Cherry Cheeks

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

Cherry Cheeks

Chapter 1 - The Beginning

It was Cheryl Austin’s last year at Cambridge University studying Forensic Psychology. She had always loved mysteries; they seemed to follow her every turn. When Cheryl was younger they used to call her Cherry Cheeks, because her cheeks went pink whenever she was nervous. Now everyone just calls her Cherry, I guess the name stuck. Cherry has long brown hair that she always wore down, and unmistakable blue eyes that she normally covered with black eyeliner and green eye shadow. She wore vintage clothes and brown leather boots. Cherry’s roommate was her close friend Eliza-Lee, they had been friends for the past three years they had shared the room, they clicked as soon as they met. It must be Eliza’s love for the mysterious and dark things; Eliza studied to be a Forensic Scientist.

It was the first day of her last year and Cherry was late for her lecture. She chucked on her shirt and baggy jeans and struggled to get on her leather boots that she had, had forever. She rushed out of the house she had been renting over summer break that was really nothing special and got in her car. Cherry didn’t like driving, it’s why she lived on campus but over the holiday she really had no choice with the Uni being an hour’s drive away.

Cherry opened the lecture door as quietly as she could, and snuck past the forensics students staring at her.

“Sorry” She whispered, the Forensics teacher gave her a stern look but accepted her apology and pointed to a seat.

“Cherry! I was worried, what took you so long?” Eliza asked. “You’d been waiting for this, for ages!”

The teacher signalled for them to stop  talking. “Later” Cherry whispered, hugging her bestfriend.

Cherry was very eager about this talk, and Eliza was right she had been waiting for ‘What makes a person kill’ for weeks. It was the question that made her brain tick over. Why did criminals do what they did? What drove them to insanity? Cherry figured that everyone had a breaking point and they had obviously reached that point. Cherry jotted down a few topics that the lecturer talked about and books she mentioned.

After the lecture Cherry and Eliza walked to their room that had been empty for the past 3 months.

“So? What made you late?” Eliza asked while unpacking their suitcases.

“I just slept in” Cherry answered being very brief with her best friend. Eliza narrowed her brow, knowing that Cherry wasn’t the one to sleep in. They hadn’t seen each other in moths, Eliza visiting her family in Sweden and Cherry doing another course over the holidays. “How was your family?” Cherry asked taking out her bed spread and her pillow.

“The usual, embarrassing, interested in everything I’m doing” Eliza said giving up unpacking her suitcase and sitting on her bed.

“Do they still think you’re studying law?” I asked. Eliza’s parents wanted her to be a lawyer, and she was at law school for a year then moved to Forensic Science, what she wanted to do all along. She had been putting off telling her parents, and because she only see’s them a couple of times a year than it wouldn’t be such a problem.

“Yeah... about that....” Eliza said laughing. 

"They don't know do they..." Cherry said smiling at her bestfriend. 

"I was planning on telling them, but they just seemed so happy that they will have a lawyer in the fmaily" Eliza said.

Cherry got out her notes that she had taken during the lecture and read over them. What makes a person kill? There were all different reasons she had written, it was more do to with the neurological signs.

Cherry shook her head in frustration. “Nurture or Nature?” She said throwing the notepad on the floor. It was the question that had everyone fooled. Was it in ones nature to murder? Was it who they were, were they formatted to kill. That’s the question that drove Cherry to Forensic Psychology in the first place. Eliza and Cherry were very alike in these ways, they believed the same things. They were almost sisters.  In some ways they even looked alike, the other students at Cambridge thought they were sisters.

Cherry had some other friends she got along well with, James who was studying to be a trauma surgeon, Alex who was a fourth year law student and Sara who was doing Forensic Psychology as well. She hadn’t seen any of them since last year; she was so busy doing a Forensics course.

When Cherry has finished unpacking all her clothes and personal belongings, she tried to have an early night, tomorrow being a full lecture day.

The sun shone through the window and straight onto Cherry’s face. She opened one eye annoyed at waking up so early, but nonetheless she got up and got ready. Eliza was still in a deep sleep, now Cherry knew why Eliza had insisted on getting the bed beside the wall. She got her books ready, and raced out to see if she could find Sara, she was in the first lecture with her.

“Sara!” Cherry called when she spotted the blonde ringlets and the bright purple dress. Sara liked to be the first in best dressed. Literally. Today she was wearing a floral purple dress and enormous over sized hoop earrings, she wore black stockings along with laced boots.

“Oh my god, Cherry – I haven’t seen you in ages!” Sara said almost leaping on Cherry. “How have you been? What did you do? How was the course?! Answers!!!”

Cherry smiled at Sara’s natural optimistic personality and told her that everything was okay and well. Five minutes later Eliza joined them just in time for the lecture. Forensics was something all these girls loved, they were all passionate about crime and getting inside a criminals brain.

This was also their last year so they all had to study extra hard to top the class. Not get distracted by boys, and late night parties. Not that Cherry was into partying anyway, but Sara always dragged her and Eliza along to them and hooked them up with dates.

A new teacher came in; he was young, dark features. He had a Spanish accent, and was very enthusiastic about Forensics. He wasn’t too bad to look at either which Sara pointed out as soon as he stepped foot in the room.

“He’s gorgeous...” She said as he talked about the jurisdictions of criminal law. “Would it be wrong if I we dated? I mean he looks young. Enough.” Sara added.

Eliza rolled her eyes, the usual Sara statements. Cherry laughed causing him to look up at us. He smiled at Sara at she nearly passed out. After the lecture was over Sara thanked him and asked if there was any extra work he wanted them to do.

Cherry and Eliza walked off, knowing Sara will catch up with them once she’d finished flirting with the new teacher – ten years too old for her.

That night Sara dragged them to a local bar. “Come on guys it’s our first night back we have to catch up on the goss!” She said picking out the dress she would wear.

“Fine but I’m driving” Cherry decided, getting out her black laced dress, the only remotely modern thing she had in her closet.

“Haha okay, fine with me!” Sara replied, now sorting through her collection of heels looking for the right one to blow everyone away.

“This is gonna be a long night...” Eliza said to Cherry.