Chapter One

The time had finally arrived for me to go to my new "home" for the next four years. After getting my picture taken, I was given directions to the student housing I would be staying at.

 I let my feet drag as I walked up to the house. I had applied for honors housing, and thankfully I had the grades to get in. I thought that maybe living with fewer people than in the dorms would be good for me. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized that was probably a bad idea. At least in the dorms I could hide. Maybe no one would notice me. Here, I'd be crammed in with however many other people were also in the house. 

Don't ruin this for yourself Ophelia, I told myself. You wanted a fresh start, and here it is. You can be whoever you want to be. With everything that had happened in my life that was easier said than done.

When I got to the house, the door was open. I walked in and saw a group of other students hanging around playing video games. No sooner than I had time to glance at them, then I was greeted by the resident advisor for the house. 

"Hi, I'm Marla! I'll be your RA for your time at here. If  you have any questions feel free to reach out. My door's always open. Well, except when I'm sleeping. It's so great to see you here. The next four years are going to be a blast."

"Um, hi Marla. I'm Ophelia."

"You're the last one on my list. I was starting to think you wouldn't make it! Now that you're here, feel free to mingle and get to know the rest of the house. You'll be staying in room two with Juliette Capp."

"Thanks," I said nervously not making eye contact, "I think I'll go unpack."

Of course I was the last one to arrive. Of course I had to make myself even more noticeable. I tried to calm my breathing as I walked upstairs to my room. I could already feel myself unraveling. I needed to get a grip. Why was this so hard? Why did I think things would be any better here?

When I arrived at my room, I was relieved to see that my roommate wasn't there. I'm sure she was nice and all, but I really needed the time to myself to help calm down. I stood in my room for a second, just staring blankly at the wall trying desperately to focus on my breathing. I dug my fingernails into my arm. Focus. Stop. You're spiraling. You're fine. No one is going to hurt you. You're alone. You're safe.

I once I was feeling a bit calmer, I occupied my mind by setting up my side of the room. I unpacked my bedding and meticulously tucked in the corners and fluffed the pillows. I then dug through my things and go out a few posters. I even manged to convince myself to put up one of the cheesy boy band I liked. I almost put up a photo of my favorite romance series too. I was always embarrassed by how much I liked some of them. They fascinated me though. To have someone just love you so entirelly and completely and unconditionally. I wanted that in my life. I unpacked the books I brought but stuffed them under my bed. Maybe I'd find a place for them later, or maybe I'd have to read them in secret.

 Hopefully Juliette wasn't judgemental. I tried not to let my mind focus on my roommate too long anyway. That and the fact that I'd be living in such close quarters with another person. Maybe she'd be super involved on campus, and I'd rarely see her. As I glanced at her side of the room, I could tell that she had already been there at some point. She had a few cutesy posters and some school flags hanging up by her bed. I really couldn't tell much about her just by that. Now I was being the judgemental one.

Now that I was unpacked, it was time to declare my major. I decided on Biology. I would focus on psychology. I had always been interested in learning how the brain worked. Maybe if I learned about it, I'd learn more about why I am the way I am.

I had taken a psychology class in high school, but all it did was make me uncomfortable, especially when we got to the lessons on abnormal psychology. Everyone in the class started diagnosing each other with different illnesses as a joke, though to me it wasn't very funny. I already spent an unhealthy amount of time fixated on my health both mental and physical, and some of the symptoms seemed a little too familiar. No one dared say anything about me, at least not to my face..They knew there was something wrong with me already. The freak girl with the dead parents who used to live with her murderous aunt. At that point, I was slightly above them saying anything to me because I was with Johnny. It was like his popularity created some kind of magic shield around me. Still, I knew they talked. 

Maybe if I could figure out what was wrong with me, I could help others too. I always thought the best kind of therapist would be one who really knew what you were going through. One that had experienced the same things you did first hand. The thought was a little morbid, though. I didn't want anyone to have to suffer like me, but if I sorted myself out, I could help them too.

