Fresh Start
1770 Words
KATHLYN
"Are you sure you want to send me there?" Kath asked her father.
"Why? Don't you want that school?" his father asked.
"It's expensive," she answered.
"Don't worry about the tuition. As long as you don't get yourself in trouble, you'll be fine," he said. Benjamin Moreno was a sergeant major in the Philippine Army. She never thought about how expensive things are, since she's well provided for, but as soon as she learned how much her tuition was, she felt nauseated because of the pressure.
"Papa," she whimpered.
"It's your first day, collect your things, and we'll go," her father commanded.
She sighed. "Yes, Sir," she answered. She decided to take a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. She wasn't sure what to take, but she's good at math, so she thought, why not?
Her father drove her to school. She sighed again. The first few years of her school life had always terrified her.
"Tell you what," her father started. "Didn't you already reduce your tuition in half with your scholarship?" She nodded. "If you manage to still reduce it, be a university scholar or whatever, I'll pay the other half still, and it's yours," he offered.
Her eyes twinkled. Bells rang in her ears. "Really?" she asked. Her father nodded, smiling. That's a lot of food she could buy.
"Okay, you've got yourself a deal," she extended her hand, and her father shook it. She waved at him as she got off the car. She walked inside the building and immediately found the room for her first subject. Her father's strict, so he made sure she was always ready. She went inside and picked a chair near the window.
"She thinks she looks good in that dress," she heard one girl whisper behind her. She froze before she could even sit.
"Yeah. Some girls just think they can wear whatever they want and look good in it," and they giggled.
But it's the first day! She thought. She looked at what she was wearing again. She was about to sit when someone walked toward her. She was beautiful, with nice peachy makeup, bobbed hair, and a really beautiful dress. She stopped in front of her. Oh no! Is she the queen bee? Is she going to humiliate me? Is this Mean Girls in real life? Her heart was racing. She slowly sat down, and the girl walked past her. She sighed, relieved.
"I know I look good in this dress. This is Dolce and Gabbana, after all. I can wear whatever I want and look good in it," she said to the girls talking behind her. She seemed to cut their tongues, since they didn't say anything.
Wow. That's so cool! She thought. She walked to the girl who just sat in front of her. The girl looked at her with a wrinkled forehead. "Can I help you?" she asked her.
"I want to be your friend," she started. She needed to be able to do this. She's not in high school anymore. "I think you're beautiful and..." She didn’t know what to say next. "I eat lots," she added. She wanted to eat bullets after hearing what she just said.
The girl still looked at her with lifted brows. She stared at her from head to toe, and then smiled. "You're cute. Fine, I'll keep you," she replied. Kathlyn smiled back.
"I'm Kathlyn, you can call me Kath," she said, extending her hand.
"I'm Rosé," she replied, looking at her hand but not taking it. She stood and went cheek-to-cheek with her (called beso in the Philippines). "That's how we'll do it from now on," she said.
Kath smiled. She couldn't believe it! Her first college friend! After their first subject, she walked in front of Rosé. She stood and tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. How can someone be so beautiful? She thought.
"We have an hour break before the second subject," she eagerly said. What were they going to do? Snack?
"I know, darling. I have my schedule," Rosé said, and she quickly realized how bitchy she sounded. She sighed and tried to smile. "What do you want to do? Do you want to eat something?" she asked, remembering how she said she ate lots.
"Yes!" she almost shouted. "Let's go," she said and crossed her arm to Rosé’s. Rosé looked at her. She suddenly pulled her arm back.
"I'm sorry. Too clingy?" she asked, referring to how she had just touched her.
"Don't apologize too much. People will think you're a pushover," she scolded her. And stopped. She couldn't scold her that much since they'd just met. She sighed. "I told you I'll keep you. That means you'll be my friend. You don't have to act like anything you're not. Just be your weird, clingy self, and I'll accept you," she sternly said, then flipped her hair.
Kath didn’t know what was happening. It felt like she was being scolded, but she was still happy. They went to the college canteen. She ordered chicken and lasagna. Rosé did the same when she saw how it looked like. They sat at the table outside, near the library. Rosé watched Kath eat a few bites. "How is it?" she asked.
"It's good," Kath said, still eating.
Rosé ate a few bites and then stopped. "It's bland," she commented, watching her eat. After a few minutes, Kath finished her food."Done?" she asked. Kath looked at her barely touched food. "You want my food?" she asked. Kath nodded. Rosé sighed and gave Kath her plate. Kath ate it in a few minutes.
