?" he said, taking a few steps back.

"Yes, I'm fine, and of course, you didn't see me," I said, continuing my walk. To find my dorm. As I looked back at him, all his friends gathered around me. I was joking and talking, but he was still looking at me, now smirking.

Jesus, he looked good, but I'm not here for boys; I'm here for me, her to study and work my ass off. Finally, I found my dorm. I walked in, and my roommate was already standing there in the room.

"Hi, girl, I'm Luanna," she said, walking toward the wall and hanging a SZA poster. Her side of the room was already decorated. Her bed was pushed against her window; she had crystals, cards, and jewelry hanging everywhere. She then pointed to the corner.

"Those are yours, I think," she said, pointing to two stacks of boxes that sat in the corner of the room.

"Oh, thanks, probably. Also, I'm Florence," I said.

"Ohh, I like that name. It reminds me of a flower," she said, looking at me and smiling.

Luanna was very pretty; her long black hair was slicked up into a ponytail, her arms were covered in all types of tattoos, some dainty, others covering large areas of her arms, and her neck and ears were full of tattoos and piercings. She wore a black matching workout set that snatched her body so well, making her seem taller than she was. As she smiled, her dimples began to show, and her nose scrunched up. It was contagious; it made me want to smile just being in her presence. The thing I liked most of all was her accent; it was very faint but there, but it sounded Italian if you listened closely enough.

I began to grab my boxes and unpack, and after two hours, I was finally done; I lay on my bed, exhausted, just wanting to sleep. I slowly began to close my eyes, dreaming of peace.

"Oh my god, we have to go," Luanna said, barging into the room. Along with her was another girl. She looked very similar to Luanna, their facial features resembling each other.

"The frat boys are throwing a fucking badass party tonight," she said, showing her phone to the girl. They both stood by the closet, digging through the dresses and skirts and flinging them all over the room. It seemed like her whole wardrobe was stretched and thrown across the room in a matter of minutes. I didn't say anything. I just sat there, looking onward as they laughed and joked about all the boys who would be there.

"You're coming, right Florence? You can come with me and Alina. It's going to be fun," she said, turning towards me and placing a skin-tight dress up against her body, then pushing it towards me.

"Oh my god, you would look so fucking hot in this," she said. The dress was a dark plum color, it had a spaghetti strap, and it was ankle-length.

"I don't think so, I have to prepare for classes and map out my route."

"Come on, you can do all that when classes start. Please, there are going to be so many people there and so many boys to see." They both looked at me with puppy dog eyes.

Should I go? I guess my classes can wait. Wait, what if I get in trouble or something bad happens? I can't get kicked out of school before it even starts. Just this once, then never again.

"Fine," I huffed, rolling my eyes, but I couldn't help but let a small smile appear on my face.

She quickly handed me the dress. I turned around away from them, and slipped my jogger and hoodie off.

"Danm Florence, you have a nice body," Luanna said. I hurriedly turned around towards her and covered my body. My face began to flush with heat.

"Thanks, I've been working on it recently," I said; I was kind of happy that she thought so. I had always been a little heavier than other children my age, but I decided I wanted to look good and care for myself.

I slipped into the dress, pulling it up and admiring how nice it looked on me. It showed off my breasts and hips, giving me an hourglass figure. My tan skin looked so dark and toned against the color of the dress. I felt and looked beautiful. I slipped on some shiny silver sandals and pushed some moose through my hair. My curls sat nicely on my shoulders. They looked so defined and beautiful.

"Come on, let's go, shake some ass, ladies," Luanna screamed; Alina also joined in.

"Fuck it, let's do this" I screamed at the top of my lungs; I was excited about going out for once.