Chapter One | Going Away To College
AN: Alright, technically this story is a sequel to "Nine Years Later" but I'm attempting to write this story in a way that you don't NEED to read that story to understand this one. So, this story follows the Hillwood gang to their respective colleges and you'll be able to see how college changes friendships and relationships. I hope you'll enjoy it. As with all of my stories, if you review with your username, I will respond personally to you. :) Happy Reading. - Ria/BuzzLightyearr
Song: Blink 182—Going Away to College
Phoebe Heyerdahl remembered touring Stanford University the summer before her senior year of high school. However, there was nothing like the feeling when she pulled into the Stanford University campus in her steel blue Prius with the realization that this was going to be her home for the majority of the next four years.
She stepped out of her car nervously but she could also feel a hint of sadness. Her thoughts wandered to her boyfriend Gerald who was still in Hillwood, Washington for the time being. Although, he'd been commuting to and from campus for football practice, he didn't move into the dorms at his college, the University of Washington, for another week. Phoebe tried to shake the thoughts from her mind as she grabbed a duffel bag and large box from the backseat of her car.
"I can take that for you sweetie." Ryo Heyerdahl offered, grabbing the box from his daughter's hand.
"Thank heavens we had the foresight to grab your keys and ID before we trekked up, down and all around the campus with all of this, right hon?" Reba Heyerdahl commented with her slight southern drawl. Reba grabbed a final box from the backseat of her daughter's car as they began their journey through the quad.
"Do you know where we're going?" Ryo questioned, readjusting the boxes in his arms.
Phoebe scanned her campus map as her eyes darted back and forth between the campus map and her housing assignment.
"This way." Phoebe pointed ahead, "Wilbur Hall, Junipero house."
"Sounds wonderful." Reba remarked, "This campus is adorable, it's like its own mini town." Reba observed as they made their way to Phoebe's new home.
Finally, after walking for what seemed like miles they arrived at Phoebe's dorm room. The door leading into her room was already ajar as her roommate and roommate's parents were already inside.
"Um, Hello." Phoebe greeted the small group, holding out her hand towards the teenaged girl for a handshake.
"You must be Phoebe Heyerdahl! Hi, I'm Siobhan. Siobhan Nakamura!" The young girl introduced herself, ignoring her handshake and instead pulling Phoebe into a small hug.
Phoebe had only interacted with Siobhan through emails and discovered that they had similar academic goals and came from similar backgrounds. However, now that they were standing side-by-side, Phoebe realized that the two of them were strikingly different physically. Phoebe looked at the teen up and down, her light golden brown skin tone was glistening and her jet black ringlets were pulled into a messy high bun which revealed a design shaved into the right side of her hair. Her features were a stark difference from her own porcelain ivory skin tone and straight shoulder length bob that she could barely coax a curl out of. Siobhan's loose white Ramone's muscle tank and high-waisted jean shorts not only provided a contrast in style to her own blue cable knit sweater and black skirt ensemble, but also revealed that Siobhan had at the very least colorful half-sleeve and a rib tattoo. Phoebe made a mental note that her roommate was decidedly "cool" and wondered what her roommate was thinking about her—likely that she paled in comparison.
"Hello, I'm Robert and this is my wife Jillian." Mr. Nakamura's voice pulled Phoebe out of her deep thought. "Let me just say how nice it is to see another set of parents who are active in their child's life."
"Siobhan told us that she would be fine on her own, but we insisted on helping her move in. She's our only daughter and this is a huge moment for us." Mrs. Nakamura added.
"I hear you on that. Phoebe is our only child and I can't imagine just sending her off on her own without us." Reba responded, as the two girls rolled their eyes at their parents' overprotectiveness.
Not only did Robert, Ryo, Jillian and Reba stay for nearly an hour to help their children settle into their new dorm rooms, but both sets of parents insisted on dragging their daughters to a tour designed for incoming students and their parents to become familiar with the campus. After their tour, the parents forced their children to attend a family "goodbye" luncheon in the main dining hall and to Phoebe's horror, after lunch they ended up finding and chatting with Lorenzo, Nadine and Vincent's parents.
