Playing with Fire

Chapter 1

Lillian

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I just moved here. This was a small town; it didn't seem like much was going to happen here. I was looking for a new start; a place I would be able to start over. This small town in upstate New York seemed like the perfect place to get away from everything I knew. I told my family a month ago that I was planning on moving once I had my degree. I graduated in May with my bachelor's degree and started to apply to graduate schools before I had even graduated. I wanted to get my MBA and advanced my career to the highest point I could. Moving to New York wasn't just for a fresh start it was also to go to Graduate School. I was accepted to Syracuse University. I couldn't believe I was able to get into their business school. It was a week before graduation when we had a few days off that my parents went up with me to consider apartments. We spent most of the first day looking at different apartments in the city but none of them seemed to be in good condition. It wasn't until we went looking into an apartment in armory square that I was able to find an apartment that was decent and was in my price range. I signed the lease agreement that day and went back to Vermont with my parents to graduate and start packing up my belongings.

I drove up to Syracuse the week after graduating, my parents came with me driving the moving truck. We got everything into the apartment building and they took off the next day back home. They understood why I wanted to start fresh. They gave me a hug and kiss and told me that they would call when they were back home again. Once I was on my own I started unpacking the boxes that were all over the place and finding new homes for them. I didn't notice how much time had passed but I finally looked at a clock when I heard my stomach growl. I made my way over to the fridge and opened the door, there were a few bottles of water and an apple in there. It was nothing that would maintain my hunger for long. I found my pair of flip-flops and grabbed my apartment keys and headed out to find some where to grab something to eat. This part of the city was beautiful and it didn't take long to find different little restaurants around the area to grab something to eat. I decided that Empire Brewing Company looked like a nice place to grab something to eat. I walked up to the hostess and asked for a table for one. As I followed the hostess to where I would be sitting I ended up walking through the whole restaurant it seemed. Just before I was able to get to the table I would be eating at I felt someone bump into me.

I turned my head and all I saw was this guy staring back at me like I was the one that did something wrong. I shook my head and continued towards the hostess. I couldn't believe how rude he was being. I hoped everyone else wasn't like this. I ordered a burger and fries and waited for the food to be brought out. It took about fifteen minutes for the food to be delivered to my table and I didn't waste any time clearing the plate, once I got my bill and paid with cash I got up and left to head back to the apartment. I went a different way back to my building so I would be able to get use to all the different roads and ways that I would be able to get home. On my way home I was looking at the different buildings and statues that were around.

"Excuse me miss, I think you forgot to apologize earlier."

I turned my head around and saw the guy from the restaurant earlier. I decided I wasn't going to let him get to me. Instead I just kept walking down the road. He was really giving a bad first impression to how people were in Syracuse and I was trying to not let him ruin my first night here.

"I was talking to you."

He made his way in front of me and blocked my way to keep me from going forward. I was trying to keep everything in but he was starting to push my limits. I tried to go around him but he blocked me again. I tired one more time and when he blocked that way I turned around and started to walk the other way. He stopped me again by getting in front of me. I had finally reached my breaking point.