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August - Freshman year
It’s their first day of college and both girls are simultaneously terrified and excited, the nerves rolling off of them. All the incoming freshmen are gathered in the auditorium awaiting instruction. They have all already moved into their dorms and said goodbye to their parents and now are just waiting.
“I feel like we have been here forever, when is this torture going to end?” Carina grumbles throwing her head back as she sits in her seat. In reality, they had only been here 20 minutes but Carina is bored out of her mind.
“You’re being a bit dramatic we have not been here that long.” Maya laughs at her friend's dramatics; she loves her but she does tend to overexaggerate.
“Maya I am telling you, we have been here for at least an hour,” Carina says looking over at her, watching as Maya takes out her phone and shows her the time.
“We have been here for twenty minutes dude, I’m sure it won’t be much longer,” Maya says laying her hand on Carina’s thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Can we sit here?” A girl asks who has two people behind her and Carina smiles nodding.
“Yeah of course, I’m Carina and this is Maya.” Carina points next to her knowing she doesn’t make friends so easily. However Carina seems to make friends wherever they go, Maya does not understand it at all.
“Hi, I’m Andy and this is Travis, and Vic are you guys from around here?” Andy asks as they all sit down.
“Yeah we are from Seattle,” Maya offers.
“Us too! Where about?” Vic asks excited that they are all from the area.
“Bellevue, what about you?” Carina supplies.
“Sammamish.” Travis says and Maya nods.
“I know where that is, not too far from us, that’s crazy.” Maya says a little shocked they lived close to them but glad they are making friends.
Carina is about to ask another question when the dean comes up and starts talking to them but most of the freshman there zone out not caring about what was going on. All they want to do was wander around campus and make new friends. It ends and all the students stand up to make their way out.
“Hey, we were thinking about going to a pizza place that we hear is amazing, you guys want to come?” Travis asks and Carina looks to Maya to see if she wants to go.
“I would love to but I have a meet and greet thing with the track team, but you should go Car. I can always meet you guys there if it isn’t too long.” Maya says rubbing her hand up and down Carina’s back and playing with the ends of her hair.
“Okay, I am really hungry.” Carina says as her stomach grumbles making the whole group laugh. She leans in to Maya’s touch, even though she does well in social settings she still gets nervous and Maya knows that. She loves that Maya can read her so well and help her calm down.
“I’ll see you back at the dorm yeah?” Maya asks grabbing her jacket and purse to leave and the group follows suit.
“Yeah, have fun bambina.” Carina says as Maya gives her a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the row on the opposite side as the group was on.
The three of them watch the interaction curious as to what they were to each other, you don’t see a lot of people out and proud in 2008 even in Seattle. But the other three commend them if they are a couple it takes a lot of guts.
“So how long have you two been together?” Vic asks out right making to other two glare at her for her candor.
“What? It’s a valid question…” Vic says at their shared glares. “It’s what we were all thinking.”
“What?” Carina asks dumbfounded that they thought her and Maya were together. “No we…aren’t…no…we’re-she’s my best friend” Carina gets out a bit flustered by the question, she hasn’t ever been asked that question before. She hasn’t ever had someone think they were together so she never had to pretend she wasn’t in love with her best friend.
“Really? Because the way you look at her says otherwise. You look at her like you’re in love with her.” Travis says and Andy glares at him as well, these two don’t have kind of filter. They are going to get her in serious trouble one day when they just blurt out whatever they are feeling.
Carina looks at them like she is a deer caught in the headlights not knowing what to say. Ten minutes in the presence of these near strangers and they already picked up on the fact she’s in love with her best friend. She must really wear it on her face if they were able to pick up on it so quick.
“I…” Carina starts but she doesn’t know what to say.
“Oh my god, you do love her. Does she not know?” Andy asks getting into the drama and Carina looks between all of them not knowing what to say. Andy has always been a sucker for gossip but she can tell the poor girl in front of her is terrified.
“No she doesn’t and she isn’t going to because none of you can tell her, that’s the last thing I need on my plate.” Carina says looking between the three people she just met, Carina gets the feeling that they are going to be fast friends. They are bonding over a shared secret after knowing each other maybe two hours.
She trusts them, trusts that they aren’t going to tell Maya, they all seem like extremely kind and trustworthy people. She can’t explain it but she knows they won’t tell Maya.
“We won’t tell her, promise.” Travis says crossing his heart having no intention of sharing the omission.
“Okay, I am trusting all of you with my livelihood I have made it two years without her finding out.” Carina points between all of them needing to make sure they are going to keep her secret.
“Your secrets safe with us, now are we ready for pizza?” Vic says looking between them and they all nod making their way out of the auditorium.
It was a gorgeous fall day so they decide to walk to Nino’s instead of driving. On the way there they spend the entire walk getting to know each other. They have a great time getting to know each other and know that there’s something there between all of them.
They spend the better part of three hours in Nino’s talking about anything and everything and the four of them know this is a friendship is going to last them the entirety of college. The kind of friendship that lasts way beyond college, the kind where you are bonded for life.
This is the friendship everyone looks for when they get into college. Maya joins them not so long after they get there and she seamlessly fits in with them and she can’t help but feel incredibly lucky she made friends on the first day of college.
“A toast!” Maya says raising her cup of soda and the entire group follows suit.
“To the next four years.” Maya says.
“May they be the best years of our lives.” Andy says
“And to new friends.” Carina says as they all clink glasses.
“Cheers!!”
“Salute”
They take a sip and spend the rest of the night there not wanting to leave as they live on the high that they are on their own for the first time and they can do whatever they please.
They leave Nino’s and look around feeling a newfound freedom that they never felt before in their lives. They look to each other and know that they are about to start an amazing chapter in their lives.