Alyssa

I feel heat rush to my face as he stops in front of my table. My mind connects the dots as I realize he fits the description of the guy Andrea described. Jet black hair, deep brown eyes, dark grey jeans and a black t-shirt. This is who I'm spending the day with?

Despite never having been a shy person, I find it difficult to make eye contact with him. I'm still painfully embarrassed about yesterday's ordeal. He left before I could even get him some ice or something. It will be forever engraved in my mind - the type of memory that keeps you up late at night for years to come.

"O-oh hi," I mumble.

He doesn't seem phased at all. Maybe he forgot about yesterday already. "Hey, it's Alyssa right? I'm Michael, Andrea's replacement."

I nod. "Yeah, I'm Alyssa." I chew on my lip before continuing. "Um, are you alright? I'm really, really sorry about yesterday."

A slight smile tugs at the corner of his lips. "Yeah, thanks I'm fine," he says in a nonchalant tone, before giving me a small smirk, "suitcase girl."

Part of me is relieved, the other part of me is still humiliated. I pout and cross my arms. "I prefer Alyssa."

He ignores me and simply nods towards the door. "Let's head out?"

He doesn't wait for me to answer before turning around and heading back towards the doors. I stand up and slip my backpack on and grab my iced coffee. I quickly speed up my pace to catch up to him. I'm tall but he's even taller, making his strides much longer than mine.

"Oh hey Alyssa-" He suddenly stops and turns around.

I was not prepared at the slightest for him to stop walking. My feet don't have time to communicate with my brain and I crash face first into his chest. Everything suddenly starts moving in slow motion as the flimsy plastic lid on my iced coffee snaps off and my drink drenches the front of his shirt.

"Shit," he growls as he quickly reaches out to grab my arm to steady me before I stumble and fall backwards, straight onto my butt.

"Oh my god!" I gasp and slap my palm over my mouth. "I'm so, so sorry!"

Michael gingerly pinches the front of his now soaked shirt to pull and unstick it from his chest. That stain is almost definitely not coming out. "It's... ok," he grumbles.

Things definitely do not seem ok.

I glance down at my outfit. Miraculously, nothing got on my dress.

"Let me help." I feel my face burning as I rush over to the counter to take some napkins.

He quickly grabs onto my wrist as I try dabbing at his shirt and lowers my hand back down to my side. He's clearly annoyed but trying to be nice. "I'm just going to head back to my dorm and change shirts. Do you mind waiting for a bit?"

-----

I sit on the bench outside Michael's dorm. It's one of the nicer ones, reserved for students in their third year and higher. Large stained glass windows at the front, a big colourful garden, and pale grey brick walls.

I'm absolutely mortified.

I haven't even been here for two days and I've already injured a guy, twice. What a way to make a first impression. The only consolation keeping me going is that we're probably never going to see each other again after today. 

"Alyssa?"

I glance back up. Michael's standing outside the building. He's changed into a white v neck t-shirt.

"Hey." I stand up and head over to him. "I'm so sorry, again." I've lost track of the number of times I apologized on the two minute walk from Tim Horton's to his dorm.

Michael just shrugs and begins walking. "It's fine, whatever." He turns to me and gives what can only be described as a feeble attempt at a reassuring smile, though it more so comes out as a grimace. "I'm not going to hold a grudge against you or anything."

"Alright," I try to say confidently. We head down the stairs and begin walking down the sidewalk. "Oh and um," I mumble as I dig through my bag and take out a greeting card. The cover has a cute cartoon cow on it, and the text underneath reads,

I'm Udderly Sorry.

Michael stares at it blankly when I hand it to him. I was expecting more of a reaction. A smile, maybe even a laugh. Who doesn't love puns?

"When... when did you get this?" he asks, looking at me suspiciously. "Do you just carry apology cards with you?"

Maybe I should start doing that. It would've come in handy when I crushed his foot yesterday. I shake my head. "I ran over to the drugstore while you were changing." When I say I ran, I really mean I ran. I embarrassingly almost crashed straight into several people.

"I guess I've seen worse," he sighs and places the card in his bag. "Anyways, where do you want to go?"

I grab my schedule from my bag and hand him the crinkled sheet of yellow paper. I printed it out in the library last night. What an absolute disaster that was, I couldn't figure out their printing system and all of the librarians were busy. I somehow managed to cause paper jams in nearly every printer.

