Belgrave University was supposed to be Rebecca's fresh start. It was supposed to be her chance to escape her controlling parents, her lying ex-boyfriend, her extremely eventful past. The promised fresh start turned quickly into a nightmare as she le...
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It took me every ounce in my body not to throw my alarm clock across the room. Cassie and I had spent way too long at the bar last night, and we definitely had drank a lot more than we should have. Not a really great way to keep my promise. Randall and Jack had left before us, and I wasn't even sure at what time we had left. Jack had bombed Randall with questions about The Order while Cassie and I simply laughed at his curiosity. Even if there was a society like that, there was a high chance they would have only accepted those jock-types like the ones we had seen at the pub. In my opinion, Jack was too smart to even consider joining a society like that.
Because of all the alcohol my head was pounding as I woke up to the loud ring of my alarm. Dozen seconds later I had managed to close it, and when I finally rolled over I saw that my roommate was nowhere to be seen. However, I hardly had any time to think about it since looking at my phone made me realize that I was about to be late for my first class. I was definitely not nailing the beginning of my college career.
Throwing on the first clothes I could find, I was already running out of the door. A memory from the corner of my mind came forward as I remembered that Jack had mentioned the ethics class the two of us were sharing, which was – in fact – the same class I was running to. When I had finally managed to find the class I was relieved to walk inside and see that my lecturer was not present. It took me a moment to locate Jack, and when I found him I walked over to a seat next to his, managing a small smile onto my face.
"Morning." I greeted him, taking a seat next to his, barely managing to keep my head straight. Jack glanced towards me, clearly able to see the rough situation I was in. A small smirk appeared onto his face which was wiped away as soon as he saw me glaring at him.
"Rough night?" He questioned, the question earning him a hit on the shoulder. At the same moment the professor walked in, his eyes glancing around the whole room. "Introduction to ethics. Such a strange name for a class." I had to admit that our ethics professor was a lot cooler than I thought he would be. It would have been great if I could have paid attention to him, but my headache stopped me from doing so. My attention, however, was caught by a fellow student when the topic of conversation converted to the murder taking place yesterday. I couldn't believe that on my first day of college someone was murdered; what I couldn't believe more was that I had no idea something like that had occurred.
***
As soon as the bell rang, Jack stormed out of the classroom, simply telling me that he would talk to me later. I couldn't even respond when he was already out of my sight, and the only thing I could do was slowly saunter after him. When I finally reached outside I could see him already in a full conversation with our tour guide from yesterday – Alyssa, if I'm not mistaken. I wasn't sure whether to join them or not, but luckily I didn't even have to make a decision since Cassie walked over to me, her usual smile on her face.
"Who are you stalking now?" She questioned, her eyes following mine. When she saw Jack she let out a small whistle, clearly thinking that I liked Jack romantically. I simply sent her a small glance, rolling my eyes in response. Even though he was almost my type, I was fully intent on keeping my promise, at least 2/3 of it.
"Don't even." I simply replied to her. My blonde roommate could only let out a small chuckle, linking my arm with hers as she led me towards an unknown destination. Our walk, however, could not last for long, and came to a full stop when we heard a loud scream. Without thinking the two of us ran towards the sound, leading us to a bloody body lying on the ground, Jack and someone – who I hadn't had the pleasure to meet yet – kneeling over it and trying their best to help her. Jack turned around when he heard someone run near him, and I could see panic in his eyes when he held his hands on her wound. Cassie and I couldn't do anything to help since it became evident that the person had died mere seconds ago.
"Jack, what the hell happened?" Cassie questioned, clearly panicking over the sight taking place in front of her eyes. I tried my best to remain calm, even though it wasn't as easy as I thought. I quickly gave a light squeeze to Cassie's hand which she gladly accepted. Jack glanced from Cassie to me, seeing the confusion in our eyes. "I don't know, we just heard a scream and came running." He explained, and while I fully believed him of not having anything to do with her death, Cassie didn't seem so convinced. She even took a full step back when Jack took a step towards us, his bloody hands towards us.
"Cassie, you have to believe me. You know I wouldn't do anything like that." Jack said, obviously understanding the fear Cassie felt. "Rebecca? You believe me right?" I quickly nodded as a response. I had only known him for a day, but I could have bet my life on his innocence which was something that Cassie clearly couldn't do.
***
I had my first police questioning after my eventful high school days – because let's be real, I had quite a lot of those in high school – and after that I promised to meet up with Jack in the pub. Cassie agreed to join me with an intention to apologize to Jack, and when we walked in we saw him already present at the bar with the same guy from earlier next to him. Suddenly a guy appeared next to Jack, purposely making him spill his drink just as he was about to take a sip; if I'm not mistaken, the douchebag was named Kyle. Cassie had already had to pleasure – or not – of meeting him since the two of them shared a class, and she told me full stories of how he hit on her while all she wanted to do was to concentrate on the lesson.
"Hey douchebag, how about you move? Thanks." I sarcastically said, walking next to Jack and practically shoving Kyle out of the way. Cassie followed me quietly, instantly sitting between Jack and the unknown boy – Kyle had already noticed her, trying his best to strike a conversation with her, which Cassie wasn't interested in at all. Kyle took it as his cue to leave, and I couldn't help but to make eye contact with Jack, the two of us laughing. When the laughter quieted down, Cassie took it as her chance to apologize to Jack, and within seconds everything was all and well between the two of them. I learnt that the boy was named Amir, and as it turned out, the two boys were pledges for the same society Jack had questioned Randall about – the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose.
"This is some suspicious shit you're getting into." I couldn't help but to comment after Jack had finished his story about his ordeal with The Order. "Do they know you're pledging?" Cassie commented, me and Amir letting out a laugh as Jack simply glared at the blonde girl.
"Can you even tell us about the society? I mean, it seems kind of secret or something." I added, Amir clearly agreeing with me since he had told Jack in the beginning that he shouldn't tell anyone about it. Jack, however, simply shrugged it off, stating that he trusted the two of us not to say anything. While that applied to me fully, I could only hope that the same applied for my roommate. After all, I had met the girl a couple of days ago, and couldn't be sure whether to trust her or not. I was only sure of one thing – as much as I liked the people, there was no way in hell I was about to trust my past with people I had just met.
