Big Four college years (ft. Cockrat / Ivy)

CHAPTER ONE | The Arrival.

The bus stop. It was a quiet afternoon in Alice Texas, Caleb stood tall at the bus stop, still waiting on the vehicle to arrive; finally, he'd be away from it all, the endless noise, the exhausting job, and the lame kids in highschool. A sigh of relief escapes his lips as the bus arrives, and as he takes his first step onto it, everything and everyone that's ever bothered him, or made him feel upset just vanished into thin air.

Walking down the aisle, he passes a few people. One person in particular seems to catch his eye: Peter. He's an average sized lightskin male, large headphones covering his ears as he watches what seems to be a YouTube video. With no other seats available, Caleb sits down next to him.

"Hey..." he greeted softly.

Peter doesn't respond verbally, just gives a nod to show he's aware. That's the second awkward interaction Caleb's had today. "That one with sienna earlier was strange," he thought to himself, now enjoying the silent ride.

Peter looked up from his phone screen, staring out of the window as the lush green environment seemed to speed by. It was almost ironic, reminding him of how fast his own life had gone by; one moment he was enjoying playing on his iPad with his little brother, and the next he's being shipped off from his home to a community college in the middle of nowhere!

In the back of the bus, there sat a foreign guy, pretty scrawny, but looked cool to be friends with. We'll call him Mayan for the sake of convenience. Unfortunately for him, he was sat next to a younger girl named Chloe. She was more than excited to have a genuine romance with a basketball player than focus on her own career.

Chloe tapped Mayan's shoulder, asking him if he had anything to drink since she forgot to pack some water. He shook his head, politely telling her, "I've got some, but It's all I have." Honestly petty, but she'd been aggravating him the entire ride, so he really didn't feel like sparing a drop.

Across from them was another black male: Kenneth, mostly referred to as Kenn or Kenny by people who think his name is "too long." He tried his best to make it seem like the other seat was taken so no one sat with him — weird behavior, but alright. The boy's Carmel colored face was pretty much painted by the light from the window, much to his own dismay.

Hours seem to pass as the bus comes to a screeching stop in front of a large college campus. Finally, they made it to Kirkwood. Peter's eager to stretch his legs, so he shoves past Caleb, escaping the vehicle all together before anyone else. The others however seem to crowd in a line as they get off, not too impressed with the building itself, but the campus apartments nearby looked nice. Kenn stretches his arms out wide, smiling a bit as he notices a familiar figure coming into view...

"HEYYY!" Hollered a distant voice. Everyone turned slightly to see a smaller — attractive Latina with long black hair, lips as wet and watery as the eastern sea, and a comedically large nose. "I'm Kim, and I'll be your guide for today." "No shot she got in before me!" Kenneth logged in his own mind. "She probably leaned on her Hispanic card to get in faster; fuck! I should've told them I was black on the application."

Caleb set his guitar case down, unzipping it to take out a wad of cash he had in place in case there were vending machines nearby. "Can we see the dorms first?" He asked the girl. Kim shook her head, swatting a few stands of hair away from her eyes as she said, "Let me show you the campus first, bro."

Kenn would take a brave step forward. "Kimberly?"

She'd tilt her head, asking, "Do I know you?" Peter snickered under his breath; "embarrassing," he thought. Suddenly, the quiet chuckle turns into howling laughter. Ken scratches the back of his head, responding to her with a little more bass in his voice, "You don't know who I am?"

"I'm just messing with you," she'd giggle, slapping away a few more strands of hair than before. "I remember you, Cameron." Then, Kim walks into the distance, leading the group around the campus.

"Who the fuck is Cameron?" Ken muttered in silence.

Chloe walks next to Caleb, clearly trying to talk to him, but too shy to begin the conversation. She's however the last thing on his mind because that last bizarre moment he had with Sienna, when he said goodbye, was replaying over and over like a broken record; It was haunting to say the least. Peter walks next to Kim while she explained the layout of the campus, then brought them inside to look at classes.

"This one right here is the auto shop!" She'd tell them with an animated, charming personality.

Peter responds with rolled eyes, "Well, yeah... We can see that." Kimberly laughed, closing the door to the auto shop and bringing them over to another class. It was a large room, with very few people. The African American studies course. A familiar girl caught Caleb's attention, forcing him to step into the room; it was Iris, blonde girl who dressed casual — but masculine at the same time.

Caleb wanted to say something, but it'd been so long, he didn't waste the time and just continued walking with the others. The group's endless journey finally led them to the dorms where everyone got set up. Dorm rooms as following:

ROOM 216: Peter | Caleb | Iris

ROOM 218: Kenn | Mayan | Chloe

Getting settled in 218 was a disaster, Chloe practically unpacked everywhere, plastering posters of various college athletes. Meanwhile, Mayan was playing with the microwave, unfamiliar to how quick and efficient the technology was. Kenn stood outside of the room, leaving his bag on the floor. He thought about Kim earlier, and was proposing on finding out where her dorm was.

216 was relatively quiet. Caleb made sure to keep his space the further from Iris's, picking a room at the end of the compact unit. Peter obviously didn't get unpacked, and just set up his gaming system in the living room and hopped on to play NBA2k. Iris however was still busy studying in her own room to care.