Chapter 1

Judy broke up with me shortly after I told her of my decision. She didn't want a long distance relationship. I couldn't really blame her. It was a friendly breakup, though, with no bitterness on either side. A long distance relationship just wasn't going to work and we both knew it. We continued to hang out and even mess around from time to time that summer but as friends, not as committed lovers.

Boy did that summer pass by slowly. Part of the reason why was because I spent most of it as a hermit. Outside of occasionally seeing Judy I rarely went out or saw any of my friends. My time was spent writing. Writing, writing, writing. I had decided that if I couldn't go to an art college then I would at least major in my love: creative writing. While my dad still wanted me to major in law I kept my true passion to myself. He'd agreed to pay for everything if I went to Helotry. He had not dictated which classes I had to take. And as it turned out, Helotry had an impressive looking creative writing program with many distinguished alumni. That, at least, was something. Still, I dreaded moving away from all my friends. The thought of losing them made me not want to see them.

When the day finally came for me to fly across the country to my new school I was seen off only by my parents, my younger brother, and my fake boyfriend, Jake. My true love, Judy, wanted to come but my dad didn't like blacks and I didn't want an awkward situation made anymore awkward by her presence. Maybe I just didn't trust myself enough not to kiss her in front of everyone. Or maybe, as she angrily put it after I told her she couldn't be there, I had turned into a coward.

In any event she wasn't there. It was a sad day and it was hard to hide my bitterness. Yet hide it I did. In a rare moment of genuine emotion my mother even cried as she hugged me before I entered the terminal. "I'm so proud of you," she told me. "You'll do so well there. Just remember that I love you! You can do this, you can do this, don't be afraid..."

Never had I felt so alone as I did when I watched my dad pull the Lexus away from the curb. I was now on my own.

Helotry was perhaps the most prestigious non-Ivy League school in the country. I'd only applied because my father had insisted. Frankly, I didn't have the grades to attend. But since both my parents were alumni and my grades weren't all that bad, I'd had a shot. When I was rejected I wasn't surprised and was actually relieved. My father had been outraged. He had taken it as a personal slight that they would dare refuse to admit me. Well, he changed their minds somehow, and now this would be the next four years of my life. Four if I was lucky.

After picking up my luggage I yawned and wandered carefully in the busy terminal toward the arrivals area. I was surprised how hot it was once I stepped outside. Having grown up in southern California I always imagined the northeastern part of the country to be cool year round. I was mistaken. It was not only hot but incredibly humid. Fatigued from the long flight I looked around wearily, expecting to find a bus or a shuttle or something. I'd been told there would be transportation to the campus waiting for me.

To my surprise what I found was a large man in a chauffeur's uniform standing at a limousine that was parked at the curb. He was holding up a sign that read "Myers" and he had a bored expression on his face. I tentatively approached him and said, "Uhm ... I'm Ella Myers... ?"

He bowed his head with a smile. "Welcome to Washington, Ms. Myers," he said. He immediately took my two large suitcases and walked toward the back of the long black limo. "I hope you had an uneventful flight?"

"Uhm, yeah," I said, feeling awkward. I'd been in a limo before but only when renting them for school dances. My dad was pretty rich but he wasn't limo-rich. "Helotry sent a fucking limousine?"

He chuckled as he slammed the trunk of the long car shut. "Of course, Ms. Myers. What did you expect?"

I didn't know how to answer that. He held the door open and I stepped inside sheepishly and thanked him. Once inside I noticed that I wasn't alone.

She was obviously tall even though she was sitting and for a moment I thought it was Judy. The woman looked like her: black, slender, athletic. This woman had smaller breasts and darker skin, however, and was dressed in a dark blue blazer over a white shirt. Above her left breast the blazer had the unmistakeable insignia of Helotry University. Her long black hair glistened in the dim light of the limousine's interior and she had a slight smile on her face as she typed away at her iPhone.

"Pardon me," she said with British accent, "I just need to finish this one thing and ... there." She looked up at me and her smile broadened. She reached over to me, offering her hand. "Ella Myers. Why, you're even lovelier in person. My name is Martha Attleberg. I've been assigned as your senior adviser for this semester."

With a polite smile on my face I shook her hand. "Hi," I said. The limo pulled away from the curb and I looked around the lavish limousine in wonder. "What's all this for?"

"This?" she asked, sounding confused. "Why, it's our transport. It's a long ride to campus and we have much to discuss. Helotry wouldn't have us endure such a trip in discomfort. Would you like a drink?"

I nodded. "Some water would be nice."

