Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Butterfly

ELSA

I made it! It felt lonely without Gianna, but I was glad I made it either way, staring at the big building with the name Kingston’s University boldly plastered on the exterior. Students of different sizes, colors, and races moved around, some in pairs and some alone.

“Will you be fine, Honey?” Aunt Tiana asked, dragging my traveling bag to meet up with me, “You know where to come whenever you get homesick.”

“I’ll be fine. You worry too much, and you’d get grey hairs faster that way.” I laughed at her as she grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I was finally here, in Washington DC, far away from Ohio and far away from the stalker.

“Alright then. In you go, I still have to drop off James at high school.” She fumbled with her keys before turning away. Aunt Tiana lived here; she grew up in DC, and that made it more comfortable for me to come here.

New school, new decisions, fresh start, new life.

I held onto the bag handles and dragged both of them along with me towards the registration room. There were other people with various traveling bags and luggage lining up at the office door. I have a good feeling about this year.

After that night with the stalker, I woke up in my bed; my parents and my brother said I was brought in by the paramedics. I lived in fear for the last week of being home. I couldn’t even tell anyone the real truth about what happened at the party—the fact that I was contacted by a psychopathic serial killer. I changed my phone and card number before leaving for DC. At least I was sure of one thing: there was no way in hell the stalker would follow me to this place or even be able to contact me.

“Move, bitch.” A female voice screamed behind me, and I turned backward to glare at her, but she passed me before I could see her face.

“Perfect!” I sighed, running a hand through my red hair.

***

AFTER HOURS AND HOURS of registration, I'd not even been here for up to twenty-four hours, and it was already extremely stressful. I fumbled with the keys I was assigned to open my dorm room with. The hallway contained so many doors, which I presumed all belonged to other students. There was a big exit door at the end of the long hallway, and if the map of the school and dorm rooms they gave me was correct, then it should have led to another hallway that contained an entrance to the main school.

I finally clicked the door open. Room 909 was boldly written on the wall above the door. It contained two beds and a big space dividing them, big enough for everyone to maintain their distance and privacy. Maybe college isn’t as bad as I thought.

Goosebumps filled my skin, and that feeling of being watched was there again. I rushed back to the door and closed it. “He can’t follow you here, Elsa, you’re safe here.”

I took the bed close to the window. I've heard nasty problems about roommates and hoped to get a nice one. The small knife hidden in my ankle over my trousers and boot poked at me. Pulling it out, I placed it on the little nightstand that held the bed lamp. Call me paranoid or whatever, but I'm taking that knife wherever I go, I'm not a fan of surprises.

“Attention please.” The speaker I saw earlier in the hallway came to life; this must be their way of communicating with all students at once. “All students are expected to go to campus for a brief meeting in five hours.”

There were cameras in my room. I looked around to inspect the place. Three cameras to be exact, but we were told not to worry, they only check it when there is a problem and not without our consent. They also stated something about a button to press when in trouble so they can monitor the situation from the cameras.

I might as well unpack, today was one hell of a day.

Hours had passed, five to be exact, no one had come in yet as my roommate, and I was glad about it. I needed the peace for some time. Removing the towel from my wet hair and wet body, I picked up my outfit, a red crop top that had pink flower drawings on it, then a white denim bum shorts that hugged my waist perfectly. I picked up my red hair bow tie from the drawer where I arranged thirty of them perfectly and tied it on my hair in a high ponytail then brought two strands down to my face. I did some mascara on my doe-shaped eyes and a light gloss on my full lips, perfect!

I was ready, with a bracelet that had a love pendant and my inhaler in my pocket, I was ready, not only for the meeting but for everything, and of course, my knife.

***

“HEY, YOU DROPPED THIS.” A male voice halted me as I walked back to my dorm, he had my inhaler in his hands.

I gave him a warm smile and took it from his hand. “Thank you, I hate my pocket most times.”

“I can relate.” He was taller than me and was brown-skinned; the meeting was over, and most people were on their way back to their dorm rooms. “I’m Nathan, by the way.”

“Elsa.” I kept walking after placing my inhaler back into my pocket. “You’re a fresher here too?”

“Nah, second year,” he smiled at some girls that passed us, and I couldn’t help but notice the dimple on his cheek.

“Right! What was it like for you in your first year? Main classes start in two days, and I’m honestly nervous.” I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear; the hallway was getting empty now.

“Was tough, but don’t worry, you’d enjoy it.” He gave me a wink before stopping at a T junction; I guessed he was taking the opposite direction. “This is my cue to leave, but if you need any help, I’m right here, room 402.”

“Sure, thank you, Nathan.” I watched as he disappeared into the crowd before checking my phone for the school map I snapped. My stomach did a low growl; I needed to find the cafeteria.

“Which way exactly is this?” I asked no one in particular as I walked through the empty hallway that was supposed to lead to the cafeteria, well, according to the stupid map anyway.

The lights in the hallway were dim, and it had lockers but no doors. Did I mistakenly wander into the main school building? “I should probably just go back; besides, I still have the snacks Aunt Tiana packed.” She murmurs to herself.

Just as I was about to turn, I felt a masculine hand on me and then a loud thud that made my entire body ache with pain. He barged me on the wall, one of his hands on both my arms, pinning it to my back, and the other on my neck, pushing the side of my face on the wall, pinning me to it.

“Who are you? Let me go!” I wiggled, screaming at him, the cameras in the hallway; this was the right time the campus security should check the damn cameras.

I looked from the side of my eye at his face; it was a guy, with a mask, a skeleton mask. My heart rate increased, and I felt every bone in my body tense up, my heart kept beating against my chest so hard that it made it difficult for me to breathe.

I felt his face and lips go to my ear, his breath across my neck. “Hello, Kitten. We meet again.”