Author's Note:

Hey guys, it's me xgreyscalzona! I'm back with a new story for our girls! I'm so, so sorry about being absent for so long. I took a break from writing because a lot of stuff was happening in my life and all of it was becoming so overwhelming and I just needed to take a step back from everything. With my school work at the time and also family issues, it just all became too much… I didn't realize that I took a break for so long. Now I'm back and writing for you guys again and it honestly feels really good. And also, I've taken down all of the stories on my page. There was only 1 so not much. I just feel it's good for me, and for you guys, to have something fresh since I've been gone for so long.

You won't have to worry too much about my schooling for these updates. I'm now in my senior year of high school and everything is just super easy. However, I have recently gotten a job (not recently, I've actually had this job for 15 months) so my work schedule will conflict with frequent updates.

That's about it! I'm sorry that I made this introduction really long but I couldn't help it. I just had so much to say. Enjoy my story! (Everything belongs to Shonda, I'm just borrowing for the time being). ;p

Chapter One

To say that I was nervous was an understatement. I have been dreading this day for so long and now that it's finally here I'm nothing but an emotional wreck. It felt like just yesterday I was starting my first, last day of high school and had to start worrying about applying for college. Now, my very vivid dream was becoming a reality nightmare.

A lot of people say that your high school experience is one of the best things in your life, especially your senior year. Majority of the students stay out late partying, are worried about nothing else except having a boyfriend, and getting high. For me, it was the complete opposite for more reasons than one. My freshman and sophomore years we're kind of good. It was my junior and senior year when things started to get crazy. I was kind of an outcast and didn't really have any friends, except one, and that was Teddy. Even though we don't agree on some things, and we don't share some of the same interests, she's stuck by me through everything. The ups, the downs, you name it; we've been through it all. Teddy does have a boyfriend, Henry, but she isn't one of those girls who will get distant when she gets a boyfriend and she doesn't let him get in the way of our friendship. Sometimes I tell Teddy she's being a little bit too mean, because I like Henry, he's a really nice guy, but she doesn't listen.

I was also struggling with my sexuality all throughout high school. It all began when I was in the eighth grade and I had a friend named Julie. She was nice and we hung out a lot and over time I started to develop feelings for her. I knew what I was feeling wasn't right and I tried to block it out the rest of that school year. It kind of worked but my feelings did make an appearance from time to time. My confusion really got worse when I entered high school. Julie and I did end up going to the same high school, and we remained friends, but very distant friends that didn't talk very much and I never understood why. But I didn't want my freshman year to be completely awkward, so I tried to put myself out there and make friends.

Sophomore year rolled around and one day in one of my classes, I noticed there was a girl that kept on staring at me. I confronted her at the end of class and she told me that I was cute and that she wanted to get to know me more. I was flattered and kindly accepted. At this point, I was still trying to figure my sexuality out but I still decided to go along with this one. We talked, hung out every day, and eventually started dating. We dated for a couple months but then things started to get really weird. She became distant and wanted to hang out with her other friends over me. I told her one day that whatever we had needed to end because it was obvious things weren't working out. She wasn't mad when I told her but a couple days after, she came to me and told me that her friends dared her to start something with me. I got upset when I found this out and she tried to blame things on me because I got upset, so she went back and started a rumor around school that I was a lesbian.

Junior year is when things started to get bad. The girl that I dated during sophomore year didn't attend my school anymore, but the rumor she started was still going around like gossip at the dinner table. It's all anyone would talk about. It got really bad when I started receiving hurtful text messages on my phone and mean notes in my locker. I tried handling it myself but when people starting making fun of me when they passed me in the hallway; I knew I couldn't do this alone. That's when I met Teddy. She was the only one who was willing to be my friend and help me get through things. We started to become really close and now we're best friends.

Aside from the bullying I endured at the beginning of junior year, I also had to face the fact that I needed to work harder and get good grades because I needed to start applying for colleges now if I had any chance of getting accepted. But that's what really messed with me; coming to the realization that I only had one more year of high school left and it would come and go faster than the blink of an eye and before I knew it, I would be approaching the college life.

And that's exactly where I am now. Standing outside of the University of Washington's building too afraid to go in. I did expect a bit of nervousness to kick in, but I didn't expect to not be able to move a muscle. My class didn't start for another hour and a half but I wanted to be early because I wanted to explore the campus. Both of my parents' attended this college and they said everything about it was beautiful; the scenery, the interior, and even the dorm rooms. From what I've seen so far, which isn't much, they weren't lying. The campus didn't have doubled doom rooms so everyone who bought one was able to have a room all to themselves. They were very spacious and had beautiful hard wood flooring. I moved all of my stuff in over the weekend. What would make them even better is if they came with a bathroom, but of course, that was down the hall.

