Raise The Bar

chapter one

"That would be such an honor, Professor Li. I would be so grateful for the chance." Another step in the right direction to working in a public relations firm.

"No problem at all. Have a good day." I send him a smile back and say thank you before leaving the room.

Stopping by a coffee cart, I grab a croissant and latte, shoving it in my mouth trying to finish so I can work on my assignment.

I sit down, pulling out my textbook to study for my last test before the long weekend. I have no classes Monday and I plan to use that to my advantage.

My phone buzzes and I see a text from Mads which reads:

party at the b-ball team's house tn, you in?

pls don't say no. you'll look so good in that new black lace top and leather pants.

I momentarily envision myself in it and reply back:

Alright, I'll come. can u pick up more trash bags on ur way home? we're out.

yup!

This past month I've gone from parties to paperwork suffering from an unrelentless workload that piled on with the advanced courses I took.

My friends are the only reason I haven't completely lost my mind in schoolwork. We all have our own work to do but Mads always brings us together for a party.

She's majoring in fashion merchandising with a minor in business. Her skills with a sketchbook are unmistakable. She's one of the most talented people I know, and one of the most successful.

She's already amassed more than four hundred thousand followers on TikTok because of her 'What I do in a day as a fashion major in Chicago' and a hundred thousand on Instagram in less than a year. She has a youtube account with over a hundred thousand followers full of fashion and lifestyle information.

Nellie also has one too with almost as much as her where she discusses a multitude of topics from trader joe's halls to college life to studying tips.

Nellie is a political science major. The activist, social justice advocate, and powerful promoter of all things wrong with the world. She's also incredibly brilliant and bound to end up at one of the best law schools in the country someday. Half the time I don't understand how she does it but she and her bright beautiful brain is unstoppable.

Emma is a nursing major, studying for her ADN, and she'll be completing her BSN after she graduates. She comes from a long line of medical professionals, including three older brothers, all surgeons, her moms an OB-GYN, and her father is a locum tenens physician, meaning he travels and fills in as a substitute at hospitals.

Mads and I met freshman year when we were assigned as each other's roommates. At the first meet, we became inseparable. She was born and raised in Seattle to two dads, both kind and incredible to me. They treat me like a second daughter and lucky for us they love my family too. They moved to Barcelona, where they own a restaurant so Mads spends the holidays with us.

When Mads and I were in Europe last summer visiting them, they let us go clubbing in Ibiza and we stayed at their place over there.

Mads hooked up with some French guy where she explicitly told me how lucky I was to have a french background because mind-blowing sex was in my genes. Now she's obsessed with everything Parisian.

I was involved in a drunken makeout with an incredibly good-looking Spanish guy with disappointing kissing skills. It was sloppy and rushed and it ended almost immediately. That's when I decided random hookups weren't for me.