For the remainder of the week Bridgette and her roommates spent much of their time exploring the CSU campus and the town of Fort Columbus. Owen returned on Thursday, bringing Wyatt, Marlowe, and LeShawna with him. The four of them would be staying in the dorms as they had been unable to convince the Kings to bend the rules for them as well. At least they would be roommates with each other, Owen and Wyatt, and LeShawna and Marlowe. And they were always welcome to crash at the house Bridgette and her roommates were renting. On Friday Bridgette and her friends made their way to Latterman Hall for registration and orientation. There were at least a hundred incoming freshmen gathered for orientation, not counting Bridgette and her friends.
"Wow, there's a lot of people here." Izzy said, surprise obvious in her tone.
"Well CSU is one of the largest universities in the area." Nikki said. "So it makes sense, when you think about it."
"Yeah, but Izzy does have a point." said Bridgette. "I mean, we all knew CSU was a big university, but I didn't expect the incoming freshman class to be so big."
"They're not actually all freshmen, you know." a voice said behind them. Bridgette and her friends turned to find Cecily smiling at them, that same open, friendly smile she had given Bridgette the first time they had met.
"Hey Cecily, how are you?" Bridgette asked, returning Cecily's smile.
"I'm good." Cecily answered. "How are you Bridgette?"
"I'm fine, a little nervous maybe, but otherwise I'm good." Bridgette answered, with a glance at Nikki and Gwen. "By the way Cecily, these are my friends Nikki Wong, Gwen Carver, Izzy Sharpe, Owen Gregorski, Wyatt Williams, LeShawna Carter, and Marlowe Welling." She paused and turned to her friends before continuing. "And this is Cecily Jones, who gave me my first campus tour."
The others each shook Cecily's hand and extended greetings of their own before Cecily turned the conversation back to them. "So you guys all went to the same high school?" she asked.
"Yep, Hayward High, home of the Hawks." said Owen, his voice full of pride.
"Cool." said Cecily. "It's nice to see friends attending the same college. Anyway, I gotta go so I'll talk to you all later." She smiled again and left, heading over to where a group of CSU students were gathered. It was obvious that these students were helping with orientation and Bridgette wondered if they were part of CSU's student government.
"Well, she seems nice." LeShawna said, drawing Bridgette out of her thoughts. "Cecily, I mean. I hope we get her as our guide for this thing."
"What makes you think we'll get a guide?" Wyatt asked, with a quick glance at LeShawna.
"Because that's how these orientation things usually work, from what I understand." LeShawna replied. "And given that there are a bunch of people wearing CSU shirts gathered over there by the building I'm thinking my assumption is correct."
No sooner had LeShawna finished speaking when a woman in her early forties stepped forward and began speaking. "Hello, welcome to Columbia State University." she said, her voice echoing in the suddenly silent courtyard. "My name is Lynn Taft and I am the head of the registrar's office here at CSU. On behalf of the entire CSU staff I would like to formally welcome you to orientation and personally thank you for choosing CSU to continue your education. Now, we have many fun activities planned for this weekend, but before we get started we're going to divide you up into groups to more easily facilitate your orientation. Each group will be lead by one of our student ambassadors and when you hear your name please make your way over to your ambassador."
Twenty minutes later Bridgette and her friends found themselves gathered beside a large oak tree with Cecily. All eight of them had been assigned to Cecily's group, much to LeShawna's delight. Bridgette had to admit that she was glad they had all gotten Cecily as well, though she was a little surprised as she had expected the groups to be formed alphabetically. Still, she wasn't going to complain, as the thought that she got to go through orientation with people she already knew calmed her nerves a great deal.
"Okay, so, we have a lot of things to cover so let's get started." said Cecily, smiling at the group gathered before her. "I think we'll start with the tour, which will be redundant for Bridgette, for which I am sorry."
Bridgette just smiled and nodded. She appreciated Cecily's apology, though it wasn't necessary. Cecily was just doing her job and truthfully Bridgette wanted another tour, just to be extra certain she knew where everything on campus was.
For the next several hours Cecily lead her group through a series of team building exercises, often working with other groups. The activities of orientation would continue throughout the weekend and by the time Monday rolled around Bridgette was confident that she and her friends were prepared for the beginning of their college education.