Finally, after many embarrassing stories and uncomfortable conversations both the Heyerdahl's and the Nakamura's decided to hit the road and leave their daughters to bond.
"Jeez, my parents have been gone for ten minutes and they're already texting me!" Siobhan remarked, tossing her phone onto her bed.
"Your parents seem really sweet." Phoebe commented, the corners of her mouth turning up into a small smile.
"Sweet? Yes. Overbearing? Also yes." Siobhan joked, causing the pair of girls to burst out in laughter. Phoebe's ears perked up when she heard the familiar sound of her cell phone alerting her to an incoming text message. With all of the activities that she had attended, she hadn't found time to look at her cell phone all day. She was surprised to see that she had 5 unread text messages.
Helga: How is Cali treating you so far?
Gerald: Practice was rough. Sure do wish you were here to give me one of your signature back rubs.
Gerald: I miss you so much babe.
Mom: Dad and I miss you already! Don't forget to call every day! We love you sweetheart.
Gerald: I love you. Counting the days til I see you again.
Phoebe read her text messages through glossy eyes, tears began to develop as a wave of homesickness suddenly overwhelmed her. She'd only been in Stanford for a few hours but it was the first time that she realized how far away she was from home. She couldn't just go to her best friend's house if she was having a bad day. She couldn't just call her boyfriend to come over and spend time with her.
"Are you okay sweetie?" Siobhan questioned, unsure if she should attempt to hug the young girl or keep her distance. Phoebe sadly shook her head yes. "Homesick?" Siobhan asked, placing her arm around the girl's shoulder. "Me too."
"You seem to be holding it together a lot better than me." Phoebe managed to laugh slightly through choked tears.
"Hmm—looks can be deceiving." Siobhan offered, "We're allowed to miss people from home, it's only natural. We just can't let it deter us from enjoying our time while we're here." Siobhan pondered for a moment as the girls sat in a comfortable silence. "I have an idea! There's an Asian-American mixer tonight. Let's put on some cute outfits, grab a bite to eat, and head over there. Worst case scenario, we hate everyone there and we realize it sooner rather than later. Best case scenario, we'll meet some new friends. What do you say?"
Phoebe pondered for a moment at the girl's offer. She was nearly a thousand miles away from her favorite people in the world, what did she have to lose?
Gerald Johanssen wasn't a stranger to the University of Washington campus. In fact, he had been there far too many times throughout the summer as his coaches pushed him and the rest of the Huskies football team through grueling practices. In fact, when move-in day finally rolled around, he was relieved that he would no longer have to commute to-and-from Hillwood and Seattle on an almost daily basis.
Yes, he was sad to be away from the town that he had grown up in. In fact, Hillwood was the only town he'd ever lived in—but he figured, he was only two hours away and he'd be able to see his family and friends more often than others that came from further distances. The thing that bothered him most about moving onto campus was the fact that he missed his girlfriend Phoebe Heyerdahl so much.
He always thought that the two of them would be the classic couple who stayed together throughout high school, went to the same college, and married shortly after graduation. However, that dream was crushed when he found out through one of Phoebe's relatives that she would, in fact, be attending college over thirteen hours away in Stanford, California. The realization that they were now a long distance couple after spending the past six years less than a few miles apart hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Dude, did you see the hotties that are across the hall from us? I can't decide which one I like more," Jacob 'Jake' Thompson, Gerald's roommate and teammate pondered aloud before tossing his duffel bag on to the floor. "The tall blonde one gave me a dirty look when I tried to say hi, but ya boy isn't afraid of a challenge."
Gerald thought about the neighbors that occupied the room across the hall from theirs and couldn't help but to double over with laughter.