She laughed softly as she lifted up the leather seat between ours, revealing a shallow fridge crammed with frosty bottles. "I was thinking beer," she said, lifting out a dark brown bottle with a sheen of white frost covering it. "We have water, too, and some liquor if you'd prefer. They're located in the seat across from you though you'll forgive me, the water will be warm as that compartment is not refrigerated."

My eyes widened as she cracked the bottle open and took a long drink from it with an amused expression on her face. Surely she had to know that I was underage! But hey, she was offering and while I preferred getting high I didn't mind drinking. I reached down into the fridge and pulled out some foreign beer I'd never heard of before. Martha leaned over to open it for me and I smiled timidly before boldly taking a long swallow. It was a heavy ale of some kind but had a fruity taste to it that I liked.

"I'm starting to think I misjudged this school," I said.

Martha laughed. I loved the way she laughed, the way her brown eyes closed and she touched her chest when she did, her raven-black hair bouncing around her head. "That is precisely why I offered alcohol, Ella. Helotry has such a bad reputation for being extremely conservative and overbearing. We want your first impression to be a more open-minded one."

We laughed and chatted together for about an hour after that and every time my beer bottle was empty Martha graciously offered me another. We spoke of general things, mostly, but I found myself really liking her. Like me she came from a pretty well-off family but, like me, she seemed very down to earth. By the end of my fourth beer I was pretty buzzed and found my eyes wandering to her chest more and more and often imagining what her breasts might look like.

"So, what did your parents tell you about this university? I believe they're both alum?" she eventually asked. It was the first time she'd mentioned Helotry since giving me my first beer and I was suddenly reminded that in less than an hour I would finally be on campus and beginning my college career.

I grinned and sipped at my drink. "Well, they told me it was pretty strict."

She nodded. "What did they mean by 'strict', do you imagine?"

I shrugged and gestured to my short, spiky hair. "They said I had to grow this out, for one thing."

Her expression grew serious. "Ah, yes. A pity but true. There are guidelines for both men and women in regards to appearances. A dress code, if you will," she said with that wonderful accent of hers. "You'll be expected to grow your hair out to a minimum of three inches beneath your earlobes. Speaking of which, now is as good a time as any for you to fill out your admission packet."

More paperwork, I thought glumly. I had spent hours filling out paperwork back home and even though that had been weeks earlier the memory of it made me groan.

The young woman produced a thick spiral bound packet and handed it to me, along with a pen. "Take your time and read everything," she said. "I know it's a pain in the arse, but it's important. You need to sign every line that is highlighted yellow and initial every box that's highlighted pink. These are the guidelines and rules every student must obey. The moment you sign the last line you will officially be a Helotrian."

She smiled as though that should excite me but I couldn't smile back. Fucking paperwork. For the next ten minutes I signed and initialed at least once on every page and sometimes multiple times. After the first few pages I no longer read everything carefully. It was all legalese technical bullshit that I was getting too drunk to decipher. Besides, it was pretty clear that it was sort of a boiler-plate honor code type thing including rules about academic standards, rules about arbitrating differences between other students or faculty, and on and on it went.

When I finally signed the last line I dropped my pen and exclaimed, "There, finally! One more signature and I swear my hand would have cramped up!"

Martha looked up from her cell phone and laughed. "I know, it's a pain in the bum. Did you sign everything?" she asked casually. She took the packet while handing me another beer. I gladly accepted.

"Yeah, I did," I said, feeling tired but pleasantly drunk as I sucked on my cool bottle.

She leafed through the packet and said, "Even the dress code part? The part about the hair length?"

"Yeah, yeah, I did," I laughed. "A ... friend of mine was always pestering me to do that anyway. Not a big deal." I took another sip of the beer. "I just find it weird they'd insist on my hairstyle but allow me to drink ... you know I just turned 18, right?"

"Of course, dear," the older girl smiled. "Helotry believes that certain laws in this country are absurd. The laws regarding the minimum drinking age being one of them. The prohibition against marijuana being another."

I put on my best poker face at the mention of marijuana. I didn't want my SA thinking I was a stoner or something but I was extremely excited to learn that Helotry would likely have some pot. I'd heard that out east getting good stuff was far more difficult that it was in Cali.

"This friend of yours who wanted you to grow out your hair," she went on cautiously, "Would that be your former girlfriend? Judy, I believe her name was?"

I gaped at her in shock. "Wait-- how ... how do you know about her?"

She glanced down at the iPad that was resting in her lap. "It's in your file, of course."