Page 2 of Through The Woods

Chapter One

Four Years Ago…Age 18

There was a soft knock at my door before Sofia poked her head around the door. “Did you check Blackboard? Because I did and I’m thinking a study break in the form of a campus party is in order.” She gyrated her hips, hands swaying above, as she moved to the beat of something only she knew.

I dropped my pen and stretched my arms overhead. I’d been sitting at my desk for who knew how long; my body stiff from hours spent hunched over a textbook, taking notes. I wearily opened a new tab on my laptop and entered my login credentials.

I’d been anxiously awaiting my mid-term grades for the last week. And I’d been regretting my decision to double major in Psychology and Neurosciences for even longer than that.

Things had started out promising enough. I’d scheduled my college classes much like I’d done my high school classes, thinking that I could handle the course load.

My academic advisor had recommended that I not overload myself until I got a feel for the program and the instructors. I didn’t want to just take the basics though—I’d wanted to get into the meat of my studies.

So, I ignored his advice and loaded up with a mix of basics and upper level courses that didn’t require a prerequisite.

By the end of the first week, I was cursing myself. The classes were unlike anything I’d experienced in high school. It didn’t matter how hard I worked, I quickly fell behind. I gave up dinner in the dining hall in favor of ramen noodles in my dorm room, glued to my computer.

When two of my professors threatened to drop me, I gave up my part-time job at the campus bookstore, relying instead on my dad’s emergency credit card to keep myself comfortable.

It wasn’t like it was going to affect them—I could’ve maxed the dang thing out every month and I doubt he would’ve cared as he paid it off.

Spoiled brat?

Maybe.

But I’d worked hard to get where I was and someday—I’d pay them back for everything. I pulled up my grades with bated breath. This was it. This was where I turned it all around.

MCDB 2150 Principles of Genetics…overall grade with the midterm factored in…F.

No.

I’d damn near killed myself studying for that one. I even had the kidney infection to prove it too. How could I still be failing?

MATH 2520 Intro to Biometry was just as dismal. In fact, the only classes where my grades didn’t make me want to puke were my psych classes. That didn’t bode well for me getting accepted into the doctoral program. I couldn’t even blame it on the university—the National Academy of Sciences ranked them as one of the best in the country.

Suddenly, the painted cinderblock walls didn’t feel like a cozy haven for studying, but more like the walls of a prison. I’d started this semester with a roommate. A roommate who’d cried most every night and ended up moving out three weeks into the semester. I wasn’t going to be far behind her if my grades were any indicator.

Sofia cocked her head to the side and fixed me with a curious smile. “Yes? You joining me?”

I opened my mouth to decline when I realized there was really nothing stopping me from going out. So far, my college experience had consisted of me spending every waking moment either in class or chained to my desk. And what did I have to show for it? Nothing. I hadn’t pledged a sorority or gone home with a random stranger. I hadn’t even gotten drunk. I was nothing like the stereotypical college freshman. In fact, I’d never acted my age and slacked off.

I’d graduated at the top of my class and gotten accepted to every university I’d applied to. My parents wanted me at UCLA, but I’d chosen University of Colorado in Boulder.

While I’d been born in California, I’d never been considered your ‘typical California girl.’ The girls I grew up with were tall, blonde, and tan. Me? I was short, raven-haired, and fair. I’d slather on the SPF 5000 and it never seemed to matter; I’d burn to a crisp just stepping foot outside.

Colorado had been a much better fit. I found that I didn’t have to wear a lot of makeup or dress in a certain way to fit in.

Now, it seemed, the closest I was going to get to my dream of becoming a researcher was going to be as a janitor in the science building.

I pushed my chair back from my desk. “I’m in.”

It wasn’t like my grades were going to improve if I stayed in studying. I deserved a night out—an evening to just be an eighteen year-old. Tomorrow I’d worry about how I was going to pull myself out of this hole.

I stood against the wall, a lukewarm beer in my hand, taking small sips to appease Sofia whenever necessary. It tasted like watered down piss. I was fighting my gag reflex with every swallow. To say that I’d expected more would’ve been a massive understatement. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure how I’d convinced myself that going out was a better alternative to reviewing my mid-term answers and emailing my professors to see if there was anything else I could do to bring my grades up.

I watched as Sofia lost herself to the music, her eyes fluttering closed with every hip thrust from the frat boy behind her. She’d downed several plastic cups of beer upon our arrival and appeared to be feeling no pain.

I choked down another sip, praying that I was close to feeling as free as she appeared to be. It would be nice to just lose control for a while.

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