The first day of college smells the same.
The scent of new books, the cheap coffee from a rundown coffee shop nearby and the faint scent of different perfumes and from the students around me.
There were also students who rushed past each other. Some of them are laughing too loudly while others were pretending to look confident when their hands trembled while holding their schedules and student manuals.
And there I was, standing in the middle of it all with my backpack still hanging off one shoulder. My heart was racing like I had just run a marathon.
This was it.
College.
The start of a new chapter.
I kept telling myself this life was going to be different. I kept convincing myself that I'd finally stop being the quiet girl who always sat at the back of the class. That maybe this time, I'd make friends who actually stayed. Maybe I'd even meet someone who could make my heart do that weird fluttery thing I'd only seen in movies.
But of course, reality had other plans.
The moment I walked into my first class, I tripped over someone's bag and nearly fell face first to the floor. The room went silent. My life could've ended right there from embarrassment.
That was until someone caught my arm just in time.
"Be careful." a calm voice said.
I looked up.
He had dark and slightly messy hair like he didn't care much about it. His eyes seemed to hold a hint of amusement as if he'd seen this happen a thousand times before. He was tall and wore the school jacket in that effortless way some people could make even uniforms look cool.
"Uh... Thanks..." I managed to mumble although my cheeks were burning.
Then he smiled.
And I swear it felt like the room tilted for a second.
"Mhm. No problem. It happens to everyone on their first day."
No. It didn't.
No one else was tripping over bags and making a fool of themselves.
It's just me.
Only me.
After that embarrassing moment of my life, I tried not to look his way. But somehow, my eyes kept finding him. He sat two rows ahead and writing something in his notebook. He looked focused and calm.
Meanwhile, I was still trying to figure out how to act normal again.
I didn't even know his name yet. But for some reason, he already made me feel something strange. I feel like my heart had been waiting for that voice and that face without even knowing it.
Later that day, I finally found out his name from someone whispering behind me during lunch.
Liam Hayes.
I already knew him even before we met. He was the star of the basketball team. He's a second year student but sometimes joins the first year lectures. I also heard he's one of the top students too.
In short, the perfect student.
A basketball player, smart, confident, popular and the exact type of person who probably wouldn't remember my name after today.
While I unpacked my books and other things in my tiny dorm room that night, I still couldn't stop thinking about his smile.
But when I accidentally caught my reflection in the mirror, I saw same unfamiliar face staring back at me.
The face of Erin Vallen.
It was a name that didn't belong to me.
And this world wasn't mine to begin with.
I sighed while telling myself repeatedly to stop thinking about Liam. Because I already knew how this story would go.
I'd read it before.
And now, somehow...
I was living inside it.