I stop on the sidewalk. “Then why are you here?”
He shrugs and starts walking again, and I catch up to him. “I remember my first day of classes; I was terrified.”
I laugh. “No, you weren’t; you’re not scared of anything.”
He huffs out a laugh. “That’s not true. Anyway, I figured I’d walk with you, so you don’t feel alone and overwhelmed. But by all means, Riley Blackwood, if you’ve got it all figured out, I don’t have to walk with—”
I grab his arm to keep him next to me. “No, I don’t. I don’t have any of it figured out, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to throw up at least once today.”
He grimaces. “Well, if you do, can you turn that way?”
I laugh and feel my heart rate start to slow. I take a sip of my iced coffee. “Ooo, this is good. Did Evie make it?”
“She did. What other classes do you have today?”
I run through all my classes and locations with him. By the time I get to the building where my first hour class is, I’m much more calm. I even laugh a few times. I also know exactly where I’m going for the rest of the day. We come to a stop outside the lecture hall where I’ll be spending my first hour. I look up at him, realizing I have a smile on my face, a smile he put there. “Thanks, Reid. I really appreciate you helping me this morning. I know I'm a lowly freshman, and you’re a high and mighty senior.You didn’t have to do this, this morning, but I really appreciate it.”
“You’re my friend, Riley; and I didn’t mind. You’d better get in there before all the good seats are taken, and you have to sit in the front row.”
“Oh, the horror,” I tease.
He smirks. “I’ll see you later.”
“See you, Reid.”
I turn around and walk into the huge room, feeling overwhelmed but calm. Reid really helped me to stay calm this morning, and I owe him for that. I spy an empty seat and move over that way. “Is this seat taken?” I ask the guy sitting next to the open seat. He barely looks at me and shakes his head.Perfect.I start taking out what I need for this class, and it’s not a minute later that the professor walks into the room.
“Good morning, Class. I am happy to see you. This is going to be a great year, but before we get started, I want to change your thinking about this class. This may be English 101, but this is also a class that could change your entire projection for college.” He lets that settle a moment. “Nah. It’s actually just the basics. It's all the stuff you should have learned in high school but didn’t. Did you like English class in high school? Then you are going to thrive in my class. If you disliked English, well, this may be a long year for you. Just remember, it’s up to you. You can choose to have a great year in this class, or you can choose to have a terrible class. It’s your choice.”
I blink and try not to shudder. It’s going to be a long year.
Chapter 4
Riley
The week is a blur of classes, studying, scheduling, and survival. “You okay over there?” Ashley asks from the desk. I’m currently sitting on my bed with all my class syllabuses surrounding me.
“I’m not sure what I was expecting, but nearly going under my first week was not it.”
She laughs. “I’m a sophomore, and I still feel the same way.”
“This is not how I thought my Saturdays as a college student would look,” I tell her.
“Yeah, welcome to college. Are you going to the football game later today? Your brother plays, right?”
“Yes. I would never hear the end of it if I missed the first game of the season. Are you going?”
“No. I’m not really much of a sports’ fan.”
“I love sports; I think it’s in our blood.”
She turns to me. “Did you play sports in high school?”
“I did, and I’ll be playing for the women’s basketball team later this semester.”
“Really?” She gives me an assessing look. “Are you any good?”
“I used to think I was, but I don’t know anymore.”
