Nearly Friendless at Nereson

Callie Sommers walked meekly down the hallway of Harrison Hall on her way to her first class as a freshman at Nereson College. Her light blonde curls bounced as she made her way down what seemed to be a never-ending corridor. The hallway was quiet as students filed into their classrooms, removing their AirPods while settling into the nearest open seat.

Callie didn’t have AirPods. Her parents never had the money to keep up with the latest trends, so her headphones were still attached to her phone by a cord. Therefore, she didn’t listen to music or podcasts on her way around campus like the rest of the students did. The constant stream of racing thoughts kept her mind occupied anyway.

Callie entered room 104 for her Introduction to Psychology class with Dr. Anne Marsh. She was majoring in Psychology because it was the one subject in high school that really caught her attention. Callie was fascinated by the human mind and behavior.

She scanned the room for an open seat. Having made no friends or acquaintances yet at Nereson College, she sought a desk towards the back of the room, away from the teacher’s podium where she could avoid undue attention.

As Callie took out her textbook and notepad, a group of four beautiful and bubbly girls waltzed in rather loudly. Dr. Marsh closed the door behind them as they took the four open seats in the front of the class. The leader of the group was a petite brunette with a silky short bob, perfectly straight white teeth, and crystal blue eyes that pierced Callie’s soul when they made eye contact. Callie heard the other girls call her Becca.

The girl next to Becca had long blonde hair neatly placed in a ponytail with a white bow streaming down each side of her head. She had big brown eyes and a slender nose. “Pssst, Becca, do you have a pencil?” the girl whispered loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

“Libby! How do you not have a pencil on the first day of class?” Becca giggled while handing her a mechanical pencil.

“Hannah and Riley dumped my backpack out last night while they were looking for Riley’s cellphone,” Libby responded, rolling her eyes at the other two girls. Callie pondered which girl was which; one was rather tall with an athletic build, and the other was short with auburn braided pigtails.

"I wish I had friends here," Callie thought, trying to look past the girls to focus on today’s lesson. Dr. Marsh was going over the syllabus. The first-day class agendas never held Callie’s attention; they were always predictable and boring.

Callie began to think about her friends from high school. None of them stuck around to go to Nereson College close to their hometown like she did; they chose schools hundreds of miles away in bigger cities. Her stomach began to ache as she thought about how much she missed them.

Callie looked up at the Fabulous Four after catching herself doodling hearts and stars on her notepad. Libby passed a pack of gum down the line, and Becca was sharing her lip gloss with either Riley or Hannah. “I should introduce myself,” Callie thought, feeling her stomachache turning into a racing heart and nausea. Callie wasn’t great at being social and making friends; her parents’ lack of funds made her feel inferior to other kids in class, and she had inherited her mother’s shy demeanor. She had her small group of friends in high school, but they had all been friends since kindergarten.

The bell rang, signaling that the class hour was complete. All the students picked up their backpacks and Stanley cups and made their way toward the door. The Fabulous Four took their time getting up from their seats. Callie walked up the row of desks and stopped at Becca. “Hi, could you tell me where Hopkins Hall is?” Hopkins Hall was where her next class was. She had already scoped out all her classrooms, but she figured this would be a good question to ask to make an introduction.

Becca looked up from her phone and scoffed. “Ha. Sorry, I don’t. Maybe you can ask the professor?” Her tone was rather short and harsh. Becca went straight back to scrolling through Instagram.

Callie looked around, her cheeks turning red. She was embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond. She looked over at Libby; Libby’s big brown eyes looked empathetic, but she quickly turned away as if she couldn’t engage with someone that Becca had so rudely shot down.

“Oh, yeah. Of course,” Callie replied as she hurried toward the door. “That was so embarrassing,” she thought. “Am I not pretty enough for them?”

The rest of the day, Callie thought about the interaction with Becca. “How can I ever show my face in that class again? Becca obviously isn’t open to making new friends, let alone being nice to people.”

Callie was sitting at a picnic table on the quad, lost in her own thoughts, when a couple of older girls walked up to the other end of the table. “Do you mind if we sit here?” the one with dark black hair and forest green eyes asked.

“No, not at all,” Callie responded quickly, as if she had been startled.

“Freshman?” the other girl asked while straightening her skirt as she sat at the table.

“Can you tell?” Callie asked with a sigh.

“Kind of. You’re sitting alone,” the first girl giggled. “Eliza,” she offered, sticking out her hand for a shake.

“Callie,” Callie responded, grabbing hold of Eliza’s soft hand.

“I’m Grace,” the other girl said, moving in for a hug. “I’m a hugger. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Nope,” Callie laughed nervously. “I appreciate people talking to me. Not everyone has been as friendly.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Eliza responded. “It wasn’t easy for the two of us to make friends as freshmen either. Grace was my dorm roommate. She’s been stuck with me ever since.”

“It’s only been two years,” Grace joked, rolling her eyes at Eliza.

As the three of them chatted, the Fabulous Four made their way down the quad. “Oh look, Grace, it’s your sister,” Eliza pointed toward Becca.

Callie choked. “Becca is your sister?”

“Yes ma’am. Do you know her?” Grace asked.

“Not really. I just had Intro to Psych with her,” Callie responded.

Becca and her posse made their way toward the table. “Grace! Do you have $5?” Becca whined to her older sister. “Dad hasn’t transferred me more money yet and I really could go for some ice cream right now.”

Becca caught a glimpse of Callie, and annoyance came over her face. “Grace and Eliza. Are you hanging out with freshmen now?”

“Yeah, we are,” Grace stated matter-of-factly. “Callie here was just saying you’re in her psychology class.”

Becca looked a little ashamed. “Did you find the building you were looking for?” She asked timidly towards Callie. It seemed to Callie that Grace held some sort of authority over Becca.

“Just fine, thanks,” Callie chimed in, a little amused by the dynamic between Becca and Grace.

Callie looked past Becca to Libby, Hannah, and Riley. They all pretended like they hadn’t ignored Callie earlier after she was shot down by Becca. Callie smiled politely at them. “Hi, I’m Callie.”

“Riley, Hannah, and Libby,” Becca pointed to each one, offering up their names. She grabbed the cash from Grace’s hand and briskly walked toward the cafeteria. “See ya around,” she murmured back to Callie.

Callie was a little pleased with the Fabulous Four’s timidity after seeing Callie with Grace and Eliza. These girls must be the cool ones that the Fabulous Four want to hang out with.

“What do you have planned later?” Eliza asked Callie. “We are going to a frat party if you want to come.”

Callie tried feverishly to hide the smirk forming on her lips. “I would LOVE to come.”

“Awesome. Are you in a dorm?” Grace asked.

“Yes, Dahl Hall,” Callie replied.

“Us too! What floor?” Eliza squealed.

“Second, Room 222.”

“212,” Grace said with a surprised look on her face. “Come to our dorm at 9 p.m. We can get ready together.”

Callie nodded, smiling ear to ear. They got up from the table and parted ways. Callie had one more class for the day before she could rummage through her closet for something to wear to the party. The excitement inside her was more than she could handle. She let out an excited shriek and skipped down the sidewalk toward her next class.

“Thank goodness!” she whispered to herself, thrilled that she was able to make friends on her first day of class. “College life may not be so bad after all.”