There comes a time in an 18 year old's life, when he or she decides to break free from the shackles of their home life and the way they thought things were, and enter a brave new world. This is known as college. We were all there once, bright eyed, confused, even scared, thinking about the big questions: which GPA booster is the best, how to get into classes that won't have me waking up at 8 AM, what's the best way to get cheap beer that can't be distinguished from urine, or which frat party will increase the odds of losing one's virginity?
Malchester University is no different than any other university in the nation in this regard but it is different. It is a very prestigious university for one, rivaling the likes of Yale, it's got a plethora of innovators, literary geniuses, mad men and women who thought they could and did in fact, change the world, in their own little ways. Situated near the Appalachian Mountains, on the Tennessee side, William Malt, a wealthy slave owner, wanted to create a university for a pure stock of individuals, which meant white men that came from slave owning families. That's right, at first, even women were not allowed to enter its magnificent campus, lest they be corrupted by the ideas of the landed gentry. The slaves that he owned were the only ones that were allowed to walk inside, under strict supervision of chaperones, of course, in case they got lost, or had crazy ideas about equality. Because heavens forbid, they learnt that the so called pure stock, were really just a group of idiots that had way too much rum and cum in their systems to give a flying fuck about anything.
But as time moved on, things did improve. The stock certainly got less pure, with the Irish, the Italians and the Jews started to fill in the ranks, much to the dismay of Malt's descendants. Not that they could do anything, slavery was a relic of the past and the school needed a fresh supply of students to you know, function. And after a while, all sorts of students, regardless of color, started to join, from Black, to Asian, to Latinos, to make the diverse student body that is today an integral part of Malchester University. So what does William Malt think of all this? Quite frankly, nobody gives a shit. His grave is there for drunk freshmen to take a piss on, most of whom probably don't even know where they are urinating.
Madeline Greene certainly knew why she was there. She was from this pack of less than pure stock, an Irish, a Catholic and a woman, but in her mind, this was her kingdom, and she was the queen. An ardent feminist, she wanted to make sure that women were not taken for granted and that they could do whatever they wanted, without attracting the malicious male gaze, as she so famously put in her college essay. She wanted to be an attorney and make her way to Washington, where she could lobby for more funds regarding women's participation in STEM subjects and to protect abortion rights for women. When her rather traditional mother asked about her career and life trajectory once, she said "I may not create life, but I damn sure will make sure I help preserve it."
Her mother knew better than to counter her. It would be exercise in futility. There was simply no stopping this girl. Ever since she saw Legally Blonde as a 6 year old, she decided to be the real life Elle Woods. Woods may have chased a boy all the way to Harvard Law, but she would chase a dream, wherever it may take her.
The dorm she was assigned to was called the Ashley Powers dorms. This was named after the first woman to have graduated from there. Quite a fitting place for a person like Madeline. Bright eyed and looking up above, she made her way to the building. As she was walking, she felt a push, heard a groan and saw another girl on the floor. Realizing that it was her who caused the accident, she bent down to help the other girl immediately. " Oh shit, I am so sorry, about that. I was not looking where I was going," said Madeline.
"It's okay neither was I. Are you going to be living here too?" replied the girl.
"Yeah I am, it's going to be great!," said Madeline with a great deal of enthusiasm.
"I don't know how you can sound enthusiastic. I mean what do you know about living here? I am Amy, by the way," said the girl.
"Amy, you are living in a building that was named after the first woman to go here. I mean, so much history. You got to excited for this! It's going to be great, I can feel it," said Madeline.
They chatted for a few more minutes before heading up to their respective rooms to unpack. Before departing to their rooms, they had exchanged numbers and planned to meet in the cafeteria for lunch. "Look at the fucking line in here. This is insane," exclaimed Madeline as they got in line to get their food.
"I know, but honestly, this reminds me of the soup kitchen lines we had to get in, when we had literally nothing," replied Amy. Amy's mind wandered to her childhood, where she was raised by a single mother, after her father, a meth addict, had abandoned the family after he lost his job in the steel factories of Ohio. Instead of trying to find another job, he simply left. Those days of struggle and her mother's mental health reminded her that she was alone and she had to fight for everything in the world.
