FRESHER'S NIGHT
1589 Words
Mia
By Friday evening, I was already tired.
I had barely dropped my bag on my bed when Valerie walked in with a smile that immediately made me suspicious.
“Don't tell me you're not ready.”
I looked at her. “For what?”
She stared at me.
“Freshers' Night.”
“Oh.”
I had completely forgotten.
Valerie put her hands on her waist.
“Mia.”
“What?”
“You promised you'd come.”
“I said I'd think about it.”
“And you thought about it. So?”
“So I decided I want to stay here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I laughed. “You can't just say no.”
“Yes, I can.”
Paige walked out of the bathroom, already dressed.
“I agree with Valerie.”
I looked at her.
“Traitor.”
She laughed.
Abby was sitting in front of the mirror, fixing her hair.
“You're all going?”
Valerie turned to her.
“Of course. And Mia is coming too.”
I sighed.
“Fine.”
Valerie smiled immediately.
“I knew you'd come around.”
“Don't get too excited.”
“I already am.”
I got up and started looking through my clothes.
As we got ready, the room became its usual kind of noisy.
Valerie had chosen a black top with a denim skirt and white sneakers. She added small earrings, eyeliner, and a little lip gloss, then stood in front of the mirror.
“Be honest. Is this too much?”
Paige looked at her.
“For a school event? Maybe.”
Valerie frowned.
“That's not what I asked.”
I laughed.
Paige had gone for a simple pair of jeans and a cute top with small hoops. She barely wore any makeup, just a little gloss.
Abby wore a simple blue top with black trousers. Her hair was neatly styled, and she added a little lip gloss before checking herself in the mirror.
I decided to keep mine simple too. A cute top, jeans, sneakers, and a little mascara.
Valerie looked at all of us.
“Okay. We look good.”
Paige nodded.
“We do.”
I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
---
The school grounds looked completely different at night.
There were lights everywhere, music playing, and students gathered in groups.
Someone was already dancing near the stage.
Valerie grabbed my hand.
“Come on!”
“Where?”
“Anywhere!”
“That's not an answer.”
She pulled me along anyway.
Paige and Abby followed behind us.
There were food stalls, music, games, and different classes competing against each other.
I looked around.
“Okay.”
Valerie smiled.
“What?”
“This is actually nice.”
“I told you.”
“Don't make it a big deal.”
She laughed.
We got some food and found a place to sit for a while.
After a few minutes, the host announced the first game.
“Alright, freshers! Let's see which class knows each other best!”
Students cheered.
The first game was a simple guess-who challenge. One student from each class came forward, and the host read out random facts about them. Their classmates had to guess who the fact belonged to.
Valerie was surprisingly competitive.
“That's definitely someone from Class B!”
Paige laughed.
“You don't even know them.”
“I know enough.”
“You've known them for four days.”
“Exactly.”
I laughed.
The second game was a musical freeze challenge.
The music would play, everyone would dance, and whenever it stopped, you had to freeze.
Anyone who moved was out.
Valerie dragged me into it before I could protest.
“Valerie, no.”
“Yes.”
“I don't want to.”
“Too late.”
The music started.
Everyone began dancing.
I laughed as Valerie danced beside me like nobody was watching.
Then the music stopped.
Everyone froze.
I almost laughed.
Someone beside me moved and immediately got sent out.
The music started again.
This time, I actually started enjoying myself.
By the time the game ended, Valerie and I were laughing so hard that my stomach hurt.
“See?” she said. “You needed this.”
“Maybe.”
“I told you.”
I smiled.
For the first time since coming to Westbridge, I wasn't thinking about home.
I wasn't thinking about being the new girl.
I was just having fun.
Maybe Mom had been right.
Maybe starting over wasn't as terrible as I'd imagined.
Then Valerie nudged me.
I looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed somewhere behind me.
I turned.
Noah.
He was standing with a group of boys, laughing about something.
He noticed me looking and smiled.
I immediately looked away.
Valerie raised an eyebrow.
“Interesting.”
“Don't.”
“I didn't say anything.”
“You were about to.”
She laughed.
A few minutes later, Noah walked over.
“Enjoying yourself?”
I shrugged.
“Maybe.”
He looked at Valerie and the others before looking back at me.
“That's an improvement.”
“From what?”
“Your first day.”
I frowned.
“I'm not discussing my first day.”
“Why? It was memorable.”
“For you.”
He laughed.
Valerie was trying very hard not to smile.
I noticed.
“Don't encourage him.”
“I didn't say anything,” she said.
Noah laughed again.
“See you around, Room 96.”
I shook my head as he walked away.
Valerie turned to me.
“So—”
“No.”
She laughed.
---
Later in the night, everyone gathered around the stage for another game.
The host smiled.
“Now, this one is an old Freshers' Night tradition.”
People cheered.
I looked at Abby.
She wasn't cheering.
She was staring at the stage.
The host began explaining the rules.
Before he finished, Abby quietly said,
“They'll start with the senior students.”
I looked at her.
“How do you know?”
She froze for a second.
Then she smiled.
“I just guessed.”
I looked back at the stage.
A few seconds later, the host said exactly what Abby had said.
I turned to her again.
She was already watching the game.
I wanted to ask her how she'd known.
But I didn't.
Maybe it really was just a guess.
The game continued, and soon Valerie was dragging me into another activity.
I forgot about it.
For the next hour, we laughed, competed, ate too much food, and took pictures.
At some point, Paige insisted we take a group picture.
Valerie immediately took out her phone.
“Everyone smile!”
I laughed.
“Wait, my hair.”
“Your hair is fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Now smile.”
The picture was taken before I could complain again.
I looked at it afterward.
All four of us were smiling.
For some reason, I liked it.
Maybe this was what starting over was supposed to feel like.
---
By the time we returned to the hostel, we were all exhausted.
Valerie dropped onto her bed.
“My feet hurt.”
“You danced for three hours,” Paige reminded her.
“And?”
“You're complaining now.”
“I'm allowed to.”
Abby laughed softly.
I walked toward the bathroom, but something on the wall caught my attention.
There was an old display board near the end of the hallway.
I had seen it before, but I'd never really looked at it.
This time, I stopped.
There were old school pictures pinned across it.
I stepped closer.
Most of them were faded.
Some had dates written underneath.
I was about to walk away when I noticed one from three years ago.
A group of students stood in front of the school building.
I looked at their faces.
I didn't recognize anyone.
Then I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned.
Abby was standing there.
The moment she saw the picture, her expression changed.
It was quick.
But I noticed.
She walked closer.
“You okay?” I asked.
She didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes stayed on the photograph.
Then she looked at me.
“Yeah.”
I pointed at the picture.
“You know any of them?”
She hesitated.
“No.”
Her answer came a little too quickly.
I looked at her.
She looked back at me.
For some reason, I didn't believe her.
But I didn't ask again.
“Okay.”
She nodded and walked past me.
I looked at the photograph once more.
There was nothing special about it.
Just an old picture of students I'd never met.
Still, something about the way Abby had looked at it stayed in my mind.
I finally turned away.
Maybe I was overthinking things.
I had only been at Westbridge for a few days.
There was no reason to start imagining things already.
I went back into the room.
Valerie was already half asleep.
Paige was scrolling through her phone.
Abby quietly climbed into her bed.
I looked around at my roommates and smiled.
Maybe I was finally starting to settle in.
Maybe this could really become home.
I just didn't know yet that there were things about Westbridge—and about the people in this room—that I hadn't even begun to understand.
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