BADLANDS / H.S

new americana

one / victoria

I put my bags down on my new bed in my dorm room. My roommate hasn't arrived yet and I take a deep breath looking around the room. It was small, it looked like it had been split down the middle. 

There was a bed on one side with a desk at the end and a closet behind it. The same on the other side. I sat on the bed with my hands folded in my lap. My heart had been beating like a horse ever since I stepped out of the car. 

I slowly began to unpack, starting with my closet. I put my silver hair up into a pony tail and finished my closet within an hour. As soon as I took my laptop out of my backpack, the door opened and in walked a small, pretty girl with her parents. 

As soon as the girl saw me, her face lit up. "You must be Victoria!" She smiled sweetly, coming over to me and shaking my hand. "I'm Alyssa. You're a freshman right?" 

I nodded my head slowly, releasing her hand and shoving them in my sweatshirt pocket. "Oh, I'm a sophomore, second year here," She nodded at me, looking around at the room. She smiled at her parents and I distracted myself as they said their goodbyes. 

As soon as her parents were out of the room, she sighed and pulled out a package of cigarettes from her back pocket. I watched her with a small smirk as she lit the stick and took a long drag. 

"Want one?" She grinned, handing me one. I gratefully took it and cupped my hand around the end as I lit it. I inhaled the smoke and let it cover my lungs. I exhaled slowly, instantly relaxed. 

"There's a frat party tonight on the south side of campus. You up for it?" Alyssa asked me as I finished loading things into my desk. I sat back in the desk chair, weighing out my options. I could go and get fucked up and start college off on a bad start or I could lay in the uncomfortable bed the rest of the night staring at the ceiling. 

"Fuck it. Why not?" I laughed as her face lit up with relief. For the next few hours we talked about the dorm, college, boys and ourselves. She liked to be called Aly and had her eye on a boy that lived in the frat we were going to. 

"Any boys back home?" Aly asked me as we sat on our beds facing each other. I shook my head and played with my chipped white nail polish. 

"Nah. Not really into relationships and being tied down. More of a one night stand girl," I shrugged, looking up at her. She nodded like she totally understood and for all I knew she could have. 

She told me this place was filled with preppy white kids who would vacation in the Hamptons when off from college on the north side. Then there was the south side of campus. Filled with frat parties and punk potheads who barely got into this college. She told me not to be intimidated, though. They were all nice people. For the most part. 

"Are you gonna wear that?" She looked down at my grey long sleeve and high waisted light wash shorts. I nodded, tying the laces to my white converse. She raised her eyebrows and nodded in an approving way. 

I fixed my makeup and straightened my hair in the mirror on the back of my closet door. I looked over at Aly and saw her typing the Harry Potter books as she had a stressed look on her face. 

"Whats up?" I asked her, spraying some perfume and putting it back on my desk. 

"Abigail just told me Liam just kissed Claire," She huffed, shoving her phone and cigarettes into her butt pocket of her black shorts. "Ready to roll?" 

"Ready as I'll ever be,"  

There was many ways I could have prevented going to this party. Like saying no. Thinking of my circumstances. Using common sense.