RIVER

I am sitting alone, munching on my chicken, when I see a familiar figure pass by me. I don't know where I know her from, but it is etched in my memory.

"River?" The voice comes out, and I recognise it at once. I look up at the girl as she slides into the seat in front of me, and her face forms in my head. "You came here? I swore you were going to go to Harvard or maybe Oxford; I never thought that Adlerbridge would be your choice. Her eyes are twinkling with excitement.

"Same here, Lana." Lana was a classmate at my high school, and we did not really talk; it was a surprise to see her here. I never imagined she'd make it to Adlerbridge. Not because I thought she wasn't smart, but more because I never paid attention.

"Oh my goodness, what are you in for?"

"Pharmacy," I murmur, wishing she would leave me alone.

"Same," she shrieks as if she had gotten big news. "We can be study buddies," she adds with excitement. I am not sure if I need a study buddy, but I am hoping that would be enough to get her off my back. I did not know she was smart enough to get

"So where are you staying?" she proceeds to ask when I stay silent, staring at her.

"Manson's Apartment," I respond, and she nods.

"Well, I took one of the campus accommodations," she replies, and right now I wish I had taken the accommodation on campus. There must have been no way that I would get entangled with a boy. The only problem I had with that was no privacy; I'd have to be in the face of my roommate all the time, and I was not sure if I was ready for that.

"That is good," I said, nodding silently, hoping and praying she had company and would leave me alone. "I am so glad to see a familiar face; I hope we can get along."

"Me too," I say, trying to be sarcastic, but it was almost as if she did not get it, or maybe she wanted to pretend as if she did not care.

"I would be going in tomorrow to get all of my courses registered. Should we meet up?" I wanted to tell her that I had done it or that I did not want to do it yet, but I knew she would see right through my lie, and I would be at the department tomorrow.

"Sure," I say with a nod, and she claps too happily.

"Let me get your number." She takes out her phone from the little purse hanging on her shoulder that I had not realised until now. "Here," she turns the phone to me, and I look up and begging to disappear. I take it and begin to punch in the number.

"River," she says as she saves the number and gives me a call. "Save mine too, and I will see you tomorrow."

I almost say thank you when she stands up and walks away with a wave. I stayed there until I finished my meal and decided to walk back to the house just in case Taylor still had the girl over.

My phone rings, and it's my dad. I had thought that by the time I was speaking to him this evening, the roommate situation would have been a story we could both laugh at, but now I couldn't bring myself to tell him. I did not even know how he was going to react. I had never had a boyfriend all through high school, and he never brought up the topic. I had to steer clear of mentioning Taylor until I was sure what his reaction was going to be.

"Kiddo," he sounded too happy. Maybe he had been drinking. Knowing that I had been so eager to come to school and leave him all by himself broke my heart. I just wanted to come here because my mom had come here, and this was the only piece of my life I could use to get closer to her.

"How are you enjoying the experience?" He had been so adamant that a university was an experience and I should not waste it. I just wanted to be a pharmacist like my mom and see why she enjoyed the course so much.

"Fine," I lie because nothing about today has been fine. Everything seemed to be crumbling all on its own, and I wanted just a little bit of control.

"I want you to have a good time."

"And I am having a good time." One lie, and now an entire portal is open. I know it's only more lies from here, but I promise to make it all right soon. "Dad, are you drinking?" I ask because I can't shake off the feeling from my mind.

"I just had a few with Mr..."

"Come on, Dad, you drank last night, and you are there to drink again? Do you want to relapse and become an addict again?"

"River, I have told you times without number that I am the parent and you are..."

"The child, I know, but you can't be drinking, and you know it," I say. If I had been right by his side, then he would not have been able to sneak away and have a drink.

"I can take care of myself; you don't have to worry," he adds, and I have to trust him. "How is your roommate?" He asks, and even though I know it's his effort to try and change the topic, I can't help but feel guilty that I was about to hide a big secret from him.

"She's fine," I say, hoping he would not catch me in my lie. "The same Taylor DeLuca," I add nervously.

"I know you have better things to do, and I just wanted to hear from you, so take care of yourself, and I will talk to you later."

"Bye, Dad."

"Bye, kiddo." The line drops dead at once, and I stand on the pavement considering my life. What could I do to remedy this situation so I stop lying to my father? I walk a few more miles and stop right in front of the door. The motorcycle out front is neatly parked, and I roll my eyes.

Of course, he is one of those who would ride something like that. I open the door and enter the house, and I am relieved to find that the blind girl from earlier is gone.

"Sweetheart, you are back!" I stare at him in annoyance; of course he is shirtless.

TAYLOR

"Don't call me that," River glared at me as she walked up to her room.

"Oh come on, you look like a sweetheart," I say, smirking again. I don't know why, but she looked like those nerds we had while in high school who knew nothing more than to study and read.

"I. DO. NOT. LOOK. LIKE. A. SWEETHEART." She turned to me, picking every word with annoyance written over her face. "In case it is tough for you to understand, rule number one says you can't be shirtless in the house," she said, running her eyes over my chest slightly before throwing me a deadly look.

"Why do all the rules only apply to me?" I ask in a whiny voice, mainly to get on her nerves.

"Because you look like someone who wouldn't know the basic rules of life, and see how right I was," she adds sarcastically with a frown directed at me. "I know I wouldn't walk into this shared space shirtless."

"Hey! Who says you can't? I won't complain," I say with a shrug, a smile still plastered on my face. She does not seem too pleased with my response, so she rolls her eyes and pushes out a forced smile.

"Rules are important; they keep order, and you need to get your act together and keep the order so we can at least be able to live together."

"Awwn, so you want to lie with me?" I ask with a pout.

"What choice do I have?" she asks. She looks like she wants to be out of here. "I do hope, though, that you do not break any more rules," she adds and walks into her room, shutting the door in my face.

"Be careful; you'd have to pay if anything happened to the door," I yell back to her, and she does not respond. I sigh and walk to my room, picking up a shirt and putting it on.

It had been years since I encountered someone as closed off as her. I sit on my bed, and my phone begins to ring. I stare at the screen for a while before I pick it up and press it against my ear.

"Hello Julia, what do you want?"

"Hello, Julia? What do you want?" The woman on the other side of the line sputters in annoyance. "Julia? Taylor, you have some nerve calling me by my first name. I am going to be your mom in a few weeks."

"You can never be my mom. My mom is alive and well, thank you," I reply, and I can imagine how red in the face she would be right now.

"I am marrying your dad, and I'd be his wife; that equates to being your mother."

"Never!" I say in a silent scream. "If you want to be someone's mother so bad, then birth your own children... Oh wait, you can't," I say in a hurtful tone. I don't care for Julia's feelings, as what I want to do is make sure that I hurt her badly.

"Taylor, why would you say something that hurtful to me?" She sniffs as if she is ready to cry.

"Why did you call me? To rub it in my face that you are getting together with my dad? If he could cheat on my mom with you, what makes you think he would stay loyal to you?" The question pierces the air, and she chooses to ignore it.

"Your dad asked me to try and bond with you and invite you to the wedding."

"I should come to the wedding between you, a homewrecker, and my father, a cheat? And have good luck all year round? No, thank you," I spit out angrily. "If you have nothing else important to say, then I suggest that you get off now." I do not wait for her response before I cut off the call and throw my phone into the space beside me.

I had only gotten her call because I knew right away my father would call and make a big deal if I did not pick it up. "How dare she?" I murmur, throwing myself onto the bed and staring at the ceiling.

By the time I was conscious again, it was already the very next day. I look at the bedside digital clock to see that it is 6:40 am. I have an early class, and even though I try to put on the bad boy act, one thing I'd never do is miss class. I had studied theatre arts to piss off my father, but I had fallen in love with it and wished to see it to the end.

I put on my playlist as usual and allow the sound to blast through the air, and it is barely going when a loud knock is heard from the other side of the door.

"Shoot, her rules," I murmur to myself with a sigh. I know that is the reason she is knocking so early in the morning. I am already shirtless and have a towel tied around my waist, and I want to see her reaction to this. That was one of my many joys these days.

"Yes," I pull the door open, and she looks starstruck, standing in front of me. Like someone who had seen their favourite celebrity.

"Put on clothes," she said, her head turning backwards.

"Well, I'm not in any shared places," I say, trying to keep the conversation listenable over the sound of the loud rap music going off.

"But you knew I was the one at your door; you could have at least turned that down before you came to the door," she said, and I nodded with a smirk, followed by a head shake.

"Well, it's my room; I can be naked if I want to." I see her flush at the word naked, and my smirk deepens. "What do you want, though?" I act as if I did not know that my music was the problem.

"What do you mean, what do I want?" she asked, and I shrugged. She narrows her eyes at me and clenches her fists by her side. "TURN OFF THAT MUSIC NOW, OR I MIGHT HAVE TO REPORT YOU FOR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR." Her voice was stern, and I knew she was not playing around. She was fierce when mad. I hated how that made me want to tease her more."

"Okay, geesh!" I say, throwing my hand in the air and walking to my phone. I turn off the music and then turn to her. "Better?"

"BETTER"

RIVER

Taylor had ruined my morning already, and I hated how smug he was about it. I had finished up my morning routine and was already taking my cereal when he stepped out of his room, looking very different from all the other days. He had a t-shirt and a black jacket thrown over him, a cool vibe. His jeans were the cool kind, the kind that the athletes and jocks at my high school wore.

"No breakfast for me?" With the expression on his face, I was not even sure if he was teasing me or if he was being serious about it.

"I don't share my..."

"That's fine." He does not let me say what I have to say; I will just make a plate for myself. He opened the cupboards and began to pour from my cereal box. Into a plate. I want to stop him, but it sounds like I am being petty about food, and it was not a good look on me, so let it go.

"To pay you for the cereal, I'll give you a ride to campus," he says as we step outside. At least he has a conscience, but when I see him climb onto his motorcycle, I shake my head as if I had just been asked if I wanted to die.

"No, thank you."

"Are you scared?" He asked as if my fear were visible and I had been holding it above my head.

"No, but there is no way I am going to get on that." I point to the machine underneath him.

"It's fairly safe," he said, tilting his head back and forth swiftly.

"Fairly safe? Do you know how many people die on a motorcycle yearly?" I ask, and he looks as if he is about to laugh his ass off.

"I do not, and I do not need you to tell me the statistics," he responds, stifling his laughter in my face.

"I am not getting on that," I said, walking down the stairs onto the pavement. If it were a car, I would have considered getting a ride from him, but if I sat on the motorcycle, then I would have to hold onto him from here to campus, and I could not even begin to imagine doing that.

"Oh come on, I have helmets, and it is safe; I will drive within the limit," he said, and then, under his breath, with an eye roll, he added under his breath "Like a lunatic."

"I am not getting on that, and you don't have to worry about me."

"Who said I was worried? I just do not like owing anyone, and this is my payment for the cereal this morning."

"You know what, do not worry about it; you can have it for free," I say as I begin to walk towards the school direction and he begins to drive slowly beside me. "I said you don't have to worry about it."

"You do know that there aren't any cabs going this way and the bus is not for another ten minutes," he adds, and I roll my eyes at the fact that he was spitting. "If you get on, I can get you to school in ten minutes."

"In ten minutes? A ride of twenty minutes in ten? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" I scream, shocked at his audacity to own a motorcycle and even drive at high speed without any care.

"Are you worried about me?" I stop abruptly and turn to him, and that stupid smirk is on his face. I try to act as if it does not disturb me.

"I am not worried about you, and I am meeting a friend a few houses ahead, so I expect you can carry both of us on this death trap, and then I suggest you go." I lie, but he does not look like he is buying the lies from me, and I wonder if I was just a terrible liar or if he was good at reading people.

"If you say so," he said, gripping the handle and causing it to roar to life, scaring me even more. "See you later, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that," I say into the air, but I am left alone with smoke and dust in the air and him a long while away from me. I hike up to the bus station and join the next bus up to school. By the time I get there, I am so exhausted that I am almost regretting not taking up Taylor's offer, but I am reminded of the danger of being up there.

I find the department, and as much as I try not to remember Lana, her call comes in as if she had a camera on me.

"Hi." Her voice is too happy. Was she that glad to be there, or maybe she was high? "Are you here now?" she said, and I nodded.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I am," I murmured, wishing she would leave me alone.

"I am at the Alden complex. Come quickly," she said and cut off the call. I look at the wall beside me, and I try to understand the map. After a few attempts, I walk towards the Alden complex, and she sees me before I can and begins to move towards me. I see another girl, Black, thick, with long hair reaching her waist, and a small face following behind her.

"You are late."

"It was a hassle getting here," I say, trying to hide my frustration. Why was it so difficult to get on campus?

"Maybe you'd find someone living in the same neighbourhood that you can hitch a ride with," Lana said, already proffering a solution to my problem.

"Or you can get a bike," the girl with sparkling eyes added.

"River, this is Elise. Elise, this is River," Lana introduced us, putting me on the spot without any thought.

"Oh, hi," I say, waving my hand awkwardly to her. She steps forward and holds my hand excitedly.

"I hope we all get along."