Status: First story! Hope you enjoy :)

Sanctuary

"You Know Where the City Is"

"Attention Radnor fourth-floor residents. Your floor meeting is to begin in five minutes. Five minutes until your floor meeting."

That night, after a quick power-nap, Taryn and Hallie made their way out into the lobby of their floor. A few couches were set up in front of a flat-screen TV, and across the room was a group of tables along a row of windows. They took their seats on one of the couches, across from an eager group of girls. Undoubtedly freshmen. They all had new Brighton t-shirts and lanyards around their necks, sporting their student ID's.

She watched as the rest of her floor-mates trickled out slowly. There seemed to be a mix of types of people, mostly freshmen and sophomores. Among the small crowd emerged two people in red polo t-shirts, sporting the Brighton logo on the left breast pocket. A guy and a girl.

"Alright, guys, settle down," the guy said, taking one of the two plastic chairs in front of all the couches. He was taller than Taryn, short dark hair, bright blue eyes, cute smile. Conventionally handsome. He gripped a stack of papers in his hand. "I'm Alex and this is Jamie. We're your RAs this year." He motioned to Jamie, who flashed a gorgeous smile and waved at her residents. Her long dirty-blond hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders, and her wide blue eyes seemed excited.

"We just have to go over some rules, the usual," she said happily. "And then we can go around and introduce ourselves and...call it a day! Honestly, we don't want to keep you guys here longer than you have to be."

They immediately made it clear that they were both pretty laid-back individuals. They read the standard university housing procedures and rules, joking back and forth with ease. They seemed like close friends, and they seemed comfortable in front of their new residents. After reiterating that everything would be fine as long as the residents agreed to follow the rules, they began going around the room and had each resident introduce themselves. Each person stated their name, age, major, and favorite song of the moment. There was Natalie, a freshman Biology major who loved Nicest Thing by Kate Nash. And then Chris, a sophomore pre-med student who named Believe by The Bravery as his favorite. As the rest of the students did the same, Taryn noticed the wide range of majors and music tastes of her new floor-mates. She definitely wanted to make friends with Vanessa, who loved Go Radio. And probably Shaun, who liked All Time Low. And maybe Leanne, who was a Creative Writing major like she was. She grinned at Hallie, excited at the prospect of so many new people.

Of course, she was initially skeptic that things were going so well thus far. She figured it may have been too good to be true, but she pushed the thought from her mind as it came close to her turn.

After the introductions and some closing wishes from the RAs, most people lingered around the lobby for a while, talking and getting to know each other. A few stragglers retreated to their rooms, probably not quite as comfortable with so many new kids.

That night, Taryn went to bed completely content. She was excited about the prospect of her new friends, and she and Hallie seemed to be getting along with pretty much everyone. She supposed her good luck would run out eventually, but that was just her pessimism shining through. She hoped with all her heart that things would keep getting better.

***

"This professor's insane," the kid next to her whispered. He leaned over towards her. He had blond hair, green eyes, and a wide-toothed grin. "My roommate had her last semester."

Taryn smiled politely back at him, looking up at the front of the room. Her squirrelly Ethics professor was distributing massive stacks of paper, droning on about the importance of the syllabus. As if she and the hundred other students in the room hadn't stepped foot in a college classroom before.

"I'm Shane," he said, holding out his hand. She shook it tentatively, noticing the Brighton hockey team t-shirt he was wearing.

"Taryn," she replied quietly. He nodded, flashing her another grin before turning back to his own syllabus.

"You have ten minutes to introduce yourself to your peers. We'll begin the first chapter shortly," the professor boomed from the podium as she began setting up her computer.

"God, this is such bullshit," the girl in front of Taryn groaned, turning around to face Shane. "A ten-page paper due Monday?!"

Another kid beside her turned around as well, swiping the brown hair back from his face. "This class is gonna blow."

"Dude, I don't know," Shane said. "It could be worse. Calculus or something like that."

They shrugged in response. Taryn glanced around the room, recognizing a person or two from Radnor Hall. A girl from her floor walked by and she resisted the urge to wave, not sure if the girl would recognize her.

"Oh. This is Taryn," Shane said, pulling her from her thoughts. She quickly turned back, smiling at the two kids before her. "Taryn, this is Danielle and Shae." They each shook her hand, and Taryn was suddenly grateful that these people were so open and welcoming. She wasn't that great at making friends, but so far, Brighton was promising.

"Are you a freshman?" Danielle asked. Her long dark brown hair was loosely tied in a braid, and curly wisps outlined her face.

"Sophomore, actually," Taryn said. "I'm a Creative Writing major."

"Cool! I'm an sophomore English Education major! I've never seen you in any classes before."

"I'm new, actually. I transferred this semester."

"From where?" Shae asked, training his blue eyes on her curiously.

"Just...a local community college," she bluffed. Thank God they didn't know her well enough yet to call her on it.

"Well, you'll like it here," Shae said, tearing apart a small piece of paper. "We can show you around, if you want."

She laughed. "It's okay, thank you. My roommate's friends have been really kind."

"Cool," he said. "Welcome to Brighton."

She smiled at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she listened to the three friends catch up about their summers. With a tap on the podium a few minutes later, the professor called the class back to attention.

"We'll begin chapter one, the introduction..." the professor drawled, motioning to a PowerPoint displayed behind her on the massive screen. Taryn pulled out her notebook, hoping that this three-hour class would go faster. She really hated lectures.
♠ ♠ ♠
Chapter 3! Sorry if this is all pretty boring so far. I'm trying not to be super dramatic right away, but I promise things will pick up!

Thank you so much for reading. Feel free to comment and subscribe! :)

Song: 'The City' by the 1975