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“And you, Martin, do you practice in the pool today too?” My brother was merely being polite. Back in school, the swim team and the lacrosse team were at war, so my brother was averse to the type of athlete I decided to date.

“No, only tomorrow morning.” My boyfriend smiled pleasantly while Derek kept an angry dogexpression on his face.

My brother turned off the main road and entered Belinda, the town where the college was located. It was a tiny town in rural Texas. I was sure it was that kind of extremely conservative place with its paradigms embedded in every street I dared to cross. Still, I was a woman with goals and nothing would get in the way of my dream of lifting the championship trophy next April.

We entered the university campus and it was clear that the place was not that large. When I visited, before the summer break, I had already realized how small everything was, but it seemed even smaller now. And, of course, much more real.

Derek parked the car in front of my dorm and my two boys helped me carry my things up to my room. We entered the building and right in the hall we found two very friendly girlswho were handing over the room keys. I asked one of them for my room’s key and she gave it to me, informing me that my room was on the first floor, number 120.

We went up the stairs and it didn't take long for me to see the number I was looking for on one of the doors. There was an empty board below it, but there was no name or message there.

I stared at the door for a moment and insecurity took over me.

“The door won't open by itself...” my brother grumbled next to me, with his body leaning against the wall next to the bedroom door.

He wasn't in a very good mood at that point. I didn't blame him, after all, he drove for a good amount of hours and didn't let me or MJ take the wheel at any point. Anyway, he could just respect my jumpiness, right?!

“I know…”

Derek continued to stare at me with boredom until he lost his patience. He simply knocked twice on the door and opened it.

“Excuse me, new meat arriving” he announced, nodding at me so that I could finally enter. The place was big. There was a living room and three doors, one for each bedroom. I would share the space with two other girls I had never seen in my life.

“Hi…” a hoarse voice resounded from one of the corners of the room, where she was arranging some plants. The black hair in a bob was perfectly aligned with the bangs. The more almond-shaped eyes and the wide smile seemed welcoming to me. “I'm Troian Hu.”

She set the plants aside and came to me, holding out one hand.

“Veronica Torres!” I introduced myself.

“Oh, I know... You're a cheerleader...” My surprise was written all over my face, because Troian added: “So am I. I'm on the Venenum Cheer Team.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

One of the doors opened, and from there a girl with blonde hair and tired eyes came into our living room.

“Ah, this is Emily “Troian said. I looked at the girl closely and had the feeling that I knew her from somewhere. “She's a cheerleader too. Apparently they put us together.”

Emily smiled weakly in my direction.

“Emily McGabree” she declared, taking a few steps until she stopped in front of me to greet me.

McGabree was very well known in our circles. She was from Florida and had won every state championship with her team. She was one of the most versatile athletes I had ever seen, she could fit into any and every position within a choreographed routine, but there was a special shine when she was the top girl.

I introduced myself once more.

“Nice to meet you…” her voice was calm and her green eyes seemed serene. A yawn escaped her before finally smiling more comfortably. “Sorry, twenty-two hours on a bus left me a bit exhausted” she joked. “But make yourself at home, Veronica. It will be great to have you as a roommate.”

She smiled at Derek and MJ and left the room, leaving me with Troian.

“So... which room can I...” And my other roommate didn't even let me finish the sentence, she immediately took me to the last room to be occupied. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

My brother and MJ helped me carry all my things to the remaining bedroom and I felt almost abandoned when I went back to the car to say goodbye to them.

“Take care, brat. Call me if you need anything.” Derek was being pragmatic, if I called him, he wouldn't even answer me. And we both knew it. “Oh, and stay away from frat parties!”

I laughed at the warning. My brother was a frat boy and an athlete, he was the worst kind of person you could find in college. I was sure the only two things he really cared about were: how many points he would score in a lacrosse game and how many condoms he would use in a week.