A Taste of College

Chapter 1

The first time Caleb noticed her, she was laughing so hard she nearly spilt her drink.

It was welcome week at his University in Arizona, and the campus was buzzing with the excitement of a new semester. Freshmen were everywhere, introducing themselves, exploring the buildings, attending orientation events, and trying to make friends before classes officially began.

Caleb had moved onto campus the first day of welcome week, saying good bye to his parents, and officially began living alone. Although, despite how excited he was, he was also nervous.

Moving to a whole different state for college had seemed exciting when he'd been planning it. Now that he was actually there, surrounded by hundreds of unfamiliar faces, he wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself.

Luckily, his roomate, Jack, seemed cool enough, and made him feel a little at ease when they found out they had a few things in common.

That night, Jack invited him out. "It's not that far, plus, I know someone already going and she offered to drive. She doesn't drink, so we got ourselves a designated driver. Cmon man, come with us!"

Caleb hesitated at first, but he knew he would eventually have to socialize with people, so why not when he was a little tipsy.

According to Jack, the party was off-campus. Their designated driver, Angie, was a loud girl, and when Caleb asked why she didn't drink, she just said that she preferred pot, though she swore up and down that she would remain sober for the night, on account of a favor she owed Jack.

The party was at a house, and Caleb laughed as he looked at the stereotypical party: loud music playing, a few people out in the front, a few on the lawn in a circle or spread out. They got inside and Jack immediantly went to get them a drink. The house inside was crowded, and there were several boxes of pizza in the kitchen.

And there, he saw her. She was standing in a group of girls, who were all noticably taller than her. Caleb figured she must've been around five foot, since the other girls didn't seem too abnormally tall. She had a beautiful face, and was also a bit heavier than the other girls, with a full figure and soft middle that seemed visible through her tight-fitted shirt.

Caleb was drawn to her. He didn't know why, maybe because she seemed differnt than the girls around her, but he couldn't help but stare a bit.

She was animated, outgoing, and seemingly incapable of having a quiet conversation. Every few minutes, she'd burst into laughter, gesture dramatically with her hands, or convince somebody nearby to join whatever conversation she was having.

Caleb noticed her grabbing another slice of pizza while laughing at something one of her friends had said.

Then he noticed her returning for another.

He didn't think much of it.

She saw Jack, and said hello loudly, as they engaged in a short conversation, when Jack pointed in Caleb's direction. She turned to him and smiled as Jack motioned for Caleb to walk over to them, and so he did.

"This is my new roommate!" Jack yelled over the music, before turning towards Caleb, "And Caleb, this is Lily. We went to the same high school!"

Lily came in for a hug, which shocked Caleb a little, but he embraced it.

"It's nice to meet you! Jack's cool! You lucked out! There's some real weirdos out there!" She laughed, before taking a sip of beer. Jack handed Caleb his classic red cup.

They exchanged a brief introduction, but their conversation lasted less than two minutes due to the loudness of the music. Lily was friendly, trying her best to talk to him, before somebody called her over.

Caleb didn't see her for the rest of the night. He thought about her in the back of his mind, but continued to party with Jack, drinking his worries away.

He knew he wasn't crazy drunk, but eventually, Angie found them and whisked them away, driving back a half-drunk Caleb, and passed out Jack.

Caleb, after sobering up a bit from the twenty minute drive and lots of water, helped Angie with Jack, taking him up to their dorm.

"Why all the effort to help him?" Caleb asked out of curiosity.

Angie shrugged, "He's actually my younger cousin, so, you know, gotta help out."

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First chapter's a bit slower, but its just set up and world building, my apologies!