After declaring my major and looking at my schedule, I decided to cautiously venture downstairs to do some studying. To my surprise most of  my housemates had already left, aside from a girl sitting at the chessboard. I took the seat across from her and pulled out my books. Baby steps Ophelia. You can at least study next to another person. 

She was so engrossed in her game of chess, it took her a while to notice me. When she did, she jumped a bit in her seat.

"Gah! Sorry I didn't even know you were sitting there."

"It's okay," I mumbled. I was used to people being scared around me.

"I suck at chess, but I figured now that I'm out of the house, it'd be the perfect time to learn. My younger brother always beats me. Maybe I'll get good enough to beat him when I go back home during break. Look at me I'm just rambling away, and I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Sandra Roth."

"Ophelia."

"Just Ophelia?"

"Oh, um, Ophelia Nigmos."

"Sorry I totally didn't mean to pry about your last name or anything. You must think I'm some kind of like stalker or something. Though I guess we might as well know each other's names since we're living together."

"It's okay, and yeah I guess we should."

"So Ophelia, Phi? Can I call you Phi? That's really cute. Phi, what are studying?"

I guess I had a nickname now.

"I'm studying Biology. I'd-I'd like to become a therapist. I want to help people," I felt really lame and embarrassed by my answer.

"That's so sweet Phi! I'm studying Biology too, but I'd like to be a first responder. Probably go on to be an EMT. We'll both be helping people I guess! Since we're both Biology majors, I guess we'll know someone in class."

"Yeah, that'll be nice."

"I'm totally sitting with you in our first class. It would be sooo awkward to have no one to sit with."

I listened to Sandra ramble a bit more. At least she was friendly. Maybe I would look like less of a freak if I did have someone to sit with. Her personality was a bit strong, but not everyone was as introverted as me. I had a feeling that Sandra would probably go on to make a lot more friends, so I might as well enjoy having someone to sit with while I can.

Class came and went. I was correct in thinking Sandra would waste no time making new friends. She spent most of the class talking to everyone around us and got scolded by the professor quite a few times. I, however, worked on putting all the assignment deadlines in my planner. We didn't get any actual homework the first day, but I still wanted to be prepared. If I got anything out of this experience, I at least wanted to learn all I could and get the best grades possible. I would be humiliated to be kicked out of the honors hosing, and stop, just stop thinking like that already. It's your first day.

When I got back from class, I decided to do a little bit of early studying. Again, I tried to ease myself in to living in a house full of people. You'd think my time spent with the Smith family would've made things easier, but I knew them. I didn't know anyone here. I picked up a book and tenativley sat down on the couch next another girl. She looked very deep in concentration, just like Sandra was. Maybe she wouldn't notice me either.

That didn't happen.

"I see you're studying already too."

You can do this Ophelia. It's just a simple conversation.

"You caught me," I laughed nervously, probably I little too much.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one studying. It seems like the rest of our roommates went to go out and party. Not that I blame them, just I kind of struggle with school. I'm not one of those people that automatically pick up on everything. My brother was like that. Always got straight A's with basically no studying. Meanwhile, I had to pull all nighters in hopes of getting a good grade. It was worth it though, I guess to get accepted here."

"It's always good to study just in case. Even if you know something, how can you be sure you really know it? You know? Even when I did well in my classes I still went over my notes over and over again."

Great I probably sounded like a freak.

"Oh, I was always afraid I'd forget something on a test. You're right, you can never really be too careful!"

Okay, I thought, she's not so bad. Not that, that stopped my heart from pounding in my chest, but at least we had studying in common? It was always so hard for me to relate to people. I tried, and I tried. I feel like I had lost all pretenses of having people skills after breaking up with Johnny and leaving Strangetown. I guess you can only pretend for so long. I tried not to dwell on that for too long. This was a fresh start, and my relationship with Johnny was NOT something I wanted to thing about or the uneasy feeling of unworthiness I got from living in the Smith house.

I decided to be the one to introduce myself first this time.

"I'm Ophelia."

