The Freshman, Book 1

Chapter 1 - Welcome to Hartfeld University

Natalie's POV

It was the first day of college, and I was walking across a bustling campus. "Ugh. This suitcase weighs like a thousand pounds. Maybe I shouldn't have brought so much -"

As I rounded the corner, I smacked right into a guy jogging by. "Whoa!" he said.

We were both knocked off our feet. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" I asked.

"My ego's a little bruised," he said. "If the other guys on the football team saw me get tackled by a pretty girl, they'd never let me forget it." He offered me a hand and helped me up. "I'm Chris, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Natalie," I said.

"Natalie... for some reason that rings a bell... huh," Chris said. "So... are you okay? Nothing broken, I hope."

"I'll be fine. My hand is just a little scraped up," I said.

"Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Chris asked.

"Well, you could get on your knees and beg for forgiveness," I said.

Chris got down on one knee. "Natalie, will you accept my -"

"Oh wow! Spontaneous proposal. I gotta get this on camera!" a guy said.

"No! Wait. It's not like that!" I said.

"Uh, maybe I should stand up," Chris said.

"You think?" I asked.

"Chris! There you are! Don't forget about the Kappa house mixer tonight," a girl said.

"Oh... Becca. Hey. I'd love to go, but I promised my roommates I'd hang out with them," Chris said.

"Too bad... I promise you'd have a better time with me..." Becca said.

"Uh, we're kind of in the middle of a conversation..." I said.

"It looked to me like you were just leaving," Becca said.

"Actually -" Just then, Becca dropped her iced coffee at my feet, splashing it all over me. "Seriously?!"

"Oops. I'm so clumsy!" Becca said.

"Natalie! Your outfit! I'll go find some napkins," Chris said.

As soon as he was gone, Becca leaned in close. "Just so you know, Chris is mine," Becca said.

"Oh, he's your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Not yet. But he will be," Becca said.

"Oh yeah? Forget Chris! What about my clothes?" I asked. "I spent all morning choosing this outfit."

"And that's what you wore? How... sad," Becca said.

Chris ran up with a stack of paper napkins. "This is the best I could do," Chris said.

"It's a good start... I'll just find my dorm and change. See you around, okay?" I asked.

"You can count on it," Chris said.

A Few Minutes Later...

"This looks like the place!" I said. I knocked on the door, which swung open to reveal a huge dorm. "Wow. This place is huge!"

"Aaaahhhhh! New roomie! You're finally here!" a girl said. "... and covered in coffee?"

"Haven't you heard? It's the hottest look for fall," I said.

"Oh yeah? Well you're definitely pulling it off. Seriously, you're super pretty," she said.

"Thanks, I am super pretty," I said.