Off Campus

Sitting in the back of the Greyhound bus, you sigh and stare out the window. It's still mostly just cornfields and cows, just like most of the trip, but the exit numbers are getting higher, so you've got to be close by now. At least the trip wasn't too rough or complicated...

You lean back and sigh, glancing around the bus for what must be the 500th time. It's pretty much empty by now, since most of the passengers got off at the transfer station a while back. Despite this, though, you still feel cramped in the narrow, felt-padded seat.

You pull a small compact from the backpack in the seat next to you. You're not usually one to wear a ton of makeup, but you figure a touch-up couldn't hurt to make a decent impression.

As you open it, a young, fresh-faced girl looks back at you with a well-rested, excited face. Your long brown hair is cropped just above your shoulders, flaring out a little bit at the bottom. Considering you've been in a bus for 6 hours, you look pretty good.

Looking down, you straighten your shirt a little. Some wrinkles have formed from sitting for so long, but you're hoping they won't be too noticeable. It's just a skinny-fitting green t-shirt, but it's one of your favorites because it fits so nicely: not too tight, but not loose or billowy, either. Your khaki pants are also a bit wrinkled by now, but there's really nothing you can do about it.

Sighing, you think about how you've gotten here...

...

You're Jane Doe, a new high-school graduate from a small town, going to college in an even smaller town. In high school, you were an athlete, playing volleyball, running cross-country and track, and training all through the summer. Then, it felt natural to be so busy. You're 5'8", slim and toned, and you made tons of friends and had a lot of fun doing it all.

And it's not like your grades ever suffered. The only B you ever got was in pre-calculus in 11th grade, and it was clearly because Mrs. Gonzalez hated you for no reason. Heck, you even placed third in the state cross-country final last year. There's definitely nothing you regret about high school...

This was college though! You're going to stay in shape, and maybe play intramural sports, but you aren't good enough to make a varsity team even if you wanted. No, you were going to spend more time studying, working harder, and maybe a little time partying, too. Without all the sports, you'll have time to have a little bit more of the fun you were always missing out on in high school, and if you work hard, you might even be able to get a transfer into a Ivy League school after this year!

...

Excitedly, you put your compact away and glace around the bus one more time. Looking over to your side, your sister sits in the row next to yours. Karen is two years your senior, and probably your complete opposite. Karen and yourself share similar facial features, and the same natural hair color, but that's about where the similarities end.

Karen's hair is long and straight, running down past her shoulders, almost always creating a sort of veil around her. Karen is a bit shorter than you, maybe 5'5" or 5'6", and much curvier. She was always more of a party girl than an athlete, and it's probably what her body was made for, to be honest. Whereas your were gifted with narrow hips and a small A-cup breasts, Karen developed a round bottom and large breasts. You're proud of your own body, and wouldn't ever want to change it, but you were always jealous of how much easier it was for Karen to find the 36C or 34D cup bras that she wore.

Karen wasn't slutty, but she always had a boyfriend. For a brief while, she once confided with you, she even had a girlfriend in college, but there was no way your parents could know about it! Karen was like that, though, always more concerned with having fun than with what was "normal."

Even now, Karen embodies that, wearing a bright orange spaghetti-strap shirt and blue jeans. The shirt showed off just a tiny amount of cleavage; it was just enough to combine with the orange shirt and attract stares. You were happy that your sister was so carefree, and excited when she offered to share an apartment with you.

Karen has been renting a room in an old converted mansion for the last year. It's only a few blocks from campus, and it's been converted into two three-bedroom apartments. One of the rooms in Karen's apartment has been empty, so she suggested that you move in with her instead of living on campus.

From what you've been told, the mansion is a great place. It's big, of course, and the architecture is really quirky compared to what you're used to. As the bus pulls into the station, you are excited to finally be able to explore it...