Freshman Troubles

Disclaimer: I do not own most of the characters. If you have seen the movie, you know which ones are made up and which aren't.

This story continues straight on from the movie, with more PG-13 material. It does contain a few issues and possibly some violence, but should be suitable for ages 12 and up.

Hal's Diner was full of activity on a Monday morning. Today was the day Sam headed off for Princeton. As a going-away party, Rhonda scheduled Sam's closest friends to meet at the small diner at 7:00 am. Everyone was teary-eyed as they watched Sam and Austin drive off in the light blue convertible.

When they arrived at the college, the two went to go find their dorms. After their assignments, Sam went to find room 263. She slid the key in the doorknob and slowly pushed the door. As she pulled all her belongings in after her, she saw someone sitting on the bed near the window. In this room, there were two single beds, one close to a lovely scenic window, and the other against a wall and close to the entrance. The medium-sized room had a large walk-in closet, two desks, a full-length mirror and a nightstand between the beds.

Sam plopped down on the bed close to the wall. "Good morning," she shyly said to the woman on the other side of the room. "I'm Samantha Montgomery, but you can call me Sam."

The girl turned around. She had straight brown hair, brown eyes, a thin figure and a sadness about her. "I'm Brooke Hayes. What year are you?"

"I'm a freshman this year," Sam answered, warming up to the woman she would spend most of her time with. "You?"

"I'm a freshman too." With that, she turned back to the window.

"Okay," Sam thought, "I guess I'll unpack now." She unfolded her clothes and put them in the closet. She spread sheets on her bed, set up her desk, and the other necessities. She felt like she needed to attempt to talk to Brooke again before going to find Austin.

"So," Sam continued, "I'm looking forward to getting to know you this year. I mean, we have the whole year together."

Brooke nodded. Under her breath, hoping Sam wouldn't hear, she muttered, "I probably won't be here for the whole year."

"I'm sorry?" Sam questioned.

"So, do you have any friends at this school? Anyone you already know?" Brooke avoided the question.

"Yeah, I came here with my boyfriend, Austin. I was gonna go meet him now, if you want to come."

Brooke nodded and they found Austin in his dorm 615. Austin greeted Sam with a hug and Sam introduced Austin to Brooke. Austin's roommate had not shown up yet.

"I have to go to the restroom," Brooke said randomly, and bolted down the hall.

"She seems sweet," Austin smirked.

Sam, confused, replied, "But there's something strange about her. When I walked in she was just staring out the window. And she doesn't like to talk that much. She seemed sad, didn't she?"

Austin nodded, "Just be nice, Sam. I can see you having your first girl best friend."

"Oh- Carter!" Sam cried. "I forgot to call him."

Carter decided to take a year off from school and taking his method-acting seriously. His attire became outrageous and he came to be acting strongly and with more emphasis.

Sam pulled out her cell phone to call him. "Hello?" he picked up.

"Hey Carter! It's Sam, I'm at Princeton."

"Hey! How do you like it so far? I can't wait for Thanksgiving to come so we can talk about it!"

"I know, hey, I got to go. I was just calling to check up. I'll talk to you later, bye." At this point, Brooke was walking back down the hall to meet them.

"Are you okay, Brooke?" Sam asked.

She shook her head, "I feel dizzy and nauseous…" All of the sudden she fainted. Sam shrieked and Austin panicked.

"We have to get her back to our dorm," Sam exclaimed.

"No, no, she can just stay in mine for now. Yours is too far. I'll go get a nurse or something," Austin answered. He took off almost full-speed for the main building.

Brooke was settled in Austin's bed. Sam kneeled by her bedside and prayed, while Austin burst into the room with a young woman (about in her 30's) and out of breath. The woman explained that it was best for Brooke to remain unconscious for a little while, but not for too long. So after a few hours, they should come and find the nurse (whose name was Sara).

"Where am I?" Brooke asked, dazed, from about 6 hours of sleep.

"Brooke," Sam asked, throwing down her magazine and emerging from Austin's chair, "Are you awake?"

"Yeah, what happened?" she asked.

"Austin! Austin, wake up!" Sam cried. "She's awake."

"Huh?" Austin asked sleepily. "Oh, she's up!" He tore the covers off and jumped out of the bed next to the one Brooke was in.

"What happened?" Brooke asked again.

"You passed out, after coming back from the bathroom," Austin said, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"What about your roommate, is he here yet?" Brooke asked.

"Nope, I don't even know who it is."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just tired. Do you mind if I crash here for tonight?" Brooke asked, hopefully.

"No, of course not. You stay there, Sam can sleep in my roommate's bed, and I can just stay in your room tonight. I hope you feel better," Austin answered, grabbing Sam's keys and heading for their room.

As the door shut, Sam took off her jewelry and got into the other bed. "Hey, Brooke, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Brooke, surprised, answered, "No, not at all."

"Well… I don't know… how to… um… I'm just gonna say it. Is there something you know that I don't, I mean why you fainted?" she stuttered.

"Yes, very much. But I can't tell you. I don't trust you." Brooke turned off the light, and her head hit Austin's uncovered pillow.

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The door opened at 8:30 the next morning. "Well, hello, did I get the wrong room?" a male voice asked.

Sam's head sprung from the bed, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm Collin. This is room 615, isn't it?" the boy looked at the number on the door.

Sam looked over at Brooke, who was still sleeping, and got out of bed. She motioned for him to meet her outside the door.

"My name's Sam," she explained, holding out her hand for him to shake. "Your real roommate's my boyfriend, Austin. What happened was that my roommate and I were visiting yesterday and she fainted, and so then my boyfriend offered to switch rooms for the night, so we didn't have to move her across the campus. Do you get it?"

"Yeah, I get it, baby. I see that you wanted to meet me here in the morning, 'cuz you knew I was coming," Collin said as he brought his head closer to kiss her.

"Ew, get away from me!" she exclaimed as she tried to pull away, but he kept coming closer.

"Get away from her, creep!" Austin's voice shouted. A few footsteps and Sam felt one of Austin's warm hands on her shoulder and saw the other one on Collin's. After a slap to the face, Sam said good-bye to Collin and stepped inside Austin's dorm.

"Who do you think you are?" Austin asked in fury.

"You must be Austin," Collin held out his hand, "I'm your roommate, Collin."

Austin's arms remained crossed, while Collin slowly pulled his hand back.

"You can't come here looking for my respect while you hit on my girlfriend. I'm going to forgive you, but you know, I better not see it again." Austin patted him on the back and offered to bring his suitcases in. Before they opened the door, they heard a scream.