Her first night in her dorm room, Bella finds a tiny glowing star on her ceiling when she's too amped up to sleep, and knows instantly and with certainty that she wants more. But not stars, those are too prosaic. She goes looking for alternatives and mostly finds flowers and circles and other random shapes that are not right at all. Then she finds the flying pigs on a late night Amazon binge and grins. Perfect.
She's not a girl who believes in the impossible. She's a girl who knows the impossible is routinely and frequently achieved because it is a concept defined by finite and culturally influenced human minds and therefore is subject to radical change at a moment's notice.
Also they're hilarious and she looks forward to the expressions on the faces of anyone she deigns to allow into her bed at night.
Not that she plans on a lot of that. She's here to learn. And yes, learning about herself and her fellow students in interpersonal ways is also important, but she wants to save the potential drama and trauma of romantic entanglements until at least sophomore year, after she's got her feet under her.
Renee, of course, had talked endlessly about the cute boys she'd meet. And more hesitantly about cute girls, when Bella gently reminded her that she'd come out as bisexual at thirteen. Charlie was on her side though, school first. Or, school only, but Bella, as always, intends to find the balance between her parents.
Her first week is exhilarating and breakneck.
Bella hasn't declared a major yet—everything is too interesting to limit herself now, before she's even dipped her toes in, and her classes are a mixed bag so far. She decides she loves two of her four professors, tolerates one, and hates the last, one of those men who doesn't understand the entire concept of education and thinks telling students they probably won't pass his class is a mark of prestige instead of incompetence on his part.
She befriends Jessica, the girl in the room across from her, who is sharp and funny and self-conscious and far more organized than Bella could ever hope to be. They take over the cramped little common space on their floor with a TV that seems to only get So You Think You Can Dance reruns and make schedules for homework and errands and fun activities from the overwhelming options offered by the various clubs and organizations on campus.
Their RA loves them already, their willingness to attend dorm activities and actually participate means she takes them under her wing and frequently offers them treats from her secret candy stash. On Friday night she invites them to an off campus party on the absolute promise of secrecy, and Bella and Jessica successfully dare each other into attending.
That night Bella has her first college kiss at her first college party during her first ever game of spin the bottle. It is not what she expected college parties to be. An off campus house rented by seniors and full of booze, sure. However the whimsical costume rules and a house full of gnome statues, gnome paintings, gnome silverware, gnome who even knows with a prize if you find them all was a surprise long before she discovered the nostalgic middle school game in the garage. She'd skipped that pre-teen experience, so riding the high of her first week of college done and the rum and coke keeping her cheeks pink, she decides why not.
The bottle loves her, lands on her at least every third spin, and by her fourth kiss she can't stop giggling. Then the shy girl next to her with lovely brown eyes kisses her deep and slow and Bella's giggles fade into a breathless almost moan.
When the kiss ends, she can suddenly hear the applause and wolf whistles filling the garage and the pink in her cheeks is no longer just from the booze. The other girl smiles, equally pink and tucks some of her hair behind her ear. "Hi, I'm Angela."
Bella laughs and offers her a dorky wave in lieu of an even dorkier handshake. "Bella. Nice to meet you."
After a moment of chatting, someone yells at her to spin and Bella decides to tap out, offering Angela at a hand as she stands up. The other girl takes it and Bella laces their fingers together as she heads for the kitchen. Her drink is empty and while she's not sure she wants more booze at this point, there are plenty of other options.
"Are you a freshman too?" she asks Angela, swinging around to face her once they reach the blessedly empty kitchen. Angela nods and Bella leans back against a counter, relinquishing the other girl's hand.
"You are a very good kisser," Bella tells her, and Angela blushes. "I have to practice more if I'm going to reach your level of making strangers swoon at spin the bottle."
Angela giggles, and then grins at her with unexpected boldness. "Well, spin the bottle isn't the only time I kiss people, if you ever want a practice partner."
Bella grins back, delighted and determined to ignore the nerves in her stomach as thoroughly as she's been ignoring them all night. She snags Angela's hand again and then leans forward, slow enough for Angela to pull away if she wants. She doesn't, apparently, and this kiss is as warm and intoxicating as the last and it's followed by another and another.
They startle apart when someone starts digging into the cooler next to their feet and Bella laughs helplessly, resting her forehead against Angela's shoulder. Okay, so she's failing miserably at avoiding non-platonic interpersonal contact, but this is exactly what she wants out of her college experience. Tipsy makeouts with lovely girls in a stranger's kitchen while the sounds of an apparently epic game of beer pong filter in from the dining room.
"Hey! You abandoned me!" Jessica says, from unexpectedly close, startling her again. Bella looks up to see her friend's mouth curved in a pout as she stares at Bella and Angela. "We were supposed to stick together."
Bella nods decisively, pulling away from Angela but not letting go of her hand. "You are right, I'm sorry." She looks between the two girls. "Want to go watch beer pong and root for the underdog?"
Angela smiles, shy again, but nods. Jessica nods, her smile a bit more grudging. "I'm rooting for a winner," she says, firmly, and Bella snorts.
"Whatever you want," she comments, grinning, and follows them out of the kitchen, snagging a can of coke out of the cooler as they pass it. Friday's not quite over, hasn't crossed the line to Saturday yet, but she's already confident in declaring this the best first week of college ever.