Chapter 1
Today, I am leaving for California State University. I applied for their marine biology program two months ago and was surprised to see that they accepted it. They were impressed by my work with dolphins at the marine park and my 4.5 GPA in school. I spent weeks editing and rewriting my application essay to make it absolutely perfect and the hard work paid off. Of course, Rikki and Bella were sad to see me go. We had spent the last couple of days at Mako, freaking out about how awful it will be without each other. Since our family's car had broken down, Bella and Rikki had offered to drop me off at the Brisbane airport. The Gold Coast airport was closer, but there was no direct flight from there to California. "Come on, Cleo. We know you're only going because that's where Lewis is," Rikki complained at the airport.
"Rikki!" Bella scolded her.
"I'm going because they have one of the best marine biology programs in the world," I told her for the hundredth time. "Lewis just happens to also be there." She rolled her eyes. Bella gave me a hug and Rikki reluctantly joined in. For some reason, I hadn't told Lewis that I would be in America soon. It's such a big change so I probably should've told him, but I felt like he'd appreciate being surprised.
"I'll miss you guys so much," I said as I crushed them in my arms. "I'll call you every day, okay?"
"Tell us everything that happens," Bella told me as she pulled away.
"Bye, Cleo," Rikki said. "Stay dry!"
"I'll try my best. Bella, say bye to Will for me." I turned to Rikki. "And say bye to Zane when the two of you get back together," I teased.
"Not gonna happen." She shook her head furiously and Bella laughed at her.
"We'll see," I said as I grabbed my luggage. She stuck her tongue out at me. As I left to drop off my luggage, I took one last look at my best friends. I thought back to when Emma left Rikki and I. The mermaids were splitting up yet again.
After a seventeen hour flight, I finally arrived in Monterey. My back was sore and I was still tired from such a long flight but it was exciting nonetheless. When I got in a taxi to get to the dorms, I realized that I had forgotten about the way the roads worked here. It was so disconcerting to ride on the right side of the road; the car looked all messed up. It was a good thing that I had remembered to get some cash converted before I left so I didn't completely embarrass myself when it was time to pay.
When I arrived on campus, I found the dorms easily. The queue was short so I didn't have to wait long before I got help. "Hi, where would I find this room?" I asked the young woman at the front desk while awkwardly showing her the papers I had.
"You'll be on the second floor, third door on the right," she directed me. "Cleo," she added as she glanced at the name on the paper. I thanked her and took the lift upstairs. When I got into the correct room, I found a girl unpacking a suitcase.
"Hello!" she greeted me. "You're Cleo right?"
I nodded and set my luggage down. "Yeah, I am. What's your name?"
"I'm Jenna. Are you British?" she asked, noticing my accent.
"No," I responded, laughing. "I'm an Aussie. It's pretty easy to get them mixed up."
"What a coincidence. My brother's roommate is also from Australia." She brought a telescope out of her luggage and started setting it up by the window. "I'm an astronomy major if you were wondering."
"That's pretty cool," I said, admiring the blue telescope. It was larger than the one that I had and the stand it was on was much longer. "I'm studying marine biology."
"Really? So you know a lot about fish?"
"You could say that." I unzipped my luggage and changed the topic. "So, there's only one bedroom here. Want the top or bottom bunk?"
"Bottom," she answered quickly. "I move a lot in my sleep and I'd rather not fall out in the middle of the night."
"Okay," I agreed. My phone started ringing. "Oh, lemme answer this real quick." She nodded and I picked up my phone. "Hello?"
"How are you, Cleo?" Bella called on the other line. I could hear people talking loudly in the background. "Seen Lewis yet?"
"No, not yet. I only just got here so I haven't gotten the chance to look around yet."
"Aw, well call me when you do," Bella said, disappointed. "I gotta go, I'm at the cafe and I'm about to go on stage. I just called to see how your reunion went."
"Good luck!" I told her. "Bye, Bella."
"Thanks. Bye," she said as she hung up.
"Did she say Lewis? Like Lewis McCartney?" Jenna asked suddenly. "That's my brother's roommate."
"Really? Yeah, Lewis is my boyfriend."
"He came here at the start of the second semester last year. Gus and him are pretty close now but I've hung out with them a couple of times. He did mention that he had a girlfriend back in Australia so I should've put two and two together," she explained.
Excitedly, I asked, "What has he said about me?"
"Oh, well Gus tried to set me up with him. Because we both like astronomy," she added quickly to not offend me. When I smiled, she continued, "He brought me over to meet him and he said that he was already dating someone."
"That's so sweet of him," I said, flattered. "Can we go visit them now?"
"Sure, we can finish unpacking later."
She led me down the hallway and to the elevator. Lewis' dorm was in the story above ours. I was almost shaking with excitement as we made our way to his room. I made a mental note to skype Rikki and Bella so that they could see him too later.
Jenna knocked on the door loudly. "Gus! Open the door!" she yelled, in a tone much less friendly than she used towards me. A boy came to the door with a controller in his hand.
"Jenna, what is it? We're in the middle of a game," he complained.
She sighed dramatically. "Get Lewis, I wanna show him someone." I waved at him from behind her.
"Hey, I know you!" Gus exclaimed when he saw me. I looked at him, trying to figure out where we could've met. "Yeah, you're Lewis' phone background!"
"I am?" I asked, embarrassed.
He nodded quickly. "Lewis! It's your girlfriend!" he shouted and I heard the game in the background pause. Lewis ran to the door and gasped when he saw me.
"Cleo?" he asked, surprised. He was wearing pajamas and his hair was untamed. "I can't believe you're here!" His arms wrapped around me and he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Lewis," I choked out. "I can't breathe."
"Oh, sorry," he apologized and let go of me. "I can't believe that you came all this way to visit me. How did you…" he trailed off, not knowing how to ask if I flew or swam.
"I took a plane," I explained. "And no, I'm not visiting. I applied a couple of months ago and now I am-"
"How else would she get here?" asked Gus. I laughed awkwardly and glanced at Lewis.
Lewis shrugged. "Train," he suggested.
Jenna smirked. "From Australia?"
"I guess I wasn't thinking," Lewis dismissed them. He turned back to me. "That's absolutely amazing, Cleo! Why didn't you tell me you'd be coming here?"
"I wanted to surprise you."
"Well, it worked."
Hope you liked the first chapter! Please review!
I probably shouldn't have published this while I have my other WIP. I might update this if I have time but I will probably update a lot more once I finish It Isn't Fate but I Wish It Was