"Ophelia! It's nice to meet my roommate finally. I'm Juliette. Sorry I wasn't there when you moved in. I was in class. It's probably best you missed my family anyway. My grandfather and brother can be a real pain. My sister's nice, but one nice family member doesn't make up for the rest being critical and overbearing."

So this was Juliette. At least she seemed nice. Maybe I'd change my mind once I had to share a room with her for four years, but this could possibly be not as bad as I was expecting.

"It's okay," I said, "I needed a bit of time myself anyway. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed."

"Oh I definitely get that. Uni is like a whole different world! A good world I hope. Between you and me, I'm kind of looking forward to reinventing myself. It's nice to be somewhere, where no one really knows who you are."

Those words sounded oh so familiar.

"I feel the exact same way."

Studying with Juliette was nice. She was nice. We mainly just kept to ourselves after our initial conversation. I felt surprisingly comfortable in her presence just sitting there in silence. It was't an awkward silence. That was unusual for me. I was intrigued by her too. What had happened in Juliette's life that she wanted a fresh start? Of course I didn't ask because that would probably lead to her asking questions about my life. Questions I wasn't really sure I wanted to share the answer to just yet, if ever. Maybe she felt the same way.

Once the rest of the house started trickling back in from their first day at school, I excused myself and headed upstairs to our room. Juliette decided to stay and study, but I needed a little time to myself to recharge again. I decided to start researching possible topics for my term paper. It never hurt to be too prepared. 

From all the noise I heard downstairs, I was happy about my decision. I'm not sure I would be able to concentrate surrounded by everything going on. Even though I had to share it, I could already tell my room would be my sanctuary. I wondered if Juliette would be understanding if I needed space to myself. Would she understand that sometimes I just needed to be left alone? After all, it was her room too. Was it fair to make her leave?

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Marla call upstairs.

"Everyone meet in the living room in twenty. The day's almost over and we haven't even done icebreakers yet! I promise we'll have lots of fun and get to know each other better."

I heard some grumbling from downstairs and some raised voices. Seems like not everyone was thrilled about our little introduction section.

A part of me hoped that Marla would forget I was upstairs. I didn't want to go down there and sit around with everyone. I was doing just fine talking to everyone one on one, or as fine as I could be. 

All of this reminded me of my first day of school in Strangetown. Having to introduce myself despite the fact that I was simultaneously numb from the death of my parents and scared out of my mind living with Olive and having to get to know an entire new group of people. The awkward silence when the teacher asked about  my family. The eyes boring into me. The whispers. I started to feel dizzy. I was sick. Surely Marla would understand that I was sick, and that now wasn't the best time to introduce myself, wouldn't she?

I was just climbing into bed when Juliette walked through the door. 

"Oh sorry to bother you. Marla just wanted me to let you know that it's time to do ice breakers."

I bit my lip. Would she believe me if I told her I was sick? Juliette seemed nice so far.

"I-I don't feel well. Can you let her know that, and that I'm, um I'm sorry?"

"Of course! If you're sick you need your rest. I'll just let Marla know you're not feeling well.

Juliette turned to leave. Was it really that easy?

A part of me began to feel angry with myself. I was falling back into my old patterns. Sure I felt like I was going to throw up, and I was always uncomfortable around people, but I had promised myself that university would be different. I would be different. What good would it do to stay curled up in bed, no matter how much I desperately wanted to. Besides, what if Marla still made me go through my introduction, except this time I would be all by myself. The thought of that made me almost crawl out of my skin.

"Juliette wait! I, I think I'm going to go anyway."

"Are you sure? If you're sick you really should rest up."

"It's just..." I turned away. Could I tell her?

"I really feel uncomfortable around people. The thought of introducing myself, having all eyes on me, even if it's for a couple of minutes. It just makes me really uncomfortable. I know that's probably dumb. I just, I'd rather stick to myself. I promised myself I'd try though. Try and break out of my shell once I got here, so I think I'll go."

Why was I telling her all this? I didn't even really know her.

"That's completely understandable. I think ice breakers are awkward for everyone. I think you're really brave for facing your fears," she said, seeming to genuinely admire what I was doing.

My face felt warm.

