Serena's Pov:
The final bell rang, and suddenly the hallways looked like a war zone. Books slammed shut, chairs scraped against the floor, and everyone bolted for the doors like the building was on fire. I swear, if there'd been an Olympic sprinting coach around, half of these kids would've been recruited instantly.
Meanwhile, I stood there like an idiot, clutching my bag and blinking at the chaos. Sarah hooked her arm through mine before I could get trampled. "Come on. You don't even know where to go, do you?"
"Obviously not," I said, trying to keep up with her pace. "I'm just following the girl who looks like she knows what she's doing."
She smirked, tossing her hair like she was born for dorm life. "That would be me."
We finally pushed through the crowd and made it to the dormitory building though apparently, the fancy word is residence hall. I called it a dorm once and some girl looked at me like I'd said a curse word. Sorry, princess, but I'm not calling it a residence hall. That's too many syllables.
Anyway. Sarah and I made it to the desk where a young man probably early twenties, maybe twenty-five was supposed to be handing out keys. Except the way he looked at me? Weird. Not "I'm being polite" weird. Not "I'm tired and underpaid" weird. More like… "I just saw an angel descend from heaven and I want to reach out and touch her wings" weird.
Awkward.
"Um… hi sir," I said, offering my best please-don't-kidnap-me smile. "Sorry I came late. I should've moved in over the weekend, but the last segment of my scholarship interview was on Saturday, so.."
"Key," he said flatly. His voice was normal, but his eyes? Fixed on me like I was some rare species.
I laughed nervously, glancing at Sarah. "O…kay. I'm just gonna… Thank you Sir"
Sarah, bless her soul, swooped in like the ultimate bestie. She grabbed the key out of his hand, bowed slightly like we were in some sort of K-drama, and tugged me away from the desk before he could say anything else.
"Okay, what was that?" I hissed once we were out of earshot. "He looked at me like I was a snack."
Sarah grinned. "Maybe you are."
"Don't say that! I'm not trying to get kidnapped during my first week here. That's not the high school experience I signed up for."
She laughed so hard we got a few stares. I just buried my face in my bag. If this was how dorm life started, I was in trouble.
I was still busy glaring at the door of Mr. Dorm Supervisor's office when Sarah suddenly elbowed me.
"Wait. Where's your bag? You did bring a bag, right?"
"Yes, Mom," I said, rolling my eyes. "Of course, I did. It's with the security man."
Sarah stopped dead in the hallway, staring at me like I'd just confessed to smuggling a raccoon into school.
"You made friends with a security man?"
I shrugged. "He was nice, and my suitcase had a death wish. He offered to keep it safe. What was I supposed to do? Say no?"
Sarah groaned, rubbing her temples. "Serena Williams…"
"Don't full-name me," I warned.
She ignored me, pulling me along. "We're getting that bag before you adopt the entire staff."
We made our way to the security booth, where Mr. Security-Man-Who-Saved-My-Arms lit up as soon as he saw me.
"Ah, rena," he greeted warmly.
Behind me, Sarah muttered, "Of course he has a nickname for you already."
We chatted a bit okay, I chatted, Sarah stood there looking like she was plotting my funeral then grabbed my bag and finally trekked to the dorm.
The moment we opened the door to our room, I swear angels started singing.
No bunk beds.
No smelly communal bathroom.
Two separate rooms, one cozy shared lounge, and the faint smell of vanilla and fresh linen floating around like heaven's own air freshener.
I spun in a full circle, then promptly launched myself at Sarah.
"I love it here!" I squealed, hugging her tight.
She laughed, shoving me off. "Yeah, yeah. Don't cry on me again,sad salad."
I ignored her and went straight into settling mode. Bag unpacked, chair set, laptop plugged in. In less than fifteen minutes, my little corner looked like I'd lived here for years.
I plopped into the chair, cracked open my laptop, and grinned at the familiar screen. "Okay. Time to work."
Sarah peeked over my shoulder. "Work? Already? We literally just got here."
"Brain doesn't stop, Sarah," I said. "I'm running an experiment. A dating app. For CPHS students. I hope it doesn't escalate much, it's just an experiment"
Her jaw dropped. "You're making a dating app for this school?"
I shrugged. "Why not? I started it back home but copied all my data over. I wanna see what happens here. It's… fun. And just an experiment, people might not notice"
Sarah stared at me like I'd invented teleportation. "You're insane. But also a genius. And also hungry. Come on, there's a restaurant nearby."
"Restaurant? Is that even allowed?"
She grinned mischievously. "Yes. As long as we're back before curfew and the dorm count. Rules are rules."
I hesitated. "I should keep working though…"
"Nope." She yanked my laptop closed and begged with those puppy eyes I had zero defenses against. "Please. Just once. You can code tomorrow. I'm starving."
I groaned, stood up, and shoved the laptop into my desk drawer. "Fine. But if my app revolution gets delayed, I'm blaming you."
We walked out, still laughing, and I asked casually, "So, any juicy school gossip? Something I should know before I accidentally step on someone's kingdom?"
Sarah smirked. "Not much. But…" She bumped my shoulder. "I'm sure there's going to be a lot now that you're here."
"Great. Exactly what I don't need. Front-page drama."
That's when my phone rang.
Mamá.
I answered quickly. "Hi, Mamá."
"Mi Serena," she cooed, rolling the "r" like she was auditioning for a telenovela.
"Mamá! I told you not to call me that way!" I whined, making Sarah laugh so hard she had to cover her mouth.
"Mija, how's school?" mamá asked, her voice warm but tired.
"Fine mamá," I lied, because what was I supposed to say? It's chaos and I have no idea where I am?
She hummed, unconvinced. "I'll send you money soon."
"Mamá, no. I can find a job here…"
"No, Serena. Let me take care of you."
Typical. She never listened.
I sighed, softening. "Love you, Mamá."
"Love you more, mija."
By the time I caught back up with Sarah, she had earbuds in.
"What are you listening to?" I asked.
She grinned, pulling one out. "Golden. By Huntrix."
I gasped. "No way! I loved the movie! Rumi and JINU were literally everything."
She laughed. "Zoey and Baby Saja were the real stars. Don't even fight me on this."
We bickered about it all the way to the restaurant, then drifted into talking about the idol group Starlight Girls (Sarah's obsession, not mine).
"They've never revealed their identities," Sarah sighed dreamily. "But I just know one day they will. And I will cry."
"Cry?" I teased. "Sarah, you'll faint. And I'll have to catch you, which means we'll both end up on the floor."
She shoved me playfully, and we jogged the rest of the way, laughing like idiots.
For the first time all day, it felt… normal. Like maybe I really could survive here.