Chapter 1

"Noelle.."

"Damn it, Noelle wake up!"

My eyes burst open. Elise was standing over me, her finger stabbing the middle of my forehead in such an annoying way. Why was she waking me up so early? I fluttered my eyes, savoring the sweet feeling of sleepiness, giving in to the need to sleep again.

"The first day of your senior year in college, and now you're going to be late? Not that I care but I know how you can be." Elise continued poking me.

Shit. SHIT. Late? I was never late. Had I really forgotten that today was the first day of classes? How much had I drunk last night? I remembered going out with Elise and some of her friends, but for being someone that tolerated alcohol so well, it was ridiculous that I was hungover.

"Elise! What time is it?!"

She rolled her eyes. "You really forgot? Wow you must be out of it. We have 30 minutes before class starts."

I sighed. "Okay, not too bad."

"Uhm, the Humanities building is on the other side of Campus. You're so lucky we have this same morning class, what would you do without me?" Her eyes were playful and she started towards the door. I bit my tongue. I really was hungover. I wasted no time in throwing the sheets over myself and running to the bathroom.

"I promise I won't take long but I need a shower. This is the first time in a long time I've been hungover."

She laughed lightly. "Hurry. I'll have some coffee waiting for you."

I rolled my eyes to myself. I hated coffee, but I knew better than to not take her guidance on this. I closed the bathroom door behind me and started the shower. I knew it was better to take a cold shower, but I needed warmth. I opted for something in between and jumped in and out as fast as possible, taking the slightest time to wash my hair and my body, then rinse off. It was somewhat helpful, my eyes were at least no longer closing on their own. I towel dried my hair and tousled the rest, I had no time to blow dry much less style. All I could accomplish were the essentials. I was able to brush my teeth, wash my face and moisturize, and change into some clothes. A pair of denim shorts and a black lacy, high neck camisole seemed the most appropriate for the day. We were in the hottest days of summer, and even though our house had central air—which was always blasted—the humidity was invading.

"Elise, have you seen my bag?"

She nodded and pointed to the door. "Right by the door, didn't want you to forget it. We have seven minutes to walk to the opposite side of campus. Go ahead and take your coffee."

I frantically grabbed the tumbler and noticed she had chilled my coffee for me. I was grateful. Taking a sip of the sweet caramel flavor in my coffee(another thing I was grateful for) I rushed out the door right behind her. I fumbled slightly with the keys but managed to get it locked quickly, and turned back around to make our long walk to class.

"Dude, relax. This is our last year, we're fine. What are they going to do? Punish us? Expel us? I refuse to run to class just to be on time. It's too hot."

I shrugged. "I know. Still it was all my fault."

"Not like I haven't done it before."

I smiled, she was right. She was always the one using me as designated driver. I had to pull her away from the drinks because she was too prideful to ever stop. Though she had definitely gotten better through the years, she was still a little careless.

"I'm really surprised they didn't list a book for this class yet. Our materials have been announced in advance since our junior year. You would think they know exactly what book this Humanities class would need.." She scoffed at the idea.

I only shrugged. "I mean, it is an elective though. There's usually different ages in there anyways. They probably don't have any set rubric in this class. At least, I hope not. That's the whole reason I took it. I just needed extra credits and you needed this exact class, why not?"

Elise placed her hands on my shoulders and turned me around. Her bright blue eyes dilated and she smiled with her perfect teeth. Looking at her, I felt so small. She was just barely taller than myself, but when she looked at me like this, with her short sandy blonde hair barely reaching her shoulders, she made me feel like a child. "Noelle. You're going to be in a class that literally pits people against each other. Existentialism? Good luck not saying anything...you love debating."

I rolled my eyes and pulled her along to continue walking, though we would be late I didn't want to be more than ten minutes late. "No I don't. I don't plan to talk in class much anyways. My days of being 'engaged' in class conversation are over."

She let out a laugh, "Okay, wanna bet on that?" then took a moment to look her watch, "Well, we're officially one minute late."

Again, I shrugged. "Who cares.."

"I mean if we don't get there soon, you might lose your chance to correct someone."

I bumped into her playfully. "Look, I don't like arguing with people okay. I don't plan on saying anything."

"What if someone doesn't know anything about basic philosophy?"

"Then," I sighed, "I will just listen and respect their opinion."

"Okay. I believe you."

No, she really didn't. I wasn't disrespectful when it came to things like this, but I did have a reputation of wanting to always be right. I wasn't one to usually argue at all, but I was known to speak my mind. Sometimes, that type of talking landed me in trouble. There were definitely barriers that were meant not to be crossed.

"Look we're almost there." She pointed her chin towards the building that was still about a block's length away from us. My body wanted to run and just jump into the air-conditioned building, but the sweltering heat outside kept us moving at a slow pace, conserving every bit of hydration we could. I glanced around and noticed there were girls basically sunbathing, wearing tiny short shorts and what looked more like very sheer bralettes rather than tops. Just seeing them made my skin hurt. I was finally at the age where I accepted my rather light complexion and the fact that sunscreen was my best friend. The golden undertones to my skin kept me from looking sickly, but I would never be one to sport a beautiful summer tan.

A couple of more steps and we were finally at the front of the building. There were two large glass doors that screamed come in. I needed to get out of the heat.

"Home sweet home." Elise was already half way in, holding the door open for me to follow after her.

"It's the Humanities building, not home." I laughed.

"Anywhere with AC is home right now."

I turned to see her behind me and shrugged. I stole a quick glimpse of myself in the reflection. Thankfully, my hair was still frizz-free. The tresses were still wet, and looked darker brown than usual, but the lack of blow drying my hair today, kept my hair in place. Now being inside, my hair had time to dry in the comfort of dry and cool air, keeping the waves intact before they had a chance to turn into a frizzy disaster.

"What floor was it again?"

I pulled out my phone and looked at the picture of the schedule. "Third floor," I sighed.

"Of course," Elise rolled her eyes, "now we need an elevator...I refuse to walk up three flights of stairs right now."

"Don't look at me like I want to. The elevator is down this hallway." I tugged on her backpack strap, leading her into the brightly lit hallway ahead of us. It only took a couple of steps before we reached the two elevators and the restroom that was right beside them.

"Going up." She hurriedly pressed the button and seemed extremely relieved when the doors opened. "Thank god. Get in. We're only ten minutes late."

I laughed to myself. Only 'ten minutes late' was enough to have everyone staring at the very beginning of class.