Everything Starts

CH: 3, The ELEVATOR

I was able to pick up my keys in a matter of minutes since I already had my dorm room assignment and did not have to wait in a line consisting of approximately fifty people. I was glad that when the elevator doors opened no one was inside. I hadn't realized just how slow that elevator moved during the tour, which I blamed on the sheer amount of people. I had gone down two floors when the elevator halted and the doors opened. I hadn't been paying much attention to the person until I realized they weren't coming inside the elevator. When I looked up I was met with a pair of deep blue eyes I missed more than I would care to admit. They belonged to a man with sandy skin and deep brown hair that looked almost gray in the sunlight, Wesley Whitlock. He's taller than I remembered. We used to be roughly the same height and now he's over half a foot taller than I was.

The memories from before came flooding back.

"Alora!" he said.

"Wesley?"

"How- how have you been? What are you doing here?" he asked, finally stepping into the elevator.

"I've been-" I thought for a moment, "good. My mom thought it would be good for me to come here."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

A few awkward moments passed by.

"Are the others here?" I asked without looking up.

"They are. I'm on my way to meet them now if you'd like to join?"

"I'm okay but thank you."

"Oh... ok." The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. "Well- I hope to see you again soon," he said, offering me a weak smile as I stepped out of the elevator.

"Yeah," I replied, pointedly not offering one back.

I made my way to the girl's dormitory, also known as Hollowgate. Once I found my dorm, I texted the movers so they could start unloading my boxes. I had told my mother that movers were not necessary but she insisted since she and Henry would not be here to help.

As the movers unloaded the boxes, I started unpacking and after a few hours, I was done. The next thing on my to-do list was to take a well-deserved nap.

...

My nap turned into going to bed for the night. The following morning I woke up and got ready for my first day of classes. Since it was only the first day all of my classes were more like orientations. I checked my class schedule for the first class of the day and headed to the corresponding building and room.

When I opened the front doors the halls were filled with people I didn't recognize... except for six people. Zena, Willa, Fay, Ethan, George, and Wesley. I caught their attention the second I walked through the doors. I had assumed Wesley had told them about our encounter in the elevator- but judging by the expressions on their faces I was wrong. I stopped momentarily but then continued to my first class, Italian.

I was able to find my seat fast enough so I had time to gather my bearings before class was set to start. A tall woman with beautiful dark brown hair walked into the class and loudly put a stack of books onto her desk. I was pleased to see that none of my... acquaintances had Italian first period or at least chose not to attend.

"Good morning everyone," the professor started. "I am very pleased to see the number of you that are interested in learning the fine art that is the Italian language, but before we start I would like to announce that the university will be holding a sort of lock-in this Saturday and you are all welcome to attend. Of course, this is not mandatory but is highly encouraged. The faculty at this university are fully aware this is not the typical way things are run at universities you might find in the states but we want your experience here to be the best of the best."

The rest of the class went by fairly quickly with the teacher just going over the syllabus for the year along with a few other things. I had a few minutes until my next class so I took the opportunity to call Mom and tell her about the lock-in. I was leery about going but Emaline and Henry thought it was a good opportunity for me to make some new friends. I still wasn't completely convinced but ultimately decided I would go.

I made my way to my next class which was French Literature. I have always been fascinated by literature and thoroughly enjoyed this class. My professor was a man who was a few inches shorter than I was, which I considered odd because I was barely five foot two inches. My next class was mathematics. I had never been particularly good at anything math-related. I was not looking forward to this class; however, I was happy to know that the following math was my two-hour lunch period.