Emily was ready for a change. After eighteen years feeling out of place, her deepest desire was to feel at home, to go to bed at night wrapped in the warm comfort that she was finally where she belonged, and to wake up in the morning still feeling its embrace. High school had been an absolute mess of failed friendships, forlorn lust, and unending anxiety. From the pressure of her parents' unrealistic standards to her brother's newfound identity as an asshole surrounded by skeevy, internet-troll friends, her home life had not been much better. She felt like she had sat in her bedroom for years, wanting only to escape.
Her mother's station wagon rolled off the highway and past the quaint New England town with its quaint local people, people she would probably never meet. They kept going, deep into the forest, until a tall stone wall with iron gates flung wide open rose seemingly out of nowhere. She felt the tingle of excitement course through her body every time she approached this gorgeous campus, and now it would be her home. The bronze lettering above the gate proclaimed, Chapham College. Underneath was a wide banner in Chapham's royal blue and gold that read, "Welcome Freshmen!"
The five-hour ride had been mostly silent. Emily was absolutely ready to leave home and live her own life, but her mother, Colleen, was having trouble with the idea. "Are you sure you're ready for this, Emily?" she asked.
"I'm sure, Mom," Emily said.
Colleen sighed and grimaced. Emily tried to put the best spin she could on her mother's discomfort. Perhaps she was just feeling sad about losing her daily face-to-face contact with her daughter. "I don't know, honey. I've heard that Chapham can be really cliquey, and you're not the most outgoing. Are you sure you wouldn't prefer someplace that's less...demanding, socially?" There it was. She wasn't sad, just worried that her misfit daughter would fail to walk perfectly in the footsteps of her social butterfly mother.
"Where'd you hear that?" Emily was trying not to be combative, but her tone was frigid.
"You remember Barbara Taylor, Ashley's mother? She was telling me just last week how much trouble Ashley had fitting in when she came here last year. And Ashley's such a nice girl, very personable. If she struggled... Well, it's hard to make new friends, is all I'm saying."
"Mom, Ashley Taylor had trouble 'fitting in' because her boyfriend posted nude photos of her online. I don't think that means Chapham's 'cliquey,' it just means that guy's an asshole."
"Watch your language, Emily! Anyway, I guess you're right that you probably won't have that trouble."
Emily felt her cheeks flush with rage. "What do you mean by that?" she asked as dispassionately as she could.
"Don't take that tone with me, Emily! I just meant that dating hasn't really been your thing so far. So, if that's what got Ashley Taylor into trouble, it probably won't affect you."
"Whatever. I don't dress like you or do my makeup like you, so I must be ugly, right? I must be scaring boys away or something?"
"Emily, why do you always have to give what I say the worst possible interpretation? I didn't say anything like that!"
"Not today."
They drove the rest of the way in silence, following the "Welcome Freshmen" signs to their destination. After a few minutes, they were parked on the road in front of Athena Hall, Emily's dorm. She had been chosen for the Chapham Honors Program, which came with special housing. Athena was Chapham's oldest dorm building, and one of the oldest buildings of any kind on campus, but it had been extensively renovated.
Emily was so filled with joy at the sight of her new home that she forgot the argument with her mother entirely. Athena was an imposing brick building with ivy climbing its faΓ§ade. It stood four stories tall, one for each class year. There was a wide brick staircase leading up to the building, with marble statues on either side of the main entrance: a scholarly-looking owl on the right, and an open book on the left. Carved into the pages of the marble book were the words of the Honors Program's motto, "For Others."
Emily and her mother got out of the car into a frenzy of activity. Other freshmen were unloading their things on both sides, and Welcome Coordinators in crimson t-shirts were helping them get everything into their rooms as efficiently as possible. Colleen opened the hatch at the back of the station wagon, and one of the girls in crimson shirts came over to help.
"Hi!" she said, beaming. "I'm Desiree. Can I get your name, please?"
Emily smiled. "Hi, Desiree. I'm Emily Colson."
As Desiree scanned the list on her clipboard, Emily was struck by the color of her eyes. They were a rich, captivating brown, like the color of sunset striking autumn leaves in mid-October. They were bright and lively enough to stand out from her skin, which was a deep, warm sepia. "Emily Colson," she said. "Room 417. That puts you on the north side of the courtyard, so we'll use one of the side doors. Follow me!"
Desiree joyfully picked up one of Emily's boxes and led the way, while Emily and Colleen followed, their arms laden with more items. While Colleen was looking around at the campus and the building, making eye contact and exchanging anxious half-smiles with other parents, Emily's gaze was fixed on her guide: