TWO

Apparently, we were supposed to socialize and mix within the students from our year during this week and use it to get well used to the place. I turned my attention back to Instagram. All the girls from my high-school group of friends had gotten into colleges not even minutes away from each other and here I was, getting 'quality' education in this creepy town in a completely different state.

Something that felt a lot like jealousy and nostalgia washed over me. I wished to be with them for a moment but then I realized that it was pretty clear they didn't even miss me. Not to sound petty but a text would've been nice if not calls. Sighing to myself, I placed my phone on the nightstand once I was done setting the alarm for tomorrow morning.

I didn't quite place when exactly I had lost sense of my surroundings or when sleep took me away but when I woke up, there was a chilly nip in the air and sunlight was faintly peering through the drapes. Yawning, I dropped down from the bed.

It was 8:27 AM.

I was late for the first day of orientation.

All things happened at once, my mom yelled in agitation from the foot of the stairs and I sprung up from the bed as soon as I heard it. I worked in a flash to get into the shower and then got dressed up. To be honest, I was big on fashion ever since I was a kid but today there was no time for that so jeans and a cropped hoodie were what I picked.

"Ariella- oh you're here!" Dad chirped up from his position near the stove where he was trying to scramble some eggs. It wasn't going well by the looks of it but hey at least he was trying, right?

"Good morning Dad," I grinned. "Good morning ma, I'm ready to leave. Do you think you can drop me off? I'm running a little late actually," With a shake of her head, she pointed towards Dad who immediately shrugged.

"Sure, take the keys with you I'll be there in a minute," I smiled and hopped outside with the keys to the Corolla in my hand. Dad's Corolla was silver and he owned it for almost the past decade. Apparently, Grandpa had passed it on to my father back when he was broke.

I unlocked it and got into the passenger's seat. Dad followed soon enough in a checkered shirt and his glasses resting low on his nose. All in all, My dad, Johnathon Hill, was a handsome man in his late forties. Unlike most dads around his age, he didn't have a protruding belly because of his love for track&field but his eyesight was 50 percent shit.

"Nervous?", he asked as soon as the engine whirred to life.

"Not really," I lied, and as usual, he couldn't see through it, unlike mom. "It's just a couple of kids meeting for the first time. Nothing to worry about. At max, they won't like me. Right?"

"Right but hey, I'm sure they will like you. You're a likable person you know?", as he said this, Dad gave me a side look before turning his attention back to the road and we turned around the final corner from where I could catch a glimpse of the tall university building.

"Thanks, Dad, I'll see you in the evening," I quickly dove in for a hug and he patted my back with a hum.

"You sure you've learned the address properly? Don't get lost and just ask us to come to get you if you haven't," I playfully rolled my eyes at his concern but I knew he was right.

I had learned it perfectly though.

"Sixteen by four on Elm Street, Kingsville, right next to the humongous departmental store that the old lady runs," I recited it for him in a monotonous voice that I used at school before.

"Good, now run off," he chuckled, unlocking the car door to let me out.

As soon as I had gotten off, Dad stepped on the gas and was out of sight before I knew it. He always thought he was bad at this advice stuff but it seemed pretty great to me how he only talked about the important stuff and kept it crisp. Mom was his opposite, she knew when things needed to be talked more about. I wished to be like both of them at times.

Unfortunately, I was different from them both.

"Hey," a slightly high-pitched voice greeted me from my left and I quickly turned my head to look at the person. The girl standing before me was absolutely stunning. She had light brown eyes that popped against the honey-like skin and she wore a delicate smile on her face that made me smile back. The girl waved at me again and I waved back silently.

"Hey," I grinned wider when she accepted my handshake. "Ariella Hill's the name, what's yours?" Somehow, I did not feel comfortable letting her know my name. There was nothing overtly suspicious about her and yet I could not put my finger on it.

"Michelle," she stopped a little and then tilted her head to the side. "Michelle Davis. You look familiar Ariella, it's a pleasure to meet you." There was a frown on my face, unlike her smooth features. Familiar? How?

"I'm sure we haven't met before but it's a pleasure to meet you too," I half-smiled and Michelle's eyes narrowed somewhere into the distance before she shook her head. Her eyes were bright and reflected the sunlight off like crystal balls. Something was so utterly eerie about this girl that I was afraid it made her beautiful. After all, beauty is nothing but terror.

"Yeah, probably a misunderstanding."