A Beautiful Fate Read Free Page B

and the breakup of my boyfriend all at the same time.
    “Oh, well, welcome,” she said nicely. “Our floor is the best one to live on; you’re lucky they never filled it. I think they were waiting for Julia to move back, but that’s never going to happen.”
    She seemed to assume that I knew who Julia was. She went on, “We throw a party up here every Thursday night. Most of the people from the other floors come up and it’s usually a really good time. All of the people that live up here are nice, some more than others. The girls and I do a lot of shopping trips in Dana Point and in L.A.; you’re welcome to join us whenever you want.”
    “Thanks,” I said, appreciating the offer. “I may have to take you up on that.”
    “So are you Greek?”
    “I’m sorry am I what?”
    “Greek, you know from Greece?”
    What a strange question to ask . I mused.
    “I wouldn’t know. My mother was adopted and my father passed away years ago and I don’t know much about him.”
    Emily furrowed her brow “Oh…It’s just like, about eighty percent of the students here are Greek so I guess I assumed… I’m not.” She shrugged. “They mostly sit together at lunch and dinner and stuff. Really nice. You’ll see.”
    Emily stayed around in my room for a while talking about some of the other people on the floor and the classes and teachers. She was friendly and outgoing, clearly the bold and daring type of personality that I always seem to attract. I thought I could see the two of us being friends, at least I seriously hoped so. I definitely appreciated the fact that she kept the conversation going. I tried hard to connect and ask questions but my heart wasn’t in it. I don’t think she noticed or cared for that matter. She seemed to be content just hearing herself talk, so the friendship would work out nicely. She told me she surfed a lot and invited me to join her some weekend when everyone else was away.
    “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t do water.”
    “You picked a bad place to move if you don’t like the water,” Emily said with a laugh.
    “Tell me about it,” I said dryly.
    “Your other neighbor, Ari, is a good friend of mine; he’s the best surfer in the area. Well, that may be a small overstatement, but he’s really, really good and absolutely brilliant. I am sure he can teach you.”
    “I really don’t do water, but maybe I’ll watch.”
    Emily smiled and excused herself after a while to get back to homework. With Emily gone, I found that I had absolutely nothing to do and it was only noon. I could feel an emotional breakdown coming on so I grabbed my running clothes and headed out to find the school’s gym.
    The fitness center was just down the road from my dorm and it was huge. Completely state of the art and unlike anything I had ever been to before. There were basketball courts, tennis courts, and an Olympic sized swimming pool. They had a weight room, a sauna, a yoga and pilates studio. I headed straight towards the indoor track, trying not to be intimidated by the people staring at me, the new girl, unabashedly. I shoved my ear buds in and began my run, falling into the right rhythm almost straight away.
    The anxiety and angst began to wash away and once I rounded mile four, I quickened my pace, giving it all I had for my last go around. I finished up at mile five and was walking off the track, completely lost in a TV On The Radio song, when I jumped, startled by a stocky, dark-haired boy with a bright smile. He was gaping at me. I gave a tiny scream and he tossed his head back and laughed. I could feel my cheeks burn with slight embarrassment and I pulled my ear buds out quickly.
    “You scared me!” I said trying to slow my beating heart.
    The boy stopped laughing and his smile broadened. “I’m Rory; sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
    “Ava,” I said, catching my breath. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Yeah, you too. You’re pretty fast, you know that?” I nodded in agreement,