Falling for Storm

Amara

I stood in awe in front of the dormitory I’ll be staying in starting today and for the rest of my university life. I know that Duke University isn't considered as an Ivy League, but I’m still very lucky and very grateful that I landed a full scholarship considering that they only accept about six students per year in the department I'm going to be a part of. My admission was more of a shock rather than a piece of wonderful news at first because I'm not the smartest nor the most talented one in the family like my older sister reminds me every chance she gets. I applied knowing full well that I won't make it at all and yet here I am.

Speaking of my sister, we're not really close and we have this constant hate relationship. It's no secret that she hates my guts because according to her I'm not normal and therefore there's a need for her to bully me all the freaking time. We're too different from each other as in pretty much the opposites. She's 5 feet, 7 inches tall, blond, pretty, a high school cheerleader, popular, hates studying and had one too many boyfriends. I on the other hand am a brunette, about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, average looking, awkward as hell, buries herself in art and books, and has never had a boyfriend since birth. The only common thing we have is that we both have blue eyes, though mine takes a darker shade.

Anyway, being here to pursue my dreams and earn my Ph.D. in Art History and Visual Studies someday not to mention the fact that I'm so far away from home meant so much to me. It feels like I’m finally doing something right and something for myself. It's going to be a long journey, I guessed that much, but I'm willing to do whatever I can to enjoy every experience. I'm both excited and scared, but somehow I have this gut feeling that everything's going to work out.

I walked inside the building with luggage in tow. There were students everywhere. Some talking in groups and others running about. Oddly, I'm getting this vibe that this is a movie scene where the main character is about to embark on a cheesy adventure with an impossibly hot dude who's probably too good for her, complete with a musical background of all sorts, of course.

Yeah... I know, I have a strange imagination and maybe I should stop reading too many romance novels and watching sappy chick flicks because it seems to be affecting my perception of reality, but in my defense, that's also where my creative juices come from.

I climbed two flights of stairs, walked aimlessly down the hall, exchanged polite smiles, and read each door's room number until I finally found room 205. I took a deep breath and knocked lightly to let whoever; if ever there's someone in there know that I'm about to come in. I waited for a bit, didn't hear anyone, so I went in to start getting settled. The room was spacious enough for two people. It has two beds, two study tables, two wardrobe closets, and a large window. It's actually pretty cozy.

The bed to the right had things scattered on it so I'm guessing my roommate has arrived and could have just gone somewhere. Judging from what I'm seeing, she probably likes heavy metal and big bikes. Also, most of the stuff she owns is either red or black. Interesting.

Bending down, I picked the black leather jacket up that's been lying on the floor and placed it on the bed, and as if on cue, the door opens revealing an attractive self-assured-looking girl. She doesn't completely look like someone who causes a lot of trouble, but I can somehow sense that she's a force to be reckoned with. She has long black hair, gray eyes, a face of an angel, curvy hips, and we have about the same height. I'm thinking she's a total knockout so I probably look dull next to her.

She gave me a confident smile as soon as she saw me and introduced herself as Dakota Black and that she's a local. I get that this is a bit confusing because she didn't need to actually stay at the dorm if she's a local, but she explains that she wants to genuinely experience university life as in the works and all, and I get that, I really do. She did say that she needs to go home every weekend though since her family runs different businesses including a bar owned by his older brother and that's where she usually helps out.

We talked about different things while we organized our stuff and we even grabbed something to eat together. I'm pretty sure we've gotten familiar and we're becoming more and more comfortable with each other. Dakota is nice and easy-going. She likes reading as much as I do and yes, she listens to heavy metal a lot. I sincerely think that she and I will get along just fine.

Six days quickly went by and I’m still doing okay. I’ve been enjoying every class even though some of my professors love to challenge everyone’s mental capacity a lot. I’ve noticed that people originally from here are very kind and helpful and almost everybody knows everyone.

Dakota is practically the coolest person I've met. She introduced me to her friends and even the locals who we come across from time to time. Apparently, her family's well respected here. I’ve been adapting quite well and so far, everything's been awesome and I'm seriously hoping that my life stays the same even if it's just for the entire year. I'll keep my fingers crossed.