"It's not that big of deal," I mumbled.

"It is! How about this, I promise if Marla or anyone asks you anything too uncomfortable, I'll hurry up and interupt them and change the subject."

"You'd do that for me? We barely know each other."

"Yeah, but we're roommates, and I can just tell this is a big step for you. I want you to feel safe and comfortable."

She was so earnest and genuinely kind. Why?

"Thank you. It means a lot really. Tell Marla I'll be down stairs in a second. I just have to change out of my pajamas."

"I'm sure you could just keep them on. We're uni students. Doesn't that mean spending time in our PJs?" she laughed.

"I suppose you're right," I said, a small grin on my face, "Still I don't want to be the only one not dressed."

"Suit yourself. I'll let Marla know you'll be down, and I'll save a spot for you."

"Thanks, Juliette, for everything."

"No problem!" she replied beaming.

True to my word, I quickly got dressed and headed downstairs. I kept telling myself it'd be just like ripping off a band aid. It'd be better to get this over with quickly, and then maybe I could mostly stick to myself. Or maybe, just maybe I could break out of my shell a bit. I sighed with relief when I saw that Juliette did in fact save a spot next to her. I was becoming more and more grateful she was my roommate.

Marla kicked off the ice breaking session with an overly wide smile on her face. I wondered if she was just as uncomfortable as I was. As much as I hated this, I did feel for her. Being in charge of a house, and trying to get a bunch of college kids excited about welcome week activities couldn't be fun.

"Thank you so much for joining me," Marla said, "I know this kind of thing is cheesy, but I think it'll be good for all of us to get to know each other."

The girl beside Marla rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, I'll start. Each of us will go around the room, say our name, where we're from, our major, and one fun fact. I'm Marla Biggs. I grew up with my parents in Sim City. I'm a Physics major, and I hope to become a video game designer. My fun fact is that I own a lot of vintage game consoles.

Okay Jules, you're up next," Marla finished turning to the red head beside her.

Jules let out a puff of air. She didn't really seem uncomfortable, at least not to me, just someone who seemed a bit difficult. I wondered if it was all just an act. I remembered trying to act aloof to get people to leave me alone before trying to become invisible.

"Fiiine. I'm Jules O'Mackey. I grew up in Riverblossom Hills with my dad. My mom left us when I was little, she said she was leaving to become a pirate, but I'm pretty sure that was code for she was having an affair, and I was just too young to understand. Whatever, being a pirate sounds much cooler anyway. I'm a Philosophy major, and I'm studying to go into Journalism. I worked on the school paper in high school. Oh bonus fun fact, Sandra and I dated the same guy before deciding to date each other. Pretty funny, right?"

"Wait, you and Sandra are dating," Marla gasped.

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that," Jules asked giving her a challenging look.

"No of course not, it's just I made you roommates, and I don't want any funny business happening."

"Well, even if we weren't roommates, I'd just walk over to her room if I really wanted to do something."

Marla sighed, "I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. Thank you for sharing those, um interesting facts with us. Juliette, you're up next."

"Hi, I'm Juliette Capp. I grew up in Veronaville. Before college I lived with my grandpa and my brother and sister. I'm majoring in Economics, and I have an interest in music. I guess my fun fact is that I want to start my own rock band."

Jules snorted, "You don't seem like the rock star type. No offense. Also, what does Economics have anything to do with being a rock star?"

Juliette kept a smile on her face, but I noticed it didn't reach her eyes. She looked kind of hurt, actuallly.

"I didn't know that you had to be a certain 'type' to be a rock star. I think I'll make it just fine the way I am, thank you. As for Economics, I truly have no idea. I thought I'd be majoring in Arts or Drama or something, but Economics was the only major I could find that was music related."

The guy next to me smiled, "So you could be an accountant by day and rock star by night. Nice!"

Juliette smiled, face flushing a bit, "Thanks, I guess I could be."

"Thank you for sharing Juliette. Ophelia, you're up next."

This was my big moment. I began to feel dizzy and sick to my stomach again. What could I reveal without giving away too much. What was fun about me?

