The third day of the 2024–2025 school year at Sunshine University starts with the sun rising on the beautiful campus. On the far south side of the campus is a five-story dormitory with a tiger drawn on the side. On the fourth floor in room 42, a woman has woken up earlier than everyone else.
In the kitchen, a 5'7 dark-skinned woman with brown hair that stretches to her waist and is dyed pink at the edges is cooking pancakes while blasting music from her speaker. Her eyes are hazel, and she is wearing a red blazer, a white buttoned-up shirt, and a skirt with a black line going around it.
"These pancakes are going to be so good!"
This second year's name is Nia Obi, a woman who got into Sunshine University through regular admission.
Nia flips the pancake and starts looking at a piece of paper hung up on the wall that says, "Schedule 8-13-24."
"OK, we got classes from twelve to three, and then from three to six relaxing! Then, after that, dinner with the group!"
Nia throws the pancake on top of six other pancakes that are stacked on top of each other.
From the door on the right side of the dorm, a skinny, light-skinned 5'5 woman with short blue hair that has a green clip in it and brown eyes who is wearing the same outfit as Nia walks out. The woman rubs her eyes, and when she sees Nia cooking, she smiles.
"Nia!"
As Nia throws the frying pan into the sink, the woman puts her arms around Nia's neck with excitement on her face.
"Oh, Luna, you're awake!"
"Of course! I heard Usher playing, so I came right out!"
Luna Rivira is also a second-year student who got into the school through regular admission. She is also Nia's best friend, whom she's had since the first grade.
Luna walks over to the pancakes that are on the counter.
"I see you made breakfast!"
"Yep, it's technically my first day back at Sunshine University since I got sick for the first three days, so I got to make the breakfast special! Go ahead and eat up!" She says with a cheery expression.
"Already on it!"
"Huh?"
Nia looks behind her and sees that Luna is already at the table, eating three pancakes.
"Oh well, it seems I'm running behind."
Nia puts two pancakes on her plate and takes a seat at the counter in the middle of the dorm.
"So we're meeting with Serena, Raven, and Ethan later, right?" Luna says while stuffing her mouth with pancakes.
"Well, not Ethan; he said he had to go do something with one of his friends. He will meet us for dinner later."
"Oh alright! I haven't seen Ethan at all these past three days. How has he been?"
"Well, I actually didn't see him much over the summer, and I tried to get him to visit me while I was sick, but he said he was busy with something."
"Hmm, I wonder what he is so busy with that he can't come to visit you; I mean, you are his girlfriend after all."
"Well, Ethan is just being Ethan. Going off and enjoying his time, I knew this before I started dating him, so it's fine."
"And you're telling me you're not at all wondering what he's doing."
"No, I trust him; he's proven too many times he's trustworthy."
"Ok, if you say so."
After the two girls have their breakfast, they leave the dorms to get to the bus stop. As they stand at the bus stop, Nia notices Luna looking around at the area with a smile on her face.
"Are you looking at the scenery again?"
"Yeah, I know you've been sick for three days, so you haven't been able to truly get reminded of how beautiful the school is. The swaying palm trees, the nice yellow buildings, and I can't forget that huge hall in the middle of the campus that's shaped like a dome! Even though this is a hard environment academically, I can never get over how amazing Sunshine University is."
Nia smiles as Luna praises Sunshine University.
"Don't you think so too, Nia?" Luna says with a cheery expression.
Nia awkwardly chuckles after hearing Luna's question.
"Well, I mean, the school is ni—"
Before she can finish her sentence, Nia notices their other two friends arriving at the bus stop.
"Oh, look, it's Raven and Serena!"
Luna looks behind her and sees their two other friends. Raven is a 5'7 dark-skinned woman with a large build who got into Sunshine University through regular admission. She has long red hair, orange eyes, and is wearing a Sunshine University uniform.
"Hey, y'all! Oh my god, Nia, you look so good in that new uniform!"
Next to Raven is Serena, who got into Sunshine University through an academic full ride. She is white-skinned, skinny, and looks fragile with her skinny physique. She has short blue hair, blue glasses, blue eyes, and is also wearing the Sunshine University uniform.
"Please slow down, Raven; they aren't going anywhere."
Raven rushes over to Nia and Luna and gives them both a huge hug.
