Shadow King

Meeting The Squad

After following Novah around half the day, I was finally getting familiar with the campus. The majority of my classes were on the same side, only physics and chemistry three were on the other side. It was Monday and we were now having a lunch break.

"You're going to love the food here, it's nothing like the trash they fed us in high school. I'm talking steak and mashed potatoes, baked macaroni, and we even had caviar once, but that was gross." I gathered early that Novah enjoyed talking. Which was fine by me, I only had to respond every other minute for her to keep the conversation going.

She paused, waiting to see if I would agree or disagree with her. So far we have a lot of things in common. "I once tried caviar at a party my mother and I attended, I wasn't impressed."

Looping her arms through mine she turned us down another hall left of the one we walked down. From here I could see two big double doors at the end. I needed to remember this for the future. "You remind me so much of Leah, not much impress her either. Wait til you meet her!" She told me earlier that I'll be meeting every one during lunch since I didn't have any classes with them.

Pushing through the double doors I cringed at the sound that hit me. The cafeteria was filled with people, more than I was expecting. Well it was more of a food court than a cafeteria. It wasn't like high school where there was a line leading to one thing. This place had several stations set up for different types of food.

On one side there was a kfc, McDonald's, and subway. On the other side was more fancy options like red lobster, Applebee's, and IHOP. Dear God, have I died and gone to heaven? This is what we get to eat? Sweet baby Jesus. "I think I might cry."

Novah laughed, "Pick your poison." She says, flaring her hands like one does when you're about to view a new house.

"Pick one? I don't think I can do that," I scanned the room again. There's only forty minutes until my next class, I must decide quickly. "I'll get subway and fries from McDonald's."

We made our way to subway first because I wanted my fries to be fresh. Novah grabbed a six inch ham and chips, while I got tuna. "How can they afford this? A whole red lobsters!" There was even a sit in option just like the normal restaurants.

She giggled at my surprise. "Almost every kid here parents donate a decent amount of money to keep this place running, as you noticed this is the only college within miles. Any other college you can only get to it by plane, I guess parents want to keep their kids close while also giving them freedom." I hadn't actually paid much attention to the college my parents picked for me, hell I didn't even know how much it cost. Maybe I should give them a call later...why did they choose this place? There's no way we can afford it.

The line at subway was short, but many kids wanted McDonald's. It took us ten minutes to get our food. I looked around trying to find us a seat. Everyone here seemed to be sitting in groups. "My friends are this way." Following her through the throngs of students, she lead us through an archway cut off from the main cafeteria. There was about eight students here, three of them sitting together facing away from us. "Hey nerds!" She called out.

I almost stumbled when they faced us. Holy cow, did I just walk into a model party? They were gorgeous!

The guy on the left was well built, muscular like he does nothing but work out in his free time. He had sandy brown hair that dropped just above his eyes, and the mint green eyes that made his hair seem almost luminous.

There was another guy on the who's features I could hardly describe. His hair was so silver that it almost looked white. I've never seen any one my age with silver hair, but it worked with him. You could tell it was not natural and not dyed. His eyes were a different story, they were a glacier blue, seeming almost white. It was intimidating to look at him.

I shuddered, focusing on the last person, almost wishing I hadn't. She was even more intimidating than the guy. Her black hair was shiny in the bit of light the room created, so were her dark eyes. At first glance she looked like a possesed demon, but once you blink you realize there's actually color to her eyes. They were just a really dark black. She was muscular too, but not as much as the first guy. Her muscles were evened out with the curves I could see from here. I felt like a sack of shit the closer we got to the group.

The guy on the left jumped down from the table he was sitting on. "We made a bet on how long you'd keep your roommate from us." He grinned, coming to stand in front of me, bowing dramatically low. "Pleasure to meet you, my name is Ethan. But you can call me the guy you've been looking for."

I rolled my eyes, seems I just met the player of the group. "But you said your name was Ethan, not Ryan Reynolds. Therefore you're not the guy I'm looking for." My smile was so sweet you'd get cavities just from looking at it.

A musical laugh came from behind him. "Oh my gosh I love her already." The female came forward, bumping Ethan out of the way. "I'm Leah, I have no nickname and I prefer to keep it that way." She spoke with so much authority that I felt it was a crime I wasn't bowing down to her. There was a orbit of power around her, though she was smiling and seemed friendly. I had no doubt she could break my neck in two seconds.

The last guy walked up before I could respond, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Don't believe her, she loves a good nickname. Right babycakes?" He was rewarded with a sharp elbow in his side.

Suddenly Novah was in front of me. "That idiot is Noah." She tells me, referring to the guy now hunched over. "This is Hailey, this is her first year here."

Ethan grinned, "Lucky for you, you got us to guide you through the dreadful first year." I took a seat next to Novah across from Ethan. Though Leah and Noah seemed friendly enough I was still a bit weary of them. Leah's submissive aura and Noah's unique appearance will take some getting used to.

Leah scoffed, "And if by guiding you mean taking her to parties, then you're the man for the job. Everything else? Not so much." She was more mature than the rest of the group which made me wonder about her age.

"Let's not forget who introduced me to those parties in the first place old lady." He teased and she smacked him. I was startled by the action, but everyone else reacted like this was normal.

"This is Leah's third year here, she's twenty one and the eldest of the group." Novah informed me, biting into her sandwich. Reminding me that I haven't touched mine since sitting down. "How old are you by the way?" I tried not to be disgusting by the lettuce falling out of her mouth.

Unwrapping my sandwich I checked the time, noting I only had ten minutes left until my next class. "Just turned nineteen last month."

"What's your next class?" My eyes flickered to Noah, then moved away quickly. For some reason I didn't expect him to address me at all.

"Physics." I answered, cutting my sandwich into four sections.

"Physics?" Ethan started, "I can teach you all about getting physical." He finished, high fiving a laughing Noah.

Leah stood from the table, "I'm going to leave before he makes me physically sick." She fake gaged when she passed by Ethan, making me grin.

"I'm going to head out too." Noah stood, on his way by me he stopped. "Nice meeting you." He smirked, then grabbed one of my sandwiches. He moved before I could stab him with my knife. I'm not usually a violent person, but messing with my food is the same as messing with my life.

My phone started vibrating in my pocket, the alarm I set for my next class. "Dammit!" I shoved two pieces in my mouth standing up, making sure to grab the last one to go. "I'll see you later!"

No one tired to stop me as I ran like a mad woman. I'd hate to late on my first day here.