"What's so funny Johanssen?" Jake's blonde brows furrowed with confusion at his roommate's sudden outburst. Gerald stayed quiet, trying to hold back his laughter as he grabbed his cell phone. He scrolled down his recent photos and pulled up a picture from Labor Day, Gerald was standing next to his best friend Arnold Shortman as they both smiled into the camera. Gerald's arm was wrapped tightly around Phoebe's petite frame and Helga Pataki's arm was placed firmly on Arnold's chest as his hand was placed at the small of her back.
"Small world." Jake chuckled, taking in all parts of the photo. "So you're trying to tell me that the tall blonde is taken?"
"Yup." Gerald responded, "Off limits."
"And you have a girlfriend too."
"I sure do."
"Dude!" Jake smacked Gerald playfully on the chest, "You really came to college as a football player and you're not single?" Jake laughed, "You know these girls are going to be throwing themselves at you—and where is your girlfriend at?"
"Stanford." Gerald said firmly.
"Not here." Jake corrected with the answer that supported his point, "But, you know—if you want to do the devoted boyfriend act, I'll be here to pick up the ladies that you leave behind."
Gerald rolled his eyes at his roommate.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Gerald responded before attempting to change the topic. "Come on, let's finish getting this room set up so we can try to enjoy our weekend. Coach finally stopped those two-a-day practices so that means we have time to explore the campus with more than just football players and coaches around here."
"Alright, alright." Jake commented.
Gerald finished unpacking the rest of his boxes as his mind wandered towards Phoebe and wondering if what Jake was telling him held any weight at all.
"Mom, Dad—seriously, I can take it from here." Helga Pataki informed her parents as they lingered in her dorm room.
"Come on kid, at least let me set up your TV for you." Bob pleaded with his youngest daughter. Helga remembered times in the past when she wished that her parents would pay more attention to her, now the old adage "be careful what you wish for" was running on repeat in her mind.
"I think I can manage." Helga stated, placing a hand on her father's forearm. She looked at him and was surprised that the look on his face one of melancholy. "Dad, you know I'm going to be home regularly, I'm only two hours away."
"I know, I know. It's just, my little girl is all grown up now." Bob responded, "It's almost surreal, you'll understand when you have kids."
Miriam, Bob and Helga said their goodbyes after much insisting on Helga's behalf and threw herself onto the bare twin sized bed and released a huge sigh of relief. She looked around the empty dorm room and debated on if she should wait for her roommate to arrive or begin settling in now. Helga started to put the bedsheets on her side of the room when she heard the doorknob jiggle.
"Did you see how many parents are out there wandering around the hallways? I didn't know if I was in college or a senior center." The 5'5" girl commented as she lugged in a few bags and boxes, "I mean seriously, we're in college now, time to cut the cord already."
"You read my freakin' mind." Helga responded, "I assume you're Madison."
"Your assumption would be correct. Helga, right?" Madison Bannister responded.
"Yup, Helga G. Pataki in the flesh."
"This dorm room is pretty sweet as far as dorms go. I'm super stoked to have our own bathroom!" Madison exclaimed as she pulled her black to burgundy ombre colored hair into a messy bun.
"Seriously! My best friend is at Stanford and she's been complaining all week about the communal showers." Helga joked. "I'm so glad we don't have to deal with that."
"Tell me about it!" Madison responded, the girls chatting as they transformed their dorm room into a comfortable home for them. They shared stories about their friends back home, their overbearing parents and their insufferable but well-meaning siblings. They discovered that they were both huge tomboys and enjoyed playing sports more than applying makeup.
"Okay, now this looks like a living space." Helga commented, stepping back to snap a picture of their work to post to facebook.
"What do you say we go and see what type of food Lander Hall has to offer?" Madison suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Helga responded, grabbing a hoodie out of her closet and heading for the door. The door barely had time to close before she heard a familiar Hillwood voice.
"Hey Pataki, where are you heading?" Gerald asked as his roommate Jacob stood posted behind him outside of their dorm room door.
