Well hey everyone, thank you so much for the reviews! I didn't expect it to get such a good response, and so quickly too, so thanks for making my day. I'd intended for this story to originally be one chapter, but it's becoming rather longer than I anticipated so I guess I'll just publish each scene as a separate chapter. They'll all be pretty short (less than a thousand words), but I hope it doesn't seem too choppy or anything. Please keep reviewing and let me know what you think. :)

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September 12th

"I got the class I wanted!" Aria came bouncing up, waving a piece of paper that declared in bold letters that she had, in fact, been accepted into the highly competitive Art class she'd been on the waiting list for.

Spencer grinned, wrapping her arms around her friend. "Congratulations!"

"Well done, Aria," Hanna said, doing a good job of masking her jealousy; she'd been rejected from every college she applied to, even her safety, and was currently working part-time as a waitress. She hated it, but she kept up a brave face for her friends.

"Yeah, that's great," Emily added, slinging her towel around her neck. Not only had she been accepted to the college, she'd been awarded a full swimming scholarship. She'd been training since before classes even started, and the coach had told her that if she worked hard enough she might even make captain one day. Spencer could swear that Emily's cheeks had been flushed with excitement for three days now because of that.

"What classes are you taking, Spence?" Aria asked.

Spencer handed over her timetable. She'd been given early entry, so she'd already done a semester of college. Her classes were more difficult this semester – even the titles would be enough to bore most people to tears. But she was a Hastings, and she thrived on challenges.

"Wow," Emily said, reading over Aria's shoulder. "Those look pretty tough."

"Tough? One of them has a fifty percent failure rate, and this other one here has a thirty percent dropout rate," Spencer said, laughing a little. She was nervous, of course, but she was also excited. These classes would be ten times as hard as high school, and one of them was more advanced than anything Melissa had done in her first year – that alone was reason enough to embrace the challenge.

"Well, I'll leave you to it, Miss Brainy," Hanna said, gathering up her things and getting to her feet. "I've got a double shift followed by dinner with my mom. Look at me, living the good life."

She winked, letting them know she wasn't too bitter about it, and headed off.

"I've got some time before my next class," Spencer said, sliding a sleek black headband into her hair. It matched her smart-casual outfit: a black skirt that fell to her knees, a crisp white blouse, black ballet flats, and latticed black stockings. Her style hadn't changed much since high school, aside from becoming a little more mature. "I can show you guys around if you want?"

"Thanks," Emily said, running a hand through her chlorine-bleached hair, "but I have a swim team meeting in ten minutes. Coach is going to make us swim about a hundred laps just to see if we can."

She laughed, hoisting her duffel bag onto her shoulder, and waved to them as she walked off.

"I'd love a tour," Aria said, slipping her hand into Spencer's and looking up at her with her doe eyes.

A slow smile spread across Spencer's face. "I was so hoping you'd say that."

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