"How do you eat so much with that kind of body? This is a lot of carbs," Rosé said.
"I did tell you I eat a lot," Kath answered, walking back to their building.
"Why did you befriend me? You saw me b***h those other girls," Rosé asked.
"I thought it was cool. I am timid, and I was bullied when I was a kid. So, I told myself, this time, I'll do better," Kath answered. "What about you?" she asked.
"I was just startled when you asked. People usually don't approach me like that," she simply answered.
Kath laughed. "Well, no take-backs! We're friends now," she said.
"Hmm, assertive. I like that," Rosé smiled.
After they had their snack, they went back in the building to wait for the next class. Kath was scanning the area when she saw a group of students by the door. Among them, a boy—someone she had never seen before, but something about him was familiar. He glanced over at her, but she didn’t recognize him at all. He noticed her looking, but he didn’t say anything. He just smiled slightly to himself, as if amused by something, though Kath couldn’t figure out why.
When they entered the classroom, the boy followed them inside. Kath sat back down near the window, but her mind kept wandering. He looked like someone from her past, but she couldn’t quite place him. She tried to push the thought away, but there was an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.
The instructor went inside their room, and their class started. She introduced herself and the subject she’d teach: Psychology 100, one of their minors. She took the attendance first before starting.
"So, before we begin, I would like to group you into six. That will be your group for the research study you'll conduct," she said. She explained how the activity would be divided across the whole semester.
"So, what do you want, we can group you randomly, or you'll choose?" the instructor asked. All of them simultaneously answered, "Choose."
"Okay, five minutes, you choose your groupmates."
"Rosé," Kathlyn called. Rosé looked at her and shrugged. She silently laughed.
"Do you mind if I join your group?" a girl asked behind her.
She looked back. Oh, another beautiful one! I like it! She thought. "Sure! What's your name?" she asked.
"Margaux," the girl replied.
She smiled at her.
"Me too! I'll join your group," a boy beside Margaux said. "My name's Darren," he said.
Okay, just one more.
"And Luna, join our group too!" the Darren guy said to the boy behind him.
Kathlyn looked at the boy he called. Luna? He wasn’t familiar. It was just another boy from their class, but she couldn't ignore the strange feeling she had when his eyes met hers.
"Did you have your group ready?" the instructor asked.
"Yes, ma'am," they answered.
"Okay. Write your names on this paper, select your leader, and give it back to me," she instructed.
"Okay, who's the leader?" Margaux asked.
"It's you, right? What's your name again?" Darren asked Kathlyn.
"Kathlyn. And no, I am not the leader," she answered.
"Why not?" Rosé asked.
"You said it yourself, I am a pushover. It's better to be you," she said. Rosé looked so horrified with what she said.
"Do you want me to do it?" Margaux interrupted. They both looked at her.
Darren stared at Margaux. "I'll do it!" he volunteered. "I'll be the leader," he said, taking the paper from Kathlyn.
"Fine," Rosé said. "We are smart, so make sure you're smarter than us," she told him. Kath giggled.
After their class, all five of them walked together to the bleachers for their group meeting.
"So, we have to draft the first part of the research: title, objectives, statement of the problem, and methodology," Darren started.
"You forgot the RRL," Rosé commented.
"Right. RRL," he said, and sighed. "So, how are we going to do it? Every weekend?" he asked.
"Sounds good to me," she replied.
No one objected. "Weekend it is," he said. Kath was looking at Luna. She looked like someone from school, but somehow, different from the boy she knew.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Darren asked when he noticed Kath's staring at Luna.
"Staring is rude," he said.
She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? Am I staring at you?" she asked sarcastically. Rosé laughed.
"That's that," Rosé said. "Lunch, Kath?" she asked.
"Yay!" Kath gleamed, totally forgetting about Darren. "Oh, uh, Margaux, do you want to join us?" she asked. Margaux nodded and went with them.
"You told me you're a pushover, why are you so pushy?" Rosé asked.
Kath laughed and held her arm.
"So, where are we going again?" she heard Darren ask Luna.
"Sign up for the volleyball tryouts," Luna answered.
Kath thought hard about his voice.
Do you want the chicken?
It felt like a bell suddenly clinked in her ears. Could it be him?
- Writer
