The biggest decision I have ever made is the decision to leave and go to a university 1500 miles away from home. I didn't need to either. Stupid Ollie convincing me it would be good for me to get away from home and live on my own. Really, I mean he comes back from boarding school and suddenly thinks he knows what's best for me. I've only seen him half a dozen times since middle school. If Mom and Dad hadn't pushed for me to leave I wouldn't have left at all.

Anyways, here I am in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At Barden University, 1500 miles away from Las Vegas and my family. I've only been here a day and all ready I miss the dry heat of the desert. This humidity is going to be the death of me.

"Hey! Dover!" Ollie's voice carries across campus as if he's using a mega horn or something. He comes jogging over to where I now stand beside my cab. None of my family was able to make the trip to see me off. Charlie and Clark started their high school classes this week and Mom couldn't fly, being 5 months pregnant and all. Dad didn't want to leave Mom alone with Charlie and Clark, so I came here alone. This was probably for the best. I would have bawled if they were here with me. Instead I got my crying done yesterday in the hotel.

"Ollie Clothesoff. Checked in already?" Ollie's blonde hair is falling in waves around his face, into his bright blue eyes. It's remarkable how much he looks like his father. The only difference between the two of them these days was Ollie's olive skin, which is completely different from Oliver's constantly pale skin. Ollie's full name is Oliver Clothesoff Junior but everybody has called him Ollie since Oliver brought him home. Ollie was adopted by Oliver as a newborn shortly after I was born and since our parents were best friends I've known Ollie almost my whole life. Until he went away for boarding school that is.

"Course, moved in yesterday. Roommate moves in today. What about you, Arden? Met your roommate yet?" Ollie says, brushing his hair back. He's been doing that ever since he got back, messing with his hair.

"Some girl named Beca I think. And I haven't met anyone yet Ollie, I just got out of the cab." I go back to the cab and pick out my luggage. Considering how many clothes I have back home I was very impressed that I only packed two suitcases. Ollie must have picked up on this.

"Only two suitcases of clothes? Shit Arden, did your sister help you pack?" Ollie teases as he grabs my suitcases with ease.

"Yes, in fact, Charlie did help. Now are we going to go throw this stuff in my room or die from the humidity?" I say, grabbing one of the cardboard boxes. Two suitcases and three cardboard boxes, not to bad for packing.

"Okay boss, where are we going?" Ollie says laughing.

"Building C, room 264."


"Here we are." Ollie says walking into my room. "Room 264." I follow him in and notice my roommate hasn't arrived yet. Guess I get to pick which bed I want. I go and throw my stuff down on the full bed. I am too tall to fit on the smaller futon bed on the other side of the room. Short of my roommate being an Amazon woman, I am sleeping on the bed.

"Thank you for the help Ollie. I knew there was a reason to keep you around." I joke turning to look at the boy. Well, man. I have to remind myself of that all the time. He isn't the boy I went to middle school with anymore.

"Oh? So that's why?" Ollie laughs and puts the suitcases down on my bed. "And here I thought it was my wit and charm that wooed you." Yeah, definitely not the boy I used to know.

"Nope, sorry to hurt your feelings." I say, smiling so he doesn't take it personally.

"My ego can take it. So are you going to come down to the quad? All the clubs are set up with booths." Ollie asks, walking over to the window to look out on the grounds.

"Huh?" I had already started to dig into one of the boxes, pulling out my picture of me and my siblings sitting in my brother's convertible. Clark, my little brother by one year and middle child, is sitting in the driver's seat while I'm in shot-gun. Clark looks like Dad except for his build. That he got from Grandfather, no one in our family is as tall or broad-shouldered as him. Broad shoulders are perfect for him since he is a quarterback. Depending on what sport site you go to they say Clark could go anywhere from first overall to tenth in the draft after he plays some college football. Charlie, my little sister is sitting in the back, leaning forward so her head is between Clark and I. Charlie is almost a carbon copy of Mom. They look identical except for Charlie's eyes; she has Dad's wide grey eyes. People tell me I look more like Dad but I'm proud of the fact that I have my Mom's dark brown almond-shaped eyes. Charlie is trying to follow in Mom's footsteps and become an actress like her. Mom won her first Emmy a year before I was born and finally won an Oscar last year. Dad, like everyone else in the family, has done well for himself as well. He is CEO of Dover Corp, the company he founded after college.

"Quad, clubs to join? Who knows you may end up joining a club that isn't full of valedictorians?" Ollie voice brings me out of my thoughts with a snap. I roll my eyes at him, but since I'm still placing the picture on my bedside table he doesn't see my reaction. Ollie has been teasing me for being valedictorian at my high school since he got back. I hear Ollie walk up and feel him give me a hug from behind. "I miss them too." He says softly.

