I woke to the sound of the captain's voice over the intercom, announcing that we'd be landing in five minutes. I grabbed my purse from the floor and pulled out my cell to text my parents, Katie, and Gregory. As I finished texting them, I noticed that the sky looked breathtaking from where I was. There was a huge dark navy cloud covering most of the sky, which was a dark orange and pink color, but a small portion of the setting sun still managed to remain in front of it. I grabbed my pink digital camera out of my purse and snapped a picture of it, disappointed that it didn't look anywhere near as beautiful to the eye. I soaked in all of it's beauty until we'd landed. When the captain went through the whole thank you for traveling with AirTran, I grabbed my purse and cardigan and made my way to the gate where my Aunt Josephine would be waiting for me. She smiled at me as soon as our eyes met and walked over to hug me. She looked different than since the last time I'd seen her. Instead of her short, conservative bob, her black hair was now elegantly flowing down to her caramel shoulders in ringlets, and she'd traded in her comfy loafers for Prada heels. Basically, my aunt was hot! Like smokin hot!
"Hey Auntie." I smiled.
"Nevaeh, you look great! How long has it been?" she asked, beaming.
"I think last Christmas." I said, noticing how the smile never disappeared from her glowing face.
"Well I'm so glad that you're here. Your campus is only thirty minutes away from my house, so I can probably see you more often now." She said with unhidden excitement in her voice.
We walked towards the baggage claim area where my bags were already pulled to the side waiting for me. What really caught my attention was the gorgeous man standing beside them. He was tall, light skinned, and short curly brown hair. His most extensive features were his olive green eyes that stood out against his russet skin. I was even more surprised to see him make his way towards us then wrap his arm around my aunt's waist, and then he kissed her smack on the lips! Who was this guy?
"Nevaeh, this is James. He works in my office and we've been dating for about-"
"Eight months." He cut her off and smiled. "It's so nice to meet you Nevaeh. She's been going on about you for weeks." He smiled and extended his hand to me.
"Well it certainly is a pleasure to meet you as well." I replied, eyeing my aunt in a way that said she had some explaining to do.
"Well, let's get your bags loaded onto the truck and get you home." He suggested as he grabbed two of my luggages and I grabbed the other. He led us to my aunt's familiar black Cadillac Escalade and loaded my bags in the trunk. As we drove down the dark, vast road Josie was talking to me about my new school, Wesleyan Academy. She told me about the campus, academics, and athletic achievements. Because she went their throughout all of her whole high school years, she knew almost everything about it. It was about a forty-five minute drive to the campus, and when we finally arrived we pulled up to a huge wrought iron gate that had a pass code box located next to it. My aunt typed in the numbers 178650 and the gate opened smoothly revealing the large, beautiful campus. There were multiple buildings spread around with plenty of space in between them. James pulled into the lot in front of a building named "Gilfillan Hall".
"So this is the girl's dorm building. Your dorm advisor, Tiffany, has your keys and class schedule." Josie explained as we made our way into the foyer. It was very traditional; there was a huge tan couch in the middle of the floor, a LG flat screen TV mounted against a fire place on the walls that were painted taupe, a beautiful chandelier hanging above, other decorative home accessories, and the smell of spiced apples lingered in the air which made the room feel cozier than it looked.
After meeting my new dorm advisor, James and Josie helped me get my bags to my new dorm room and said that they'd call me to check on me tomorrow. The halls were empty so I figured that the other girls were either asleep or out at some lame night class. Not interested in learning anything at the moment, I made my way to my new dorm and unlocked the door to find a room that had olive-colored walls and magenta, burnt orange and golden accent colors throughout the room. There was a vintage black chandelier hanging from the ceiling and magenta curtains hung down in front of the wide windows that looked out to the campus lake. It was beautiful! I managed to get my bags in the room and stumbled to my surprisingly plush bed. There was a set of sheets and pillow shams folded neatly at the head of the bed. I pulled the soft white sheets over the mattress and set the decorative shams up neatly before a girl stumbled out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her dripping wet body and hair.
"Oh! Gees you scared me!" she shrieked, clutching her chest.
"Sorry, I didn't know anybody was here." I apologized.
"It's okay. You just startled me that's all." She smiled.
"I'm Willow, like the tree." She smiled as she unwrapped the towel around her head and let her dark auburn hair fall to her shoulders.
"That's really pretty. I'm Nevaeh, heaven spelled backwards."
"Wow, now that's really pretty." She replied as she rummaged through her dresser next to her bed.
"Thanks," I said as I started unpacking my clothes and placing them my dresser. "So tell me, what's it like here? Is it really as bad as people make boarding school seem?" I asked.
"Are you kidding me? This place is amazing! The food is amazing, the classes are challenging but easy to pass, the guys are gorgeous, and the staff is pretty chill." She said as she slipped on a t-shirt and cotton shorts.
"Seriously?" I asked amazed, "What about parties?"
"Ever been to a college sorority party?" she asked.
"That fun?" I laughed, remembering the night my mom caught me hooking up with a college guy. That's why I'm here and I think I'm gonna like it.
"Wait till you meet our guys. They're so hot and plus their athletic, smart and rich. What more can you ask for?" she beamed.
"Not much." I agreed.
"Oh, let me see your schedule." She said pointing to the folded paper lying on my bed.