Bridgette awoke on Monday to find that her nervous anticipation had been replaced by a growing confidence that she had not felt for quite some time. She rolled out of bed and dressed quickly before making her way to the kitchen where Nikki, Gwen, and Izzy were already gathered. Bridgette smiled at her roommates as she prepared her breakfast and took a seat at the table opposite Nikki, who was also smiling.
"Well, here we go." Nikki said. "Our first day as college students. With any luck we'll make it through without fucking up too much."
"Oh come on Nikki, don't be so pessimistic." Izzy said, rolling her eyes. "It's just college, how bad can it really be? I mean, okay it's different, but it could be a lot worse, right?"
"Izzy's right." Bridgette said, nodding in agreement. "But the only way we'll know for sure is to experience it, so let's get going."
"Why?" Gwen asked. "None of us have class until ten, so why are you in such a hurry to get there?"
"Because I'd like to try and meet my professors before class." Bridgette answered, rising from her seat as she spoke. She waited for her roommates to comment, but none of them did. Bridgette shrugged and moved to place her dishes in the sink before heading back up to her room to retrieve her backpack. She returned a moment later to find the others waiting for her and after checking to make sure she had everything she lead the way out the door.
Ten minutes later they arrived on campus where they were greeted by Owen and LeShawna, who both looked tired and stressed. Bridgette smiled at them and LeShawna smiled back. Owen simply nodded and moved to stand next to Izzy.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Bridgette asked, with another smile.
"Pretty good." LeShawna answered. "Just waiting for our first class."
"Where are Wyatt and Marlowe?" Izzy asked, glancing around the group.
"They're in class." Owen answered. "Some music class that Wyatt wouldn't shut up about all weekend."
"Well he is a music major." Nikki said, with a shrug.
"Yeah, I know." Owen said. "But that doesn't mean he has to remind me every hour."
"Okay baby that's enough negativity." said Izzy. "Stop sulking and be happy that you're here. Not everyone makes it to college you know."
Owen nodded and forced a smile which made Bridgette think of Geoff and the fact that he wasn't there. She quickly pushed the thought aside and began walking towards MacArthur Hall, where her first class was. The others followed her, even though they were not all sociology majors. Nikki, Gwen and Izzy were taking the same sociology class that Bridgette was, though none of them were majoring in the subject. Nikki was majoring in anthropology, Gwen in art, and Izzy in biology, but they had all been intrigued when Bridgette had told them about the introduction to sociology class she had signed up for. Owen was majoring in biology as well and LeShawna was majoring in business, and neither of them were taking the intro to sociology class with Bridgette, but they came with her anyway.
A few minutes later Bridgette and her friends entered MacArthur Hall for the first time. Bridgette made her way over to a large sign that bore the names of the professors who worked in the various departments housed in the building. After a moment of searching Bridgette found the name she was looking for, noting the number listed next to the name which was the number of the professor's office. She smiled and made her way over to the elevator, the others still following her.
A moment later they had arrived on the fourth floor of MacArthur Hall, where all the sociology department was located. Bridgette entered the main office of the department and scanned the room, finding the office she was looking for after only a few seconds. She made her way over to the office, which was closed. The name-plate on the door bore the name Dr. William McLellen who was obviously not there.
"Damn, he's not here." Bridgette muttered, turning away from the door.
"Who is Dr. McLellen anyway?" Owen asked, his tone confused.
"He's the professor who teaches the intro to sociology class Nikki, Gwen, Izzy, and I are taking." Bridgette answered. "He's also my advisor. But he's not here so let's go." She turned and walked out of the office, checking her phone for the time as she did. They still had half an hour until class and Bridgette decided to wait in MacArthur Hall rather than leave and have to rush back twenty minutes later. Owen and LeShwana decided they didn't want to wait and both of them left a few minutes later, after saying goodbye to Bridgette and the others.
A half hour later Bridgette and her roommates entered MacArthur Hall room 202 for their first class as college students. Moments later a tall man with a short well trimmed beard and shaggy reddish hair entered. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, with a suit coat worn over the T-shirt and he was carrying a briefcase which he set down on the table at the front of the room. For a moment he simply surveyed the room in silent contemplation and then he spoke in a deep, gravely voice which commanded the attention of the room.
