“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. Should I?”
“If you want a social life while here you should.”
I did want that. Friends. A community of my peers was exactly what I was longing for.
Chewing at my lower lip, I nodded. “That sounds like it might be something I’d be interested in."
"If you want to give me your number, I’ll hook you up with the right people.”
No one ever does anything for free and I suspected I knew exactly what he wanted from me in return. But he was hardly a danger to me. Men without conscience and those who lived to kill traveled through the halls of my family home on a daily basis. I’d learned how to tell the ones who had a conscience from the ones who had no soul within them. This man was a guppy compared to them. Hell, he was barely more than a twig, I could probably take him in an arm wrestle if I wanted to.
“Sure. I’d appreciate that.”
“Great.” Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he unlocked it and passed it to me already open on the notes application. Just write your name and number and I’ll give you a call this week when we have our first party. The frat, which is what I’m a part of, hosts a lot of parties with the sorority. The introduction party and pledge party are this weekend.”
“That’s fast.” I quickly jotted down my number along with just my first name, Sophia. I didn’t need him looking me up even though it would be hard to find much about me online, my father made sure of that. I’d never been allowed on social media. I was a ghost when it came to having an online presence.
“Well, we have to get Hell Week moving quickly.”
“Hell Week…” I muttered. I’d watched movies and some contained Hell Week. From how movies portrayed it, it didn’t sound like fun, but my brother and his buddies who ran Helka Island were all frat boys so if they could do it then I sure as hell could as well.
“Yeah, it’s just some fun hazing. Nothing too serious or to worry about.”
“Right.” I gave him another smile of appreciation. “Thank you for whatever help you can offer me.”
He turned back around as the line moved forward and before I knew it, I was heading to one of the stations to get my class schedule and ID’s. The first day of the rest of my life.
Sophia
After a little searching, I found my dorm building and then my room up on the second floor. Thank goodness there was an elevator. I’d given up on the shoes in the registration office and hadn’t bothered to put the torture devices back on, despite the funny looks I was getting from other students as I walked around campus in my bare feet.
Opening the door, I stepped inside the dorm room which I was to share with a woman named Tabitha Richards. I was kind of hoping that I’d be the first to arrive, but that wasn’t the case. My new roommate was already settled in, laying on her bed and busy with something on her phone.
Hearing me enter, Tabitha lowered the phone and smiled up at me. “Are you Sophia?”
I nodded. “I am, you’re Tabitha?”
“Sure am. I hope you don’t mind I already chose this side of the room.”
My eyes swept the room. There was no difference between the sides. Each side had a single bed that was against the wall, desk, and closet. The large window was smack dab in the center of the wall in front of me. The floors left much to be desired, they were a grey tile that looked very well worn. For the amount I paid to live here, I’d have expected the dorm room to be more - well, didn’t know exactly, but it reminded me of a double jail cell. The bathroom was just as I came in. Peeking inside there was no tub, just a shower and a small pedestal sink. The grey tile that was on the main room floor also covered the bathroom. Did they get a deal on the stuff and just ran with it?
“No, doesn’t matter to me.” My eyes settled on my roommate again. She was a tall, slender, stunning woman with perfect chocolate brown skin and high cheekbones a model would kill for. She could easily have been a supermodel gracing the runways of Milan. Fashion Week was one of the few events I got to enjoy each year with my mother.
“Oh good, so where are you from, I’m hearing a little accent.”
“I’m from Italy. Yourself?” Pulling my luggage into the room, I placed my largest suitcase on the bed and opened it up. Might as well unpack and get it over with.
She grinned, “I’m a Jersey girl.” When I didn’t respond, she continued, “New Jersey. I’m on an athletic scholarship. Couldn’t have afforded this place otherwise.”
“That’s awesome. I’m envious, my athletic abilities are slim. What sport?”
“Volleyball.”
That made sense, she wasn’t standing but I’d guess she was close to six feet tall, almost as tall as my brothers. “I wish I was good with sports. They never were my thing. I’m a bit of a nerd to be honest. Most of my time is spent reading.”
As I was putting my clothes away in the closet, I heard her getting up from her bed and crossing the room to me. “Is this real Louis Vuitton luggage?”
I turned and saw her admiring the suitcases, carry-ons and my handbag. They were all bought on my last trip with my mother and a slew of guards in Milan. I didn’t really know the monetary value of them. Life for me when it came to material things was to point at it, say I wanted it, and it became mine. Money for me wasn’t an issue, but I suspected it was for her and the last thing I wanted to come off as is a spoiled, rich girl. That would just lead to more questions I hadn’t devised answers to yet.