Traveling to Paradise

Chapter Two

Lauren awoke to Tasha already unpacking, the always needed cup of tea in her hand as she methodically sorted through boxes. Light streamed through the window, hitting Lauren's body full on and enveloping her in its warmth. Tasha was about perfect in Lauren's eyes. She was about five foot seven, long shining brown hair reaching past her shoulder blades, and a skinny petite body with amazing hips. Her best feature in Lauren's opinion, was Tasha's eyes. They were round and rimmed with beautiful lashes around the brown center, making her look like a doe eyed child sometimes. Lauren on the other hand, was Tasha's opposite in certain ways. She still had long dirty brown hair but it never quite cooperated with her, and her makeup never quite looked as good as Tasha's. She was a good two inches or so taller, and that combined with her large frame made her appear intimidating because of her physique. She was not huge, but skinny was not a word to describe her. She had curves in all the right and wrong places, leaving her feeling beautiful some days and self conscious others.
Yet both girls had been best friends since they were eleven. Their classes didn't start for two days, Lauren was planning on being an English Major to go into publishing, while Tasha loved Math and already had an internship to be an accountant lined up at the bank only a few blocks away. Their morning consisted of jamming their clothes in the dresser and arranging the room so they both were satisfied. Lauren adored being by the window and Tasha demanded the desk for her schoolwork. Since both girls weren't shy and loved to be social, they decided they needed to make friends, immediately.
Going downstairs, luckily they were only on the second floor of the dorm, they went outside to the open garden where clusters of college kids already were grouped. Eyeing the different groups- it was easy to tell the different cliques on campus. The smart nerds- studying for the classes they hadn't even started and wearing appropriate modest clothing. The bitch crew- girls wearing short shorts and tank tops far too tight, Chanel bags slung over their shoulders as they flirted with the group next to them, the jocks. They were obvious to spot, some wearing sports shirts and athletic shorts, others completely shirtless, showcasing their gleaming muscles in the sunlight. The party group also was distinct in their slightly scandalous dark outfits and smoke rimmed eyes, giving them away. Slightly harder to define, the hippies were dressed in flower dressed and long unruly hair, softly singing to themselves. After inspecting the groups individually, the two girls were unsure how to proceed. Which group did they fit in? Who did they want to actually hang out with? Did they fit into any group?
Their answer came when a group hidden behind an enormous tree caught their gaze. The group didn't seem like a specific stereotype, they just looked...intriguing. Gathering herself for whatever may happen, Lauren grabbed Tasha's arm and led her to the unknown gathering of people, determined to make friends somewhere.
"Hey, I'm Lauren, and this is Tasha" she said, pointing to her stunning best friend wearing burgundy jeans with a mustard yellow sweater and white scarf.
"You're new here, aren't you." A boy in khaki pants and loose blue shirt stated, not even making it a question.
"How could you tell?" She questioned confused on how he so easily recognized that about them.
"Anyone who's been here long doesn't walk up to us." Said a rather tall blonde haired boy, with the look about him that said I'm effortlessly attractive and I don't know it.
"I'm John, khaki boy is Sam and Jenna is the girl with the black hair. Oh and my girlfriend is Tayla, the gorgeous girl with short brown hair" John said as he slung his arm around Tayla's shoulders. Tayla smiled up at him, and it was quite clear she was smitten by him. But even for just meeting John, Lauren could sense the dull light in his eyes when he smiled back down at her, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"How adorable! You guys are cute together. How old are all of you?" Tasha gushed, eager to know them.
Sam answered her this time, eyeing her and taking in her and Lauren's demeanor.
"I'm 20, so is Jenna, Tayla's 19 and John is 18. What's your story?" He questioned them, almost like a test to see if they fit in their exclusive group.
"Back home didn't fit us well, we needed something bigger, a change of scenery. Oregon was a little too small for our personalities." Lauren said smoothly. No need to tell them their life stories yet, she thought.. That could wait.
"Oregon huh? This is a long ways away for some small town girls. Well tonight there's a party at my friends place, a sort of welcoming into the new school year. You guys should come." Sam said, deciding he liked the girls. They had an innocence to them, they weren't like most of the girls he'd met here, they had an air of sweetness that lingered. He'd see what happened when they became friends. Lauren was relieved they had invited them to a party, they would actually have a social life here. Her and Tasha had never really partied in high school, but hey, it's college, new beginnings right?
"Sounds like fun, but uhm we have no idea where it's at.." Tasha said, being the sensible one out of the two.
"Oh don't worry, well pick you up outside of the dorm at 7 o'clock okay? You're with us now." Sam said this as a demand almost, but not necessarily in a bad way. In the sort of tone that told them they belonged with them, and Sam let them in his entourage. Lauren didn't know how she felt about it, but after agreeing to go to the party her and Tasha headed back to their room, their goal of making friends accomplished, she realized she would just have to see what this brings them now.

~Thanks for reading! This is just setting up for the plot and getting the characters in place, quite boring sorry! Actual things will happen soon, I promise(: Stay classy- Rose