"Not that it's any of your beeswax but we're going to try to grab a bite to eat." Helga answered, her voice laced with the façade of irritation.
"You know the hot football players that we live across the hall from!?" Madison grabbed Helga's arm and whispered to her excitedly.
"Is she okay?" Gerald asked his eyebrows stitched together with confusion.
"She's fine—just a little crazy from all the excitement today." Helga exclaimed, "This is Madison by the way—um Madison, this is my best friend's boyfriend and pain in my butt, Gerald Johanssen."
"Ha ha, really funny Helga." Gerald stated sarcastically. "That's my roommate Jacob."
"You ladies can call me Jake though." He smiled, running his fingers through his long blonde locks.
"Right." Gerald rolled his eyes, "Anyway, we were about to go explore the campus in search of food just like you two ladies—mind if we tag along?"
"Fine, just no funny business okay?" Helga rolled her eyes playfully and smiled at Gerald. Gerald chuckled in agreement as the group of four left to explore the University of Washington campus.
Arnold Shortman walked into Hillwood Community college with a cup of coffee in one hand and holding his backpack strap with the other hand. He booked it to his English 101 class and was pleased to discover he was one of the first students to arrive. He took a seat in the middle of the classroom, not too close to the front—but not so far back that he wouldn't be able to hear what the Instructor was talking about.
He took dropped his backpack next to his seat, dug out his required textbook, a notebook and a pen and sat it on his desk. He quickly exchanged a few text messages with his girlfriend and discovered that she was still figuring things out on campus and her classes wouldn't start until the following Monday. He switched over to the group message in Facebook and discovered that Phoebe was also having her first day of classes today and Gerald was also starting the following Monday.
Arnold was so consumed with catching up with his friends, when he looked up he noticed the classroom was beginning to fill up. There was a wide mix of students from fresh out of high school eighteen year olds to fifty year olds looking for a career change and everything in between. Arnold was surprised to see some people he hadn't seen since elementary school.
Torvald Williams walked into the classroom, 6'4" and extremely muscular wearing a fitted Punisher t-shirt and upon recognizing Arnold gave him a quick fist pound before taking a seat in the back of the classroom. He also spotted Iggy Jones, who acknowledged Arnold with a simple nod of the head.
Arnold was nervous about heading back to his hometown of Hillwood, Washington from the jungles of San Lorenzo but the transition was surprisingly easy for him. However, his transition wasn't completely free of challenges and he was reminded of that when Stinky Peterson walked into his classroom. The point was further driven home when the only remaining seat in the classroom was the one right beside him. Arnold let out a heavy sigh, it was going to be a long sixteen weeks.
"You ready for a fun weekend!?" Harold asked excitedly, holding his son Chase up in the air. Chase responded with a small giggle, which Harold wasn't sure if it was genuine entertainment or just gas given his young age but either way it brought a smile to Harold's face. Harold was determined to build a strong relationship with Chase. The last thing he wanted was his son to grow up thinking that his parents' marriage failed because of him. "Anything that I should know before we head out?"
"Chase has been a little fussy at night. I switched up his bedtime routine and it's seemed to work. Just bathe him after his 7 o'clock feeding with the lavender bath wash and lotion him down before bed and he'll usually go to sleep within the next five minutes." Patty smiled, "I think that's all."
"Feeding. Bath. Lavender. Sleep. Got it!" Harold repeated his version of a summary. "Well, I guess we'll be heading out."
Patty gave Harold a friendly hug goodbye and gave her son a kiss on his forehead before Harold buckled their son into his car seat and headed out the front door. Patty glanced over at the clock, noticed that it was 7:15 and quickly hopped into the shower. She threw on a pair of cropped jeans, a simple blush pink button down top and a pair of white converse sneakers. She debated on if she should wear earrings or not, but ultimately decided against it. She was rushing against the clock, she wanted to attempt an updo that she'd seen on Pinterest earlier in the week but instead she settled for twisting her outgrown bangs out of her face and hoping that she still looked somewhat put together. Her cell phone rang as she was putting on tinted lip gloss, the only makeup that she felt comfortable applying.
