Starboy

Chapter 1: The Letter

My whole life, I've had a new beginning every September. There is something promising about the falling golden leaves and the crisp, rainy air. It's quite safe to say that I love autumn. After a dreadful year of school, and a whole summer of dwelling on my mistakes, yet again I get to hit the reset button.

Only this time my fresh start wouldn't be the same as the others. Dad told me that college would either change me for the better or for the worse — and that it all depended on who I surrounded myself with. He said that freshmen fifteen would not be the biggest of my problems, which I had a hard time believing.

I've heard that you go into your first year of college as yourself and you come out of it as someone else. I found that a little bit dramatic, and I'm not one to entertain drama. How can one year have such a drastic change on somebody? They say that college is the greatest four years of your life and the friends you make there will last you a lifetime. And that the choices you make will affect the rest of your life.

I know who I am and I know myself better than anybody. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but I doubt that one year of college will change me that much. I have a plan, too — a plan that will keep me on my feet. I have friends that I have known since I was young and I made promises to myself that I intend to keep. There is just no way that one year could change any of that.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

••

FOUR MONTHS AGO:

The sound of the mailman woke me up this morning. My eyes flashed open as soon as I heard it, and I ran to the front door as soon as I could. Dad was in the kitchen cooking breakfast and jumped when I flew past him. I swung the front door open and opened up the mailbox. Right in front of my eyes, something exciting laid before me.    

I picked up the envelope and ripped it right open, before even getting inside and sitting down. It felt like forever before I finally saw a stamped logo of NYU on the top right of a piece of paper. Of course, I knew it was from NYU based on the envelope. 

"Brandy, honey?" Dad asked me, with clear confusion in his voice. "You sprinted right past me. Is everything alright?"

Without even trying, my brain had completely blocked his voice out and all I could see were the words that were in front of me. "I got in," I muttered underneath my breath. I could feel my heart racing and I feared it would pop right out of me and explode all over the living room.

"What? Where did you-" He stopped as he looked at what I held in my hands. "NYU?" He asked eagerly. "NYU?" He repeated again, but louder.

I nodded excitedly and my adrenaline became even more prominent as I watched Dad get excited for me.

"My daughter is going to college!" He yelled, pumping his fists into the air. He walked over to me and grabbed the letter out of my hand. "I can't believe this." He said.

"You can't?" I asked disappointedly. "What, you didn't think I could do this?" I laughed, half-jokingly.

He shook his head quickly, his eyes still on the letter. "No, no. Of course, I believed it. I just.." He sighed and looked up at me. "I've waited your whole life for this, Brand. I meant I am so unbelievably proud of you." He smiled, and I smiled back. "Your mother would be proud of you, too." He added.  

For some reason, hearing him mention mom made me feel uncomfortable, and a little bit sad, too. "I can't wait to tell Benji," I said, changing the subject. "I hope he got in." 

"Of course he got in, Brand, but who cares about him?" He spoke quickly. "YOU got in, and that is pretty damn awesome. Did I tell you how proud I am of you?" He smiled brightly and leaned in for a hug.

"You did," I reminded him. "Thanks, Dad. I'm proud of me too." I gleefully smiled. "I deserve this. I worked my ass off for years to go here and I finally did it." I sighed with relief. 

"You did. You earned it, honey." He handed me back my letter. "And as happy as I am about this right now--and believe me when I say that--you have school today so go get ready. NYU might change its mind if you are tardy today." He joked.

I smiled big one last time before running off to my room. 

I brushed my teeth quickly and stared into the mirror the entire time, thinking about what the fall would be like. I would finally have a fresh start at my dream school, hopefully with my friend, Benji. Although I had no doubt in my mind that Benji was accepted, I was wondering how different my plans would shift if he decided not to go.   

I have it all planned out, which is why I am so nervous about anything going wrong. Once school starts, I'll continue living at home and work at my part-time job at Joey's, a pizza restaurant, and finally get to go to school with Benji, who has been my best friend since fourth grade.

If anything were to mess up my plans, I'm not sure how I would handle it. I am not very good at sudden change, especially if my plans were made years in advance. 

I slipped into something comfy: an oversized hoodie and baggy jeans. I grabbed my skateboard from under my desk and met my dad back in the kitchen. "Ooh, french toast?" I asked. "I love your french toast," I said, my mouth full within a second. 

"Well, it's a special day, Brand. I just found out my daughter got into one of the best schools in the country with a scholarship!" He whooped. "I'm so happy." He said through his voice of excitement. 

"I love you, Dad. I hope you know that." I kissed his cheek and grabbed another piece of toast before heading for the door. 

"Straight to school, okay?" He shouted as I headed out. "Don't visit Benji!"

—

Thank you so much for checking out Starboy! If you finished this chapter, please know how appreciative I am of your time. I hope you continue to read this book.

I truly hope you enjoyed this first chapter. This, of course, was just the opening scene, so continue reading to follow Brandy's intense freshmen year at NYU.

Please comment and/or vote if you are liking this book! I would greatly appreciate it!

Xoxo, Beth.