I handed it to her and watched as her eyes scanned the page until she finally said, "You scored all of the really good classes. I wish I had photography! The only class we have together is English, but our other classes are pretty close together."
"Thank God! I was freakin' out that I'd be a lost puppy tomorrow." I said, a wave of relief washing through me.
"Don't worry girl, I got your back." She smiled as she pulled out her iPhone and sent a text message.
"Thanks. Um, speaking of class, what time do we have to get up in the morning?"
She laughed and replied, "Around seven. We have eight classes and the day ends at 3:30. Pls, we get an hour lunch."
"Got it. By the way, where is everybody else? The whole campus looks like it's empty."
"The guys varsity football team had an away game." She explained.
"Enough said." I said grabbing some pj's and heading for the shower.
xXx
When I got out of the shower, I found Willow on her Apple notebook.
"What are you doing?" I asked curiously as I walked over to the desk she sat at.
"Here," she said handing me the laptop, "These are some of the hottest guys that go to our school."
I took a look at the picture on the screen of a group of guys standing on a dock smiling and acting goofy. Willow was right, they were all hot. I double clicked on each of their faces to get a closer look at each of them and found one guy that was incredibly cute.
"Who's he?" I asked, taking in his green eyes.
"That's Trad Turner. Total hottie but also a total jerk. Don't get involved with him, he's bad news." she said, rolling her eyes.
I took her word for that and finished scrolling across the page to see a guy that was so…beautiful. He had shaggy brown hair, extremely tan skin, and a pair of violet eyes that'd make your heart melt.
"Who's he?" I asked, my eyes glued to the screen.
"That's Aiden Gershum. Extremely hot, plays the guitar, amazing artist, and he's a jock. He's every girl's dream guy, but he's really quiet." She said.
"Oh." Was all I could say.
I was still mesmerized by his eyes. They were so deep and familiar in a way.
"If you're lucky maybe you'll get a class with him. He seems like a nice guy but it's hard to tell because of how reserved he is." She said.
"Does he not have any friends or something?" I asked.
"Oh, he's got friends. Don't get me wrong, the guy's a total stud. All the guys wanna be him and all the girls wanna be with him. He just doesn't pay attention to it." She said.
On paper, he sounded like the perfect guy but I'm sure he's just like the rest. A total, complete jerk.
"Well, we may wanna catch some sleep before tomorrow, especially if you want to familiarize yourself with the campus." She said as she climbed under her magenta down comforter.
"Yeah, goodnight." I said before slipping under my own and turning the lamp off on my desk.
xXx
I woke to the sound of my phone playing Up, up, & Away by Kid Cudi. It was 7 am which meant that I had an hour to get dressed, eat breakfast, and learn the campus. I scurried to my closet and pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a sunshine yellow baby doll shirt. I hopped in the shower and straightened my hair. By the time I got out of the bathroom Willow was neatly setting the pillows on her bed.
"Good morning! Ready to grab some breakfast?" She asked brightly. At least one of us is a morning person, I thought to myself.
"Yeah, I'm starving." I moaned, hearing my stomach growl.
"Okay,
Do you have your key?" she asked before she turned from her dresser drawer.
I grabbed it out of my Coach Sash purse and dangled them, "Yup."
"'K, let's go then." She said grabbing her red patent leather bag that matched her top.
She led me back down the series of hallways that I passes last night and into a large kitchen area that was painted a warm shade of taupe. The smell of pancakes and bacon wafted through the air, making my mouth water.
"Okay, so this is basically the kitchen for the whole dorm. The staff keeps the fridge stocked with all types of foods and there's plenty of room for cooking." She said handing me a plate and glass cup.
"So who cooked these then, if we make our own food?" I asked, not really caring as I took a bite of the crispy bacon.
"Senior. They're always surprising us with yummy foods and desserts." She smiled and took a seat at the granite countertop.
We had just finished clearing our plates away when they walked in.
There were three of them. The girl on the left had spray-tanned skin and long dark hair, while the other had jet black hair and chocolate skin. The one in the middle, their "leader" I guessed, had blonde hair that rested just below her shoulders. Their eyes immediately met mine as they approached us.
"You must be the new girl." The "leader" said.
"I am." I replied.
"Well I'm Logan and these are my friends Kennington and Aysia." She said politely, gesturing to the two girls beside her.
"Pleasure. I'm Nevaeh." I said.
"Well it's nice to meet you Nevaeh. If you ever wanna hang out or get off the campus, you now know who to text." She smiled, iPhone in hand.
"Thanks." I laughed as we swapped phones.
"Okay, well we have to get to Peer Leadership so we'll see you later. Bye Willow." She smiled and sauntered off.
"Yeah, those are the most popular juniors on campus and to make them even more popular, they're totally cool." She said as she led me out of the building and into the warm sun.
We toured the campus for about twenty minutes, covering all the main buildings.
"If you need any help, feel free to ask one of the teachers or just text me." She said as we walked to our English class.
"'K, thanks girl." I said, grateful that I got a nice roommate.
English class was actually very intriguing. We were studying censorship in the media and how it affects our daily lives. The rest of the day just flew by. Guys were always talking to me and questioning me while the some of the girls made faces and stared. I met hot guy after hot guy but never once saw the violet-eyed guy from the photo.