"Hey Patty, I'm here. I wish you'd reconsider the rule about not being able to knock on your door." The voice chuckled.
"Someday I will reconsider but today is not that day." Patty returned a slight laugh, "I'm about to walk outside now." Patty hung up the phone and took one last look at herself, running her fingers through her hair a final time before heading out of the door and locking it behind her. As she started to walk towards the car door, Jason Miller stepped from the driver's seat and walked around to open the door for her.
"You look great, but what else is new?" Jason remarked as she climbed into the seat of his steel grey Jeep Patriot. "Are you ready to have a great time tonight?"
"It's always a great time with you." Patty's voice was on the edge of flirting and she was taken slightly aback by her own confidence. She ran into Jason, literally ran into him, at the grocery store one evening and lately she'd been hanging out with him and his friends. She was going through the process of a divorce and it was nice to have friends, other than the ones that she grew up with, to help take her mind off of things.
"Well, in that case—let's roll!" Jason looked over at Patty with a sparkle in his eye and a broad smile that revealed his pearly white teeth. She flashed him a shy smile back as she attempted to keep her butterflies at bay, reminding herself that they're just friends.
Rhonda Wellington Lloyd wanted to be enthusiastic about her impending first day of college but she was finding it extremely difficult. She assumed that if she was attending Brown, Columbia, Stanford, or hell, even University of Washington she would be more excited. However, when she received only two college acceptance letters in her mailbox she figured that University of Hillwood was a better option than University of Idaho.
Her mother attempted to make her feel better by telling her the only reason that women of her caliber even attended college was to meet a husband. Which didn't make her feel better in the slightest. Her father attempted to cheer her up with a townhouse on the upper east side of Hillwood, valued at 3.5 million dollars. That made her happy but definitely didn't make her feel better about the fact that she was spending college at a school she didn't want to be at. To add insult to injury, while Rhonda Lloyd was the most popular girl in Hillwood from preschool to high school, due to events that happened over the summer she now only had one friend she could bitch about this entire ordeal to.
"I thought the entire point of a freshman mixer is to make new friends in college." Thaddeus Gammelthorpe remarked to his clearly frustrated new best friend. "I shouldn't be going to this with you, I'm not even a student."
"Curly, you know that as much as I hate to admit it, you're like my only friend right now." Rhonda remarked, putting on her widest puppy dog eyes. Thaddeus rolled his eyes at the use of his childhood nickname.
"All the more reason that you shouldn't drag me along with you as though I'm your security blanket." Thaddeus attempted to explain to the tall raven-haired beauty.
"Fine," Rhonda walked over to the oversized white leather ottoman that sat at the foot of her bed and took a seat, "I guess I'm not going then." She pouted, crossing her arms.
"You know, if you really wanted me to come with you, you'd just say 'Thaddeus, I really want you to come with me'" Thaddeus teased, "Then, perhaps I'd accept your offer." Rhonda rolled her eyes in mock frustration.
"Thad." Rhonda said in a mockingly sweet tone, "Will you please cut the act and bring your butt down to this stupid party with me!" She exclaimed, with a mix between a yell and laughter, Thaddeus smiled back at his friend.
"Alright, you've twisted my arm. Don't think I'm getting soft or anything but I guess I'll come with you sugar lips." Thaddeus smirked, causing a flush of pink to sweep across Rhonda's cheeks.
Rhonda walked up to the huge bonfire taking place on the Hillwood University football field, hundreds of incoming freshmen were sprawled across the field mingling in small groups. Some were gathered around the bonfire, others were dancing near the DJ booth, and many were hovering around the food tables.
"I think I see some old familiar faces." Thaddeus remarked, gesturing towards a group of students she rarely talked to in High School. "I'll grab us a couple of drinks and meet you over there." Thaddeus remarked before walking towards the refreshment area. Rhonda rolled her eyes and swallowed her pride before walking over to the small group.
