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 about to risk my reputation or my chances at 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. 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 a theme song plays, maybe something cliché but inspiring.)
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 the principal finally finished talking his heart out, we all bolted outside, not wanting to listen anymore.
Little did I know, that simple rule about the back building would end up being the reason we got dragged there. The seniors pushed us, the newbies, to go—claiming it was a ritual we had to follow. The seniors smirked while the sophomores looked like they pitied us. And since none of us wanted to risk our chances of fitting into college society, we all 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 first, the "journey" was pretty 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."
Anyway, back to the story: people started disappearing until it was just 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."
We walked through the forest with fake confidence—at least, I was faking it. Each scream, though obviously staged, still made my skin crawl. They got quieter the deeper we went, or maybe I just tuned 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 said anything. He loves snapping back at haters," she said, pointing at the brunette with the teddy bear build. "Kai's 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—super into protein shakes. His grades are borderline failing, but his athletic skills got him in." She nodded toward the black-haired guy who looked like he could bench-press a tree. "Brandon's the charmer. Blond hair, blue eyes, a smile that can melt anyone." She paused dramatically. "And one more thing—they're all rich. Like, really rich."
I nodded, still processing all this, and she added proudly, "And I'm Sirena—the one and only admin of the gossip channel at Fighting Pickles College."She had short, curly brown hair that framed her mischievous face and small brown eyes that sparkled with trouble.
"Why Fighting Pickles?""I'm getting to that, ███████. Just be patient."
In the story, I asked her the same thing. "Why Fighting Pickles?"She smirked. "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 just… fit," she said.I nodded, not entirely convinced.
"So the name was just a random moment thing. That's not what I expected.""Then what did you expect?""Something more stupid. She runs a gossip channel—I thought it'd be named after a drama she caused or some secret codename.""If it was a codename, why would she tell me that?""To get closer to you.""Our friendship only really started later in the story.""How long is this story?""It's a long story when you're falling in love with someone like ███."