Stuck in a Fairytale

Chapter One | Going Off

"Bye, mom! Bye, Dan! Bye, sis! Bye Tina! Bye Dad! Bye Cookie! Bye Noah!" I holler a final goodbye as I jump onto my best friend, Sadie's pale blue, vintage Vespa and she revs it up.
"Bye, Callie! Bye, Sadie!" Mom and Dad holler back. Everyone else waves sadly and wishes me the best of luck. "Don't worry," I say. "We'll visit!"

You must be wondering what's happening. Long story short, I'm finally off to the airport with Sadie and both of us, having been accepted to the same university, are on our way to...wait for it...wait for it...Harvard! We were so excited when we heard the news! I got in because of my academic status, whereas Sadie got in because of her athletic status. I still can't believe it. Sadie's taking her Vespa to the airport ('cause she can't live without it) where it will be shipped off for her and we'll finally pick it up by the airport in Cambridge. And, yes, Vespa is going to be my official transportation mode for the rest of my college career.

Sadie and I are sharing a luxurious beach penthouse apartment, and sure, life sounds perfect, which at the moment, it is. Dan, our third puzzle piece is sadly staying in London, as he's going to university here. We've been to his high school graduation, and boy,were Sadie and I proud!

"Pack your emotional luggage back inside, Cals!" Sadie jokingly drawls in her American accent as she sees my eyes wet with tears, both of sorrow and happiness. "We're off!" Sadie says a last goodbye to her parents, Noah and Tina, and I have to stop myself from bawling at the thought of not seeing my precious Pekinese, Cookie, any more. Thankfully, though, Olivia, my little sister is taking good care of her. She sniffs a goodbye.

"Bye, brats!" Dan grins sadly.

And before I can retort back, Sadie reverses out of the estate parking and we zoom away. However sad I may be, I can't wait to finally start my own life...

***

"Mmmhmmh..." Sadie muffles through a bite of the chocolate chip cookies I just whipped up. "These...are great..." she continues. I laugh lightly. So far, all's been well. We've arrived safely in Cambridge and are currently chilling in the penthouse watching teen drama movies with the plate of fresh cookies steaming under our noses and Sadie's Vespa safely in the garage.

"So, Sadie," I say.
"Mmmhph?"
"There are about two more weeks till we start university officially, you know?"
"Mhhphyeah?"
"And I was thinking, we should start getting to know our way around here, you get me?"
"Uhh...mhhhmhphyeah?"
"So, why don't we visit the Harvard dorms and get to know what goes on around here, you know, branch out a bit, make some new friends...what do you think?"
"Mmph...yeah...mphsounds..." Sadie gulps and then grins. "Great."
"Then what are we waiting for? The Vespa is itching to be taken out."

***

"Ugghhhhhh..." I hear muffled groaning coming from the kitchen. I get up from bed and check the time. Five minutes to midnight. I sit and listen to the nightly sounds from outside, ignoring the groaning, for five minutes. Suddenly, midnight strikes on the modern grandfather clock in the hallway.

A queer feeling comes over me.

I shrug it off.

I finally get up and stumble into the kitchen, the source of the beautiful groaning noises.
Sadie is looking down at her one hand holding a playe of what I think is meant to be chocolate muffins, but they look more like rocks from a newly erupted volcano, and in the other hand she's holding a wad of scrunched up assignment papers. Oh, damn, I forgot about those.

It's been two months here at Harvard, and boy do they have standards! We've been flooded in assignments, papers and surprises like extra credit homework and pop quizzes. Technically, I'm already sick of it here. And apparently, so is Sadie.

"What's up?" I ask softly.
"Uhh...what's up? What's up??!!"
"Um...yeah? You okay?"
"Okay? Okay??!! Do I look okay to you?!?!" she shrieks. I give her the once over. Where do I start? Her hair is tousled and her eyes have dark rings under them...not to mention her glare penetrating right into my soul...
"Ummm...you trying to bake?"
"Humph!" she shoots me one more look, slams the 'muffins' down on the island counter, walks to the living room and throws herself on one of the plush couches, sighing deeply.
"Do you ever wish you could just run away from your schoolwork and problems?" she looks up at me.
"Um...yeah...sure." I answer. "Why? What's up?"
Another deep sigh. "Well, all this work and deadlines, I'm so stressed."
I nod with understanding. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Vanilla chai would be great."
"Coming right up."