Blood and Biochemistry

Evangeline The strap of my backpack dug into my shoulder as I sprinted across campus, one hand gripping the handle of a rolling suitcase that bounced violently over every crack in the sidewalk. “Come on... come on...” My phone buzzed again. Orientation Check-In Closes: 11:00 A.M. 11:02. Perfect. A group of freshmen in matching Ravenwood University T-shirts spilled out of the student center laughing, forcing me to weave around them without slowing down. My curls had long since escaped the knot I’d attempted that morning, bright red strands whipping into my face as the August sun beat down on the campus. So much for making a good first impression. The bus from Joplin had arrived almost an hour late after breaking down outside of town, which meant I’d spent the last forty minutes apologizing to strangers, dragging eighty pounds of luggage behind me, and mentally calculating how many deadlines I’d already missed. Welcome to college. The gothic stone buildings rose around me like something out of a movie, ivy climbing ancient walls while students crossed brick pathways carrying coffee and backpacks like they’d belonged here forever. I, on the other hand, looked like I was fleeing a natural disaster. A campus volunteer waved frantically. “Orientation?” “Is it obvious?” He grinned. “A little.” He pointed toward the student center. “They’re still inside. Hurry!” I mouthed a thank you and kept running. Two hours later... My feet hurt. My shoulders hurt. I was carrying enough paperwork to qualify as a filing cabinet. Class schedule. Campus map. Meal plan. Student ID. Parking information. Employment packet. Library card. Biochemistry lab safety forms. A list of required textbooks heavy enough to double as a weapon. I shifted everything under one arm before pushing my glasses back up my nose. Scholarship orientation had gone exactly the way I’d expected. Smile. Shake hands. Accept congratulations. Pretend everyone telling me how brilliant I was didn’t make me uncomfortable. Being Ravenwood’s Presidential Science Scholar came with a full ride, a research placement, and a campus job in the university coffee shop. It also came with expectations. Good. Expectations made sense. People didn’t. I glanced down at the folder tucked beneath my arm. Biochemistry Exactly where I wanted to be. Exactly where I needed to be. If I graduated... If I landed the right research position... If I never had to go back... Everything would have been worth it. My phone vibrated. Dad. I stared at the screen until it stopped ringing. A second later, a voicemail notification appeared. I didn’t listen to it. Not here. Not today. I shoved the phone back into my pocket before it could ring again. One thing at a time. Housing first. Emotional breakdowns later. The housing office was nearly empty by the time I arrived. A woman behind the desk looked up from her computer with an apologetic smile. “Evangeline Harper?” “That’s me.” “Oh, good. We’ve been trying to reach you.” “My bus broke down.” “I heard.” She typed something quickly before her smile tightened. “So...” That word never led anywhere good. “You’re aware your admission was finalized later than most incoming students?” I nodded. “My scholarship paperwork took longer.” “Exactly.” She clicked her mouse again. “Unfortunately, every freshman residence hall reached capacity last week.” My stomach dropped. “I...I’m still getting housing?” “Oh, absolutely.” The relief was so immediate my knees almost gave out. She laughed softly. “We’d never leave our Presidential Scholar without a room.” She pulled a keycard from a drawer. “There was only one space remaining.” I reached for it. “Thank you.” “It’s in Blackwood Hall.” I blinked. “I thought that building was for upperclassmen.” “It is.” “And athletes.” “It is,” She winced. “Normally first-years aren’t assigned there, but you’re considered a special exception.” I looked down at the keycard. BLACKWOOD HALL Suite 304 A suite. Not a dorm. I’d never even imagined living somewhere like that. “You’ll have roommates,” she added. “That’s fine.” “There are three of them.” “Still fine.” She smiled, “You don’t mind?” I almost laughed. Mind? I’d spent half the summer wondering if I’d have to sleep in my car. “I have a bed,” I said quietly. “That’s all I care about.” Something in my voice must have landed harder than I’d intended. Her smile softened. “Welcome to Ravenwood, Evangeline.” Blackwood Hall sat farther from the freshman buildings than everything else I’d seen that morning. It looked older. Quieter. More like an expensive apartment building than a residence hall. I wrestled my suitcase through the front doors and into an elevator that smelled faintly of cedar and fresh paint. Third floor. Suite 304. The hallway was almost silent. I checked the room number twice before taking a steadying breath. New school. New life. Don’t screw this up. I balanced my stack of books against my hip and knocked. Nothing. Maybe no one was home. I tried the keycard. The lock clicked. “Hello?” I called, pushing the door open. The apartment beyond was far nicer than anything I’d expected—hardwood floors, a full kitchen, comfortable furniture, hockey equipment scattered near the entryway. Definitely athletes. I took one hesitant step inside. “I was assigned—” Three heads turned toward me. One was built like a grizzly bear with messy blond hair and an expression that looked permanently one joke away from laughter. Another wore thin black glasses and regarded me over the top of a coffee mug with quiet curiosity, platinum blond hair catching the afternoon light. The third... He stood near the kitchen island, one hand resting on the counter. Tall. Inhumanly tall. Dark wavy hair brushed across piercing silver-blue eyes. His face was flawless in a way that almost didn’t seem real, and the faintest hint of amusement tugged at one corner of his mouth. For one impossible second, the entire room fell silent. Then the blond one looked at the paper in my hands. Looked at me. Looked at the dark-haired man. And broke the silence. “...Adrian,” A slow grin spread across his face, “I think your roommate just showed up.”