From Me to Us

Chapter Ten

OLIVIA

The doorbell chimes as I walk through the entrance of the small cafe early Monday morning.

Today's my first day of actual college classes and my stomach has been churning with nerves since woken up this morning. Even though today, my professors will only be going over the class's syllabus and assessment schedule, it's still got me as nervous as ever

Ronnie and I scan the room for Zoey. She texted me to meet up with her so we can all walk to class together and I'm grateful she chose the campus coffee house to meet up at because I am also in dire need of caffeine. Like now.

"Oh, there she is," Ronnie says, pointing across the room to a smiling Zoey.

We order our drinks first and then make our way over to her and take a seat. Zoey's practically bouncing in her seat, barely containing her giant smile from getting even bigger and splitting her face in two.

She's has always loved first days for some bizarre reason. She has never one to get nervous over things like this. After all she was a social butterfly, never dealt with the impacts of what social anxiety can feel like.

She loves to get the best seats in every class we had in high school and to sus out all our classmates. Who she can befriend and talk to which was a lot of people considering she was so popular and also who to get friendly with so she could copy off when she couldn't be bothered to do her own work. Most of the time it was just me she copied off but I didn't care, she was my best friend and I could never say no to her.

I feel like she doesn't realise that college will be a little different to high school. She won't have me in any of her classes considering we are majoring in completely different courses. She shouldn't expect to get her way like she did in high school, but I'm glad to see her familiar smile on a day like this with my body physically shaking with nerves.

I try to subtly force my body to constrict and stay stiff as a board. That's the only way I can stop it before the girls see.

"Oh, my God. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." Zoey's smile doesn't dim an inch.

"Yeah, I know. We've all been a little busy these past few days." I return her smile. "Where have you been?" I say, taking a sip of my drink.

"Oh, just with Eric and his friends. You know, Luke, East, Savannah, all that." She waves a noncommittal hand whilst taking a sip of her own drink.

I gape. "Savannah?"

"Yeah, you know her? She's such a sweetheart. Loved her the moment I met her the other night at the party." Okay hold up. She likes her? She was at the party?

Deep down, thinking about it now, I guess they would probably be friends considering they are kind of alike. Queens of the school, popular, in relationships with the jocks, and inevitably gets anything they want. No questions asked.

There's no doubt from me that Savannah was popular like Zoey in high school. Thinking about it now, they have more similarities than differences except Zoey isn't a bitch like Savannah.

She carries on talking about the group and I seriously could not care right now but I'm trying to put in the effort to at least look like I'm interested in this topic for the sake of my best friend. "The whole group is nice. You and Ronnie should come hang with us sometime. Fun group of people." She speaks like she's been best friends with them all for years and not me. Like I'm the one she's just met and trying to bring into her close-knit group of friends that she's known forever.

Zoey has no idea that I've already met them but I don't correct her.

I inconspicuously roll my eyes under a sip of coffee and glance at Ronnie. She shifts in her seat and gives me a look back.