SEPTEMBER

The annual Labor Day carnival is the biggest event at Pepperdine during the fall semester and the members of Greek Row are always the hosts. During the holiday weekend, the entire sports complex is transformed into a colorful carnival with amazing food booths, fun games and bright rides. It takes the entire week to set up so students and the Malibu locals get excited as soon as the large tent trucks roll in on the Wednesday before.

Mischa and I decided to stroll down there on Saturday and I even invited Colin to meet us at the ticket booth. I find Mischa waiting for me in a darling pink sun dress and I immediately compliment her when I see her.

"You look so adorable right now. I don't know how you aren't going to freeze once the sun goes down but you will be fashionable while shivering," I joke and as always she locks her arm through mine. I went much more casual with a black sheer top tucked into my dark skinny jeans and a thin gold belt for color. We make small talk as we head toward the craziness and we are amazed when we see how packed the complex already is. There are bright bulb lights everywhere with red and white striped tents covering the gaming area. Loud carnival music spills out of all the rides and shrieking kids run around the petting zoo area. People flow in from every direction and every booth is packed with students and locals. We make our way through the maze of people and I find Colin by the ticket booth, but he doesn't look nearly as amazed as we do.

"Evenin' ladies!" Colin says as we approach him and Mischa gives him a small wave. We've all gone out to dinner a few times now so they both are comfortable around each other. Luckily, neither of them are attracted to each other, so as of now Harper is still Colin's "baby girl."

"Hey Colin, ready for the madness?" I ask while standing in line to get tickets and he shrugs his shoulders.

"Uh yeah, I've come here a few times with some friends in previous years. Won a fish once playing that ring toss game," Colin replies while pretending to toss rings with a flick of his wrist. We each buy a grip of tickets and we immediately go over to the food truck line. The smell of delicious oil and batter from the funnel cake cart wafts over to us and I'm having a hard time deciding what I want. I watch a girl from the Beta house swirl a white stick around the cotton candy machine and I am immediately wanting one of her fluffy creations.

"Okay, I can't eat this much junk. What should I get?" I ask both Mischa and Colin and they are as conflicted as I am.

"I want to try it all! Well maybe not the vegan carts but I want a rainbow snow cone, a hot dog and some chili cheese fries to start," Colin tells us and he strides straight over to the Hawaiian ice stand. I laugh at his combination and Mischa and I decide to start with pizza slices the size of our face.

After downing an embarrassing amount of cheese and pepperoni, we get fancy milkshakes and head over to the gaming booths. I see Heather running the milk bottle toss so I steer our group in the opposite direction. I try and find a game where a Kappa member isn't the person in charge and we find a game where you toss darts at colorful water balloons pinned to a wall.

"Okay El, what do you want me to win ya? A fluffy dog or the thing that kinda looks like a dolphin?" Colin jokes while giving his tickets to the taker and I point to the bright pink dog. Razor sharp focus doesn't help Colin's terrible aim and he unfortunately misses his first three shots and pays more tickets for darts. Finally, fifteen darts and several swear words later, Colin manages to win me the dog and we laugh about his failed attempts as we stroll over to the water gun races. All three of us sit down to play and we become overly competitive as soon as the buzzer starts. Mischa's rocket ship hits Mars first and she wins a green, blinking-light top hat.

We go around all the booths winning more stupid, silly prizes and I manage to avoid all the Kappa's until I get to the ring toss. I watch Sawyer come over to me, all smiles but Ashley quickly stops her in her tracks.

"Sorry this game is closed," Ashley snarks and I roll my eyes at her immaturity.

"Sure it is," I bite back but Ashley just crosses her arms over her chest. I'm about to walk away when she says, "You know, your new hair cut doesn't do your face any favors sweetie. I think it makes you look pale and boring. Kinda like your personality."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't give a shit about what you think then," I reply back and she deflates right in front of me. Sawyer glances to her and Ashley spins on her heel. I roll my eyes while shrugging off her insult. Was that really the best she can do? I'm surprised they even still care.

"I'm so glad we aren't stuck in that house," Mischa says as we walk towards the rides.

"What was her deal?" Colin asks and I shake my head, "She's just a bitch I guess."

"No, they are mad that someone declined their offer of being a Kappa. Girls kill to be in that sorority, they probably aren't used to rejection," Mischa answers and I guess she's right. They are probably mad I didn't see their acceptance as magical as they do.

