I opened my eyes to the muffled sounds of suitcases rolling and the overhead compartments clattering shut. Passengers were already collecting their things and shuffling down the narrow aisle. That's when it hit me—we had landed.
Still groggy from the flight, I sat up slowly, blinking against the harsh light as if it were the first sunrise I'd ever seen. My body moved on autopilot: unbuckle, reach up, drag down the suitcase that felt heavier than I remembered, and stumble out of the plane like a sleep-deprived zombie.
Outside the terminal, the cool evening air wrapped around me like a whisper. I dragged my bags behind me toward the bus stop, praying to the universe that there'd be an available taxi.
This was it.No more sharing a cramped bedroom with my bossy older sister Carol. No more inhaling the mystery fog that came out of my little brother John's room. I loved them—of course I did—but sometimes love means distance.
I was finally free.
Off to the college of my dreams, Winters College, the place that had lived rent-free in my head since I was nine. A fresh start. A blank page. A new chapter in the saga of Broba Lee, formerly known as That Nerdy Girl With No Social Life™.
No friends? Sure.Scary new city? Definitely.Terrifying levels of uncertainty? Oh, absolutely.But this was mine.
Maybe—just maybe—I'd even stop being invisible. Maybe I'd stop being just the weird girl who reads novels instead of going to parties.Maybe I'd find people who got me.Maybe I'd even fall in love.
Yeah, right, Broba. Keep dreaming.
I pulled my coat tighter around me and slumped onto the metal bench by the curb, my suitcase parked loyally at my side like a tired old dog. A cab turned the corner, headlights cutting through the dusk like a searchlight. I shot to my feet and waved frantically.
It pulled over.
I threw my things into the trunk, climbed in, and tried to pretend I wasn't internally combusting with excitement and anxiety.
"Evening, miss. Where you headed to?" the driver asked with a thick Chicago accent and a crooked smile.
"Winters College, please."
He nodded. "Alright then."
As we pulled away, I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to my parents: Landed safe. In a cab. Love you guys. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a second longer, debating whether to add something else. I didn't.
"So," the driver said, glancing at me through the rearview mirror, "first time in Chicago?"
"Yeah," I replied, eyes still glued to my phone.
He chuckled. "Born and raised here myself. It's a great place, once you get past the winters and the weirdos."
"I guess," I muttered with a shrug, trying not to sound rude. I just wasn't in the mood for small talk. It made my skin crawl.
My dad would always tease me about it. "You act like people talking to you is a personal attack," he'd say, laughing. And maybe it was, a little.
I fished my earphones out of my backpack, popped them in, and cranked up my Khalid playlist. His voice melted into my ears like hot chocolate, and for a brief moment, I could breathe.
The city lights blurred past my window—neon signs, silhouettes of strangers, snippets of lives I'd never know. The longer I stared, the more unreal it all felt.
We came to a stop. The cabbie turned around and looked at me.
"Here we are. Good luck, kid. And remember—it's a cruel world out there."
His voice lingered longer than it should've.
"…Thanks?" I said, unsure whether to laugh or be creeped out. I paid him, grabbed my suitcase, backpack, and small valuables bag, and stepped onto the sidewalk.
The cab drove off, disappearing into the dark like a vanishing spell.
I looked up.
There it was.
The gothic towers of Winters College rose before me like a storybook castle shrouded in twilight. Its windows glowed golden, like they were lit from within by dreams. The air smelled like old books, cold stone, and the unknown.
I felt a twinge in my chest. Excitement? Fear? Both?
This was it.
The beginning of everything.