"Um hi, my name is Ophelia Nigmos. I grew up in Willow Creek for most of  my life, but then I moved to Strangetown during high school. I'm  majoring in Biology, and I'd like to become a psychologist. As for a fun fact, um, I like music."

"What kind of music?" Jules asked giving me a challenging stare. What was her problem?

"Uh, all kinds really. I don't have a favorite."

Jules turned to Marla with a huff, "You can't let that count as a fun fact!"

Marla sighed again, she seemed to be in way over her head, "I say it does."

Sandra piped up from across the room, "Oh my gosh that is so cute! You like music, and Juliette wants to be a rock star. You're going to be the cutest roommates ever. I bet you'll be besties in no time!"

"I think we're the cutest roommates babe," Jules said giving her a look.

Marla cleared her throat, "Moving on. Dirk, it's your turn."

"Hey everyone, my name's Dirk Dreamer. I was born and raised in Pleasantview. It was really hard leaving my dad to go to uni, but here I am. I'm majoring in art and want to become a chef. Both my parents were artists, so I hope I do them proud. My fun fact is, I really enjoy painting. My parents opened an art gallery when my mom was still alive, and I've helped my dad run it ever since. I hope I still have time to paint while also being a chef."

"That is so sweet! that you're so close to your dad" Sandra squealed.

"Uh thanks," Dirk replied. He didn't really seem to know what to make of it, which I wouldn't either.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother Dirk," Marla said sympathetically.

Dirk looked away uncomfortably, "Thanks."

I could relate to him. When people offered their sympathies, if they hadn't been through loss themselves, sometimes, well sometimes it was like they just didn't get it, no matter how well meaning.

"Dustin, you're up next."

Dustin didn't seem to here Marla. In fact, he seemed completely checked out.

"Um, Dustin?" Marla said his name again timidly.

Dirk elbowed him in the ribs.

"What?" he said as if snapping out of a daze, "Oh yeah this dumb icebreaker thing."

Marla frowned.

"I mean this totally super fun icebreaker thing. My name is Dusting Broke. Like Dirk I was born in raised in Pleastview. We actually went to school together. I grew up with my mom and two younger brothers. I'm also a Biology major like Ophelia, and I'm studying marine animals in hopes of reuniting with my one true love."

Dirk sighed, while Sandra said something about how romantic that was.

"Dude, seriously, are you going to bring this up again?" Dirk asked him, seemingly annoyed.

"I will never stop bringing it up. I will win Angela back! I'll show her that I can fit into her perfect little life. I'm a hard worker, and if we have similar interests, she'll totally  want to be with me."

This earned another eye roll from Jules, "Seriously, you think that if you pretend to like animals, this girl will get back together with you? Pathetic!"

"It's not pathetic," Dustin grumbled, "Angela and I were perfectly happy, and then she just dumped me out of the blue. We'll be happy again, I just know it."

As Dustin went on, I suddenly felt a pang of guilt in my chest. Was this how Johnny was feeling? I really, sincerely hoped not. 

After much squabbling, Marla finally managed to reign everyone in.

"It looks like that leaves you Sandra."

"Saving the best for last," she gestured excitedly, "My name is Sandra Roth, and I grew up in Riverblossom Hills. I lived there with both my parents and my younger brother. I'm a Biology major also, and I want to be an EMT. I love helping people and just people in general! My fun fact is that I'm pretty sure my family was created to be some kind of clone family of the Goth's in Pleastview."

Everyone just stared at her blankly.

"Babe I love you, but you know that didn't happen," Jules said.

Sandra ignored her, "It's totally true. We have a rhyming last name, all of our first names are similar, and I even found the blueprints to their house online, and guess what? My house is a mirror image. Isn't that super weird?"

Before Sandra could go on any further, Marla cut her off, "Yes, very weird. Well that wraps up our icebreaker session. Hopefully you all learned a little about each other. We'll be living together for the next four years, so you're bound to spend time with each other. I don't have anything else planned for tonight, so feel free to mingle."

