Fifteen

Chapter 9: Who's To Say

There is one day before the Freshman Orientation! Elsa wrote the excited words in her purple journal with her favorite ballpoint pen. She faithfully used the same pen when writing all of her entries due to her blatant need for order.

She waited at the local coffee shop on Eldridge for her two best friends, Stefan and JT. They were always late, so she had become appreciative of the extra fifteen minutes she would have to herself to write in her journal appropriately titled Accomplished, Pending and Epic Disasters.

The book was filled with stories about the ever-growing drama and pressure with her family, the stress of school, goal of graduating valedictorian, and the lame fact that she was going to college without ever having a boyfriend.

As Elsa continued to write and lose herself in her journal, she didn't notice Ben Elliot staring at her. She didn't notice the toddler crying while in line with its mother or that her noisy best friends had finally made their way into the shop. "Earth to Elsa," JT laughed as they sat down.

"You'll be proud of me, Elsa," Stefan told her, his deep brown eyes gleaming with pride. "I finally got JT to pack his crap." Elsa gaped at him. "You did? Thank God for small miracles!" JT had always been the laziest person she had ever met. It took him forever to do the smallest of things. They were leaving tomorrow and to her horror when she texted him this morning he still hadn't packed. "Yeah, I swung by early and made him pack." Stefan laughed. "He hated every minute of it, so it was a win-win."

If Stefan were ever forced to live and operate to JT's unpredictable schedule, he'd lose his mind but he wasn't as rigid as Elsa. Elsa needed the consistency in her day, each hour constructed with specific goals and targets. How three people were so different in every aspect of their lives and managed to remain best friends for over seven years was a mystery.

"I'm proud of you, JT." JT rolled his eyes. "I don't know why the two of you are so high strung about this trip. It's just orientation." Elsa gasped in disbelief. "It is NOT just orientation. JT, we're going to be gone for over a week. Sure, this weekend will be fun and games, but then we have a week of classes to get adjusted to. This is a big deal!"

JT laughed loudly in his seat. "You clearly haven't channeled your namesake and LET IT GO!" Stefan bellowed. Elsa shook her head annoyed at JT's hysterics. You would think after seven years that their dynamic would have evolved or changed, but it hadn't and Elsa was happy about that. They all brought a different personality to their "Unholy Trinity" as JT liked to call them whenever he felt like aggravating Stefan, who was a not-so-devout Catholic.

"Despite her over zealousness, I have to agree with Elsa on this, JT. We have that one week to get a grasp on college schoolwork and figure out how our professors are." They had a point. JT thought sighing loudly. This weekend and next few years mattered to each of us in very different ways, but it mattered.

Elsa was the perfect example of what a Type A person on steroids looked like. Academically, Elsa was at the top of her class. She always had been and when it looked like Ben Elliot was going to take her spot at the top, Elsa spent weeks of sleepless nights and latté drinking as she crammed, prepped and turned in extra credit assignments.

JT always told her that her book smarts would only take her so far, but she didn't care or believe him. Elsa had plans to excel academically, so that she could provide for her family. Her older sister, Elena, got pregnant before graduating high school. Her younger brother, Andreas, was currently in a juvenile detention center for his lack of respect for authority and incessant need to fit in with the misfits. According to her father, she was the only one that would bring joy and honor to the Liakos name. No pressure.