"How are you doing, Nia? I hope you are feeling better."
"Yeah, I'm doing great now. I took a lot of medicine so I could get my second year started as fast as possible."
Serena finally gets to where everyone else is standing. She adjusts her glasses while breathing heavily.
"Dang, Serena, don't let your heart beat out of your chest now!" Luna says while smacking Serena on the back.
"I'm fine, Luna, but Raven, it's too early in the morning for all this running."
"What do you mean, Serena? We only ran for at most two minutes," Raven says with a smile.
Serena looks up at the other three while still breathing heavily.
"It felt like three hours."
The bus finally arrives at the bus stop to pick them up.
As the four of them walk onto the bus, Serena asks, "Wait, where's Ethan?"
"He's hanging out with someone else right now; we will see him at dinner later." Nia answers.
"What! That broke-ass bitch can't at least show up at the bus stop for his girlfriend! Forget him; we don't need him to show up to dinner. Tell him to stay home!" Raven exclaims.
Nia makes an agitated expression at Raven after her statement.
"Please lay off on Ethan Raven. He is coming to dinner with us whether you like it or not," she says with a stern tone.
The four of them get on the bus and sit next to each other.
"I told you, Raven, if you keep talking trash about her boyfriend, Nia is going to snap at you," Serena remarks while adjusting her glasses.
"Tch, I don't care; I'm allowed to have my opinion!"
As Serena and Raven go back and forth, Luna chuckles a little. Luna looks over to Nia and sees her staring out of the bus window, observing the flowers outside.
"Are you ok, Nia?"
When Luna speaks, Nia flinches and looks at her.
"Oh, sorry, I guess I spaced out. I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."
Luna nudges Nia with a smile on her face.
"We've been friends since the first grade; you can tell me what's wrong."
Nia smiles at Luna after hearing what she said.
Nia motions for Luna to come closer to her. Luna moves closer to Nia and puts her ear next to Nia's mouth. Nia starts to whisper in Luna's ear, and as she does, Raven looks at the two of them with animosity.
"Those two are always leaving us out! I wish I could hear what they're saying."
"Just leave it alone, Raven. They're really close. Of course they're going to have private conversations without us."
"Uhh, you're such a bore, Serena; you say this every time!"
"Well, then maybe stop complaining, and I won't have to repeat myself."
After getting dropped off by the bus and going to all their classes, it was finally time to have dinner. At 7:15, Nia, Luna, Serena, and Raven arrive at a restaurant not too far away from Sunshine University. This restaurant is named Sunshine Eaters, a restaurant that serves food for twenty-four hours. The location has an old-style look to it, with it being completely made out of wood. There are two parts to this establishment. On the left side is the causal side, where people can get things like coffee in the morning and fast food throughout the rest of the day. The right side of the restaurant is the fancy side, which is usually filled late into the evening.
With Nia leading the group, she walks up to the hostess stand.
"Hello, Nia! You're here for your reservation at seven thirty?"
"Yes, we all are!"
"Will there be more of you coming for this reservation?"
"Yes, two more!"
"Alright, if that will be all, we will have someone right with!"
"Alright, thank you!"
"Oh, right, will you be coming to work tomorrow?" the waitress asks.
"Oh yeah, of course I have the morning shift."
"Oh, too bad; I can't see you tomorrow then," she says with a disappointed tone.
"Don't worry, I'll get back on the night shift soon."
"Ok, enjoy your time!"
With Nia leading, the four of them go to a table and start waiting to make their order. With Luna sitting next to her and Raven sitting in front, Nia starts looking around anxiously.
"So, Nia, you said two more people are coming. I know Ethan is on his way, but who's the second?" Serena asks.
"Oh well, Ethan told me that he's bringing the friend he's been hanging out with to dinner."
When Raven hears this, she becomes agitated.
"You said what? You're telling me he's inviting people out of nowhere now! Him or that so-called friend better be paying for all of us!"
"Well, if we're going by your standard, then shouldn't we all be paying since this was originally a date for Nia and Ethan but you decided to intrude?" Serena remarks with a cold stare.
"Umm, no, that's not the same!"
"Oh well, then why don't you tell me how it's not the same?"
