Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

her, something I found deeply refreshing.
    As we walked on in silence, listening to Steph and Annie continue to chatter like hens, I realized how bizarre the whole situation truly was. It was like looking into a mirror. Annie and Steph were the long lost siblings, who looked dazzling and impressive, whereas Hope and I were the shy, unaware younger sisters that tagged along for the ride. 
    “Have you met any of the other people in the complex?” I asked.
    “Yeah, yesterday we saw a group of guys moving in next door while we were moving. There was also a guy and girl moving in below them at the same time,” Hope said.
    “Were they nice?” I asked.
    “Yeah, they were pretty cool,” Hope replied. “The couple was from here in Vegas. Emily and Sean I think their names were. And the two guys were your typical jocks, Chase and Tyler if I remember correctly. Didn’t really talk to them much, but the guys seemed rather cocky and kind of on the dimmer side.”
    “I’m sure Annie will be introducing us in no time,” I sighed. “Can’t wait to meet them.”
    Our conversation continued for another five minutes before we arrived at The Pit. Annie and Steph had finally finished their conversation; realizing how far back Hope and I had drifted as we approached the massive double glass doors. The place was extremely crowded. I couldn’t believe how many options there were to eat. There was everything from omelet and cereal bars to pancake and waffle irons. Not to mention the abundance of fresh fruit and five separate juice options. I finally was able to understand how the phrase “freshman fifteen” started. Hope and Annie only grabbed a few pieces of toast, which I believed was a sign of their nerves. Steph and I, on the other hand, loaded up with as many carbs as we could find. Steph was clearly calm and excited to be where she was, but Annie had started to quiet down a little bit since we got there. I could only guess she had started to get nervous about school starting.
    The common area was a huge room decorated with all types of school logos, pictures of famous alumni and murals of a Spartan, the school mascot. Tables were scattered all over the floor and were full of advertisements from different clubs all around campus inviting new students to join. The tables extended all the way to the windows, which covered the wall just like the Johnson’s kitchen, except these windows extended over twenty feet in the air. That wall of windows overlooked Spartan Stream, a manmade stream that ran through the middle of campus. We sat down in chairs that definitely didn’t meet my expectations, especially because of what tuition cost. They were rock hard, and had no cushioning on either the butt or the back. I wondered if it would be a bad idea to bring in a pillow to protect from eventual bruising. Then again, Annie would probably kill me for social status assassination.
    As we finished up our breakfast, which Steph had controlled for the most part with her thoughts about fraternity parties and college guys, we headed towards the University Center for orientation. The UC was the biggest building on campus. Every person, office or department that we’d ever need seemed to be in the one building. Our orientation was in the main conference hall on the seventh floor, and because so many students were coming in at once, we decided to take the stairs instead of waiting forever for the elevator to empty. Once at the top, we waited in a short line to receive our orientation packets before we entered the hall.
    I stared in awe as we walked into the conference hall. There must have been at least five hundred solo desks laid out similar to an amphitheater, with a long desk at the base. The ceiling rose high into the air, which gave the room a convention center feel. Behind the long desk were four large whiteboards, and an overhead projector screen was pulled down, covering the middle two boards. The place was moderately full, but we were