For Joshua move-in day was a great experience, though for him it was more like return-day.  He had already been at the college for a year and so had no trouble getting some of the other students to help him return to his room.  His roommate was running a bit late today so he had not seen him yet and had made due with helping some of the other kids move in.  He got to see quite a few new faces as well as some old ones.  He knew quite a few people's names, maybe what they liked to do as well but aside from that not much.  Still it was fun in its own way.

The current dorm he was in was separated by what some might call the 'mixing lounge', that magical area in between the women's and men's dorms.  Well it was more magical for some than for others of course, especially the occasional couple who liked to flaunt off their status as together.  Outside he would smile but inside he could not help but think they really needed to go somewhere a bit more private, there was also that matter of his mother who every time she talked with him tried to encourage him to find a date.  He loved his mother but man could that woman nag, making him not want to bother.

He made his way to the lounge after a while and it was then that his life would start to take a drastic turn, it was when he first noticed [i]her[/i].  Joshua was not sure why this black-haired girl caught his attention, she was a bit pretty sure but there were plenty of beautiful people on campus but outside looks were only a mask for the person inside.  Often times when he got a peek under the mask the person was just not all that interesting, which was probably way he had a lot more [i]acquaintances[/i] than [i]friends[/i].  In any event it was not looks are the fact that she was typing away at a laptop with a drink she kept sipping.  It was some strange sort of nagging feeling that just would not go away.

In any event Joshua at first ignored it but soon her figure just kept getting caught in his eyes and there was no way to ignore it.  Then he saw something that made him stop trying to ignore her.  The girl wiped away something from face and he caught the faintest glimmer of a tear.  Did she have something in her eye?  Or maybe some other reason?  In any event Joshua excused himself from a group he had been talking to and made his way over to her, curiosity getting the better of him.

Acting as casually as he could, Joshua found a nearby seat and plunked himself down so he could be at eye-level with her.  He tried his best to look as friendly as possible as he started to speak.  [color=f7941d]"Hello there, my name is Joshua, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."[/color]  This was his opening line, which was true to a fault.  He thought about asking for her name right away but decided not to, as to let her introduce herself if she felt like it.

[color=f7941d]"Just wanted to say hi, no pressure or anything."[/color]  He said, trying to reassure her as much as he could.  Little did he know that this exchange was to be the start of something extraordinary, and at times dangerous.  If he had any knowledge beforehand would he have still talked to her?  Who knows but the first step had been taken.