We all stand in line for the decent sized Ferris wheel they have set up right smack in the middle of the carnival. The line snakes around some of the other rides but it moves fairly quickly. When we get to the front of the line we realize the boxes are only small two seaters. Mischa was standing next to Colin when the taker took our tickets so they look to me as they climb into the small seat. I wave to them and wait for the next available seat to circle down. I hand the taker my tickets and climb into the small red bench that stops in front of me. Unexpectedly, the taker asks if there are any other single riders and I see a hand pop up from the line. A guy wearing a red and white baseball tee comes forward and awkwardly climbs in next to me.

"Uh hey," he says to me and I give him a small smile in return. The seat is so small and narrow our knees are practically touching. I rest my hands on the small metal bar holding us in.

"So are you, um, here at the carnival by yourself?" He asks once the wheel starts moving and I shake my head, "No, my friends are in that seat," I reply as I point to Mischa and Colin's seat above us, "Are you?"

"Yeah, well kind of I guess. I'm in the Sigma Chi ❤️fraternity so I've been working this whole thing off and on all weekend. My last shift just ended and I thought it would be neat to see the sunset from up here," he says as he points off into the distance. The sun is just about to set, so depending on how many times we get to circle around on here we might just get to see it.

"Sigma Chi ❤️huh? I think I may have TP'ed your fraternity house during pledge week," I confess and he lets out a light laugh.

"Ah, so you were responsible for the three hour toilet paper clean up we had to do the next morning." He asks with a laugh, "Yes, pledge week is a bitch right?" I nod to him and he looks over to me, "So, I'm guessing you didn't make the cut? The Kappa's are our sister house so I think I would have remembered you from the meetings."

"Yeah, I actually kind of dropped out of the running. I decided I didn't really fit in with the Kappas."

"Oh because you're not bleach blonde and a total bitch?" He says bluntly and I can't help but laugh, "Sorry if that was a bit...blunt. I just don't care much for those girls if you couldn't tell."

"No worries, I totally agree with you, I don't care for them much either." We are almost to the top again and if we make it around one more time we'll get to see the bright sun disappear under the ocean. I look over to him and I notice he's actually quite charming. He has longer chocolate colored hair with matching eyes. He has a boyish grin that is contagious.

"I'm Teddy." He extends his hand out and since he sits to the left of me I have to awkwardly turn to shake it, "I'm Ellie."

"Nice to meet you Ellie."

"So do you enjoy being a Sigma? ❤️On the days that you don't have to clean up after delinquent girls that come and decorate your place with toilet paper?" I ask and he laughs while nodding his head.

"Besides those days, yeah I do. I'm in my second year here so I'm usually done with having to do the bitch work." The Ferris wheel slows down so everyone currently on it can watch the colorful sunset. I've been here for over a month now but the sunsets never get old. They are always dazzling with wispy clouds swirling around in so many pastel colors and the contrast of the ocean makes the sky pop.

Once the blues and pinks in the sky have turned to navy and black the wheel starts moving again. When we get to the bottom I see Colin and Mischa waiting for me by the exit sign.

"Well Teddy, it was a pleasure to meet you. Maybe I'll see you around," I say as I wave to him after we safety exit the seat.

"I'd like that," He replies before charming me with his smile once more. He disappears into the crowd and I make it over to Mischa.

"Who was dimples?" Mischa asks as soon as I get to her.

"That was Teddy. He is actually in the Sigma ❤️house," I answer but Colin looks to me suspicious. He's wondering how interested in Teddy I am and I decide to put his mind at ease, "Don't worry Colin, until January first I am a taken lady." He plucks out a small piece of cotton candy from my plastic bag and shoves it in his mouth before asking, "January first? What happens on New Years Day?" We are walking over to the Tilt-A-Whirl pulling apart the sugary fluff and I am having a hard time holding all of my silly prizes while responding to him.

"Harper and I decided that I needed to set a date. If I haven't heard from Liam by January first, I am going to move on," I announce and Mischa and Colin both looked to me wide eyed.

"That's like three months away. Does Liam know?" Mischa asks and I shake my head.

"There's no way for me to tell him. I haven't heard from him. I can't post it on social media either because I literally haven't told anyone but Harper and Lily that Liam is no longer in Malibu." We hand the worker our tickets and we climb into the rocking cab. We pull the metal bar over our lap and minutes later we are spinning around in all directions. I'm trying my hardest not to think of all the fun Liam and I would be having if he were here but it's hard not to notice all the couples riding the rides together.

