A New Vista

Chapter 1

Outside, I opened our mailbox and it was empty. I sighed, slowly closing it and turning to face the frat boy standing across the way.

"Hey there!" I smiled as I waved at him. I slowly strutted to the end of our lawn, and he did the same.

"Hey Liz." He smiled at the end of his lawn. A dimple was revealed, and his hazel eyes shimmered in the sun.

"Hey Dave." I waved again. Then I cursed under my breath. "I already said hello."

Dave Hampton was an absolute dream to me, and all I ever wanted was for him to see me the same way.

"Nice day, isn't it?" He started casual conversation. I looked up to him and nodded a little to eagerly.

"It's divine." I said with an overly enthusiastic smile.

"Isn't it?" Another voice said, walking up to us. He had a beer bottle in hand, cuffed blue jeans, old converse sneakers and a white T-shirt with the short sleeves rolled up. "It's always sunny on the Kenyon campus."

"Paul." I said in a less excited way with a risen brow. Paul Newman is what a person like me would call a nightmare on legs. He always was up to something, and was the epitome of a shallow football player not going anywhere.

Once, he left a gift wrapped box in front of our front door, then rang the bell. When the Virginia walked out to unwrap the box and see what was inside, to our dismay it was toads he found in the pond.

Suddenly Paul popped out from the side of our house, laughing along with his frat brothers behind him. Shirley chased them off of our lawn, while Virginia just sat there screaming.

"One of them jumped on my hand!" Virginia screamed. "I just painted my nails!"

Suddenly, I was taken out of my memory when the devil himself was speaking to me.

"Liz." He answered back with a mischievous smirk. Then, he took another sip of his beer that he held vicariously between his fingers.

"Are you supposed to be out here? I heard you were on suspension for the last party you threw." I looked Paul up and down.

"Apparently the principle doesn't find a goat in his campus house funny." Paul shrugged. "It's bull crap that I'm the only one that got suspended."

"You organized it." Dave reminded him. "I told you that one went too far."

"It's just a practical joke!" Paul extended out his arms while he held his beer in one hand. "Some don't know how to laugh here."

After that comment, he glimpsed at me. I squinted at him with my hands on my hips then stepped toward him.

"Alright, alright." Dave said trying to calm us both. "Paul, get back in the house, there's nothing for you to do out here anyway."

"Alright dad." Paul complained as he walked away and went back in the house. Dave looked down at the ground with a smile as he shook his head.

"Are you sure he's graduating this year as well?" I asked with a risen eyebrow.

"Sometimes I need to pinch myself to believe it." Dave said with risen brows. "But he's a nice guy, trust me. Everyone likes Paul, he's a funny guy, you know?"

I looked at him with hooded eyes and my hand on my hip.

"Alright, I guess you don't know." Dave joked and both of us laughed. "I've got to go Liz, but it was real nice seeing you."

"Nice see you too, Dave." I smiled and he waved at me, running back towards his house. After a few seconds of Dave being in the house, the door opened again.

It was Paul coming back outside, and he leaned his back against the front of the house next to the front door. He didn't do anything but stand there leaning against the wall, drinking his beer.

He stared at me, and I stared back. Then he gave me a look, as if to say can I help you? I rolled my eyes and turned around, beginning to walk back to my house.

"Wait!" Paul shouted as he ran toward me. "Elizabeth."

I rolled my eyes as I turned back to him. I was totally unimpressed by this boy. He didn't know how to dress, he always had a drink in his hand, and he obviously didn't know what comedy was if it slapped him in the face.

"Tonight, Kappa Phi is having a little party here." Paul told me. "Why don't you come over and bring all of your friends in that house."

"My friends don't want to go to your party, and neither do I." I shook my head.

"Woah, put those claws away freshman. You just got here and I want you to feel comfortable." Paul shrugged.

"I haven't felt comfortable with you in a hundred mile radius to me." I told him. "Not after you released fruit flies around the plants in our house by sticking yourself through the window."

"Are those still around?" Paul chuckled and I began walking away. He took my hand to stop me from walking away.

"If you touch me again, I'm cutting that hand off." I spat at him, pulling me hand back.

"Listen, I come in peace." Paul said with risen eyebrows. "All I want us to extend and olive brand. I know I'm always playing jokes on your, and I'm sorry. Just let me make it up to you."

I thought for a moment, this was all so sudden. I'd lived on campus for four months and Paul and his stupid friends never tried to do this for me.

If anything, they'd all come by the house calling out for Virginia, who was just a sophomore. Or they came asking for Shirley, who was a junior, to join them next door. But never had any of them ask to see me, a new kid on campus.

"Come on, we never see you. Just give us a try." Paul said with risen eyebrows as his hand was on his chest.

I thought for a moment, then sighed. "I'll tell them."

He cheered out, punching his first in the air with a smile.

"But I can't promise all of us will want to go. I'm sure Mildred definitely wouldn't want to go, so that means the rest of us wouldn't go. We travel as a team. It's all or nothing with us." I crossed my arms with my head risen high.

"That's even better." Paul said with a smirk as he held my chin. "I love a gamble."

He pulled his hand away before I could slap it away, then began running back to his house. He ran backwards, and blew out a kiss to me, then turned around and went inside.

"A party." I said to myself. I hadn't gone to a party yet on campus. I'm sure someone wouldn't want to go, so I wasn't sweating it. But still, the thought of going to a frat party interested me, even if I wasn't a partying type of girl.