I stiffen on instinct. Ollie and I haven't been this close since he left. Ollie doesn't seem to notice my discomfort. Slowly I convince myself to relax and turn around to return his hug. Ollie and I may not be as close as we once were but he is still the only living part of the desert I brought with me. Besides this less boisterous version of Ollie is more like the boy I used to know.

"Oh, hey. I can come back if this isn't a good time." A voice awkwardly says from behind us. The moment snaps immediately as I realize how this must look to my new roommate.

"No it's okay. You must be Beca?" I ask stepping away from Ollie. The woman who has just thrown her bag on the futon is short with dark brown hair. That's good, no obvious problems with sleeping arrangements then.

Beca's dressed more alternatively than I am. Then again my button up white blouse and jeans are as plain as the come. The darker clothes, ear spike and big headphones around her neck are polar opposites of how I look.

"Yeah, you're Arden?" She asks, offering a smile.

"Yeah." I say returning her smile.

"And I'm Ollie, but I need to be going. See you in the quad Arden?" Ollie says as he starts to the door.

"Yeah, see you there." I say, waving as he leaves. I turn back to my boxes and begin to unpack.

"Your boyfriend?" Beca asks from her side of the room.

"No, old friend from back home." I say.

"Cool. Where are you from?"

"Vegas."

"Damn, this is a different kind of heat then you're used to then?"

"I feel like I'm melting here." I say smiling. "Where are you from?"

"Home is a couple of hours away from here, but I spent my summer at an internship in LA."

"You're kidding? That's crazy, what was the internship?"

"Working at a record label. Mostly getting people's mail and coffee but at least I met some people while I was there. Did some good networking." Beca says. "What did you do this summer?"


Unpacking took almost an hour but I got to know Beca during the time. I learned that she is in her second year studying business and minoring in music. Her dad is a Prof here too. She also told me she is part of some a ccapella group on campus. She looked a little disappointed when I told her that I don't sing.

Now I am wandering around the quad looking at the booths. Beca and I came down together but she went to going join the rest of the Bellas, her a ccapella group. I can see them across the quad handing out flyers. With Beca is a bigger blonde woman, an Asian woman, a black woman and a tall brunette woman.

None of the booths seem that interesting so far. I was never really into clubs or sports back in Vegas so I'm kind of lost on what to join.

"Hey! Arden!" I don't have to turn to know Ollie has managed to find me. How I have no idea. It's packed out here with other new and returning students.

"Ollie, hey." I reach up and make a feeble attempt at fixing my dark brown hair which I've now put up in a messy bun. I'm finding keeping my hair up is a good way to combat the humidity.

"Finished unpacking then?" Ollie says walking in time beside me.

"Finished up ten minutes ago. Met your roommate yet?"

"Some guy named Donald. He seems cool; he's part of the Treblemakers." Ollie says, stopping to look at a flyer at a booth.

"What's a Treblemaker?" I ask, trying to looking interested in the Turbocharged Bobsled flyers.

"It's the male a ccapella group on campus. Sounds kind of cool." Of course Ollie would be interested in a singing group. He may not share any genes with his Oliver but he has his father's talent for singing. Oliver is the lead singer for the rock group The Three Affairs.

"Small world. Beca is part of the Bellas, the all female a ccapella group on campus."

"Are you going to join Beca in the Bellas?" Ollie says glancing at me with a bit of a smirk. Ollie had always been completive so I decide to nip this bud before it grows out of hand.

"I don't sing. Beca seemed a little disappointed when I told her." I say moving on to the Tag Team Bungee Jumping Club. "Okay, really? These clubs are ridiculous. I feel like we're on candid camera or something."

Ollie laughs and then glances around the quad conspiratorially. "Don't judge, this one sounds fun." He says giving the bungee jumping flyer a serious look.

"Oh yeah, if you're dunk it sound like a lot of fun."

"That's half the point of being in college Arden!" Ollie says laughing at my frown.

"Hey! Ollie!" Someone behind us calls to Ollie.

"Who's that?" I ask, looking at the group of men waving at Ollie.

"Donald. I'm guessing the rest of the Treblemakers are the guys with him." Ollie says, grabbing my hand. "Come on."

"Ollie!" A man says, walking forward to shake Ollie's hand. Ollie lets go of me and shakes his hand.

"Donald, this is Arden, my friend from home." Ollie says nodding at me.

"Pleasure to meet you." Donald says dramatically, bowing and kissing my hand. Donald seems cool, preppy looking with dark skin and glasses.

"All mine." I say putting as much of a joking tone in my voice as I can. Might as well play along with the guy. Ollie laughs but I swear I saw a frown on his face for a second.

Oh boy, I think.

