Versus

The days began to pass quickly. Like any other summer does as it winds down to an abrupt end. Why is it always summer that behaves this way? Winter never seems to “come to an abrupt end”. Winter lingers on and on until everyone is begging for it to “just go already.” But not summer. It sadly ends the same way every year. Way too quickly.

Emma needed a student moment, to just ride a bit around campus. She was getting excited, a bit nervous too, but told her mom that she wanted to make a few trips around campus to help with the butterflies. Emma liked familiarizing herself before things began to get hectic. She now had only 3 more days before she was officially a college student.

She threw her daypack over her shoulder and headed out of her driveway.

The pack was light. It typically contained a rain poncho (a lesson well learned), her wallet, and phone. Just the essentials.

The day was gorgeous. Very few clouds in the sky. It didn’t matter that it was hot, her mom’s place was under a mile from the entrance of the campus. She could run there if she liked running…which she did NOT! So, the bike ride was easy. They may have moved to the mountains, but luckily the campus was unusually flat for this area. The only hill at all was just the slightest incline in the entry road to the college.

The campus entrance had large brick columns with attached brick walls over nine feet high. The name was divided, “Dion” on the left wall and “College” was written on the right. The fence, that surrounded the campus, was as far as she could see. It looked as though it might surround the entire property.

Even on Saturday, a guard was at the main gate. She had her student ID on a lanyard around her neck, so she reached into her shirt and pulled it out to hold it up towards the guard. She heard a heavy click as the guard released a lock to allow her through. The arched gate was wrought iron and looked too heavy for its hinges but somehow swung open with a subtle “swoosh.”

“Just getting used to everything around here,” She explained. His smile and head nod made it clear that no explanation was needed.

She slowly rode by longleaf pines that seemed to grow rampant. Their towering structures were bare at the bottom but so dense that nothing else could be seen past them for miles.

Either side of the road had plush fescue and little else.

The slightest of inclines as the road curved right and she reached the clearing. That’s where the school stood in its breathtaking grandeur.

Such a masterpiece. It was easily the most beautiful structure she had ever seen. She didn’t even know anything of this magnitude existed. Especially in the United States. The rumor was that it was originally a castle belonging to a Scottish billionaire. When he died, it was purchased or donated. No one seemed to have the same story about its acquisition. But the story ended the same. “It was refashioned to the college it is today.”

The school was encompassed into the main castle. Its construction was of a complete square. Every part connected. The middle of the structure was an interior courtyard and could only be accessed by the interior of the building. The east side of the building was all girls’ dormitories. The west was entirely redesigned for the boys. The north side held only classes, while the south side held the gym, the dining hall, and the apartments for the teachers, who stayed on campus during the school year.

The castle itself was four stories tall, all brick, Georgian style, from what she could remember reading about it. It has a light mix of grays and white. Brass accents, romantic glass, doors with rustic curved elegance, and strong, impenetrable walls that reached towards the heavens; longing to get as close as possible.

“And I get to live here.” She had thought countless times. It was surreal to her because as beautifully breathtaking as the outside is, the inside transported you to another world.

The female dorms have a common area in the middle of each floor. A sort of oversized hallway really. The bedrooms were all against the outermost walls, on both sides. They were like this for the entire perimeter of each floor.

She was hoping to have an exterior room. The view of the forest appealed to her. The trees reached for the sun and their impressive height allowed nothing to be seen beyond them. She could envision sitting with a cup of coffee, staring out at the endless art of evergreens. Not that the courtyard view would be devastating, she convinced herself that the gathering of students there could be entertaining if that were her luck, to have an interior room.

The core of each floor was a wide hall that arched in the middle. Exposed supports that were a darker gray. Alcoves for doors. Rich, plush rugs, mixed with red and gold, flowed along the entire length of the hall. The core was vast with unique purposes. The 2nd-floor core had plush leather sofas from one end to the other for a more comfortable and laid-back study atmosphere but was still a designated quiet area. The 4th-floor core had desks and chairs for a more formal study area. Also, a quiet area. The first and third core were both more casual. There were tables for playing cards, games, or studying; oversized beanbag chairs (that were big enough for two or three people easily) lined up against walls, beautiful wrought iron floor lamps that looked like antiqued street lamps and put off as much light, and hundreds of walls plugs…clearly enough to keep a small city charged. She knew that this would be her new favorite place. The oversized beams looked as though they asked to be questioned. Were they for support? Were they decoration? They held such character. Much like a courtyard tree at Harvard. You just wanted to sit with a good book and lean your back against one.

Her room was for sleeping. These halls were for living the college dream. Hanging out, studying, laughing, telling stories about cute boys or difficult professors.

As fun as the 1st and third floors looked, disrespect for the residents on the floors was not tolerated. The rule was strict “If noise was heard inside nearby rooms, there would be consequences.”

1st and 2nd-year students were assigned the 1st and 3rd floors. To encourage relationship building and it was stressed that the later years required more discipline and it was believed that the 2nd and 4th floor promoted studying and commitment.

There were about twenty rooms per floor, four floors, and two girls to a room. So, if all rooms were occupied at full capacity, there would be roughly 160 girls. Girls aren’t allowed in the male dorms, but rumor has it that their layout of rooms was identical so there would be about the same number of boys at the university.

She slowed to a stop and placed her feet on the walkway along the edge of the driveway. Looking up towards the empty windows that would soon have curtains and shadows passing by them. The excitement grew in her.

She had a lot of things thought out. She just needed to get life into motion, and it would work out as it should. She decided to ride around the campus clearing. Mostly the football and baseball field, which was on the outskirts of a corner of the grounds. They had their own separate entrance for visitors, she had read. She also read in the acceptance paperwork that no one could come onto the main grounds without an invite/chaperone. “For students’ safety,” it said. Riding around, she liked the safety she felt here. It felt unusually peaceful.

She decided to head back to the main gate. She was trying to familiarize herself with the locations of some important landmarks. The story was that the campus had over 3000 acres, she knew she hadn’t even seen a fraction of it.

She did, however, feel like she had to be the most equipped student on campus. No one had toured like she had these last few weeks. Explored or prepared the way that she had. She was beginning to feel confident.

As she was coasting along, just making up her mind that she would go back to her Mom’s house, she was certain that she heard something. What? She didn’t know. She pedaled faster. That’s when she saw a little girl running for the fence. Staring at Emma, she began to scream “Help! Help!” sobbing hysterically.