Nathaniel King, Tom Darwin and Jace and Petal Bhalli have all taken the plunge and headed off to university. Will they have an easy time of it or will they face unexpected obstacles - especially Tom, who's convinced he can just breeze through it all? University's just one big party, right?
(I'm naming most of the university rounds after songs and lyrics from the college rock and new wave stations because it's fun, and those two stations have provided fitting music during dramatic situations!)
Jace Bhalli was a little surprised to find out that their other dormmates at SSU were Allyn Bachman and Solveig Tellerman. They'd all gone to school together but Allyn and Solveig had always been in the "popular" crowd and he'd assumed they would head off to college somewhere with a beach and hot boys, but here they were. Allyn looked pretty similar to how she always had, but Jace couldn't help noticing that Solveig had a lot more clothes on and a lot less makeup... and that she was utterly beautiful.
The first semester started with a proper freshmen kegger. Tom went to get a drink and was met by a very tipsy Allyn.
"Hey. Isn't Alan a guy's name?"
"Allyn with a Y is a girl's name, okay?"
"Sure it is. Doesn't help that you drink like a guy, though!"
"Watch it. I can drink you under the table any time."
"Is that a challenge? You're on."
Allyn and Tom weren't the only ones hitting the booze; Solveig had more than her fair share too, and it ended with her and Tom having a drunken makeout session before Solveig passed out in bed.
The next morning Solveig was studiously avoiding him, but Allyn seemed to have been encouraged by his good-natured teasing.
"Great party last night, huh? I don't know about you but I could do with getting some coffee, my hangover's killing me."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" laughed Tom.
"What do you think? Come on, the campus coffee shop's not THAT bad. The geeks stick to the library."
Soon life fell into a comfortable routine. Jace, Petal, Nathaniel and Solveig spent most of their time studying while Allyn and Tom neglected it all in favour of hanging around, flirting, kissing and generally engaging in gratuitous PDA.
Solveig watched Tom and Allyn with interest but no jealousy - in fact, she was pretty sure she'd dodged a bullet there. Tom was bad news, and she hated that her former best friend was getting sucked in by his smooth ways. But what could she do? Allyn WANTED to be sucked in, and Solveig had more important things to worry about if she was going to make the Dean's List and get into medical school.
She was getting closer to Jace Bhalli, much to his delight. Sure, they had chemistry, but it wasn't all about flirting - they helped each other with schoolwork and he would even put up with playing chess against her. Jace was developing something of a crush, especially after learning that she wanted to be a doctor not some party-girl like he'd always thought, and Solveig was beginning to realise she liked him too.
Eventually she decided to be brave and make the first move. Jace was sitting around on his own playing computer games after a particularly gruelling study session (he was bright enough, but nowhere near as driven as his twin) and she went for it.
"Hey, Jace?"
He jumped up eagerly. "What is it?"
She stepped closer and stroked his cheek. "I don't want to seem too forward, but... I really like you. Let's go out sometime."
Jace didn't need asking twice.
Nathaniel had so far failed to get lucky in any way, shape or form. He was generally outgoing but Petal Bhalli continued to terrify him after her early "eww, cooties" stage and he needed some advice. Unfortunately he went to Tom to get it because his only other options were Petal's brother and his uncle Duncan, who was now her stepfather.
"There's this girl I like, and I was wondering... well, you and Allyn hit it off really quickly and I know you had girls all over you in high school too. How do you get a girl to make out with you?"
"Seriously?" Tom laughed, a little surprised. "You've never even kissed a girl before? Wow, how did you get through being such a jock at school and stay so clueless?!"
Seeing as Tom had failed to give him any advice Nathaniel decided to throw himself into his schoolwork instead. Romance could wait.
Allyn and Tom ended up losing their virginities on the moth-eaten sofa in the communal lounge. Hey, why spend money on big space-eating beds when there was a perfectly good couch? Of course, the huge amount of time they spent fooling around meant they never turned in assignments and even skipped classes, but they didn't care.
When they weren't defiling the furniture they spent their time painting. Tom was considerably more skilled at it than Allyn but he managed to pull himself out of his own vain little world long enough to help her improve her style now and then.
Unfortunately, Allyn and Tom couldn't coast forever. After their final exam of freshman year they got such terrible grades Tom was put on academic probation. Allyn got the worst of it, though - she was expelled. She took it better than he did.
"My dad is going to kill me..." he muttered. "And you! It's my fault you have to leave!"
"It's fine! I never really wanted to go to college anyway. I don't need school to be a good artist." Allyn was shocked - she'd been kicked out of school but he was the one crying.
Tom didn't let his guilt upset him for long, of course. Not when he could be kissing someone.
"Do you really have to go?"
"Of course I do. The cab's going to be here soon!"
"I'll miss you."
"I love you too," said Allyn, ignoring what he'd actually said. "You can visit me whenever you want. You've got my cell phone number, babe, use it."
Allyn collected up her belongings and left campus without fuss. She'd found an apartment online that looked pretty good and (most importantly) was within her meager budget. At least that meant she and Tom would have a PRIVATE makeout space!
But Tom's mouring period didn't last long. It only took him days to hook up with a cute freshman...
...and get her to do lewd things on sofas too.
Solveig was so glad she'd avoided doing anything beyond that first drunken hook-up. Especially now Jace had said those three magic words.
"I love you, Sol."
"I love you too."
Liliana had barely talked to him at the party, only tangentially knowing Allyn in the first place, so she's surprised when Tom Darwin calls her out of the blue. Liliana may be heartbroken but that doesn't mean she's been lying around crying and getting stuck out of the loop. She knows her gossip, knows that Tom and Allyn, while still most certainly a couple, are seeing other people.
To say Maya finds her current living situation a bit awkward is an understatement. She'd been entirely prepared for the situation of Ashlee and Liliana both getting boyfriends at university and her being the fifth wheel but she hadn't expected this. It's especially awkward when Liliana gets soppy and talks about what they're going to do when they graduate. Maya knows Ashlee better than her, even if she isn't in a relationship with her, and she knows Ashlee's not ready for commitment.
Miranda's POV:
