*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Shit, I thought to myself as I turned over and aggresively slammed the snooze button on my alarm clock.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Had it really already been 10 minutes?!
"Emily, wake up! You don't want to be late for your first day of school!" Hanna squealed. It was true, I certainly couldn't afford to be late to my first day of classes at Columbia University, especially considering I was already behind on the summer reading list. Showing up on time was the least I could do. Personally, I never really saw myself as an Ivy Leaguer, however considering my father worked for the school and had endless conections and free tuition, it really seemed like the only option.
"I'll be up in 5, I swear!" I replied, half laughing, half whining.
Hanna, my current roommate, had been my best friend since I was tweleve. We met in the 7th grade when I accidentely hit her in the head with a volleyball in Gym class. As you can imagine she was mad at first, but when she saw my All Time Low T- Shirt we got to talking and have been inseperable ever since.
"By the way" Hanna beamed, "I got invited to huge party in Nolita tonight. There's supposed to be live music, a dance floor and everything! You in or what?!"
"We've been here a day and you're already getting party invites?" I laughed
"What can I say, the boys love me" She replied jokingly.
It was true, though. Hanna was the definition of an "It- girl". She was half Japanese and half Korean and had black waivy hair down to her waist. She was small and petite and her fashion sense was incredibly unique. Not to mention she was the top of our class and every teacher adored her. Every guy gawked at her and every girl wanted to be her.
I on the other hand, am anything but. I'm a little taller than average and have long, wavy red hair and green eyes. My face still ocasionally breaks out and it's absolutely impossible to go anywhere without hearing the word "ginger" at least once. Other than on my nose, I have very little freckles, and my fashion sense is only decent. Even though i have been asked out on plenty of dates, I'm always too nervous to say yes because the thought of sitting down and eating dinner with a strager for an hour absolutely terrifies me. Hanna always tells me how ridiculous I am; after all, she has more confidence than anyone i've ever met when it comes to boys, and she's always trying to be my wingwoman.
I finally got the strength to get out of bed, take a shower, dry my hair, put on makeup and clothes, and out the door Hanna and I went. We didn't have the same classes, but luckily our schedules were pretty similar time wise. After a long day of lecture halls, werid professors, and getting lost multiple times, I finally met Hanna at the starbucks closest to our dorm for coffee.
"And then he was like, you may have gotten away with this in high school, but College is a different story. I mean can you believe that? All because I was chewing gum in class. I highly doubt anyone is even going to even acknowledge my presence in a 500 person lecture hall, let alone care if i'm chewing gum. I mean it's hardly a distraction."
That's the thing about Hanna. Even though she is beautful and confident, she still doesn't realize the effect she has on people. When she walks in a room, everyone notices her.
"At least you didn't get lost 5 times" I laughed.
"That's true. Hey did you meet any cute boys? I met one but he seemed a little bit too pushy so I stopped talking to him."
"No" I replied sadly, "But hopefully there will be a ton of cute guys at this party tonight!"
"Geez let's hope so. I've had a rough day and I'm in no mood to go to a party that's a bust."
After about an hour or so of chatting about our day, Hanna and I went back to our dorm to get ready for the party.
When we finally arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes. The host of the party rented out a massive venue in which there were grand staircases, gold chandeleers, and beautiful paintings all around. On top of that, there was a huge dance floor in the middle, equipped with a DJ and plenty of stobe lights. The party goers were all holding fancy drinks and the dance floor was packed. New York suddenly seemed like a whole new world.
"Now THIS is what I call a party!" Hanna shouted
Just then, a tall, good looking, brown haired boy came over to Hanna and asked her to dance.
"Oh Emily, you don't mind, do you? I would hate to leave you all by yourself!" Hanna claimed
"It's alright!" I replied. "Go have a good time"
Hanna walked away with a thankful look on her face.
Dammit, I thought. Now I'm in the middle of a random party all by myself. As I looked around, I suddenly recognized a familiar face. Taken aback, I didn't know whether to approach the tall, light brown haired boy and say hello, or whether to keep my distance. For some reason, I felt something inside pushing me to go up to him. I slowly started walking towards him, step by step. The closer I got, the more my heart started rapidly beating. That can't be him, I thought to myself. Why on earth would he be at a Columbia party when he could be at any other exclusive party in the world? And why is he in New York? But I knew it was him, and I had never felt so nervous to say hello to anyone in my life. By the time I got closer, there was already a mob of thirty girls all around him. I was about 5 feet away when I realized it was ridiculous to go say hello, especially when he already has a group of girls flaunting over him. Instead, I decided to sit at the bar across from him.
"I'll have a lemonade please" I asked the barteder.
"Are you sure that's all you want?" the Bartender looked at me curiously
"Yes, I'm not much of a drinker" I replied.
"I'll take a lemonade as well please" I head a familiar voice say next to me.
I glanced over only to realize I was sitting next to Ashton Irwin.