"I'd like to see where all of my classes are," I say and gesture towards the list. "I want to be prepared for my first day! I'm super excited." The reality of everything is still slowly sinking in, and I'm buzzing with anticipation.

He mumbles something inaudible under his breath but nods. He quickly scans over my schedule. "Alright, I guess the closest is the math building."

The echoes of voices from the more populated parts of campus slowly fade away as we head deeper into campus. Most areas of campus are relatively empty, besides the occasional student leaving buildings. Based on their exhausted looking demeanors, I think it's safe to assume they're grad students. 

The walk is silent for a bit before I decide to start things up. "So, what are you majoring in?" I ask, giving him a friendly smile.

There's a long, silent pause before he decides to respond. "Journalism," he mumbles.

"Oh, that's interesting! Why'd you pick that? What are you planning to do after you graduate?"

He shrugs. "Seemed interesting, don't know yet."

"Oh... I see." I furrow my brows. Michael doesn't seem to be much of a talker. No matter, I'm great at getting people to come out of their shells. "Does that mean you're on U of M's newspaper team?"

He gives me a slight nod. "Yup."

"That's really cool! I love clubs. I'm planning to join a sorority," I say cheerfully.

I notice the faintest smirk on his face. "Figures, you seem like you'd fit right in," he snorts. "I wouldn't be caught dead just touching a fraternity with a thirty foot pole."

I frown and look at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I would drop IQ points just by being near those guys. They somehow radiate idiocy," he scoffs. "I've made the dean's list every semester since freshman year. If you put all of their brain power together, I'm sure they'd barely be able to power a lightbulb." 

I grit my teeth to stop myself from speaking without thinking rationally. Everyone has flaws, right? Michael might have more than the average person, but I think everyone deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt. "That's an... interesting perspective," I say warily, "but you should try giving people a chance!" Like I'm doing with you.

Michael laughs dryly and shakes his head. "Despite what you may think, the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, Alyssa. Don't be naïve." He gives me an incredibly patronizing-feeling pat on the shoulder. "Your little positive and bubbly act is cute, but that's not how the world works sweetheart."

I take a slow, deep breath and count backwards from five. My brothers spent years trying to stop me from being so hot-headed, and I've gotten a bit better at controlling myself. That doesn't mean I don't still explode every once in a while though. I quickly think of other questions to drag the conversation away from this topic.

"Alright," I mumble. "Do you have a favourite holiday?"

"I don't like holidays."

"Favourite ice cream flavour?"

"I'm lactose intolerant."

"Dog or cat person?"

"I don't like animals."

"Favourite movie?"

"I don't watch movies. They're a waste of my time."

I stare blankly at him. At this point it feels like he's doing it on purpose. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Write."

There we go. "Oh, what kind of things do you write about?" I give him an encouraging smile.

He thinks for a moment, though his face remains expressionless. "Depends on what section I'm assigned to for the newspaper, I guess."

I laugh dryly. Calling Michael a closed book would be an understatement. The cute, nerdy girl who carries books in romcoms is a closed book. Michael is a book bolted shut, locked in a chest, buried at the bottom of the ocean.

"Why did you even agree to do this?" Is this his actual personality? He must be unbearable to be around if it is. 

"For a favour," he says with a casual shrug.

Figures.

We walk in silence for a bit before I speak up again. "Has anyone ever told you that you don't speak enough?"

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow. "Has anyone ever told you that you speak too much?"

I scowl as I feel my cheeks turning pink. What is it with this guy's attitude?

He glances down at my schedule again and furrows his brows. "So these are... electives?"

I take a peek at the sheet. I admittedly don't have my classes memorized yet.

Engineering 100

Math 101

Computer Science 100

Computer Science 103

Physics 106

I shake my head. "No, I'm an engineering student. Computer engineering to be specific," I state confidently. I recognize that stupid look on his face all too well. I'm sick and tired of people thinking girls shouldn't be in STEM. "Do you have a problem with that?"

He studies me for a moment. His stare is piercing and it's as if those deep brown eyes are staring directly into my soul. "No. You just struck me as more of an arts student. Any easy major in general, really," he says, giving me a smirk. "You know, one of those spoiled kids who gets to study whatever the hell they want because their rich parents paid their way into university."

My mouth drops open. Who does this asshole think he is? Before I can speak, he continues.

"I, on the other hand, worked my ass off to get here," he says with an obnoxiously smug smile plastered on his face.

"You're w-" I begin to object.

