10 Feet Down (Original Version)

Chapter 3

I did not ever think that my first night of college would end with me going to a party surrounded by strangers. I also did not realize how many people went to parties. I guess I should have known because it is the first night on campus. Everyone is so excited about being away from their home and families. Everybody wants to celebrate their newfound freedom of being independent and parent-free. I don't blame them. It does feel nice to finally be on my own without my parents watching my every single move and inserting their "godly honest" opinions. I've always liked being alone, just me, myself, and I.

There are probably at least thirty students walking with us towards the University Towers apartment building, only about a 10-minute walk from the dorms. This is turning out to be a very interesting walk because some people are talking very loudly and laughing, while others are taking sips from their drinks they're trying to hide. Samira and Reina don't have any drinks with them. She said before we left the dorm that Latrell will have drinks for us if we want them. I haven't said anything about it yet, but I am not partaking in any underage drinking. I'm not judging other people for doing it, but this is not something I feel comfortable doing. I don't even know what to expect from this party. I've never been to anything like this before. 

"This is going to be great!" Sam exclaims, her curls bouncing along with her excitement.

She smiles wide at me. I return a toothless smile, not feeling any excitement at all for this. Nervous and queasy is more like it.

The crowd turns down the street, and we follow. It reminds me of playing follow the leader, except a majority of the people are either drunk or feeling buzzed. The University Towers complex stands tall off the corner of the street, the farthest building from campus, but still a close enough walk to get to everything. The building is tall. I count 11 floors in total. There are lines of windows spanning across the entire building, and I can see the lights on in the apartments.

Our large group walks around the building to the backside entrance, where some students are standing outside, talking and drinking. Again, like follow the leader, we each go through the backdoor and down a dimly lit hallway. Before we even get to the narrow stairwell that leads down into what I assume is the basement, I can already feel the heat radiating from the party. There's a muffled beat thumping and lightly vibrating against the walls, and as we go down the stairs, the music gets louder.

"Is this legal?" I quietly Samira before we get to the bottom of the stairs, Reina trailing closely behind me.

She shrugs. "I don't know, probably not. This room in the basement has been empty for years, so some students a few years ago started throwing parties down here. The building managers don't give a shit. They hardly care about what students do in this building."

She gives me a sly smile as we get to the bottom of the stair where the lights are so dim I can hardly see her smiling. "As long as nothing gets broken in the lobby, everywhere else is fair game."