After floating on air about my near-perfect grade in class, no one could tell me a thing.

I learned from just that one thing, that if I focus and worked hard, anything was possible. That motivated me to continue at it. I still wanted a life, I was not going to study all day and night, but I think I found a balance.

I think working at the front desk helped me with both my social life and studying. It was work, but also I was meeting so many new people. Besides Chandler on my floor who I hung out with often, I met another friend, Bria, who lived on the third floor. She was a riot.

She also worked at the front desk, and my shift was after her and she would stay for a bit and chat with me. She was a sophomore, twenty years old, from Omaha, Nebraska, and was a business management major so we had that in common.

It was amazing that I bonded with her so easily. Bria was an only child and spoiled a little, but down to earth. Always dressed nicely, with make-up on, she was very pretty. She let me know she had lip fillers added when she turned eighteen as well as breast implants. Her lips nor her breasts were overly huge and looked natural.

I looked over my scrawny body and wondered if I needed enhancements just a little bit. I was eighteen, perhaps my body was still changing. I liked it just fine, but compared to others, I was not as curvy.

"Never compare yourself to others," Bria said when I asked her if I needed any enhancements.

"But-" I was going to tell her she got enhancements to improve her appearance, why knock someone else, but she stopped me.

"I did not do mine for anyone else. I did it for me. And I didn't do a lot because I did not need it. You, you don't need it at all. You have the lips others pay to have. You have the breasts others pay to have. You're skinny, others diet and starve themselves to be that small. Don't change anything. You're so pretty."

I never was told I was pretty, not even by Diallo while we dated. He said he was attracted to everything about me and never focused on my looks. I wondered what other guys saw in me.

"And I was getting attention from guys before," Bria stated, "So that was not why either. I will never judge a woman who hasn't, or who has done enhancements. Let them live.'

I was going to drop it. I only thought of getting something done because she had. I needed to be my own person and embrace who I was.

We had a bad snowstorm come in and we had about six inches of snow. Nothing unusual for living in Missouri. Classes were canceled the first day of the storm, but after everything was cleaned, paved, and salted, we still had to make our way to classes the rest of the week. I had some cute snow boots plus a long, thick puffy coat that kept me plenty warm.

Sitting at the front desk at night, I had to have a small space heater under the desk because every time that door opened it blew in cold air. Bria did not mind the cold, and she stood there chatting with me with no complaints about the gushes of wind.

"This is great ski weather."

I had never in my life skied nor had an interest to.

"You should come with me, I'll probably go with my parents sometime soon."

"Uh-"

"Don't worry, they will give you lessons. Let me know."

The door opened, again blowing in the cold wind and I wrapped my arms around myself. In walked a tall guy bundled from head to toe, with a bright red skully cap, black and red scarf wrapped around his face and neck, long dark coat, gloves, and boots. It was cold out there, but he was a little overboard.

"Cafeteria still open?" he asked, muffled by the scarf.

I checked the time. It was eight fifteen and the cafeteria closed at eight. They let the last people enter at seven fifty-five and let them have fifteen minutes or so to eat before they all had to leave. So they were closed, closed.

"Sorry, just missed it," I said to him.

"You can try the Union, all restaurants take the meal plan till ten," Bria told him, checking him over, though we couldn't see much of his face.

"I do not want to walk out in that cold again!" He stomped off snow from his boots and unwrapped his scarf.

I could not tell before that he was a Black guy with so much of his face covered, but sure enough, he was a dark-skinned brother with a baby-smooth face. I smiled because, of course, hot guys always made me smile.

"It's not that bad," Bria chuckled at him "The Union is a fifteen-minute walk, just hustle."

"I do not do cold! I'm from Florida!"

"Oh, that explains it." I had to laugh at him. They did not get snow, much less negative temperatures in that state.

"I can't warm up! We need a fireplace," he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them.

It was not that cold in the lobby, he was doing too much. It was only cold when the double doors opened and blew in a slight breeze. Right now I have all warmed up again. I reached under the desk and brought up the small heater and sat it on the desk.

"Here, warm up with this."

"Oh, good looking out!" He took off his gloves, stuffed them in his pockets, and then started rubbing his hands near the heater.

I took that as my chance to study him. Tall, maybe six feet, because my daddy was six two and he was not as tall as him. He was brown skinned-darker than my brown skin, and he had dark brown eyes. A good-looking guy.

"Hi, my name is Rayvn." Might as well get out of my comfort zone.

"Hey there, I see you at the desk a lot," he said. "Cool job."

"And I'm Bria, I work the front desk too."

"Rodney. Do either of you have any pull to get me into the cafeteria then?"

I laughed at that. Why would he think that? I barely had any pull to get anything done at the front desk.

"Sorry," I said "There are vending machines on the top floor near the laundry room. I think they have sandwiches in one...and they are pretty fresh."

"Ugh! I miss home," he said, snatching off his hat revealing a low cut. "I don't think I like the weather here in Miss-ery."

"I'm sorry, I have to defend my state. It's the show-me-state, and she's just showing you that mother nature is in charge."

"I can't say anything. Nebraska about as worse as this weatherwise."

"Nebraska!" He looked Bria over. 

"You came far for school. Why Mizzou?"

"Good school, wanted something different." He pulled out his phone and looked at it. "I guess I can Uber Eats something in. They deliver here, right?"

"Sure, you have to come down and meet them here," I said.

"I don't mind hanging with you two lovely ladies while I enjoy my meal."

I was not trying to meet a new guy right when I was trying to focus on school. I just told two other guys I did not want a relationship, I could not then go and jump into one with another guy because he was cute. I mean, again, I am already jumping to things just because the guy wanted to hang out with me.

"You guys want anything while I order? On me."

"You don't even know us," I said.

"I'm just being nice."

"I just ate before I started my shift."

"I ate as well," Bria stated. "But we can take a raincheck on that."

"I'm good for it."

While Rodney waited for his food, he stood at the front desk and talked with Bria and me. He was nineteen, a freshman, from a small town near Fort Lauderdale. He was raised by his grandparents, but I did not push why. He had an older brother who was five years older than him and they were not that close.

He came to Mizzou not knowing a soul, like me. He had a few associates as he called it, but no real friends were made since starting Mizzou. He had been at our Residence Hall the whole time and liked it but did not do much socializing at the dorm.

Until now.

When his food was delivered, he sat on the sofa, pulled up a table, and devoured his food.

"Girl, I need to go up to my room and do something," Bria said to her. Then she leaned over the counter to her and whispered. "Go for it, he's cute."

"But...do you like him?"

"I think he doesn't like my type."

"What? Your type?"

She made an exaggerated rub of her arm, maybe emphasizing that she was white.

"Sorry, if you like him, I think you should just...let him know." I thought he was cute, but I was not going to lead the guy on when I had no clue what I wanted. If Bria liked him and was ready for a relationship and dating and all that, go for it.

Bria turned to look at Rodney, then turned back to me.

"I'm going to leave it up to him."

This was not going to be good.

A/N: Have to introduce more people so I can bring more drama. More guys for Rayvn to choose, or more girls to step in the way 😈