That being said, a whirl in my favorite dress might be just the bright spot I need in an otherwise crappy start at a new school.

I lift the dress, a beautiful light pink lacy Dolce Gabbana number that is feminine and sexy, and with my summer tan still intact highlights my blonde hair and green eyes perfectly. I empty it from its protective bag, shove the box to the top of the closet, and then head back out to the room and lay the dress on my bed.

Grabbing my shower caddy, I prepare to face my roommates. There’s only one way to the bathroom, and I’ve gotta go by them to get to it.

The common living room between our bedrooms is small but comfortable. The girls already had a blue couch and a TV when I moved in. My first day in Valley, I made my initial mistake when I went out and bought a floral print armchair, a rug, and a lamp to contribute to the room. I’m sure they’d already pinned me as the spoiled princess type from the rumors and news articles, but I found out real fast that flaunting my money was not the way to win them over.

Bri sits where the armchair should be, but it’s pushed against the wall, and she’s on the floor with her back to me. Sydney and Emily are on the couch with their dresses held up in front of them. Emily avoids eye contact with me altogether, hiding behind her blonde curls. Sydney smiles and then catches herself and looks away faster than I can return the gesture of friendliness.

I’m two steps from the freedom of the hallway when Bri calls, “Are you coming tonight or is this type of thing too lowbrow for you?”

I fight back a witty and cutting remark. “Yep, I’ll be there.”

I slip out and head to the ladies’ room. Freddy dormitory is a co-ed dorm, but the guys and girls have separate bathrooms. It hasn’t stopped me from walking in on the random guy coming out of one of our toilet stalls or spotting two pairs of feet under shower stalls, but mostly, everyone seems thankful for our separate spaces.

Freddy is where the majority of the student-athletes are placed at Valley. All the volleyball girls, with the exception of a few who live off-campus, are here. Before we arrived, all of our doors were decorated with our names in cutesy cutouts that matched our sport. Volleyballs, soccer balls, tennis racquets, and so on. There’s at least one person from every sport living on my floor.

It’s busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Doors open and shut all down the hallway, laughter and conversations filtering out and giving the place a fun and party-like vibe. It feels decidedly less depressing walking the twenty steps to the bathroom than it does being in my own room.