I turned the engine off and pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head, staring out at the giant campus I would be attending for the next two years. The university was comprised of brown brick buildings that stood tall, reaching toward the sky, and making a U shape, reminding me of a castle. The housing for the students was not far from the main building and resembled the campus in its entirety.

It screamed rich, letting everyone know that the price of education, while priceless, was also thousands of dollars a year.

I knew that better than most. I worked my butt off as a dealer for the casino in South Carolina while I put myself through community college, making sure I kept my GPA a 3.9, so I could apply for more scholarships when I transferred. But scholarships only went so far, and unless I received a full ride or wanted to drown myself in student debt, I knew I would still need money put aside.

I learned at an early age to save, but unfortunately, keeping those savings a secret was a lesson learned too late.

I pulled my sunglasses off and placed them in my cup holder before hopping out of my jeep. Leaning in to grab my purse and belongings, I juggled my bags as I headed in search of my room. Ignoring the looks of the student population watching me attempt my juggling act, I crossed the grass and walked on the sidewalk up to the massive building that would be my home for my two years there, and I headed inside.

After checking in at the front office and getting my room key, I made my way to the elevator. I punched the button to the third floor, stepping out into the hallway once the silver doors opened. The white walls starkly contrasted the red and black paintings that hung on them in honor of the school's colors. I searched the door's numbers until I spotted room 347. Knocking, I slowly opened up the door and stepped inside.

But I didn't step into a dorm room.

I stepped into a bag of cotton candy.

Not literally, that would be a nightmare on its' own, minus the taste factor of course, but metaphorically. There was pink everywhere. Pink bedding, pink posters, and pink curtains. I was afraid I went colorblind and the only color my eyes could register now was pink. Thankfully, I turned to my half of the room and was relieved to find good ol' plain white.

Oh boy. This should be fun.

I went to my side and set my bags down to begin unpacking my belongings. I desperately needed something up on the walls that didn't remind me of Barbie's dream house. Once my bed was made and my Elvis and Bob Marley posters were up, I felt I could start to relax. There was a small couch with a coffee table on the far end of the room across from the beds, so I went over to the couch and threw one of my--not pink--blankets on top. Heading back over to my desk, I placed my agenda and calendar on top of it, along with my laptop and sank down on my bed.

The door suddenly flew open with a loud bang, and I immediately jumped back up, hands flying to my chest. In walked a live version of Elle Woods. There stood my approximately 5'3", blonde-haired, blue-eyed roommate who was staring at me with wide, curious eyes behind pink-rimmed glasses.

"Oh my gosh, you are so pretty!" She squealed, looking me over. My hands were still clutching my chest as I tried to catch up to what was going on. "Oh my gosh, I scared you, didn't I!?"

I dropped my hands, cleared my throat, and pulled down my tank top which had ridden slightly up.

"No, it's okay. I just didn't realize these doors could slam all the way back to the wall."

She smiled sheepishly and closed the door. "I forgot they did that. I was in a bit of a hurry to get back up here. I was hoping you were here and settled in." She reached out her hand. "I'm Savannah."

 "Hey, I'm Madalynn but my friends call me Maddie."

"It's good to meet you, Maddie. My friends call me...Savannah. I'm so excited to have a roomie this year! I've actually been living off-campus with my parents. I finally convinced them to let me stay at the dorms on account of enjoying the whole college experience. Though, really, I think they were just ready to turn my room into a workout space. Ooh, I love Elvis!" She rambled, as she walked to my side of the room, looking at my poster.

Goodness, could she talk. I wondered if she was in school studying to be an auctioneer with how fast she spat out her words. And she seemed to have the attention span of a puppy as she then jumped from my Elvis poster to a spot she saw on her curtain from across the room. But if it didn't make me laugh. I liked her already.

She wiped the offending dust off her pink curtain before turning back toward me with a blush on her cheeks that matched the rest of her.

