The New Beginning

Chapter 1

Eleanor Pov

The first thing I noticed as I entered campus ground was 3 men shirtless, 6 packs ripped abs, running towards me. Is this what college is like? I ask myself.

Then the beautiful green grass caught my attention. It stretched across the university grounds in every direction, bright green beneath the morning sun. Students were scattered everywhere, some sitting beneath trees with their laptops open, others laughing in groups as they crossed the courtyard.

A few people were doing yoga near the lawn, while a group farther away played baseball. Music drifted from somewhere near one of the buildings. I stopped for a moment. This was college. Actually college. I tightened my grip around my Starbucks cup and smiled to myself. After years of high school, I was finally here. Georgia State University. A completely new place, completely new life. And hopefully, a completely new Eleanor.

High school had been a disaster more times than I cared to admit. I was always getting into trouble, and somehow, trouble always seemed to find me first. Maybe it was because I had always been stronger than I realized. I could lift things other girls struggled with. I could run faster than most people. And whenever someone tried to push me around, they usually regretted it. My bullies learned that lesson the hard way.

Eventually, most of them stopped bullying me. Some even started treating me like their friend. I wasn't exactly proud of everything I'd done back then, but I wasn't going to pretend I hated the feeling of finally standing up for myself. Still, college was different. Nobody knew me here. Nobody knew about my high school drama. Nobody knew about the fights. Nobody knew about the girl who somehow always ended up in trouble.

That meant I could start over. I could be normal. I could make friends. I could focus on my grades. And maybe, just maybe, I could meet someone. I took another sip of my coffee as I walked across the courtyard, scanning the crowd for one familiar face. Then I spotted her. Amaya. My life long friend. I've known her since I was five when she defended me from getting bullied by some boys in the playground. She slapped them and pushed them away. She came back to asked if I was okay. Since then we've been inseparable. We’ve gone through middle school, junior high, senior high, prom and so many other together. We applied to go to the same university so that we would be together because honestly I’m quite terrible at making friends and she’s the only friend I have. She knows that and taunts me about it, lol.

She was standing near the entrance of one of the academic buildings, looking around impatiently while checking her phone. Even from across the courtyard, I could tell she was already annoyed. I smiled. Some things never changed. I hurried toward her. "Amaya!" Her head snapped up. The moment she saw me, her face lit up. "Eleanor!" She rushed toward me, and we immediately hugged.

"I can't believe we're actually here," I said, pulling away. "I know!" she exclaimed. "We're college students now." I laughed. "Please don't make it sound so serious." "It is serious." She grabbed my arm dramatically. "We're adults." I raised an eyebrow. "Speak for yourself." She rolled her eyes. "Come on. We're going to be late."

We started walking toward our building together, weaving through groups of students. I couldn't stop smiling. Everything felt new. The buildings. The people. The sounds. The endless possibilities. I had spent so much time imagining what college would be like, and somehow, being here felt even better than I had imagined.

"Hey, Amaya," I said. "Hmm?" "I'm so excited for today." "Me too." She grinned at me. "Especially because we're finally going to meet all the hot college boys." I nearly choked on my coffee. "Amaya!" "What?" She looked completely innocent. "It's our first day!" "Exactly." I shook my head, trying not to laugh. "You haven't changed." "And neither have you." She bumped her shoulder against mine. "Don't pretend you're not excited."

I looked ahead, trying to hide my smile. Maybe she was right. I was excited. More than excited. For the first time in a long time, I felt like something was waiting for me. Something different. Something bigger than high school. I didn't know what it was yet. I only knew that standing there beneath the warm Georgia sun, surrounded by hundreds of strangers, I felt like I was finally stepping into the life I had always wanted. A fresh start. A clean slate. A new chapter. And I had absolutely no idea just how much my life was about to change.