He raises his hand to stop me. "Don't bother trying to deny it, you're clearly rich." He rolls his eyes and gestures to my outfit. "Your outfit costs more than a semester of tuition."

I feel my body fill with a burning, frustrated heat. It's not as if I have control of the family I was born into. Mom is a doctor and dad is a CFO, but they've always been reasonable - I'm not spoiled.

"That's none of your business," I huff and cross my arms, "and for your information, I was accepted here on a full ride science-based scholarship."

He doesn't look convinced. "Whatever you say, suitcase girl."

I snatch my schedule out of his hands. "You know what, I think we're done here," I snap and begin heading back. Why should I have to put up with this? Classes don't start for another two days, I'll find my way around by myself.

-----

After some confused wandering, I manage to make it back to the main plaza. It's bustling with people hanging out and exploring the different club booths. It doesn't take long before I spot what I'm looking for. The sororities and fraternities are all grouped in the same area and they're nearly impossible to miss. An abundance of brightly coloured posters, giant wooden cutouts of their Greek symbols, people with bullhorns, and large speakers playing upbeat music.

I approach the largest table with the symbols, "ΑΔΠ" printed in gold on their banner. "Hi there!" A girl with long and shiny black hair gives me a cheerful smile and wave. "I'm Megan. Are you interested in joining Alpha Delta Pi?"

"For sure!" I smile and nod. What a relief, being around people who match my energy level again. Negative Nancy back there was sucking the life out of me.

She hands me a clipboard with a signup sheet on it. "The sororities are having an orientation meeting tomorrow night, add your name here so we know how many people to expect!"

My eyes widen at the number of names. I have to flip through several pages before I find the sheet that still has space on it. The possibility of being rejected from every sorority gives me anxious knots in my stomach. I quickly shake the thought from my mind, that's something to worry about later. I add my name and hand the clipboard back.

Megan's eyes widen when she looks at the sheet. "You're Alyssa Callisto Aria?" She looks back up at me, looking ready to burst with excitement. "As in, Alexis Callisto's daughter and Betty Callisto's granddaughter?"

It takes me a moment to remember that my middle name is mom's maiden name. "Yup, that's me."

From what I've been told, mom and grandma were both presidents of ADPi when they were in university. Part of my decision to come here may have been influenced by them. Regardless, I've been so excited to join and can already tell I'm going to adore Greek life.

She gasps and puts her hands on her cheeks. "Girls!" she calls towards a group of girls wearing matching Alpha Delta Pi t-shirts. They look at her curiously and come over. "We have our first legacy member of the semester! This is Alyssa Aria. She's a Callisto."

They all squeal with excitement and pull me into tight hugs. For a moment it's an overwhelming sea of perfume, jewelry getting caught in hair, and having all of the air physically squeezed out of me. I spend a solid ten minutes by the booth as all of the ADPi girls come over to meet me.

One of the girls, Grace, gives everyone a knowing look before turning to me. "You know what, we were planning on going out for dinner after this. We'd love for you to come with us, Alyssa."

-----

I still have a wide smile stuck on my face as I get back to campus. I had a ton of fun and learned so much about ADPi. It's been decades but stories about the things mom and grandma did during their time there still get passed down. They owe me quite a few explanations.

My motorcycle engine's rumbles fill the undisturbed silence as I ride through the streets of the empty campus. The streets are dimly illuminated by the warm streetlamps, casting long and thin creepy shadows from the trees. It's almost eerie, after seeing the campus so bright and full of life this afternoon. I decide to take a shortcut through one of the parking lots. It should be empty this late at night.

"Oh crap," I mumble as the headlight on my bike flickers a couple times before going out. I gulp and try not to panic. The parking lot is nearly pitch black, the only light source being moonlight coming through a couple small windows. I quickly turn off my engine and stop. It's so silent that I can hear my heartbeat pounding in my ears. My fingers tremble and I fumble through my bag to find my phone. "God dammit," I groan when I realize the battery is dead. I drained my phone just from taking pictures with everyone at dinner.

I take in a couple deep, shaky breaths. Nothing to be afraid of, Alyssa. I start my bike again and try to quickly ride the rest of the way out.

After what feels like hours, though it probably was less than two minutes, I see the entrance of the parking lot. I let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a dark silhouette, only illuminated by the moonlight behind them, comes zooming by in my path. It catches me so off guard that I don't have time to stop.

There's a scream and the ear piercing noises of metal screeching before I feel myself hitting the hard, cement ground.

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A/N:

Always wear your helmet 

Thanks for reading!