"I'm sorry. I'm not great with people. You should know, I tend to ramble on when I'm nervous. And you're so pretty and new and everything and here I am with a very vibrant space just talking away probably looking crazy to you. Don't worry, it should get better. I mean, that is, if you want to be my friend. People usually befriend me just so they don't have to listen to...well this." She stumbled out as she waved her arm across her body. "Feel free to stop me anytime. Otherwise, I may keep going."

I laughed and walked to where she stood, pulling her in for a hug. She tensed but then hugged me back, squealing in my ear in the process.

"Does this mean you want to be friends?"

I pulled away and smiled. "Yes. And not to just get you to relax around me. You seem like a sweet person and I'm totally lucky to be your roommate."

"My first roommate. Just in case you didn't catch that."

I chuckled. "I'm totally lucky to be your first roommate."

She clapped her hands together and sat on her bed. "This is so exciting! What are you here for?"

I went back over to my bed and sat down again. "I'm majoring in Ecology and landscape preservation with the intent on minoring in Zoology. I want to be a conservation scientist."

Her eyes went wide, and a huge grin plastered her doll-like face as she grabbed the side of her glasses to adjust them. "So, you're totally smart! I love that!"

"I'm just really passionate about the environment. I needed to find something I felt I could make a difference in. What about you?"

Just as I had asked her, her phone started ringing a fun rendition to "I'm a Barbie Girl" and I had to bite my lip to keep me from laughing. She smiled apologetically at me as she pulled the phone from her purse and answered. I decided to check my own phone and turn away from her and her conversation in an attempt to give her privacy. I had three texts. Two were from Katrina and one from Aaron.

I completely forgot to text Kat, so I quickly typed a message letting her know I made it safe and that I would call later and then checked Aaron's text.

Hope you're all settled in. I can't wait to see you! Coffee tomorrow morning before classes?

I smiled at the thought of seeing him and how we were going to be spending a lot more of our time together now that we were not only in the same state, but on the same campus. Aaron had been great the past four months. He was always polite and considerate and never pushed me to do anything I didn't feel comfortable with. While I really liked him, the distance made it hard to figure out exactly how I felt. I was hoping we could finally learn where we stood and, hopefully, make it official. I quickly typed my reply.

That sounds great! Where at?

There's a cafe next to the campus. Bean Me Up. The coffee is better than the name, don't worry.

Lol I'm trusting you with my very much needed caffeine intake. See you in the morning♡

Savannah was still on the phone, so I took out my syllabus for each class, plugged in my headphones, and went over tomorrow's schedule to mentally prepare myself for the day. It suddenly felt as if I was being watched, so I turned my head in the direction of my colorful roommate who was sitting on her bed watching me. I pulled out my earphones and sat up.

"Um, hey...everything okay?"

"Yes. Well no. But yes. I mean, no, not really, but I don't want to bother you."

"Savannah, what's up?" I chuckled.

"Well, I know we don't know each other yet, but would you be willing to maybe, um, help me figure out what to say to this guy I like?" She put her hands over her face in an adorable embarrassment. I stood up, walked over to her bed, and sat down next to her, causing the bed to dip. She removed her hands and looked at me.

"Was that who you were just talking to?"

"Oh gosh, no. That was my friend Amy. She was telling me Josh, that's the guy I like, was going to text me later. But I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to him."

"Have you guys talked before?"

"You just met me. Let me know how that is working for you so far." She giggled and tucked a strand of her platinum blonde hair behind her ear. "I just get too nervous. I'm surprised he's even texting. The small times we've talked, I sound like a bumbling idiot."

I nodded but smiled. "Well, that's the great thing with texting. You can think out your reply before just speaking the first thing on your mind. This could work for us. You can talk to him through text until you're not as nervous to talk in person. And I'll help you figure out what to say when you get stuck."

She grabbed my hand and squeezed. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course."

The bed started to bounce as she jumped up and down before giving me a big hug. "You are the best Maddie!"

We spent the night talking, eating junk food, and facetiming Katrina to help with texting Savannah's crush, all of which made me feel like a teenager again. I went to bed feeling hopeful that I would find my place back in Georgia soon again.