Ugly ☼ J .Gilinsky [ EDITING ]

Two

Araceli

Day one of the semester and I have to say, I was quite nervous. During the summer, I toured the campus twice so I already know where everything is and where all my classes are but in my week of being in Nebraska, I have yet to be alone in this foreign state. I have spent every minute with Liam touring the city, getting my apartment set up, going to eat, etcetera. Today is my first day actually being alone because even when I toured campus, I was with my mother and sister. 

Surprisingly, I made it through my first day with ease. We didn't cover much in any of my classes, we really only discussed the syllabus and covered what we would be learning this semester. All of my classes were full, with every seat being taken. I didn't really make conversation with any of my new classmates but nobody really seemed to care to be there.

One thing I can tell already is that college is way different from high school.

I'm not sure about here in Omaha but back home, high school was very messy. Everybody had their own cliques and it seemed like if you weren't in one, you didn't matter. In school I wasn't very popular but I also wasn't a loner. I was very known back in Houston but for all the wrong reasons.

When my father passed away, I was only fifteen and entering my sophomore year of high school. Losing my father at such a young age in the worst way possible took a major toll on me and my life. I don't do well with pain so rather than grieve properly, I turned to other solutions to find temporary healing. I fought a lot, something about the adrenaline made me feel alive again and it was a feeling that I didn't want to get rid of. I turned to substances to help get my mind off of things. I felt that if I wasn't high on drugs or drunk off alcohol that it would allow me to feel and I didn't want that. I made a lot of other mistakes in a very short amount of time and if I could go back and get a redo on life, I'd take it with no questions asked.

I didn't calm down until the middle of junior year when my actions finally received consequences. I was hospitalized for a bad reaction I had to pressed pills and ever since then, I never looked back on that life I was living. Seeing my mother in so much pain broke my heart and I couldn't risk putting myself in a position to where she would lose me. It wasn't easy to fight the temptation but I owed it to my mother to get myself cleaned up because she already lost a husband, she didn't need to lose a daughter as well.

I needed a fresh start and if that meant traveling nine hundred miles from home then so be it. I didn't want to be known as the girl with "daddy's money who has it made" or as the girl who "partied her life away and made enemies with half of the school." I wanted to come somewhere where I knew I could start fresh and be the person that I've always wanted to be.

"So, do you have any babes in your classes?" Liam asks as he sips on his ice latte from Starbucks. After class, I decided to stop by the leasing office and bring him lunch since neither of us had ate yet. "Any good eye candy? Do you have your eyes on anyone yet?"

I laugh and took a bite out of my croissant. "Liam, the semester barely started and to be honest, I was not paying the slightest bit of attention to anybody in any of my classes. I'm sure there were cute boys but that's honestly the last thing on my mind. I'm here to-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," a voice spoke from behind me with a knock on the door. "I was told to come see you to get the keys to my apartment."

I turn my head to see a boy with brown hair and brown eyes standing in the doorway. He was dressed in khaki shorts, nike's, and a polo t-shirt. He had to be around six foot tall, he was very handsome and looked to be around my age, maybe a bit older.

"Oh my gosh, yes I totally forgot to leave that with the receptionist this morning," Liam spoke as he pulled out a set of keys from his desk. He stood and handed them to the guy standing in the doorway. "I am so sorry about that Sam, here you go. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always text my cell or come down to the office. Enjoy the new place."

Once he walked out of the office, Liam took a seat and wiggled his eyebrows. "New eye candy in the complex, finally! I swear this place is crawling with nothing but retired folks, it's rare to see anyone close in my age here which is why I was so surprised you chose these apartments."

"Well what can I say? Coming from a big city, I could use the peace and quiet for a change."