According to my observation, Michelle had a big personality. Like a blaring alarm.
In simpler words, she over shadowed literally everybody around her and there was no space for protest with how charming she was. Her eloquent words and waving of hands gathered almost everyone's attention once we had split into groups. The teachers had divided us into groups of five each so we could get to know each other more.
There were about fifty students in the basketball court where we were asked to gather before the campus tour. From what I could see, there were atleast three buildings of the main campus and the front lawn was stretched in atleast half a mile. The campus looked like it was straight out of the harry potter movies with the castle like structure of buildings and the long stretches of grass.
We were supposed to leave in a couple of minutes to go have a look at the first building which was for art students and even had a massive gallery displaying student art. I had once thought about pursuing art but then I found architecture. It just felt so different from anything else, the way buildings were designed, the way bridges were constructed and what not.
I had heard it was a really difficult subject to major in but hey, it is what it is.
"Hello? Earth to Ariella?", Michelle grinned mischievously waving a hand in front of my face to catch my attention. I hummed in surprise and question throwing her a wide-eyed glance. "Did you go on an excursion in your head? Come on, it's time for the tour."
I nodded with a small chuckle and turned my gaze back to where the other students from our group were standing. There were two guys and a girl amongst them. They all looked pretty close upon observation. The girl was almost as tall as Michelle and had long brown hair that ended around her bottom. She had light brown eyes and lightly tanned skin.
The two boys on the other hand were both of very tall stature compared to the three of us. One of them had blonde hair and the other one was a brunette. The brunette one caught us staring and whispered something to the others before they all headed towards us. For a minute I thought he was creeped out or something but they just started talking amongst themselves again.
"Hey, we're all in the same group, right?", the brunette asked, looking back and forth between me and Michelle. I nodded, extending a handshake and he accepted it gracefully. "My name's Lilian, this is Ace and she's Daisy. We all went to the same high school too. What about you?"
"Ariella Hill, I'm new to both, the college and this town. Glad to meet you all," I gave them a smile, putting on my best and most confident exterior.
"Michelle, it's lovely to meet you all," she smiled and shook hands with them and then sighed softly. "So, shall we move to the arts building? There aren't a lot of students left here now."
We all agreed and huddled closer to the building in one group. Lilian kept close to me and Michelle while Ace and Daisy both stuck together like glue. For a second I had assumed they were dating but it'd be preposterous of me. They could be best friends for all we know.
"So, new girls in town, huh?", Lilian half-smirked but it didn't seem creepy in any sense.
"Yeah, I moved in two days ago. What about you, Michelle?", She seemed to be lost in thought but then quickly cleared her throat before answering.
"Oh I'm from D.C., we moved in two weeks ago," her smile was convincing and Lilian seemed to have believed her but for me I couldn't help but wonder if she was lying. There was something so extremely ominous about her appearance that it gave me goosebumps when she answered the question.
-
A couple of hours later and we were already done with the tour of the whole campus. It included three main buildings, one basketball court and a huge basement in each for dance, music and all forms of art. The university provided all sorts of courses ranging from fine arts to medicine. Me and Michelle had formed a sort of bond over the past hours and I had a weird feelings that we were going to be friends for the coming classes. Even with how sweet she was, I had a gut feeling that she was hiding something.
My gut feeling was never wrong.
"Hey, are you okay?", Ace asked from his position next to me. I nodded with half a yawn. "Oh, tired, huh? You've moved recently that's why you're exhausted."
"Yeah and I feel like we walked way too much. Can't believe we'll have to do this everyday just to get to and fro classes," I laughed a little and the rest of them joined in. Lilian was sitting opposite me, next to Michelle who kept her eyes on him like a siren. From what I could tell, she liked him already but Lilian didn't seem interested in her.
He was constantly trying to talk to Ace and me. "Yeah but hey, atleast we're getting our cardio done," I laughed at Lilian's words and placed both elbows on the cafeteria table before dropping my head onto it. "Oh come on, let's get you out of here."
"We really should go somewhere fun," Michelle suggested. "There's nothing more to do for today's orientation. I haven't been around town either way."
"Oh, actually, I think I should just get home," I yawned again. "There's so much left to unpack and I'll get some actual rest before morning."
"Oh you're right," Lilian licked his lips thoughtfully. "We should head home too then. Right, Ace? Daisy?" I turned my gaze to the two who simply shrugged. Daisy had a smirk on her lips that was opposite to what I had seen of her personality. She was so so quiet it almost felt like she wasn't there. No words, no stolen glances, just a quiet presence.
I pushed my chair back and quickly got up. Michelle and the rest followed in lazed out movements. We all walked up to the cafeteria door together before Lilian tugged at my arm and I half squeaked out with my back against his side.
"What?", I asked softly. He trained his gaze down at me and then shrugged while I fought off a wild blush.