"Welcome to sociology 101, introduction to sociology." he said. "My name is Dr. William McLellen and it will be my pleasure to teach you about the fascinating subject of sociology. Let us begin with roll, shall we?"
For the next several minutes Dr. McLellen read off the names of the students in the class, making Bridgette feel like she was back in high school. When Dr. McLellen reached Bridgette's name he paused and glanced at her with a mixture of curiosity and pity, making her flush as the entire class turned to look at her. After a moment Dr. McLellen returned his gaze to the roll sheet and the class returned their attention to him, though Bridgette felt that familiar feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach, the first time she had felt it since the trial. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus on the class.
Once Dr. McLellen was finished taking roll he moved to introduce the young man seated next to him whom Bridgette had not noticed until that moment. "This is Shane Shoals, my student assistant." Dr. McLellen said, gesturing at the young man who smiled and waved. "If you have any questions or need any help and are unable to reach me, Mr. Shoals will be happy to assist you. Now let us begin to unravel the mystery of sociology."
For the next hour and a half Bridgette and her roommates copied down notes as Dr. McLellen lectured them on the basic concepts of sociology. Bridgette did her best to concentrate on the lecture despite the feeling of unease in the pit of her stomach which had only grown stronger when Dr. McLellen had introduced Shane to the class. Something about the way Shane had smiled had made Bridgette flinch, though she had no explanation as to why. Finally Dr. McLellen switched off the overhead projector he had been using to present his notes, concluding his lecturing by saying, "That will be all for today thank you. I'll see you all again on Wednesday."
Bridgette breathed a sigh of relief and quickly packed her things but before she could make it out of the room Dr. McLellen called out to her. "Miss Wells could I have a word with you please?" he asked, making her flinch again. She nodded and he approached her, waiting until everyone other than Nikki, Gwen, Izzy, and Shane had left.
"What would you like to talk about?" Bridgette asked, hoping her voice was calm.
"I just wanted to apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable earlier and say that if there is anything I can do for you I will." Dr. McLellen said.
Bridgette blinked, taken aback by his words. "What do you mean you'll do anything for me?" she asked. "Why would you say something like that?"
"I know who you are Miss Wells and I know what you've been through." Dr. McLellen said, with a slight smile.
"As do I." said Shane. "That's why I'm here, by the way."
"What do you mean you know what I've been through?" Bridgette asked.
"We know that you were raped and nearly killed by a pervert named Chris McLean." said Shane, with a smile.
"How do you know about that?" Bridgette asked, with a quick glance at her roommates who all looked as confused as she felt.
"The Kings told us." Dr. McLellen answered. "That is how we know."
"Why would the Three Kings tell you about what happened to Bridgette?" Gwen asked. "I mean, McLean is in prison so she doesn't need protection, does she?"
"There is a possibility that McLean had, shall we say, associates who may want revenge on Bridgette and the rest of you for your roles in getting him convicted." Dr. McLellen said. "Now this information has not been confirmed, but the Kings felt that it would be best to have someone watching out for you just in case."
"But why you?" Bridgette asked, still unsure if she trusted her professor and his assistant.
"Because I have history with the Kings and they can trust me." Dr. McLellen answered. "I am sorry this information had to be broken to you like this, but it was the only way. Please do not tell your other friends about this and try not to worry about it, okay?"
Bridgette nodded, though she wanted to scream at the two men in front of her and tell them they were full of shit. But she kept her mouth shut and left the room without another word, her roommates following her in silence. None of them spoke as they made their way over to the student union building, but Bridgette's mind was racing, trying to make sense of everything she had just learned. The Kings thought she was still in danger and they had not told her, but why? She knew there was a reason and she knew just who to ask, but she would have to wait until the weekend to do it.
A/N: See, I told you things would start to get interesting this chapter. All I can say now is this, there is a reason the Kings trust Dr. McLellen and there is a reason they're worried about Bridgette, but what those reasons are, I can't say now. Don't worry though, everything will be revealed in time.