Chapter one

I awoke to soft sheets, and the morning light trickled in through the curtains. Shedding myself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, my eyes were still shut as I soaked in the warmth of my covers before letting my eyes see the sun's rays.
I laid on my bed in my new dorm room; four walls, a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. I was finally away from it all, away from the confines of the prison i called home, away from the constant supervision of parents. I loved it. No matter how messy my room got, there was no Mom to tell me to tidy up, get my laundry done, stop watching television... I could hear indistinct chatter in the communal kitchen below. Those would be my new friends, drinking buddies, partners in crime.
I got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom. I stepped into the shower, toes flinching as they touched the chilled ceramic floor,I turned the dial, old and metallic, releasing thousands of lukewarm drops, darkening my hair and trickling down my back, the warm water was soothing, helping to relieve all my aching joints.
Bathing didn't take long, i bathed my skin lightly, careful not to let the soap touch the bruise i got the previous day.
Stepping out of the shower with my pink towel that had Hello Kitty! written on it, I walked to the closet; leaving a trail of wet footprints on the tiled floor, I wondered what i was going to wear, My fashion style had always been plain; few jeans that was either blue or black color, some nice tops and lots of skirts, but that was the old Annie, that was the Annie that could probably serve as a poster girl for a school on moral educational, that was the boorish Annie who had always been perfect; straight A student, on a scholarship in one of the prestigious universities in the country, regular at church.
I picked up the only piece of clothing that looked as defiant as i felt, ripped jeans and a black shirt that had ''sorry, not sorry' written on it.
I positioned myself in front of the rectangular mirror and took inventory. Makeup was minimal, reserved to a sweep of mascara. Lips could use some gloss. I applied some pink lip gloss giving my lips a wet shine.
My stomach rumbled silently, reminding me i had not eaten breakfast, breakfast was light; two slices of toast bread with cereal.
Stepping out of my dorm into the main university campus, I felt like a chick that had broken out of its shell, everyone looked unfamiliar, everything looked foreign. The whole school was extremely large, There were several faculties at great distances from each other. It took be about half an hour before i could locate mine, when i finally saw the sign post that read 'WELCOME TO THE FACULTY OF ARTS AND LITERATURE written in bold letters I felt relief wash over me. Staring at the ground I walked through the hall. Nobody seemed to care that I was unfamiliar, Nobody seemed to even notice me. I had to take a glance down to make sure I was still there; that I hadn't turned invisible. Nope -still there.
Checking my phone for the time i was supposed to have my first lecture, i discovered i was 30 minutes late, 'great, first day of been an adult and i was already having issues with punctuality.
Wondering where i was supposed to be having the lecture, i walked up to a young guy sitting alone at the receptionist desk.
"Hi, good morning, please I am a first year student and i don't know where I'm supposed to be having lectures, was wondering if you could help me out"
He looked at me resentfully eyeing me from head to toe, it seemed like his eyes could speak and right now they were screaming insults at me for disturbing him.
"what year? He asked
"first year", i wanted to point out that i had told him before, but i decided not too.
"Walk up the stairs, second floor, first room by your right, has a sign that says lecture theater one".
"Thanks"
It wasn't hard to locate the lecture hall, I could hear the lecturers voice booming from the public address system, almost immediately i felt terrified I wondered if i should enter since lectures had started already.
Summoning up a little courage i pushed the huge mahogany door open and walked inside.
Everywhere fell silent as soon as i walked in, the only thing i heard was my footsteps walking up the aisle to go find a seat in the 5000 siter room, and the thumping of my heart in my chest.
Luckily for me, the lecturer didn't call me out or chatise me for coming late.
Nothing could spoil my day.

Reviews

[emipoemi]

You carry the same dramatic power experienced in the prologue over through to chapter 1, and the story is great. I enjoyed her fuss over details....makes her seem rather OCD and not someone we're later going to discover suffers from a drug addiction, which in a way is actually good, for we get to see that complete change (beginning with that little change towards defiance with picking out a pair of ripped jeans to wear– nice!). On another note, without more wandering about the campus, I'm not feeling the 30 minutes late, even less that the professor would not call her out for being late (classes at university range from one to three hours depending on how many times a week they're set for, and without any mention about what her classes would be on, and how long they run for, having the prof not call her out (AND the thing about being 30 mins late) is hard to take seriously). You have some minor grammatical and punctuation errors here and there, but other than that, this is compelling. (I love the part with the receptionist! Perfect depiction of what a uni administration is like). Well done!