The first day of college is a special coming-of-age experience for everyone, and for me, it was no different.
I was filled with nerves, and I knew that if anyone got on them, I'd shyly retreat.
I wasn't going to risk my reputation and chances of friendship over an argument—especially after high school, when everyone called me the Fighter. Anything that so much as breathed wrong near me was basically signing up for a punch in the face, and I almost got an award at the end of senior year for setting the record for most detentions.
But high school had ended; now it was time for college me—a more mature me.
(This would be the part where one of those theme songs would play.)
The first day was about settling in and making sure everyone knew the important rules, like how no one was allowed to go to the back building without the principal's permission. Once we were done listening to the principal talk his heart out, all of us ran outside, not wanting to listen anymore.
Little did I know, that the simple rule of not going to the back building would get everyone pushing us, the newbies, to go to the back building, saying it was a ritual we had to follow. The seniors were smirking while the sophomores seemed to pity us, and since everyone was like me—not wanting to risk their chances of fitting into college society—everyone went.
It was a matter of hierarchy, after all.
To reach the back building, we had to go through the forest and then turn right at the lake; once we did that, we'd reach its back entrance.
At the start of our "journey," it was anticlimactic—everything was fine. But once we stepped into the forest, the problems began.
"Isn't this supposed to be a love story between you and ███?"
"Just be quiet. It'll all come together."
Now, back to the story: people started disappearing until there was only us six—Jacob, Sirena, Kai, Diego, Brandon, and me, Ivy.
I only knew their names because Sirena told me; she was much more talkative than me.
I fought like a barbarian and talked like one, but with better vocabulary.
Deep in the forest and all alone, screams echoed so perfectly that everyone knew they were fake, yet each one still sent chills down my spine.
Sirena and I huddled together amidst the others, even though we were strangers.
"So, cliché-time—you became best friends, and the rest of the boys joined your friend group?" "Ha," I faked surprise. "How'd you know? But yes, we did. Though there's more to the story, so let me continue. And stop interrupting me."
All of us strode through the forest with fake confidence—at least I was faking it. Each scream, though obviously staged, still made my skin crawl, though they gradually got quieter, or maybe I was just zoning them out.
Sirena started giving me the rundown of everyone in our group: "Jacob's the dancer—many suspect he's gay, but he hasn't responded yet, and he loves snapping back at haters," she explained. He had brunette hair, a muscular build, and looked like a teddy bear in human form. "Kai is the mysterious one—smiles a lot, but no one knows much about him beyond his respectable family." Kai had ginger hair, a lean body, and brown eyes. "Diego's the athlete, very into protein shakes, and his grades are borderline failing, but his athletic skills got him in here," she added, pointing to the strong black-haired guy. "Brandon's the charmer, with blond hair, blue eyes, and a smile that can charm anyone," she said. "And one more thing—they're all rich. Like, really rich." I nodded, processing all this, and Sirena added, "And I'm Sirena, the one and only admin of the gossip channel at Fighting Pickles College." Sirena had short, curly brown hair that suited her, and small brown eyes that completed her sharp, mischievous face.
"Why Fighting Pickles?"
"I'm getting to that, ███████. Just be patient."
In the story, I asked Sirena "Why Fighting Pickles?" and she explained, "Our college's initials are F.P. College. So, I thought, why not Fighting Pickles?"
"Why not Floundering Piñatas or something?" I teased.
"It was made in the moment, and it seemed to suit it," she replied, and I simply nodded, still not entirely convinced.
"So the name was just a fun in the moment thing. That's not what I expected."
"Then what did you expect?"
"Something more stupid. She has a gossip channel, I thought it would be named after a drama she got herself embroiled in or a codename for something."
"If it was a codename, why would she tell me then?"
"To be better friends with you."
"Our friendship only properly started later in the story."
"How long is this story?"
"It'll, of course, be a long story when falling in love with a rich one like ███."