My class now started in a half hour and I have yet to go inside. I did move myself from standing in front of the doors, looking like an idiot, to a bench off to the side and sat next to a garden with a variety of flowers. I sat with my elbows on my legs and my hands covering my face. I was deep in thought questioning if I really wanted to walk through those doors when all of a sudden I heard someone run up to me and smack my arms making my head fall into my lap.

I looked up to find Teddy hovering over me, "What the hell was that for!?" I asked with an irritated tone.

"What are you still doing out here? Our class starts in 15 minutes and we still need to find out where the room is!" Teddy exclaimed.

"I'm not sure I want to go in. What if this was a mistake? What if going to college isn't the right thing for me?"

"Arizona, don't say that. I've only known you for two years, but, you really have a passion for writing. And you can't make a career out of that if you continue to sit out here on your ass," Teddy sternly said. "Get up and move!"

I've been interested in pursuing a career in Journalism ever since I was able to write. I loved writing stories and making up my own little fantasies, even if they didn't make sense sometimes. It was something that helped me get through the rough times I experienced in high school. I would always go home and pull out my notebook and just write continuously until my hand started cramping. It was my escape from the world and it felt so good.

I found out about a year ago that Teddy wanted to go into Journalism too; she just kept it a very well hidden secret from me. When I found this out, it made applying to colleges easier because I've always felt like this odd nerd who liked writing until she had a good reason to stop. When Teddy told me, we decided to apply to the same college together because we didn't want to go into the same career alone.

Teddy pulled me by the arm, out of my trance, and lifted me off the bench. "Alright, alright, I'm going."

The classroom was a lot bigger than I expected. There were thirty rows of seats and three aisle ways, two at the end of each wall and one down the middle. The desks were single-seated caramel desks that had black chairs attached to them. Teddy and I took the last two available desks that were right next to each other because we only knew each other and nobody else.

The class didn't start for another twenty minutes and in that amount of time, everyone had been talking to each other nonstop, including Teddy and I. Everyone's conversations came to a halt when the students heard the door that all of us come through, shut. I heard impending footsteps from someone wearing high heels so this person had to be a woman. I looked to my left and saw what was indeed a woman, wearing a black suit with a tan shirt underneath, and a knee-high skirt in replace for pants. Her hair was clipped back and bangs falling loosely in front. She was carrying a briefcase and her makeup was lightly done. She looked professional. She walked up to the desk that sat at the front of the class, opened her briefcase and began pulling out some papers which I assumed was the syllabus for the course. She stacked them in a neat pile on her desk and turned around to pick up a dry erase marker and write her name on the board, then turned back around to face us and pick up the neatly stacked pile of papers.

"Hello everyone; welcome to the Introduction to Journalism class. My name is Professor Torres and I will be your instructor for the remainder of the school year." She said with a small grin. "Now, I know you all probably took Journalism at some point throughout high school, so you have a small interpretation for what this class is going to be like. If you haven't, you're going to learn really quickly. I'm going to guess what your high school Journalism experience was like." She started walking up and down the aisles. "Your class was taught at a relatively slow speed, you were given a week, or maybe even multiple weeks, on your assignments, and the difficulty level wasn't that hard. I'm going to be honest with you, in college, it's the complete opposite. The speed is ramped up; you will be given no more than two days on an assignment; and the difficultly has increased." She paused to walk back to her desk and take a drink of her water then continued. "What I have in my hand is the course syllabus. It tells you everything you need to know about this class, including the materials required, lessons and topics we will learn about, information on the formal and informal essays you will write, and the oral presentations you will be giving at some point."

Teddy leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Wow she seems like a really hardcore professor."

I laughed quietly, "Stop talking before she sees you and decides to call you out in front of the entire class."

I checked my phone, which was turned upside down on my desk, to look at the time. It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. I already wanted this class to be over with.

"Lucky for you students, class today is only forty minutes long. Today was just a filler to let you know what to expect in this course. Tomorrow will be a longer class period and we will begin learning so be prepared. Read over the syllabus and make sure you come to class tomorrow with everything that is needed. That's all I have. Enjoy the rest of your day." Professor Torres walked over to her desk and opened her briefcase to see a bright yellow sticky note on the top. It read: 'don't forget to assign to the class the personal paragraph as homework.' She looked up and whistled to get the students' attention. "Oh I almost forgot. I did have a homework assignment for you tonight. It's nothing big. All I'm asking is for you guys to write a half page paragraph, or longer if you would like, telling me some things about you so that I can get to know you better. It can be a personal, it can be basic, I don't care as long as there's something written. It can be front and back but no more is required. Alright, class dismissed."

I stood up, gathered my things and walked out of the door with Teddy. I could already tell this was going to be a very long year.

I think you guys can kind of guess what type of story this is. I hope you guys don't mind that. I've always wanted to try out a story like this…

Also, sorry this chapter is kind of short. I just wanted something to give you guys. I feel like the introduction took the bulk of the chapter. XD

But yeah, the next chapter should be up this weekend or sometime next week. As always, please R&R, I love seeing your guy's feedback.