Once the ride stops, we all clutch onto our prizes and we make our way back towards the front.

"Did we do it all?" Mischa asks and we glance back to the carnival behind us.

"I think we did everything that didn't have a Kappa attached to it," I reply and Colin is looking around the madness with his hands on his hips.

"Well I ate enough to last me through the weekend and I am ready to go fall into a food coma," Colin says to us while rubbing his stomach and he hands me what's left of his bag of candy. He gives Mischa a small hug and does the same to me, "Always a pleasure ladies." I wave to him as he walks back toward the parking lot and Mischa looks to me, "What now?" I remember the warning Liam gave me about heading straight home after the carnival so I respond, "I think I'll just head back."

"What? It's Saturday night! Come out with me. I might meet up with some friends from high school down at this awesome bar in the Valley." Mischa suggests but even if Liam hadn't warned me, I still wouldn't be in the mood to go bar hopping tonight.

"Sounds fun, but I am actually pretty tired. I think I'm gonna call it a night." Mischa frowns but she understands. She hasn't been pushy when it comes to going out and I appreciate her giving me my space.

"Okay girl, I'm sure I'll see you for bio homework tomorrow." She gives me a hug and heads off towards her car. I'm left walking home with a bunch of stuffed animals and light up toys so I'm pretty bright walking along the dark path to my dorm room. I'm just about to enter my building when I realize I don't need to take any of this crap inside. I walk over to a large trashcan that sits in the common area and throw all the cheap stuff inside the bin. I decide to hold onto the pink dog, only because it took Colin a ridiculous amount of darts to win it.

"Not sentimental?" I hear a familiar voice behind me and I turn to see Teddy behind me. I let out a small laugh as I look back toward the trash

"Not so much. That and my dorm is already filled to capacity. What are you doing on this side of campus?" I ask him as he stuffs his hands in his jean pockets.

"Waiting for my date, but she kind of blew me off," Teddy replies and I give him a dramatic frown. "It's not actually a big deal. Well I mean it kind of is, because it's for this stupid fraternity thing we have to bring dates to so, I'm kind of shit outta luck."

"Ah, sorry to hear that." I say trying to be friendly and he shrugs his shoulders as he starts to walk back down the lit path. He's just about to pass the commons tables when he swings back around, "Unless you're not busy? I don't mean to ask you last minute but you'd sure be helping me out." He sees that I'm hesitant so he adds, "It's nothing like romantic or anything. It's just this frat thing, you can leave whenever you want. I can have you home safe and in bed by say, midnight?"

I think back to what Liam said and wonder if this is what he was talking about. He did say go straight home after the carnival, and I did do that. Maybe I'm supposed to bump into Teddy and go to this frat party? Maybe Liam wanted this to play out.

I decide to just put myself out there and go to my first college party despite what Liam may have said.

"Sure, why not? I'll go with you. Let me just go run this upstairs and grab a jacket." Teddy's boyish grin is back but he's too far away from me to hear what he's thinking. I'll probe him for his intentions on the way over and if I hear anything I disagree with, I'll turn around and head home.

"I'll wait right here for you," Teddy tells me and I quickly make my way up to my dorm room. I toss the dog onto my bed and Zoe has her nose deep in a text book as I pass by her. I wave to her as I fly back out of our room and Teddy is right where I left him.

"Ready to go party with the Sigmas?" ❤️He asks as I make my way over to him.

"Guess so," I say, still a little reluctant.

"Don't worry it will be fun. And I'm glad to have someone there that dislikes the Kappas as much as I do," Teddy says as we walk down to the familiar gate.

"Oh I guess I should have asked, are the Kappas going to be there?" I ask but he shrugs his shoulders.

"Might be a few there. Doubt Heather and Ashley will be there though. They don't usually attend college parties. They are too refined for us hooligans." He smiles at me and I smile back. I might not be interested in dating or other guys at the moment, but I can appreciate the cute boy standing next to me.

"Well, we are here!" Teddy announces as we make it up to the Sigma ❤️house. Unlike the movies, there aren't young drunk people with red solo cups falling all over outside and there isn't loud music blaring out of the open windows. It actually sounds pretty quiet. I glance to Teddy once more and right as we reach the oversized thick wooden door, I release a pent up sigh. Here goes nothing.