Elle and Hugo

Chapter One

Eleanor stepped out of her car, stretching her arms into the air. She was finally done driving by herself from Wisconsin all the way to California. She had never been in a car for that long before, and that was with motel stops in Nebraska and Utah.

Eleanor closed the door to observe her destination. She had finally made it to her new home: The University of Southern California. She had been there once before for an academic decathlon, but this time would be very different.

Eleanor slowly turned her body to take in everything around her. Students bustled around the parking lot, some with their parents, and all carrying bags, bins, and boxes. To her left was Pardee Hall, the dorm building she would be living in that year. To her right was the rest of campus, a vast expanse of old buildings ready to be explored. She smiled to herself. This was most definitely where she needed to be.

Before grabbing all of her stuff out of her trunk, she made her way to the building to check herself in. In the main lobby she discovered a long table with four people sitting behind it, two boys and two girls. One boy and one girl sat behind a sign that read A-L and the other two sat behind a sign that read M-Z. Eleanor approached the girl behind the A-L sign.

"Hey!" the girl greeted Eleanor. "I'm Sam! What's your name?"

"Eleanor. Eleanor Cartwright," Eleanor responded. Then she paused, speaking quickly. "But, uh, everyone calls me Elle."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Elle. I'm going to be your RA this semester. Here is a checklist of the furniture in your room. I'll bring you up there so you can mark down any problems you find, like stains and scratches and stuff. It's just so you don't get fined for any of them at the end of the semester. When you're done you can come right back down here and I'll give you your key!"

Eleanor followed Sam up to the second floor while she continued to talk. "This dorm is co-ed. The girls are on the first three floors and the boys are on the top three. You can have guys over whenever you want though. They just can't use our bathrooms."

When they finally reached her floor, Sam let Eleanor into her new dorm room. "Here we are! Room 204! Your roommate hasn't arrived yet so you have time to make yourself at home. So go ahead and pick out your bed, fill out that sheet, and turn it in downstairs so I can give you your key!" And with that, Sam swiftly left the room, hurrying back to her post to greet more students. Eleanor appreciated her spunk, but could already tell they wouldn't be very good friends. Sam was just a bit two chipper for Eleanor's liking.

Eleanor quickly filled out the sheet and earned her key. She immediately added it to her lanyard. The key to her residence hall is not something she wanted to lose.

After about four trips from her car, Eleanor finally had all of her stuff in her room. She took a deep breath, her hands on her hips, observing all of the boxes and bags she now had to unpack. It felt good to see it all, though. She was ready for this next stage of her life.

Just as she was about to grab a bag and empty it out, the door swung open and there stood Sam and another girl that Eleanor could only assume was her new roommate. Eleanor swallowed. She hated her roommate already.

Dressed head to toe in pink, this girl looked like she stepped right out of Legally Blonde. A studded purse rested in her elbow and large sunglasses rested upon the top of her head. Her fingernails were filed to perfection and make-up was caked onto her face.

"Sup!" The girl grinned. "I'm Alice! And you are?"

"Elle. I am Elle."

"Sweet! Looks like we're gonna be roomies!" Alice tossed her purse onto the empty bed and Eleanor just stared quietly as she filled out the sheet without even examining her furniture. "Alright, well, I'll be back with my stuff!" she announced with her squeaky voice. Eleanor could already tell that she was going to find that irritating.