Thanks to everyone who reviewed the prologue, in this chapter I introduce a few new characters, as well as a bit more as to what the focus of this story is going to be, enjoy!
Chapter 1:
"There are so many people wow!" Sasha swivels her head around in wonder as the two teens enter the field hosting Titicipation, and Krista finds herself agreeing with the amazed girl.
Rose Field normally is the home of four soccer fields, but currently it's covered with hundreds of tiny stalls. Each stall is covered with posters and has enthusiastic club members surrounding it. Fliers are being thrown all over the place, emails are being written down, and still streams of kids are milling about. The noise level of the field is equivalent to a small chainsaw, and Krista is surprised she can hear her new friend at all over the dull roar of the students on the field. A few butterflies flitter in Krista's stomach as she enters the mess of people and she feels comforted when her new roommate's arm loops through her own.
Sasha is rambling about something in her ear, but Krista is barely paying attention as they approach the booth nearest the entrance. A few shirtless guys are standing next to it, throwing a volleyball back and forth with one standing out in front of them talking with a few random freshman. The sign reads water polo, and Sasha seems interested in saying hello to them, but Krista just laughs and shakes her head as she pulls her new friend away from the temptation of shirtless guys.
The two of them pass a large variety of booths, including sports, enthusiast clubs, and a million fraternities and sororities that all seem exactly the same. There are a few clubs for majors as well, but Krista ignores them since she's currently undecided. After they've walked through a few rows they find a cooking club, and Sasha signs up to be on their email list right away. She seems a little nervous about going alone, so Krista puts her email on the list under her new friend's; she can always cancel later if she doesn't want to go.
After they sign up they wander around a bit more, and Krista realizes she isn't interested in most of these clubs. She's not great at sports, and everyone seems to be so athletic and cool. If they aren't they sign up for the computer an animation clubs, and she knows little to nothing about those topics. They are nearing the end, and she desperately looks at the remaining tables, being part of a club is something she really wanted to do, and she isn't much of a cook.
"There's one more booth that I'm looking for," Sasha seems oblivious to the shorter girl's distress, and seems totally enamored with the stands around them. "Have you heard of ROTC? Oh there's their booth!" Before she gets a chance to respond, Krista finds herself being dragged over to a somewhat plain looking stand. A few people are standing next to it dressed in military uniforms, and one of them smiles warmly when they notice the two girls approaching. Their poster board says ROTC in large letters, and underneath they have, if we are strong, we will survive, in quotation marks. There are a few pictures of students running around in uniform, with a brief description about the group underneath. Sasha strikes up a conversation with one of the soldiers standing there, and Krista is surprised when she finds herself listening curiously.
"We meet every day in the afternoon. You'll be placed into a squad where you'll learn important skills like teamwork, organization, and tactics. By enlisting you are guaranteeing your service for two years after graduating college, but in return we will pay for every semester you are in college, including room and board. I have greatly enjoyed my time in ROTC, and if you don't like it you can always drop out." The soldier's voice is warm as he explains, and Krista can tell Sasha is eating it up.
Free tuition? Considering Krista had barely considered how she was going to pay for school that sounds like a dream come true. All she has to do is be a part of this club. It seems kind of physically demanding, but the soldier explains that they'll go through a week of training to get them ready for that.
"I'd like to sign up please," Krista cuts into the conversation, causing both heads snap to her in surprise. The soldier recovers quickly, his smile not wavering for a second. He reaches for a clipboard and pen off of their table, passing it to Krista smoothly.
"Our first meeting will be next Monday; I hope to see you there!" Krista scrawls her email onto the list neatly as the soldier talks about what will happen at their meeting, passing the clipboard to Sasha when she reaches out for it. He looks pleased when she passes the clipboard back, and wishes them a good day as they walk away from the stand.
"That seems really fun doesn't it?" With all of the clubs thoroughly examined, the two freshman head over to the food stands. The food at Titicipation is free, maybe to tempt kids who would normally stay home to the event. However, this means the selection is extremely limited, and Krista soon finds a hotdog plopped into her hands.
A few circle tables have been set up for the kids to eat at, but none of them seem to be empty. One table has two guys and a girl sitting at it, with two open seats. Krista is hesitant to sit down with strangers, but Sasha strides up to them confidently. "Are these seats taken?"
The girl shakes her head no, so Sasha sits down happily, motioning for Krista to join her. She sits down slowly, attempting to paste a warm smile onto her face when a pair of cold, analytical eyes land on her. Once she's settled she digs into her hotdog, taking a brief note of the three people she's sat down with.
The girl seems the most cynical of the three, with blond hair tied in a tight bun. She seems to be ignoring everyone else at the table, and her green eyes are focused down at her hot dog. She's focusing hard on it, as if it were a complex puzzle.
The two boys seem to be in their own world, talking quietly about some joke. The taller one with dark hair is holding back a giggle, and he shakes his head at whatever they're talking about. The shorter blond smirks at the giggle, completely oblivious to the world around him.
These seem like cool enough people, may as well try to make friends.
"So where do you guys live?" Krista attempts to kick up a conversation, and the taller boy seems eager to comply.
"We live on the fifth floor of Maria Hall! Reiner and I went to high school together and are roommates, and we just met Annie today she lives a few doors down. I'm Bertholdt by the way. What about you where you guys live?" Bertholdt leans over the table as he talks, clearly excited to make some new friends.
Sasha glances over at the freckled teen, hot dog half stuffed in her mouth. "Oh! Hmmphm hmmm hmphm hpmh!" Her words come out muffled from the hot dog, and Krista holds back a giggle from how goofy she sounds.
"I think she's trying to say that we live in the same building, but we're on the second floor." Sasha nods violently as Krista's words, drawing another laugh from Bertholdt. Reiner glances over at him, and he seems amused by the conversation.
"Did you guys find any clubs you were interested in?" Reiner adds himself to the conversation smoothly, motioning with one hand to the chaos still occurring all around them.
Krista nods, deciding she'll speak since Sasha is still chewing on her hot dog. "We signed up for the cooking club, and ROTC."
"We checked out the ROTC booth also! My parents have a long history in the military, and Bert here is being a good friend and tagging along with me." Reiner nudges Bertholdt's shoulder good-naturedly, making the taller teen's smile grow even larger.
Krista can't help but to notice how cute the two of them are, and when she glances over at Annie she can see the slightest of grins on her face, she probably thinks the same exact thing. "Are you going to join ROTC also Annie?"
Annie glances over at the short blond, her eyes narrowing slightly at the question. She seems to be analyzing Krista, but seems to accept her after a few seconds. "Yes…"
"That's great I'll see you there then!"
Annie nods once, and Krista guesses that's good enough as the serious girl returns to her food.
The five of them spend the rest of the evening together, and before Krista can blink they're separating in different directions, off to their respective floor meetings.
So yeah next chapter is floor meetings I hope to see you all there! Please drop a review if you have something cool to say, or just want to say hi!