Chapter 1
One moment Selene was taking care of her dying grandmother and the next, she was standing in front of Aster University.
For the last ten years she had been living at her grandmother’s farm in the middle of quite literally nowhere. She had only had her grandmother for company for years. The few people she was in the town that was a three hour drive and that was only when she was eighteen. The only reason they had even gone into the town was because her grandmother had gotten so ill that she could hardly stand. The doctor had told them five months ago that her body was frail and tired and she would likely not survive much longer. Five months, that was all she had had left with her grandmother.
It had been the hardest five months of her life, and now she was here, in the small town of Aster. It had been while sorting out her grandmothers things that she had found out her parents had attended the university, had in fact met there. Her grandmother never spoke of her parents who had died when she was baby. Once on Selene’s tenth birthday, when her grandmother had drank a bottle of spirits did she mention them. Well, she had mentioned that they were traitors and had deserved to die. Selene had never known what to do with that information.
She had spent the days after the funeral in a spiral of despair, no idea what she wanted to do or even what she could do with her life. No one had sat with her and told her what to do anymore. There was no one left in her life except herself. When she had found her parents degree certificate for a university she had never heard of, in a town she had never known existed, it had felt like a life line that she had grabbed with both hands and yanked.
Now she was standing here, her brunette curls loose and long, a single suitcase containing her worldly goods in a new town.
This was going to be a new era for her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hi,” she stopped in front of one of the people wearing a ‘need help?’ t-shirt milling about on campus. “I’m not sure where to find information about my um dorm?”
The girl had long blonde hair and a friendly smile on her face. “Sure, of course! Are you new into town?”
“Oh, yeah. Is it obvious?” Selene had been trying her hardest to look like she belonged for once in her life, hence her new haircut and bit of makeup that the girl from a department store had given her a quick run down on.
The girl nodded lightly as she took off walking, motioning for Selene to follow her. “Just a little. It’s fine, we just normally don’t get a lot of out-of-towners, and I also didn’t recognise you.”
“Oh,” Selene jogged to keep up with the long-legged blonde. “Is that normal?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I’m from Aster and that’s what we’re used to but we obviously are a little special, which of course you know, so that might just be how it is here. Say, what are you studying?”
Selene did not know why this university was particularly special but she didn’t want to give it away, so she simply nodded. “Art.”
The blonde looked over her shoulder back at Selene, that smile still sparkling and her teeth so white, they should’ve been in a toothpaste commercial. “You are a woman of few words it seems. Well no matter, here we are.” She pointed to the building behind her, which looked like it had been built in the 1600s. “Just go in through the door, up the stairs, turn right and then left. Ask for Michelle.”
“Thank you.” Selene strode off, trying to remember everything the preppy blonde had told her. She still managed to get lost somehow. Was it left, then right? Or right, then left? Maybe it was right and right again.
Luckily before she had to ask someone else, both her introversion and her social anxiety had taken a hit from the preppy blonde, she found the offices of the dorm officers.
It ended up only taking a quick ten minutes for her to sort her new accommodation for the next few years of her life. Michelle, who was in charge of placing females in student housing, had even told her about their Greek life which had sounded interesting but had been an easy no for Selene to decide.
She just wanted to see where her parents had lived for at least a few years of their life while she decided what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
“Can I call someone to assist you in your moving in, perhaps?” Michelle seemed to be in her early forties and was also quite attractive, she even spoke with an English accent which Selene freaked out about for a second in her mind. It was her first time hearing speak with an accent that wasn’t Southern.
“No, thank you.” Selene looked down at her single suitcase and looked up at Michelle again with a tight smile. She was already getting tired of the pitying looks she had received in the last few days.
“Well, let me show you around the campus and you’re new home then.” Michelle stood and started walking out the door. “Typically, most of our students are based in Aster and very few out of state students.”
“The blonde had mentioned,” Selene added, mostly muttering to herself of the oddness.
“Ah that must have been Savannah, she’s one of the co-chairs of the student council of the school.” Michelle took them down a brick path that seemed to lead to an grassy area with more old buildings behind them, these were covered in ivy and it made Selene feel as if she had stepped in some Victorian novel.
She tried not to convey her surprise that the preppy blonde that had helped her, was the co-chair. The books and movies always made it seem that the people who did really well in school weren’t very attractive and the girl, Savannah, had looked like she could simply strip her clothes and walk the Victoria Secret’s catwalk. Luckily Michelle continued telling Selene about the history of the university before eventually stopping in front of one of the buildings.
“This is Cassiopeia, your dormitory. I will show you to your RA who will help you find your room and settle in.” Michelle looked at Selene, who couldn’t help stare in awe at the inside of the building, domed ceilings and high windows. It looked exactly like a building from the 1600s. Michelle awkwardly patted Selene’s arm. “Just remember, you were meant to be here. Noting happens without meaning.”
Before Selene could comment on her odd sentence, Michelle was off again and trailing behind Selene pondered her odd words, which also happened to be her parting statement as Selene lost sight of the British woman and suddenly there was a gloomy girl in front of her, directing her where to go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This might seem inconsequential to most people, but Selene had never moved into a place before. She had lived in her grandmother’s farm house from before she could remember and that was all she had ever known. This small 12 by 20 feet room was such a change from what she was used to.
It seemed her roommate had already moved in, one half of the room was decorated in flowers, fake vines and fairy lights. It looked so magical that for a second Selene simply set on the bed and stared at the beautiful set up her roommate had done.
She hadn’t thought to bring anything to decorate her room, not even a photo of her grandmother. She didn’t have one was the primary reason but still it would’ve been nice if she could’ve come with mementos as well.
By the time she had finished packing her suitcase out and smoothing out her boring white bedding, the sun had already set. Before Selene could even wonder what she should do for the evening or where she should go, her roommate entered the room.
She was a shortish, perhaps 5 foot 2 woman, with bright red curly hair and a freckly light skin.
“Oh,” the girl jumped slightly when she saw Selene. “I guess you must be my roommate.”
“Yes,” Selene stood, unsure if she should stand and shake this girl’s hand or give her hug or how do normal greet their new roommate? “I’m Selene.”
“I’m Ava!” Luckily for her, Ava strode forward and grabbed her into a quick hug. “You’re really pretty.”
Selene felt her face flush red, not used to anyone that was this direct. “Oh, um thanks. You too.”
“Thanks,” the fiery head bounced off and started rummaging in her cupboard for something. “So where are you from, what are you studying and,” she peered with a mischievous grin around the door of her wardrobe, “what are you doing tonight?”
“Well, Missouri, Art and nothing.” She watched in fascination as Ava took clothes out of her cupboard to seemingly just throw them on the floor again. “You?”
“I’m from California, I’m majoring in Economics and a minor in computer science and we are going to a party!”
Selene could only watch in morbid curiosity as Ava pulled a little black dress, and by little she meant microscopic, and threw it at Selene while pulling out a similar red dress.
“Let’s get ready!”