"Hey! I haven't seen you guys in a while!" Rhonda greeted the small group of teenagers, flashing an award winning smile and tucking a long strand of hair behind her left ear. "I can't believe we're all at HU this year, Go Hens!"
"Oh, hello Rhonda." Sheena Weber responded, her nearly waist-length chestnut brown locks blowing slightly in the light September breeze.
"Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!" Park Lee stated before Sheena jabbed him in the side, "I didn't expect to see you at a party like this." He quickly recovered.
"Yes, well—I'm here to support my school and socialize. You know that I've never been a stranger to socializing." Rhonda ran her fingers through her black hair.
"Aren't you a little overdressed for this type of party?" Park questioned, looking at Rhonda's black, low-cut jumpsuit, expensive clutch and bright gold sandals. Rhonda geared herself up for a rebuttal when she heard a voice behind her.
"She's probably on a mission to find another relationship to ruin." Lila Sawyer commented, taking a sip of her orange soda before standing with her party. "Sorry we're late guys, the refreshments line was ever-so-long."
Rhonda turned towards the redheaded girl, her hand was wrapped around the arm of a tall man with dark brown hair, a chiseled jawline and clearly had some lean muscle on him. Eugene Horowitz followed right behind her and to her surprise he was holding the hand of a tall, handsome blonde.
"That's a little uncalled for." Rhonda stated, clearing her throat adjusting her posture to convey dominance. "I mean, we're all friends here and I believe that I owe you a well overdue apology. Although, looking at your new boy toy it seems I may have done you a favor so—you're welcome."
"Rhonda, you just don't get it do you?" Lila responded, dropping the man's arm and walking towards Rhonda. "I don't want your apology, I just want you to go away." She poked the woman in the chest, Lila was never really the type to get angry or hold a grudge but what Rhonda did to her and her friends was unforgivable.
"Babe, it's not worth it." The tall brunette gentleman pulled Lila's arm and attempted to lead her away from the confrontation.
"Yeah Lila, let's just get out of here." Eugene commented. The group of Rhonda's former classmates began walking off, leaving Rhonda standing alone. Only Sheena looked back and gave Rhonda a sad smile and shrug before turning around and rejoining her group.
"Whoa, what the hell did I miss?" Thaddeus questioned, attempting to hand Rhonda a cup of punch. She could feel her eyes beginning to sting as she attempted to hold off the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. Thaddeus placed a hand on the small of her back and gently rubbed her bangs out of her face. "Come on, let's get out of here. Forget those people." Rhonda shook her head yes and Thaddeus attempted to lead her towards the exit.
"Rhonda, Rhonda is that you?" A voice called out, Rhonda took a long deep breath in a desperate to regain her composure before turning around to face the voice. A thin teenager wearing a black band tee, khaki shorts and a green beanie ran up towards her. "Boy howdy, it is you!"
"Sid?" Rhonda questioned, "I thought you were—um—at a mental institution."
"What!?" Sid exclaimed
"The nut house, the looney bin, the whacky shack." Thaddeus rattled off with a deadpanned expression in an attempt at clarification.
"Why does everyone keep saying that!? I was in Pasadena for heaven's sakes!" Sid readjusted his beanie and gestured towards the two teenagers standing before him. "So, is this a thing now or something?"
"What are you talking about?" Thaddeus and Rhonda asked simultaneously.
"Never mind." Sid chuckled, "Well, enjoy—uh—whatever this is, I've gotta catch up to Sheena and Lila before I lose them."
"This was the worst idea I've ever had." Rhonda stated when they reached her car in the crowded parking lot. Thaddeus looked at her and raised a questionable eyebrow. "Alright, one of the worst—this is up there."
"Netflix marathon?" Thaddeus asked.
"Deal." Rhonda responded, smiling slightly at Thaddeus before taking off. This year was definitely going to be rough, but at least she had one person in her corner.