Chapter 2 PRIMO

"Sofia! Sofia! Wake up! We're gonna be late!"

Natasha shouted while pounding hard on the door. Disrupting my already ruined sleep. I rolled my eyes while failing to snooze. Good God, this woman had to be a waking siren in her past life!

"I don't want to go. Leave me alone!" I hiss sleepily.

"You know Professor Smith doesn't care who we are or wouldn't give us another d*mn shot if we missed the exam!" She adds while bursting through the door AGAIN.

Every drop of blood left my body whenever she breaks the door. Natasha!

"Natasha, CHE CAZZO FAI?!" I complained while doing an Italian gesture I got from my father. "That's the second this month! Look at what you did! I'm gonna need ANOTHER DOOR, AGAIN!" I snap, extending my palm towards the door.

"Don't CHE CAZZO FAI me! Get up!" She scolds while crossing her arms. Goodness me, I hate to admit this but, she's even scarier than my mother.

"Natasha, I love you. You're one of the few best people I have in my life, but you can't keep destroying the door." I cooed. It doesn't seem to work, though. I face palmed.

"I love you more, but what can I do? It felt right!" She chuckles devilishly. "If you don't get out there, you won't just have no doors but miss graduation too! Come on!" She warns while dragging me out of my bed.

"Aww!"

"Do I need to bathe you? Get up! You stink and we're late!"

"Ma'am yes, Ma'am!" Rolling my eyes.

Before she does what she just said, I went straight to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. I abruptly looked in the mirror, gathering all my strength to carry on through the day. However, I only see a disheveled 20 year-old woman with medium length dark brown hair. I'm still tanned from training, but it goes well with my hazel eyes. I sigh. Lack of sleep doesn't help with being presentable either so, I showered as quickly as I could. Good thing training beat the hell out me. I could still find myself alive after enjoying way too much last night and getting up early the next morning. I grabbed a granola bar, water and two pain killers before running off with Nat.

Natasha has been my best friend since childhood. She's like a sister to me and is one hell lot of a great roommate too. Maybe a little annoying, but I thank her to the moon and back for keeping my compass up north.

"Come on! Hurry! We always have to run." she says while her eyes went white.

"Great way to start the day with a good ol' jog." I replied playfully.

"We still need to find Carlisle." she adds while arching her winged brows that go well with her British features. Natasha's long blonde hair compliments her natural brown eyes. She's always been a boy magnet at school, especially with her natural quirky, fun, tough, and sexy sass.

We were panting and warmed up enough by the time we got to our campus.

Ahh, The Beaufort University.

Aside from being such a timeless beauty, Beaufort University is currently the best in the entire country and among the top 10 in the world. She boasts multiple state-of-the art educational and technological facilities with an immersive curriculum that lets every student explore on their chosen fields. Several beautiful Jardín botanique adorn the place, making it more enchanting. The most beautiful of them is the one facing the main entrance. The 19th Century French architecture inspired Arche de Passage. It would only be a few weeks more before we walk through that arch as a symbolism of our freedom from the academic life. However, what I'm really gonna miss about this place is the Grande Cour Académique, where the iconic Salle des Grand Savants magnificently impresses. The picturesque grandiosity of the pièce de résistance of the campus transports anyone in awe to blooming spring or chic summer days in Versailles, France. For most, it's our very own Chateau de Versailles–truly a masterpiece on its own, since all the other modernly designed and built buildings in the campus never compares to its beauty.

"Look, there's Carlisle!" Natasha exclaimed, breaking my daydream. "Carlisle!" she shouts, while waving at him.

"OMG you guys! I thought you're never showing up! Been waiting for you for eternity!" Carlisle complains in the chicest yet subtle way while we all exchange kisses on the cheeks.

"Thanks to this sleepy head here we went for a jog this early in the morning." Natasha teases while arching a brow at me. We all chuckle. "So, any pointers?" She asks Carlisle, hoping we make some last-minute studying before we take our finals.

I appreciate spending time with my friends like this and really hope that time freezes. But all I could do is to pretend listening in our brainstorming. Because all I can think of is what lies ahead of us after graduation. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen next? Looking at Carlisle, I'm taken down the memory lane. He had always been our savior for academics. It's why despite me taking up Marketing and Natasha - Economics, we still need Carlisle's guidance on accounting since we could not keep up with mathematics. Natasha and I met him in our grade-school years. Since then, we all became roomies and best friends. They're the closest I have as siblings.

Carlisle's overly smart, nerdy, witty, funny, tech savvy, and fashionista in his own way. He projects himself in such finesse manner that compliments his slim frame. His sexy curly black hair, fair skin and hazel eyes are a feast for everyone. He's very well-travelled, articulate and has a great sense of leadership. That's why I never doubted he'd win the Student Council Presidency. He just doesn't admit and realize it, but he truly is amazing. I don't know what I did to deserve such incredible friends.

Hours pass by and our grueling final exam with Professor Smith is done. We are all officially graduating. I sigh at the thought. I'm really gonna miss everyone, especially these two. I'm still undecided of what I want to do. I feel like going with the flow would be the best route to take. Right now, present is more important. Just as we went out of the building, I realized that my head still hurts from celebrating our victory last night at the U-League National Championships. It was a grand slam championship for the University since all teams won–our 3rd consecutive best performance following a season drought in my rookie year. My best friends can't contain their happiness and excitement for graduation.

"We have to celebrate! Let's go to a bar and have fun tonight!" Carlisle's eyes grew wide with eagerness while he said that.

"Or a road trip! Anywhere with you guys! Don't tell me about your hung over. I know you have the magical power of not getting drunk." Natasha added while she wrestles me. She shows nothing but sheer pure joy while pulling us into a big group hug. They both made me giggle.

"It's supposed to be a top secret!" I winked at them. "Why don't we have the road trip after graduation? Hop every bar sounds great tonight." I offered, and we all squealed with joy.

Later that night, we changed some plans. All thanks to Carlisle's "connections" we got ourselves a spot at the hottest and most exclusive bar there is in the city–HAUT.

******

Translations:

Primo (It.) – First/Pilot Chapter

Che cazzo fai?! (It.) - What the f*ck are you doing?!

Jardín botanique (Fr.) - botanical garden

Arche de Passage (Fr.) - Passage Arch

Grande Cour Académique (Fr.) - Great Academic Court/Plaza at the heart of a University

Salle des Grand Savants (Fr.) - Hall of Great Scientists

Pièce de Resistance (Fr.) - Main attraction/feature

Chateau de Versailles (Fr.) - Palace of Versailles located in Versailles, France