Often

The Night We Met

The previous day

"..and I'm sure you'll love it here !" Tracee said, turning around with a little bounce.

I smiled at her and looked around the room once again. It was just like I hoped it would be. My dreams were finally coming true.

"Thank you for the campus tour." I said politely, placing my bags down.

"Oh, no issues." She beamed. "I almost forgot ! I didn't catch your name."

"Cassie. Cassie Smith." I smiled offering my hand.

"Cassie? I like the sound of that. I'm Tracee, which you already knew." She said hitting her forehead with one hand while she shook mine with the other one.

"So, Cassie. I'm gonna go run some errands while you can unpack." She said, maintaining that smile as she turned around and made her way out of the door.

I let out a long breath and flopped on the bed with a relaxed smile. I was finally in university. My dreams were coming true. I was finally out there in the real world.

I fished out my earplugs from my pocket and attached them to my phone before hitting the shuffle playlist button.

I quickly unpacked my stuff and arranged it neatly in my side of the room. I then moved to the bathroom and unpacked my toiletries. Once I was done, I checked the time; it was just 6 pm. My mind flashed to the cute cafe I had seen near campus as I made up my mind to visit it.

I quickly changed my attire from my travel clothes to something casual, grabbed my clutch and headed out with my earplugs still plugged in.

So far, my first day in university was going great. My room mate was pretty cool, the campus was beautiful and I didn't meet any "accidents" (I was a very clumsy person).

Tracee, my room mate, had the same major as me; we both were going ahead in English Literature. She was a semester ahead of me, though. But it was alright because that helped her to help me adjust around the new environment. I grew up in a sort of conservative environment; curfews even on prom night, no friends that my parents did not know about, no locked doors, no secrets and all. So, stepping out into the world on my own was scary for me. But I hoped that Tracee would make it easier.

She was a bubbly and energetic person. She had undercut with blond highlights on her already shiny brown hair. Her smile was honestly very contagious. No sooner I stepped into the dorm room, she began hyping me up about my college years and the fun I would have. Seeing her, I was sure I would have at least one friend for me throughout the long years.

My train of thoughts was interrupted by the jingle of the bell on the door of the coffee shop. Somehow, my feet had guided me to the right place even though my mind was preoccupied. The smell of warm coffee hit me as I deeply inhaled. It gave me a sense of comfort, as odd as it might sound. 

I ordered a cream latte and took a seat on one of the comfortable leather couches that gave me a good view of the whole cafe. I sipped it gently, enjoying the song playing in my earplugs; Marvin's room.

Yeah, many people considered it to be a really sad breakup song, but it was one of my favourites. It did remind me of a relationship I no longer had but I just couldn't delete or skip the song. It was attached to my heart. 

Just as the song changed to something with a higher tempo and a perky beat, I heard the door bell jingle. I lifted my gaze from my cup to the person who entered the coffee shop. For some odd reason, my eyes were stuck on her.

It was a girl, around my age maybe or a year older at least. She had long brown hair with an olive complexion. She was wearing a snug leather jacket over a bright red shirt with dark blue jeans. Her bright brown eyes were lined with perfectly winged black eyeliner. I don't know why, but I was so captivated by her that I had not noticed someone tap my shoulder and say my name right in my ear.