Dangerous Waters

Chapter 1.

Chapter 1.

All Rights Reserved.

© 2020 Mele Toleafoa

"Why are you forcing me to come with you guys? You know how much I hate it! Just go and leave me be!" Thalia moaned, stomping her foot childishly. She knew that it was going to take a lot of work to convince Francis and James to let her stay home. Ever since they had started college, all they ever wanted to do was go out and explore the world. Thalia would be much like them, full of excitement and happiness, if it weren't for a certain someone who had broken up with her because he claimed he could not stay faithful due to the long distance that was put in between them.

The thing that Thalia could not seem to grasp, and was also the reason behind her anti-social behavior, was why Justin, the boy she had been in love with since the fifth grade, would leave her. She had loved him deeply. She showed him the real her. She told him about her fears and about her father and he had promised her that he would never leave her. What hurt her the most is that she no longer felt sure of the fact that everything they had, was real. Thalia had admitted to doing a lot of spying on him since their separation and saw that he had already gotten himself a new girlfriend. Was their whole love a lie? Was he cheating on her the whole time? She knew she should stop dwelling on it because thinking about it always made her shift into depression mode and bad things were to happen when she did.

"THAT! That is the reason why we are forcing you! That look on your face that expresses sorrow, is the reason why we want you to come with us, Lia." James sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and squeezing her tightly. Francis nodded in agreement.

"C'mon Lia. You can't spend your time weeping over an ignoramus like Justin. It's the very first semester of our freshman year! Be happy!" She sat on the other side of Thalia, taking her hand and caressing it.

"That's much easier said, than done, Fran." Thalia replied with a shaky voice. Oh why, did she have to be such a killjoy? Here she was, on the verge of tears for a boy who could not care any less for her feelings while her friends, the people who had stood by her since she was in diapers, were trying their hardest to make her smile. She felt guilt rise up inside of her and she lowered her head as both her friends stood up at the same time.

"I know but you just have to try. Be ready in five minutes! Then we're going to the beach and you're going to have fun!"

Woohoo. Fun.

**

As soon as the trio arrived at the beach, Francis and James took off in the direction of their loves and Thalia followed slowly in a less exuberant manner. They all set up their towels and beach chairs near the bar and then sat back and relaxed. Ricky, James' girlfriend was a curly haired blonde with stunning green eyes. Ricky and James had met at a birthday party of one of the girls from their old high school. She was beautiful and Thalia liked her with James.

"How have classes been?" Ricky wondered aloud, aiming the question to no one in particular. Parker, Francis' boyfriend answered.

"Absolutely dull. This is not how I pictured college to be like. Studying seems to always merge with my partying time." Francis raised an eyebrow. Parker had applied to NYU and had been accepted, whereas Thalia, Francis and James were attending F.I.U (Florida International University). Ricky was a nerd, despite her long legs and model build. She had applied at Harvard and none of them had doubted that she would be accepted. They were right in their assumptions. Ricky attended Harvard and only came down to visit James every second week.

"You mean your partying time is merging into your studying time." Francis thumped his chest and stared at him pointedly. Parker chuckled and planted a small kiss on her lips, distracting her from the lecture she was about to deliver. Meanwhile, Thalia was staring out at the beach. She felt suffocated in the presence of so many couples and she decided that she was going to buy a drink from the bar. A shot of tequila would definitely make her forget about all the feelings coursing through her.