Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) by Barry Chaison Read Free Book Online Page A

apology, you’d be okay with me doing it too,” I said honestly, suppressing a giggle.
    Annie stormed out of the room, slammed the bathroom door, and didn’t meet me at the front of the condo for another fifteen minutes. Not surprisingly, it was one of the more quiet walks we’d ever had. Luckily we made it to The Pit before they stopped serving breakfast and were able to sit down with Hope and Steph, who were sitting with a few unfamiliar faces. As we approached the table, Steph jumped up and gave Annie and me big hugs and introduced us to the four newbies sitting at the table. Emily and Sean were a cute couple, although their constant PDAs were a bit uncomfortable. Chase and Tyler were exactly as Hope had described them. Their voices were way too monotone, and they were physical specimens. They were extremely friendly and kind of cute as they held out our chairs to sit down and held the doors open for us when we left The Pit.
    “So, what do you think of Vegas?” Tyler asked in a baritone voice. I actually had to look up at him to answer, which was bizarre for me.
    “Um, it’s alright I guess.”
    “That’s not very convincing,” he said cynically.
    “Well, I’ve never been so hot in my life. This isn’t normal!” I joked. It was another gruelingly hot day already, having hit one hundred degrees by 10:00.
    “Nah, it’s a dry heat. Trust me, you’ll get used to it,” he replied, putting on his shades. “So, where you guys from?”
    “Born and raised in Seattle.”
    “Ah, that explains it. What brought you guys down here then if you hate the heat so much?”
    “Annie’s never been a fan of the rain really,” I shrugged. “And she’s my best friend, so I go where she goes.”
    “She’s a smart girl, Vegas is awesome! Once you get used to it, you’ll never want to leave. I guarantee it.”
    “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” I laughed. It was such an odd sensation. Someone was actually talking to me, wanting to know things about me. For the first time in a long while, I finally didn’t feel ignored.
    As we walked, Chase and Annie were having an animated discussion about football, while Emily and Sean were holding hands and kissing as they walked. Steph and Hope had caught up to Tyler and me as we headed towards our own Perspectives classes.
    “So, Zoe,” Steph started cautiously, looking somewhat frightened.
    “Yeah?”
    “Well, since the first week is over today, and the upperclassmen will be here soon, we wanted to know if you and Annie would be down for throwing a party at our places next weekend,” she asked. I looked at Hope who just smiled timidly, looking uncomfortable and out of place.
    “Oh,” I gasped.
    “Oh hell yeah we’re down,” Annie quickly shouted from in front of us. She shot me the most glaring warning look I’d ever gotten from her.
    “Uh, I guess so,” I said nervously.
    Steph’s face looked shocked at first. “Really? You sure?”
    “Sure,” I replied hesitantly, holding back the millions of reservations that were building up inside.
    “Wow, well thanks! It’s going to be a blast!” she said excitedly, turning to everyone else. “Next Friday it is!”
    “PARTAY!!!” Chase and Tyler yelled as they ran down the sidewalk, yelling at the other freshmen walking by. Soon, they were out of sight, but their voices were still heard for another few seconds. The thoughts of a party, in our apartment, started wreaking havoc on my nerves. Instead of starting in the shallow end of the social pool, Annie and Steph were throwing me into the deep end. It was as though within that minute, the day which looked so promising had quickly taken a turn for the worse. Luckily, Perspectives and my last professor meeting were still ahead which made the party pill a little easier to swallow.
    Class flew by quicker than any other class had during the week, and before I knew it, the Religious Studies building crept into view. I started to feel anxious. My religious