Adulthood University-On hiatus

Chapter One

Chaos. Pure chaos. Bodies moved around me, constantly bumping into each other. There was a non-stop flow of voices, and I had no idea what to do. This was my worst nightmare: The freshman college fair.

Well, to be honest, it wasn't my worst nightmare. That right belonged to my recurring dream where my family turned out to be aliens from another planet and kidnapped me to take me back to their home.

This was a close second, though. I hated crowds, and there were about six hundred of us crammed into the college gymnasium. What was the point? Well, I was supposed to look around at all the booths and start making decisions about what clubs I wanted to join and what major I wanted to obtain. Oh, and I was expected to start making new friends. Easy as pie.

Except, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my college life. I had no career in mind and a severe lack of social skills. In high school, I was the kid you saw reading a book in the cafeteria, ignoring all the kids around me. I had one friend, Bailey, and she was going to a different school. I was overwhelmed, and the enormous amount of people stuffed in this room was not helping.

Someone crashed into me, and I immediately started swaying off balance. I was not exactly the most coordinated person you could meet. She stuck out her hand, and I grabbed it, pulling myself back to a stable position.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I was trying to get away from this obnoxious guy, and I guess I moved a little too fast."

"It's okay. There are way too many of us crammed in here. This has to be breaking fire safety," I replied.

"I'm with you there. I'm Elena, by the way. It's nice to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Danielle, but I go by Dani," I said.

Elena smiled. "So, any idea where to begin here?"

"I have no idea. There is so much to look at. This is an introvert's biggest fear right here."

"Right!" Elena said in agreement. "I definitely blur the line between introvert and extrovert, but this is too much even for me."

"I guess we can start on one side of the room and loop our way around," I suggested.

"As good an idea as any," she said in agreement.

We linked arms in an effort not to lose each other amidst the gathered crowd. I was perplexed. Was this how you made friends in college? If being awkward and uncomfortable made you friends, then I was going to be the most popular freshman on campus.

I brushed against another girl on our way to the first booth, and she pushed back into me with force. She had a ticked-off expression on her face, and that ended my brief excitement about making lots of friends. Clearly, I was not going to fit in here.

The first booth Elena and I stumbled across was for pursuing a philosophy major. I enjoyed discussing morals and the great questions of life as much as the next person, but I had no desire to make a life of it. I glanced at Elena to see if she was interested, and she was already pulling my arm toward the next booth.

Guess that answered that question.

The next booth caught my attention, and I pulled Elena toward it. The sign was advertising the college book club, called "Tigers Talk it Up." The name was admittedly corny, but I was intrigued. I had always loved books, and joining a book club was a sure-fire way to meet people with similar interests.

Elena unlinked her arm from mine and said, "I've never been a big reader, but take a look around. I'm going to check out the next booth. I'll meet you over there when you're done."