Author's Note
For those of you who have read my original Chiara series this is a re-write in a third-person narrative format. I have tried to remain true to the original stories as much as possible. For the most part this has been easy to do. I have added some scenes, and made some changes to further expand on the character development of all of the characters from the original series, and to make the story flow better. I hope that it meets your high expectations. The Chiara series is my earliest and favourite stories I've ever written and I'd like to think that my skills have improved since then, but as always I am open to criticism.
Enjoy,
Chiara
Chapter One - A girl named Chiara
Chiara cursed her luck for the third time as she stumbled up the dorm stairs again. With her acoustic guitar in its bag over her shoulders and a bag in each hand she was pretty heavily weighed down. Considering her small stature, Chiara was actually making good headway up the crowded stairs. Her father Dan and mom Kristen were right behind her, trying to avoid being knocked over by the other rushing students and their overwhelmed parents.
Dan was thanking God that his daughter had decided not to bring her electric guitar and amp as well. He also had a bag in each hand as he waded his way up the stairs behind his young daughter. Chiara's mom chuckled silently to herself as she followed along, only having to carry a foldable guitar stand up the stairs. She loved her daughter's independent streak, it was at least a mile wide and she'd inherited it from her father. Besides, who was she to argue with her husband and daughter as to whom would carry what?
'Annie Montgomery,' Chiara thought to herself with some trepidation as she thought of the girl with whom she'd be bunking. When she'd arrived at the dorm, Chiara had found out that there were too many freshmen and not enough rooms for them all, so she'd have to bump up and share with a sophomore instead. The look the girl gave her when she told her who she was rooming with gave Chiara something to think about. She had even apologized to her about her room arrangements.
Chiara's thoughts were interrupted when she heard someone snicker and say something about the college opening up a day care. She shook her head and just continued up the stairs, resigning herself to the fact that this was just another place where people would just assume that she was a kid. Chiara thought of it as her personal curse for being evil in a past life onur something. A lot of people thought she was younger than she really was, Chiara was a very petite girl, barely reaching five feet tall and one hundred pounds. With her elfin looks, short red hair and turquoise green eyes she thought she was too 'cute' for her own good.
They finally reached her home away from home and Chiara pushed open the door with her foot. When she got into her room she squeaked with surprise when she saw her new roommate. 'Annie' turned and towered over her with a broad grin. She looked like a Greek goddess or an Amazon or something. She had long straight black hair, flashing black eyes and a figure that Chiara could only fantasize about having.
---
Annie hadn't been at all happy when the dorm admins had told her that she was going to have to share her room with a freshman. Somehow she thought that this was a form of punishment for her pranks from the previous year. The girl who she was going to be rooming with was called 'Chiara', so Annie figured that she was a foreign exchange student and was probably going to be way too uptight to have a fun year with anyway. Then the door opened and in walked the prettiest little thing she'd ever laid eyes on.
"Hi! You must be Chiara, I'm Annie." Annie said as she grabbed one of Chiara's bags, then stuck her hand out.
Chiara shook her hand and introduced herself and her parents. "Hi Annie, these are my folks Dan and Kristen Lanceri."
Annie shook their hands and greeted them warmly, her eyes straying back to Chiara every few seconds. She chatted with Chiara and her parents for a bit then Dan and Kristen said their goodbyes.
Before they left Chiara's dad handed her a Visa card. "This is for supplies and emergencies honey. Have fun and call us anytime okay?"
Chiara hugged her parents and gave them each a kiss. "Bye mom, bye daddy, safe trip home. I'll miss you!"
"Nice meeting you Mr. and Mrs. Lanceri. Don't worry about Chiara, I'll take good care of her and make sure she stays fed." Annie said. She cringed inside when she realized how possessive she had just sounded and hoped Chiara's folks hadn't noticed.
---
Annie helped Chiara get settled into their room, showing her where her closet and dresser were, and helping her unpack. She also showed her the one small luxury of their room, their own bathroom. Throughout the whole process she kept stealing small glances at her roommate. This wasn't the first time she'd been so attracted to another girl, just the first time in over a year after she and her friend Nicole had split before going off to different colleges. It wasn't like she was short of male admirers, of which she had many, she just found something tantalizing about being with another girl.
Once Chiara was all unpacked the girls sat on their beds across from each other and started to chat more about their lives, boys and school.
"So, uh, how old are you Chiara?"
Chiara had expected that question and frowned slightly, "I'm eighteen."
"No fucking way!" Annie laughed.
"I turned eighteen on May twenty-ninth, wanna see my driver's license as proof?" Chiara asked, a bit miffed.
"No! No I believe you, it's just well...you look..." Annie giggled as she enjoyed Chiara's reaction.
"Fourteen?" Chiara asked with a sheepish grin, unable to stay mad at her new friend. "I guess when I'm thirty I won't mind so much, but guys kinda look at me and automatically think I'm a kid."
"Yeah I guess that could be a bitch when it comes to dating."
"You have no idea," Chiara replied.
"How long have you been playing guitar?" Annie asked, changing the subject.
Chiara laughed and grinned, "Since I was four, I started with acoustic, then went classical then electric and bass. I wanted to try drums but my dad drew the line there. He said I was already noisy enough. So where are you from Annie?"
"I'm from Bellford, we moved there about four years ago. Grade twelve kind of sucked because I didn't really know anyone when I started at my new school. It was part-way through the year. What about you?"
"We live in Oakville."
"That's where we moved from!" Annie said with a laugh.