As Serena and Raven go back and forth, Luna tugs on Nia's shirt. Nia looks to where Luna points, and her face turns to shock. Walking through the door is Ethan, who is 5'9, light-skinned, and slightly buff. His hair is orange, his eyes are hazel, and he is wearing the Sunshine University uniform.
"There's Ethan," Luna remarks.
Raven and Serena look over to where Luna points. When Raven sees Ethan, she has a face of disgust.
"Who the hell is that girl next to him?"
Next to Ethan is a 5'6 white-skinned girl with blonde hair, yellow eyes and is also wearing the Sunshine University uniform. Ethan and his friend walk over to the table while laughing together and take their seats. Ethan sits next to Nia, and she instantly goes in for a kiss. Ethan turns his head away from Nia before she can kiss him.
"Hey, babe, I hope you are feeling better. Sorry, I couldn't see you while you're sick."
"Umm, It's ok; I'm fine now. I'm just glad to see you."
"Yeah, I'm glad to hear that. Have you all ordered yet?"
Before anyone else can say anything, Raven points to Ethan's friend, who is sitting next to Serena.
"How about, instead of asking about the food, you tell us who your mystery friend is?"
Everyone at the table looks at Ethan's friend.
"Oh, sorry, I should've introduced myself; my name is May."
"And what's your relationship with Ethan?" Raven asks with a scary expression on her face.
"Umm, well, we're friends."
Serena moves Raven's arm out of her face.
"Raven, don't make a scene; let's just get the waiter over here so we can eat."
The waiter took everybody's order, and thirty minutes later they all got their food. As everyone eats, Nia is distracted by Ethan and May, who are talking and laughing together. Luna scoots closer to Nia and starts whispering in her ear.
"They look like they're on a third or fourth date, don't they?"
"No, it's fine; he's just having fun with his friend. There is no need to make a big deal about it."
The entire night, the situation stayed the same. Ethan and May continued chatting while everyone else just ate their food in silence.
After they have dinner, it is finally time to pay the bill.
"OK, so how are we splitting this?" Serena asks while looking at the bill.
"I say, Ethan pays the entire bill; it's only fair; he's the man here!" Raven exclaims.
"Stop with that, Raven; we're not children; we don't need Ethan to throw all of us on his back."
"Hmph, whatever you say, kill joy."
"Good, now that's out of the way, we will all just pay for what we ate."
Ethan pulls out his wallet and then his debit card.
"I'll pay for me, Nia, and May."
"And May?" Nia whispers to herself.
Raven almost jumps up after hearing Ethan, but then gets stopped by Serena. Serena puts down her debit card on top of the bill.
"Alright, that's settled then. Raven, please put your card down as well."
"Tch, I know I'm pulling my card out."
After this, the group left the restaurant. When outside, Ethan and May start to walk in the opposite direction of the other four.
"Alright, dinner was great, but me and May have other things to take care of, so we will see you all later. Bye, Nia, I love you!"
Ethan blows a kiss at Nia as he walks away with May.
"Bye, it was nice meeting all of you; maybe we will see each other again," May says with a smile.
As the four of them watch the two of them leave, Raven grabs Nia by the shoulder.
"You're really just going to let him walk away with a smile on your face! There's obviously something going on between those two! Like he literally paid her bill!"
"No, it's fine, Raven. They are just friends, and I know I can trust him. We've been together for a year. I should be able to tell."
"Come on, Nia, don't be dumb; it's so clear that he's a no-good disgusting slimy cheater with no respect for you!"
Nia turns around and looks at Raven with an angry expression.
"Don't talk about him like that!"
After hearing Nia scream, Raven freezes and backs away.
"Come on, do you really trust him that much? Why don't we go stalk him or something so we can prove me right?"
After hearing what Raven says, Nia starts to think about how weird Ethan was acting the entire night.
"He was acting weird. He didn't even look at you the entire day, and he didn't even visit you when you're sick. Something is going on, and I also think we should look into it." Luna says with a suspicious tone.
"Well, I think this is a bad idea just waiting to become a mess," Serena remarks.
Everyone looks at Nia, who is thinking hard.
"Fine, I'm sure we won't find anything, but let's look into what's going on between Ethan and that girl."
Raven jumps up in excitement after hearing Nia's statement.
"Yes! Now let's go expose the cheater!"
Chapter 2 end