The Next Step

The dorm

I drop my 3 bags and stare down at the long hallway of never ending doors with numbers printed on them.
Who knew I would be here. If someone at told me that in a few years I would be at Hunter College in New York, I would have laughed in their faces.
I get my key out of my worn out jeans pocket and search for the number 7B. Once I find it I grab my bags and open the door.
The dorm is small, but still quite nice. There are two beds on either side of the walls with Windows above each of them. On my left there is a small desk with a red lamp leaning over it. On my right I see a small grey armchair with a little bookcase next to it. Not bad. Better than my old bedroom.
All I had was a worn out bed and a teeny tiny cupboard, which explains why I only have 3 bags.
I don't know where my roommate is. I think her name is Jessica or something. It's only 12. Maybe she's at a class or something.
I drop my bags near the unmade bed in the room and put my keys on the desk.
I open the large suitcase with my sheets and dooner in it. I make my bed and sit my pillow on top. I look around the room once more and notice there isn't a cupboard. I look at the bedside table near my bed and the one next to my roommates. I open one drawer of hers and take a look inside. Bras and underwear. There are three drawers. I guess that's enough room.
"What the hell are you doing in my drawer?" I hear a voice coming from the door. I forgot I didn't close it.
"Oh I um.. I didn't know where the.. You must be Jess." I change the subject and give her a nice smile before closing the drawer. I stick my hand out for her to shake, but she just stares at it.
"It's jasmine. My friends call me jaz. So just call me jasmine." She says with a rude smirk on her face. She walks past me and dumps her bag on her bed.
"I'm going to lunch with my friends and I'll be a while so don't go snooping around in my stuff." She sniggers while changing her flats to heels.
She walks out of the room and slams the door behind her. I stand there and stare at the door.
Well, maybe my roommate might be a bitch, but she isn't gonna put my mood down. I'm just glad to be away from home.

After I'm finished hanging up some photos of Disney stars from my childhood, I pack away my clothes and put a couple of little ornaments I collected as a kid on my white bedside table.
After I'm finished unpacking my things, I decide to go for a walk and take a look around New York. I can take a bus out of the campus and take a look around. I'm in a smaller suburb of New York so it might not be as busy.

I was wrong. I'm pretty sure anywhere in New York is busy. There are thousands of cars on the road and I think most of them are honking, there are people walking around everywhere and I'm pretty sure every single store on the street is bustling with customers. Big upgrade from New Jersey.
I went into a couple of nice clothing stores but they were all pretty expensive so I didn't worry about that.
I walk past a nice small cafe called Paris. I see a HELP WANTED sign out the front and decide to take a look. It's beautiful on the inside. Pink and white striped walls and a few silhouette wall posters on the walls of cafe signs and women walking poodles. There's pretty chalkboards with colourful writing on them. It's so cute.
I walk in and a girl in a white button shirt and black jeans walks straight towards me.
"How can I help you?" She chirps with a bright smile on her face. Her blonde hair is tied back in a high ponytail.
"Um, I saw the sign out the front and I am looki-"
"Oh my gosh yes! The manager has been looking for another person for ages!" She grabs my hand and leads me into the kitchen at the back of the building. "So you just give me your class timetable and I'll get Lucy, the manager, to see when we can fit you in. We'll go around your classes so your not too busy. But I also have to say that on weekends we are open 24 hours for people who have a hangover and need coffee, stuff like that. So you may have to work some late shifts." She hands me a piece of paper with the times on it.
I try to comprehend everyone she just said.
"So? Are you in?" She asks me after I look over the times.
"I guess so."
She squeals and claps her hands. "Yay! Finally another girl who works here! I'm the only one except Lucy, but she sits in her office and gets supplies most of the day. Oh, by the way, I'm Erin." She smiles
"I'm Ellie, but I liked to be called by my middle name, Grace." I return a smile
I give her my phone number so she can ring me when she has my shifts worked out.

After I give her my resume, I begin to walk out of the store. Suddenly I crash into someone and they spill their milkshake all over me.
"No! My milkshake." The guy creases his eyebrows and looks at the pink liquid dripping from my shirt.
"Are you serious? You just spilled it all over me and your worried about the damn milkshake?!" I say angrily at him.
"Well this milkshake cost me 4:50, and by the looks of that shirt, you got it from a corner store."
"I cannot believe how rude you are!" I say furiously.
"Well believe it." He gives me a sly smirk.
I look around and see a few people are looking at us. "If you say one more comment like that, I will stick that straw right where the sun doesn't shine." I whisper to him while looking at what's left of his milkshake.
I grab some napkins from the counter and storm out of the store while wiping the gross milkshake off of me.

I get a bus back to the campus and go to my dorms.
As soon as I get inside I throw my shirt into the trash can.
Jasmine still isn't there when I get back and it's already 4:00. I decide to take a quick shower.
I wear my thongs in the girls showers and take my time. I'm just glad the shower is actually hot. Back home, dad couldn't pay the water bills so our showers were either warm or freezing cold.
It feels good to be able to take my time without worrying if when I get out I might get hit for taking too long and using up all the warm water.
It takes about 8 minutes for the water to go a little bit cold so I get out then. Not many girls are in the showers now anyway so I think that's why it took longer than expected to go cold.
I change into my tracksuit pants and a red pyjama shirt.
I should have gotten a quick dinner while I was out but I forgot and I'm not really that hungry now so I think I'll just wake up a bit earlier and have a big breakfast in the dining hall here.
I  brush my wavy, maroon hair and put it up into a bun. I sit at my desk and go through everything about my classes on the laptop that was sitting on the desk. I think it's Jess's but it doesn't have a password and I locked the dorm anyway so if she knocks I can just quickly shut it down.
I realise she has a few movies stacked up under the desk and then I notice there is a small flat screen TV hanging on the wall in the corner of the room. I didn't even notice it before! I find the remote in the top desk drawer and turn it on. I flick through the channels until I find a movie on. The movie Just Go With It is starting in a few minutes so I decide to lie in my bed and watch it.
When the movies over I put a timer on the tv and go on Instagram for a little bit before falling asleep.
DAY 1 OVER