To Live a Good Love Story

Chapter 2

I pull into one of the tiny parking spaces just outside my dorm building and my mom swings into the one next to me. I open the car door, barely missing a girl walking past me.

I try to mumble an apology but she's already halfway inside by the time I'm up and standing. So, I take a moment to capture every detail of the huge building. It's at least five stories tall with a spacious lawn right out front. Tables and chairs are scattered on the patio under a sizable awning. And is that a water fountain I spot on the far side of the building?

How can my broke ass possibly afford this? Thank god for scholarships.

There's a sea of people rushing every which way and a wave of excitement falls over me. I read the big, brassy colored letters that cover the left side of the building, Clark Hall.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?", my mom calls opening the trunk of her car. "These are the freshman dorms, my home for the next year.", I tell her with a grin. Judging by the lack of color on her face, she's clearly not as excited as I feel right now. In fact, I'm scared she'll end up using one of my boxes as a trash can if we don't hurry this along.

I grab her hand, trying to soothe her (and save my dorm decorations). "You go ahead and check in at the desk while I start loading some of this stuff on a dolly." She tells me and without another word, I'm gone.

I push my way through the crowd and up to the welcome desk. "Checking in?", says a peppy blonde-haired girl. I nod my head and give her my name. "Room 204, it's on the second floor and you can use the stairs or the elevator to my left!", she smiles and hands me a key.

I thank her and practically skip back to the car. I spy my mom who's somehow cornered a guy into helping her load up my things. Only another hour until I'm a free woman.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later, I set the last of my boxes on my newly made bed and scanned the room, admiring my work. My side of the room is done for the most part.

A small bookshelf hangs over my bed filled with all my favorites and a white comforter with green floral sheets decorate my bed. I've strung up some fairy lights on my side of the room and my mom insisted I make a photo collage on my wall so 'I'll never forget any of our precious memories together'.

My roommate's side of the room was unpacked when we got here but I have yet to see her. Notes of pink fill her side of the room and a full-size mirror hangs on her closet door.

I smile, whoever this girl is will be the person I spend most of my time with this year!

I hope we get along. I hope she's not a serial killer.

"I'm so happy you were able to get the last room in the freshman dorms! I don't want you mixing with the older crowd.", my mom says interrupting my peace. "Remember, you're here to get good grades and focus on your extracurriculars, no boys," she adds.

I roll my eyes before spinning to face her. "No need for the reminder, I heard this speech already last night" I scoff. "I just don't want you getting in with the wrong crowd, you know 30% of college students drop out after their first year!", she looks like she may start crying. She starts up her speech again "-and 15% percent get pregnant-" that's where I cut her off.

She should know by now that the last thing I want is for some stupid boy to distract me.

"I promise I'll go down to the student organization fair tomorrow and join a club or something!" I interject as I usher her toward the door. "And at least one study group!" She begs.

I give her a final kiss and hug (which lasts another 20 minutes). "I'll be home in a few weeks for our monthly meet-up, three hours isn't that far." I remind her. She tells me goodbye again and I swear I hear her crying as she makes her way down the hall.

I shut the door and collapse on my bed, alone at last.

The door flies open.

A head of dark curly hair comes striding in. She makes her way to her side of the room and opens the curtains. She's wearing a pair of mom jeans and a cropped pink shirt, and her dark skin glows in the sun. She pulls out her phone sending a quick text. I don't even think she's noticed me yet.

She puts her phone in her back pocket, turns around, and shrieks.

Then she lets out a small laugh and smiles. "Oh my god don't sneak up on me like that!" She rushes over to me and pulls me into a hug. "Your side of the room is so cute, you'll have to tell me where you got everything!" I'm too stunned to speak. "Oh, where are my manners? My name's Janine and I'm your new roommate!", she blurts out.

For some reason, I'm at a loss for words, but I quickly find them. I snap out of my trance and smile at her. "Hi, I'm Cassia Roberts." I motion to her half of the room. "Do you like pink?" I say, trying to make a joke.

She probably thinks I'm crazy

Janine just shakes her head. "It's the best color in the world, plus it looks great on everyone." Janine shrugs. "What are you majoring in? I'm majoring in marketing, I want to do marketing for Vogue one day!" She talks a mile a minute which makes me laugh. "Mine's kind of lame," I tell her " I want to own a library one day so I'm focusing on English."

"That would explain all the books over your bed!" She says which makes me laugh. "It would be a cool library though, like with a flower shop in it or something!" I explain.

Why did I choose the most boring major in the world, I could've chosen something cool like interior design, or architecture!

But Janine only smiles and moves across the room to get a closer look at my bookshelf. "Oh, and I'll do the marketing for you one day!" Janine says. How can one girl have so much enthusiasm? "I'd like that very much."

There's a lull in the conversation but only for a brief moment. "So, my mom wants me to go to the student organization fair tomorrow, do you want to come?" I ask, hoping she doesn't think I'm weird.

"We'll definitely have to make an appearance, where else are we gonna scope out all the hot available men? There are so many to choose from between the athletes and frat guys... my mom always told me college is where you find your soul mate!"

I want absolutely no long-term relationship with any man on this campus. But Janine doesn't need to know about my family's bad history with men just yet. So instead I give her a giggle and nod my head.

"Oh! Do you think the ambassadors for the school's Instagram page will be there!" She grins widely and twirls a piece of her hair.

I have no clue

I turn to Janine and try my best to match her energy, "Yeah, why wouldn't they be!"

She nods "I think we're gonna be great friends Cassia Roberts"

*Authors note*
Janine's name is pronounced like Jah-neen. I made one little change in chapter 1, I originally wrote that Cassia would be in a single room but I thought it'd be more interesting if she had a roommate. Please let me know if you like this story so far! I know it's a little slow but I really want to give the characters some depth. See you in the next chapter 🙂