Searching for her missing friend, Maria, Claudia Taylor teams up with her sister and her friends from college to find her.
Stumbling upon a house in the middle of nowhere, the college students are invited in for dinner.
What was supposed to be a h...
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MARIA FLORES AND CLAUDIA TAYLOR HAD MET IN CLAUDIA'S FRESHMAN YEAR. Claudia was 19 at the time, and Maria was 21. The blonde had been studying in the library, reading over her English 101 book to prepare for an essay she had to write. One thing about Claudia was that she loved English, so that's how her major was chosen. Even though she dreamed of being an actress or a model, she wanted a degree first.
Before the two girls met, Claudia hadn't known Maria. Claudia was nice to everyone, something she had picked up from her dad, but she wasn't really close with anyone. The only people she was close with were Connie and Jules. Her sister had introduced Julie to Claudia at the beginning of her sophomore year, and the two hit it off. Julie was a sweetheart; she was loyal and had an amazing style. (Claudia would never admit that she took inspiration from her style.) She was also feisty and uplifting. Claudia loved Julie like she loved her sister, and in a way, Julie was her sister.
Claudia and Maria had met in that very library on the day she was studying. Claudia had looked up as the door to the library opened, and in came Maria. Maria looked around the room, searching for familiar faces, and met Claudia's eyes. Maria smiled and walked towards her table, which made the girl panic. While Claudia was nice to everyone, she was not the best at talking to people. She would get nervous, and her heart would pound, and then she would stutter. which was beyond embarrassing because most people saw Claudia as a beautiful, confident girl. which she was, most days. But she was never great at meeting new people.
Claudia offered a hesitant, shy smile to Maria as she got closer. Maria smiled back, her smile warm. The girl sat down across from Claudia. She opened her blue bookbag and pulled her notebooks and books out, placing them on the wooden table. Claudia watched her as she did this, looking away awkwardly once she realized how creepy she seemed. She thought about holding her hand out for Maria to shake, but thankfully, she decided against it.
Maria finally set her bookbag down after all her books were laid on the table and smiled. Claudia made a mental note about how much she smiled.
"I'm Maria." She greeted the blonde warmly. Their eyes met, and Claudia smiled, nodding.
"I've seen you around a bit. My sister's friends with your sister," the blonde admitted. Maria's eyebrows furrowed, and she tilted her head to observe Claudia. She seemed deep in thought as she did so, and Claudia shifted in her seat nervously. Finally, Maria perked up and nodded.
"You're Connie's sister, right? Ana talks about Connie all the time." Claudia bobbed her head at her words.
"I'm Claudia. It's nice to meet you." Claudia's lips turned up, and she looked at Maria's books, looking up to meet the girl's eyes.
"It's nice to meet you too," Maria said. Claudia fiddled with her bookmark nervously and cleared her throat.
"So, what grade are you in?"
"Oh, I'm a junior."
Claudia nodded and took a peek at Maria's books. "What are you majoring in?" Sorry, I'm nosey." She shook her head at her own words. Stupid. She scolded herself.
