Fiona
My name is Fiona Thomas, and this will be my first year at the University of Bordeaux. Let's start by saying I never thought university would have been such a wild adventure of little drama. University was always beyond my reach because I come from a rural area. I don't know anyone, and I'm honestly scared of how the university would play out.
No one from my family has ever attended before, so I am entirely alone in figuring out how things work. Luckily, I had life-changing mentors who guided me to have this chance. I owe it to them. On my first day, after the waterworks from my dramatic parents, I arrived at my dorm. It was what you probably would expect from a university dorm room-plain decor, two beds, and an old-feeling aura.
I noticed my roommate was a slightly attractive girl who was a little chubby wearing a floral dress. I really liked her style.
I walked up to her and said, "Hello, it is nice to meet you. My name is Fiona Thomas. I am new here. I guess I will be your roommate."
I extended my hand, and she shook it, eyeing me judgmentally. She didn't seem too pleased with me. I hope my breath didn't smell because I needed to create an excellent first impression. I was going to live with this person for a whole year.
She responded saying, "it is nice to meet you too. My name is Kate Artis."
We had a general and, to be honest, awkward conversation. She was a second-year literature student, and I enthusiastically declared I was a film study major. This was exciting because they both held unique similarities. I jumped up at the idea of us writing our own screenplay together one day about two girls discovering themselves in a university setting.
She sarcastically commented, "geez, are you always this giddy? Tone your energy a bit down, please. We just met."
I nervously replied with shame, "yes, sorry, I know I can be a bit much. I forget that people have boundaries and need to respect that. I just get really excited to meet new people, and this is so new to me."
She laughed and told me, "Don't worry about it. That bubbly shine will disappear by the end of your first year."
I asked her what she meant because that didn't seem promising. I was worried university wouldn't be a great experience like my mentors promised me. What if I couldn't handle it?
"Girl, relax; everything will be fine. I am just telling you to be cautious about who you associate with. You can really only trust yourself."
I replied with a simple, "OK, that makes sense. What has your experience been like so far in university?
"It has been pretty uneventful and boring. University is not really special."
"Well, I will try to make it the best time for myself."
She looked at me with sympathetic eyes, "good luck to you. You let me know if you ever need anything."
Going to bed that night, I thought about the conversation we had. Kate seemed to wear this type of armor over her heart. How she talked about university was disheartening, like she didn't want to be here. She started to open up more but still felt necessarily guarded. I thanked her for her help and told her I would.
The first couple of weeks of university life were exciting and eventful. I had a chance to meet many different people and experience the exoticness of my professors. I definitely had some compelling instructors from all walks of life. What interesting characters.
Something I failed to mention before was my infatuation with the rugby team. It wasn't the main reason I came to this specific university, but it was a heavy consideration. I attended a couple of games. I had a massive crush on the senior star, Stephen Blaire, a buff, tall, and sexy man who led the team with confidence and cocky charisma. His ego really called to me. I wasn't super optimistic about myself and admired that in guys. I just wanted to know about him. He was pretty undesirable. I needed to get invited to a rugby party, but it was virtually impossible for fresh meat like myself.
I asked Kate what she knew of the rugby team. Kate seemed like she had intel on every inch of the university. She was undeniably quick to shut down my request.
I was surprised by how quick she snapped at me, "Kate, what is wrong? I am just curious about the rugby team."
She lashed out at me, "You don't want to be around them. They are bad news."
After what felt like hours of begging, she told me she knew of a party at Stephen's house that night. I was ready to move into this crowd, especially since it was my chance to finally flirt with Stephen. I was suspicious, though.
I curiously asked, "how do you know the address to Stephen's place?"
"Just be happy I am giving you this information. You seem like you wouldn't give up getting involved in this crowd, so I hope you are being careful. They can be pretty rough."
It felt like she wasn't telling me something, but I wasn't about to intervene. She seemed pretty sensitive about the rugby team. I thanked her for everything and got ready for the big night. I wore a short black dress with heels.
I caught an Uber to his place, and it was a huge mansion. I entered the house and was greeted by several university students. Stephen walked up to me. It felt like a slow-motion moment in a film where the sexy man walks in your direction with some cheesy music playing in the background.
He asked me, "hey, I've seen you at the games before. You are a freshman. How did you find out about this party?"
"I have connections," and winked at him.
He smiled and gave me a small tour of the place. It was a massive mansion, and this was completely different from my lifestyle. I was mesmerized by how beautiful the place was.
He looked into my dark eyes and said, "What do you think of the place?"
I was lost in his voice and said with a suggestive smirk, "I hope I am the only girl getting a private tour today."
He looked surprised and said, "probably not. I am pretty much desired around here, like panning for gold," with a cocky smile.