Instead of staying downstairs to talk, I decided to go back to my room. That was exhausting. Not as bad as I thought it would be since everyone else did a lot more talking, but I still felt drained. I changed into my pajamas to get comfortable.

To my surprise, Juliette wasn't far behind. I figured she'd want to stay and talk to everyone else. I guess not.

"So, that was really something," she said.

I couldn't help but smile a bit, "Tell me about it. I was not expecting all the extra drama. I guess you and I are the only ones who don't know anyone else, well except Marla I guess."

"Well, that's what fresh starts are all about, going somewhere that no one knows your name. At least we have each other."

"Yeah. Thanks for being so understanding. I know I can be a little, um weird."

"Oh, I don't think you're weird at all."

She had such a comforting smile.

"I can tell you've been through a lot Ophelia, and I know uni can be overwhelming anyway. I think if we stick together, we can make it through this. At least, if  you want to stick together," she looked at me questioningly.

How could she tell I'd been through a lot. It was like she could see right through me. Still, it seemed I made a friend on my very first day, and an understanding one at that.

"Yeah, I think I'd like that. Um, how can you tell I've been through a lot?" I asked nervously.

"You just have this sadness in your eyes. I noticed you didn't mention any family. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"I don't think I'm ready," I said. It was one thing to tenatively agree to be friends. It was another thing to open up about everything entirely.

"I completely get it! Just know I'm here if you want to talk. I lost my parents at a young age, and it's something you never really get over. If you've lost someone, well, I know what you're going through, and I'd like to think I'm a good listener."

So she had lost someone, or multiple someone's. I guess I wasn't the only orphan.

"I'm really sorry about your parents. I lost mine too."

That was all I was willing to give away for now.

"I'm sorry about yours too, though I know sorry doesn't mean much. It doesn't really bring them back."

"No, it doesn't. You don't know how many people just don't understand that," I stopped myself, "Well, you probably do."

"It's okay. It's a unique kind of loss that not many people understand. Not that I'd wish that on anyone. You're right though. People always seem to tiptoe around the subject. They'll either shower you with sympathy or be too afraid to talk to you about it."

She really did understand.

"I've been there. That's, that's why I didn't mention it downstairs. My ex, he was the type to not even mention it. So were most people at school. I was really glad I didn't say anything, especially after seeing the reaction Dirk got when he mentioned his mom."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that in high school. I felt bad for Dirk too. He must be more comfortable talking about it, but I could tell how uneasy he got when Marla and Sandra started talking."

"Me too."

We drifted off in silence for a bit. What else was there to say? 

Juliette stifled a yawn, "I think I'm going to get some sleep now. I have an early class tomorrow."

I nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."

We both climbed into bed, ready to put today behind us. Though she didn't let on, I could tell the conversation had taken a toll on Juliette too.

"Thanks for talking with me," she said as she climbed under the covers, "It's nice to have someone that understands."

"Yeah, it is. Good night Juliette."

"Good night Ophelia. Sweet dreams."

"You too," I whispered, but when I turned over, she was already fast asleep.

Maybe, just maybe uni wouldn't be so bad with Juliette at my side. It was rare for me to feel so comfortable around someone right away the last person I felt like that around was Ripp. I felt a pang in my chest and tears begin to well up in my eyes.

Please, please let me have a friend just this once. Please don't let my past ruin it for me.

Feeling completely drained, I turned over, feeling my eyelids drooping shut. I survived my first day of university. It was a roller coaster ride, but I kept telling myself to still have hope as I drifted off to sleep. After all, I had four years to become the person I wanted to be.

____________________

So this chapter kind of got away from me. I originally planned to have just two university chapters, splitting it between two years each. Now that all of Ophelia's roommates have been introduced, I think things will move a little faster.

Also, just a note, I'm using alternate templates for the Base Game neighborhoods plus Riverblossom hills by dreadpirate on Tumblr. Some appearances and aspirations have been changed, so far Sandra is the only one who's any different looking. A few characters that may show up in later chapters have a bit of a change to their look as well.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and next time Ophelia's uni years will officially get started. Thanks for reading!