Page 3 of How We Began

I made my way to the small kitchen, and when I say small, what I mean is that there was another girl in there already investigating, and when I bent over to look in the cupboards, I nearly knocked her over as our arses collided. Let it be known that my arse did more damage than hers; she nearly head-butted the fridge.

“Hey.” She smiled while I tried to grab her upright.

“Sorry. My arse is huge.” I shrugged. “It’s a liability wherever I go.”

She snorted and shook out her red goddess-like waves. “It’s small, isn’t it?” She motioned to the kitchen and, unsurprisingly, not my arse. She was stunning, all long limbed and flame hair, and a cute button nose with a delicate silver hoop. In my previous life, she’s the sort of person I wouldn’t have thought myself cool enough to talk to, but this isn’t my previous life and I’m determined to make friends.

“Jesus, so small. How many of us live in here?” I peered out of the kitchen into what was a communal seating area. The seats looked torturous, like the university didn’t want us to spend too much time lounging.

“Six, I think.” She eyed the cupboards. “Do you reckon we have to put a label on a cupboard?”

Yeah… I saw straight away what was happening. We’d been in the same room for three seconds and she instantly assumed that because I was clearly older by several years, I would know the answer to such questions.

“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I just got here. Those stairs are a killer.”

“You’ve been in your room for three hours,” she said, shooting me a ‘don’t shit me’ stare. “Sorry, the walls are really thin.” Her lips pursed before she added, “And I was really bored. I thought it would be more…”

“Exciting?”

“More boys.”

I laughed and she grinned.

“I’m Lilah?” I went to shake her hand, and if there was an award for being stiff and awkward, I’d have won the gold.

“Meredith. Listen, I don’t think I can go back and sit in that room by myself. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you like wine is there?”

Do bears shit in the woods?

I think I found my new best friend.

15th September

#sidekick

I’m mortified. I look like a prison guard in the picture on my student union card. I nearly told them to keep the bloody thing, then remembered that Dad might cut me off and the 10% discount might come in handy.

The bloke taking the picture laughed so hard. He gave it three attempts before telling me he couldn’t make an improvement and printed the damn card off.

Fuck am I showing that card to anyone. I’m hideous.

Meredith thought it was hilarious. Of course she did. Her card looked like the man behind the desk had opened Vogue and cut out a picture (he was openly drooling; men are so outrageously predicable).

How can two security card photos, taken three minutes apart, look so different?

Meredith then convinced me to go to the bar where I sat with my back pressed against the radiator, sweating, while every guy on campus came to say hello to Meredith.

I’m invisible and I think Meredith—or Mer as I’ve already started called her—has adopted me as a sidekick. I’ll be Robin to her Batman.

It’s only been a day and I’m sure I’m missing out on some pivotal university experiences, but there is nothing. Everyone is just hanging around.

When courses start, it will be better. Right now, there’s a lot of hanging around time with not a lot of point to it.

On Monday, things will improve, I hope. Just got to survive the Freshers’ Ball. I wasn’t going to go, but Meredith insisted.

According to her it’s the “Social event of the year.” See… even writing those words, they make me shudder down to my bones.

I just don’t want to be the odd one out. I’m twenty-five, I’m going to look like some sort of desperado.