6 CHAPTER FIVE

DISCLAIMER

I do not intend to spread hate about the author or the book mentioned below. I do not believe in women pulling down one another. The author has no idea that I exist but that doesn't mean I shouldn't acknowledge this. WHAT THE CHARACTERS DO OR SAY IS NOT WHAT I ALWAYS BELIEVE OR FOLLOW.

Sorry for the interruption, dear readers. This was important. Kindly read on.

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Three months ago.

Somewhere in Bristol

She sat down at her usual spot, glad that it was unoccupied. Her final exams were round the corner and she still had two more rounds of revision to complete. Though she was an overachiever, she knew that nothing was forever until she worked hard for it. One mistake and her years of hardwork can go down the drain.

At least I don't have the pressure of living up to anybody's expectations.

Not that her parents did not care. They would have been extremely proud of her achievements if they were alive. She lost them both in a car accident when she was barely 5 years old. She was then brought up in an orphanage that was ran by Sister Melissa, who was also her guardian as named by her parents in their will.

She sat down to do her revision but a thought was nagging her at the back of her mind. She was thinking about the letters which were now feeling heavyin her bag. She knew that the inevitable was looming over her head and she had to make a decision. She picked up her phone and called Sister Melissa. She knew that the phone call would help her decide. It rang for less than 10 seconds as Sister had quickly accepted her call.

"Cassandra, my lovely child. I was just telling these kids about you."

"Good afternoon Sister Melissa. How are you? How are the kids?"

"Don't worry about us dear. We are all absolutely fine. How are you? Is everything okay at college?"

"I'm fine Sister. Things are really good here. I wanted to talk to you about my post graduation plans."

"Oh yes. Did you hear from any of them?"

"I've been accepted into both the universities, both offering me a full-scholarship ride. And now I don't know which one to pick."

"Oh my god. That's wonderful, my dear. Harvard and Athena both will be lucky to have you."

"Maybe. But I don't know which one to pick. I was thinking that you could help me decide."

"There are some decisions that you have to make all on your own. But here is something that could help. Your parents were an alumni of University of Athena."

That did it for Cassandra. As someone who never got a chance to know her parents, Cassie thought if she walked the halls of University of Athena, she'd probably get to know her parents by living the life that they did.

Present Day

The dorm room is HUGE. Everything looks as good as knew. The books, the study-tables, the fireplace. The fireplace? Do they not use a heater? What is this? 15th century? Never mind. I still have to unpack my things. That's going to take a lot of time. So it's better if I start now.

I put on my headphones and get to work. Since I am the first one to arrive in my dorm, I take the liberty of choosing the bed near the window. I open the closet that is allotted to me and carefully place all my clothes inside. It takes almost an hour for me to arrange all of them before I pull out my most prized possessions from my bag. Books. I dance around the room as I'm moving from my bags to the shelf. At one point, I aggressively shake my hands and legs to the chorus as someone suddenly taps on my shoulder. Startled, I scream loudly as I throw the books to air and remove my headphones.

I turn around to see a girl standing in front of me with her hands on her ears, trying to protect her ears from the possible damage. There are a few girls lurking at the door to see what the commotion is all about. Feeling embarrassed, I mumble an apology as I walk up to the door and gently close it.

"I'm so sorry. I did not mean to scare you. The music was blasting through your headphones and I was trying to get your attention."

"That's okay. It was my fault. I just get scared easily. I take it that you're my dorm-mate?"

"Yes. I'm Cassandra Lily Williams. From Bristol, England."

"Nice to meet you Cassandra. I'm Anaya Sharma. From India."

I forgot about my books for a while as we sat on my bed, talking about our respective lives. The door suddenly barged open and another girl walked in. Dressed in an oversized sweater, jeans and thigh high boots, the girl looked like a model. Cassandra and I, just blink our eyes as we just sit and stare at her. I expect her to throw some attitude, but she beams at us.

"Oh my god! You both are so pretty. Oh, where are my manners. Hi, I'm Isabella Mia Pérez. Your dorm-mate."

"Hi Isabella. I'm Anaya Sharma."

"And I'm Cassandra."

"Can I call you as Cass or Cassie? Cassandra is a mouthful."

"Sure. I don't mind. As long as we get to call you Bella."

"Oh no. Please call me Mia. I hate being called Bella. Twilight ruined that for me ages ago."

"You hate twilight too?", two voices chimed at once.

And that's how we girls bonded. Over our mutual hatred for Twilight. Sorry, Stephanie Meyer. It's just too easy to hate Bella.

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