"So, you gonna join the Treblemakers?" Another man says, walking up beside Donald. "I'm Jesse." He says offering Ollie and me his hand. Jesse dresses exactly like most of the guys on campus, with shorter brown hair and slightly preppy clothes. His face is softer than Ollie's sharp, angular features. Jesse seems more childish looking in a way standing next to Ollie. I can tell immediately Ollie is going to stand out in this university. Ollie dresses like a rocker with ripped jeans and Oliver's old leather jacket. How he can wear a leather jacket in this humidity is beyond me though.

"Maybe, haven't decided yet." Ollie says shaking Jesse's hand.

"How's your voice?" Jesse asks. Ollie gives them a cocky smile and walks over to the group of guys.

"May I?" He asks holding his hand out to one of the guys. The guy hands him his guitar and pick. Ollie outs the strap of the guitar over his shoulder and plays a few chords experimentally. Then he turns to Jesse, Donald and I and really starts playing. I smile as I recognize the famous six chords of George Thorogood's Bad to the Bone.

"Now on the day I was born, the nurses all gathered around. And they gazed in wide wonder, at the joy they had found." Ollie sang. His voice was has this gravely, rocker edge that suited the song perfectly. The rest of the Treblemakers started to join in and make the noises for the rest of the instruments in the song.

"The head nurse spoke up, said "Leave this one alone," she could tell right away, that I was bad to the bone."

"Bad to the bone. Bad to the bone. B-B-B-B- Bad. B-B-B-B- Bad. B-B-B-B- Bad. Bad to the bone."

"I broke a thousand hearts, before I met you. I'll break a thousand more, baby, before I am through." Jesse sings as he joins in with Ollie now.

"I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone. I'm here to tell you honey, that I'm bad to the bone." Both of them finished in harmony. I have to admit it was mesmerizing to hear them perform. People around them have starting cheering and clapping and I found myself joining in, giving Ollie a big smile as he turns to look at me.

"You're good, man. Auditions are in three weeks, you should come out." Jesse says to Ollie, shaking his hand again.

"What do we have to do?" Ollie asks.

"You have to put an arrangement together for a song." Donald says, coming forward again. "Damn brother, you're good!"

"What song?" Ollie says, smiling at Donald's comment.

"A song we will be choosing." Ollie and I turn and see Beca and the other women from the Bellas, who seemed to have noticed Ollie and Jesse's performance. Beca walks up to Jesse, the rest of the two clubs coming and standing behind their leaders. "Since we are the reining national champs." Beca continues.

"Yes, reining for now. Sorry Sweets, but we're gonna win this year."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Beca says, smirking at Jesse.

"Money where you're mouth is Sweets?" Jesse asks grinning as he steps closer to Beca. He's so much taller that she is almost looking straight up at him.

"Hey, hey. Save it for the Riff Off." The brunette woman says, stepping up to stand beside Beca.

"Why? Scared Stacie?" Jesse says, not looking away from Beca.

"Yeaaah, as entertaining as your foreplay is, save it for the Riff Off." The bigger blonde woman says.

"Come on Fat Amy? What's a little sing off between friends?" Donald says.

"Oh boys, we pitch slapped you to harmony heaven at Nationals. Do you really wanna do that to yourselves again?" Fat Amy says. The other women behind her ooh dramatically.

"We'll see you at the Riff Off." Beca says, still not looking away from Jesse. "Come on girls." Beca looks away from Jesse and sees me now. She arches her eyebrows and I take that as a command to follow them.

"See you around Ollie." I say, chuckling as I turn to follow the Bellas.

"Awe, Arden you're a Bella too?" I hear Donald ask as I walk away. I raise my hand in a wave and don't look back.

"What's with you and Jesse?" I ask catching up with Beca.

"Oh he's her boy toy." Stacie says walking beside me.

"Yah, they are acca-royalty." Amy adds.

"Acca-royalty?" I ask, trying not to shake my head at the odd word combination.

"We are not acca-royalty." Beca says, rolling her eyes at her friends. Stacie waves her hand in a dismissing way, as if they have all had this conversation before.

"I'm Stacie by the way." She says turning to look at me.

"I'm Fat Amy." Amy says, taking the cue from Stacie. I decide not to question that title.

"Cynthia Rose." The black woman says. I turn and look at the Asian woman but only see her mumbling something.

"Didn't catch that?" I say looking at her.

"My name is Lily." She says very quietly. "I have a dead bird skeleton in my room." She adds quickly. I blink three times, did I hear that right? Fat Amy is frowning at Lily so I assume she did say that part out loud.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Arden, Beca's roommate."

"So do you sing Arden?" Stacie asks.

"No sorry." The rest of the Bellas don't hide their disappointment as well as Beca.