The Campus Mall

Chapter 1: 7:15 (In the Morning)

The alarm clock sounds at precisely 7:15 in the morning. Drake hits the snooze and turns over in the sheets so he is facing his wife. He tucks a loose strand of her long, dark brown hair behind her ear with four piercings in it. "Goodmorning, beautiful. Are you ready for a rockin' day?"

Sophie smiles and bats her long, mascara coated eyelashes at him. "Just like last night?" she teases.

Drake laughs and kisses her nose. "You betcha, baby."

He reaches out and embraces Sophie, pulling her to his toned abdomen. This is the life they dreamed of since that one fateful night in September of 2019. That long, cloudy, wild night.

_______________1 Year Ago ______________

The alarm clock sounds at precisely 7:15 in the morning. Sophie hits the snooze and turns over in the sheets so she is facing the wall. The butterflies churn in her stomach as she thinks about meeting the man of her dreams. She has dreamed of this since she was eight years old, watching him on Drake and Josh. She bit her lip. Is this really happening?

Sophie sighs and holds her hands against her chest. "Oh, hello Drake Bell. Oh, hellooooo Drake Bell. Oh! Hi Drake! Didn't see you there! Drake! My man! What's happenin'? Do you like my outfit, Drake? I wore it just for you. Drake, I love you."

Sophie hits herself in the head. Stupid Sophie! So stupid!

"You're so stupid Sophie!" she shouts at herself. Her roommate knocks on the door. She was out last night.

"Sophie? Are you talking to yourself about Drake Bell again?"

"Maybe..."

"Sophie, can you please open the door?"

"But I didn't fantasize about the good part yet!"

"For fuck's sake, Sophie, open the door. It's never going to happen!"

Sophie considers not opening the door for her roommate. She pauses to think of a witty remark. None come. "If you dream it you can achieve it!"

Sophie hears her roommate hit her head against the door. "Sophie do I need to get the Community Assistant again? We've been over this. You can't lock me out every time you decide to dream about Drake Bell."

Sophie sighs and swings her legs over the side of the bed. She caresses Drake Bell's face on her pajama pants. "One day" she whispers to herself longingly. She gets up to let her roommate, Angela, into the room.

The door swings open and there stands an angry Angela. Her arms are crossed and her face is as red as her hair is (which is very red). Well someone is a little hungover.

"Well someone is a little hungover!"

Angela pushes past her and walks into their room. She turns on the TV and sits on her bed. Drake and Josh is on... again. As Josh walks into the frame, Angela sighs. She whispers under her breath "If it weren't for Paige O'Brien, we would be married with eight children by now."

Sophie rolls her eyes. What an obsessive psycho.

She turns and kisses her poster of Drake that hangs next to her bed. She traces his jawline with her finger. She goes in for another kiss when suddenly...

"Well, I never thought that it be so simple, but I found a way, I found a way. And I always thought that it'd be too crazy, but I found a way, I found a way. If you open up your mind, see what's inside. It's gonna take some time to realign, but if you look inside I'm sure you'll find over your shoulder you know that I told you I'll always be pickin' you up when you're down, so just turn around..."

Sophie turns around in an overly dramatic way and turns the alarm off. It never gets old. 

"So... are we going to get breakfast or are you going to start daydreaming again?" Angela glares at her from across the room. 

"Oh yeah! I'll see you later Angela! I'm going to go get breakfast!"

Angela looks at Sophie, confused, as Sophie pulls the door closed behind her. 

                                                                             *****

Sophie moved the food on her plate around with her fork, unconsciously writing "Drake" with her tater tots. Sigh. Sophie sighs and leans her face on her hand. Only nine more hours to go. She didn't mind sitting by herself every morning- it gave her more time to think about Drake Bell, her one true love.

It's not like she has never had a boyfriend. She dated quite a lot in high school. Every boy had the same look, though. Shaggy brown hair, brown eyes, five foot nine, and rockin' abs. One boy with the last name Bell was from Santa Ana, California. They only lasted until she found out he was not, in fact, related to Drake Bell. She was devastated and proceeded to key his car out of anger. Another boy had older brothers named Joey and Travis. Unfortunately, they didn't bear the resemblance well enough, so the relationship didn't last very long. She knew in her heart that there was only one man for her. 

"Oh, Drake. You're the only man for me." She notices a few dirty looks from across the room. Sophie never understood it. But it didn't matter what they thought of her. It only mattered what Drake thought of her. 

She daydreamed all the way back to the room, thinking about how they would meet. She would wear a bright orange t-shirt, specifically the one with a pumpkin on the boob pocket, and a black button-up skirt. He wouldn't be able to resist her. 

She skipped the rest of the way back to her room in excitement for the day before her.