“Good to know.” I smirk. “So, what happened to your last roommate?”
Her grin widens. “Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m Bree, but everyone calls me Raven.”
“Delilah.”
“Welcome to the den of poetic chaos.”
I can’t help but laugh at her dramatic introduction. After closing the door behind me, I set my suitcase down next to the unoccupied bed and plop onto it. I scan the room, beginning with my side. The dorm room is large with plain white walls and one large window. The bed is queen size instead of the standard-issue twin, and the sheets look to be made of quality material. Certainly higher than my thread count back home.
There’s a wooden desk and dresser that match, their surfaces empty except for a pen and notepad with the university’s logo on the top right. Damn, even the parchment is thick and luxurious. A girl could get used to having nice things.
Raven’s half of the room is completely filled with color. Dark purple curtains trimmed with black lace outline the single window centered in the outside wall. Her bed is made up neatly with satin sheets and a matching black lace bedspread. Above the bed is a purple wall covered in posters depicting famous artistic interpretations of monsters and ghosts. Interspersed are prints of poems by Poe, Baudelaire, and Dickinson.
“What’s your major? Besides murder,” I say with a wink. “Obviously.”
Raven picks up a well-worn leather-bound journal and waves it in the air. “I’m an English major. It was either that, or I wasn’t going to college at all. My parents just about died when I chose something that wouldn’t ‘further the family business,’” she says, making air quotes, “but they finally got over it. You?”
“I thought about going into information technology like my brother, but that’s not for me. I settled on psychology. More specifically, I want to be a child psychiatrist. Plus, I’ll need a good-paying job after I graduate.”
Raven slaps a hand over her heart. “Ah, the woes of picking a practical major to please the parental units. I get it.”
“It’s not to please my foster mother, it’s to make sure I can provide for myself. I never want to depend on someone else for my survival.”
“I get that too. My family’s business means money isn’t an issue for me. No offense.”
She looks at me with a guilty expression and I gesture for her to continue. “No worries,” I say.
“But the trade-off is having to live under my parent’s control and expectations. Not that I’m comparing situations. I’m just saying I get it.” She sighs, idly flipping through her journal. “I don’t know what it’s like not to have parents breathing down my neck about lineages and legacies, while threatening to cut me off financially if I refuse to marry some man-child in a suit. Money doesn’t always equal freedom.”
This university is one of the finest in the country. I knew I’d rub elbows with the rich, and I’m prepared to have their money—and my lack of—thrown in my face. At least this conversation shows me that Raven won’t do that.
“I grew up not having enough money to buy food.” I shrug. “The grass isn’t always greener. It’s just grass.”
“Well, sometimes I want to piss on it. Water it a little, you know?” Her smile returns, as does the glint of mischief in her brown eyes. “Maybe people would be less likely to rain on my parade if I piss on theirs first?”
I burst out laughing. I understand her frustration with being in a situation you have no control over. More than she could ever know.
“Absolutely. But before you decide to urinate everywhere, can you point me to the nearest coffee shop? I woke up early, and I’m exhausted. My excitement wouldn’t let me sleep last night.”
I was too busy thinking of my reunion with Ben. The very person who has yet to respond to my calls and texts. My good mood plummets at the thought, but I keep my smile firmly set. It’s one thing for me to tell Raven about having been a foster kid, but it’s another to share my doubts concerning Ben’s silence.
Her eyes light up at the mention of coffee. “Oh, I know just the place. There’s this super cool cafe off-campus called Brewed Awakenings. Epic name, right? It has a goth vibe with the best espresso around. I basically live there.”
“There’s nothing on campus? I still have orientation to go to in a little while.”
“Fine,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “We’ll go to the lame coffee shop by the library.”
I tilt my head. “Are you a freshman too?”
“Yup! My older brother graduated from here, so I know everything about this place. Why don’t I give you a quick introductory tour and after that, we’ll go to orientation?”
“Sounds good.”
She jumps to her feet, her black combat boots striking the floor with a thud. “Come on, Delilah. Let us fuel up, and then it’s onto plotting our glorious piss-ridden path to infamy!”
My laughter bursts out of me, honest and refreshing. I can’t remember the last time I felt this light and just… happy. Yes, I’m concerned about Ben’s lack of communication, and I miss Gloria and the girls, but I’m on a journey to accomplish what few people with my background do: attend an Ivy League college on a full scholarship.
If that doesn’t make me a badass, I don’t know what would.
Chapter 11DELILAH
“Dude,” Raven says, nudging me slightly in the back. “Keep walking. It’s just a coffee shop.”
“Erm…” I mumble.
Crystal chandeliers hang lower over the seating areas, their warm glow reflecting off the polish mahogany floorboards. One wall hosts floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with well-known literature and some non-fiction texts. Plush couches and leather armchairs provide cozy nooks for reading or quiet conversation.
The main counter is sleek dark gray marble with gold trim, displaying pyramids of brightly colored macarons and cream-filled pastries under glass domes. An intricate brass espresso machine takes center stage. Given the number of levers and buttons, I doubt I could learn to use it. Molecular compounds are more straightforward.
“This isn’t just a coffee shop,” I whisper to Raven as she bypasses me. “This is… a work of art.”
What I really want to say is this is somewhere I don’t belong. This coffee shop is the nicest place I’ve ever stepped foot in, besides walking across this campus. I thought I could handle people throwing their money in my face, but I wasn’t prepared to feel inadequate because of a vintage-looking espresso machine, for fuck’s sake.
Raven glances back at me with amusement sparkling in her eyes. “You just wait until I take you to Brewed Awakenings. This place sucks in comparison.”
The employee behind the register purses her lips at Raven and I shrug as if that’ll excuse her rudeness. Note to self: Raven has a bigger mouth than I do.
She orders something that should put her into cardiac arrest. I end up getting a regular latte with caramel. It’s fancy enough for me.
“Do you want to sip and walk or finish up here first and then go exploring?” she asks me.
“Let’s sit for a little bit.”
We settle into a couch located directly in front of the window, surrounded by the comforting aroma of coffee and the gentle murmur of conversation. I try not to moan when I take my first drink, but I’m totally a slut for caffeinated sugar.
Raven stirs a packet of sweetener into her cup. “So, are you ready for the inside info on navigating this pretentious institute of higher learning?”
“Bring it on.”