Prologue

Richard looked on at Jinx and Wally in pure annoyance as they smooched in front of him after sharing a banana split dessert together at their little round table before looking at the plain tasting churro he held in his hand dejectedly. Wally pulled away from his girlfriend and smiled at her in admiration as he ran his hand through the bright pink locks of her hair.

"How does your hair look so healthy even though you dyed it? Wow.." He questioned her. She grinned back in response.

"'Cause I'm Indian. It's also the first time I've dyed my hair."

"You look beautiful," Wally remarked before going back in to snog with her. Snogging is somewhat of a gross term to use for making out with someone but Richard thought the term suited how he felt about it best. Of course, Richard knew if he agreed to go out to the carnival with them that he'd definitely be the third wheel, and by that fact only, he preferred to not say anything about their obnoxious PDA, but to suck it up and take another bite of his churro. Though when he could not take anymore unwanted ASMR from their make out session he opted to make conversation.

"So… why do they call you Jinx anyway?" Richard has only just met the girl about forty minutes from the present time and her boyfriend about a day ago when they moved into a dorm together and became official freshmen roommates.

"She brings bad luck," Wally answered for her. "If you see a ladder, she's under it. If you hear a mirror break, it was her fault. She's even opened umbrellas at my house pretending to be Mary Poppins. But the bad luck never happens to her, just people around her. So I call this marvelous woman, Jinx." Jinx nodded in agreement.

"It's sort of a sick joke. One time a black cat walked across the sidewalk in front of me and a few minutes later this guy walking slipped and broke his arm in the same place it happened." Richard only raised his eyebrows in response as both Wally and Jinx turned the conversation to each other only and excluded him out of it.

"You guys want to go on the Ferris wheel?" Richard asked in an attempt to be apart of the group once more. The couple looked at the ride in question and shook their heads.

"Nah. Long line."

"Alright. Well I'm gonna go on it, and I'll come back later, just text me if you go anywhere," Richard got up with his churro. He was not disappointed in their answer but actually somewhat relieved as even though he would have to wait in a somewhat long line, he didn't have to feel like a third wheel anymore.

He didn't expect welcome week to be completely mind blowing and for new friends to just flock to him as he joined more group chats but also it was incredibly underwhelming as he had not made any new friends yet. Sure, Wally's cool, but he seemed more focused on hanging out with his girlfriend for the time being. But again, it is the first event the university is throwing to kick off the new year. He had plenty of time to be social. Just like he had plenty of time to wait in line for the Ferris wheel. By the time he arrived at the front gates, it had been about thirty minutes, a time that was actually shortened largely to the couples who left the line in favor of something shorter. When it was his time to finally go on, he sat in his seat as he waited for the ride operator to finish letting people in.

"Are you sitting with anyone?" The operator questioned him waiting expectedly for an answer. Unfortunately she had caught Richard off guard as he'd been looking off into the distance and could not formulate a response in the desired time allotted so she turned her attention to the crowd. "IS ANYONE RIDING ALONE? WE HAVE ONE SEAT LEFT!" She shouted so that all could hear. Richard fumbled to reject the idea of sitting next to a stranger on a slow Ferris wheel when a hand shot up from the crowd.

"I AM ALONE!" A girl answered hurriedly before anyone else and the operator invited her onto the platform in response. Richard's eyes widened as the operator turned to address him.

"She's going to sit with you. Is that okay?" His mouth was opened but only jumbled words came out when he attempted to answer and his eyes darted back and forth between the girl and the operator. The operator once again did not wait long enough for him to give an articulate response and the next thing she was doing was checking that the girl and Richard were both properly secured into their seats before moving onto someone else.

Richard watched on as the girl adjusted her position in her seat, oblivious to his staring. She was very tall, Richard guessed at least six feet, maybe a bit taller than him. She had a very deep tan skin tone and bright green eyes. She also was a redhead and had a head full of long curly ringlets that spilled over her shoulder and reached the seat bar that acted somewhat as a metal seatbelt for the both of them. A very odd combination, but the most beautiful he has ever seen. After she was adjusted, she turned to smile at her new ride partner.

"Hello." She addressed him simply.

"Hey." He was pretty sure he was blushing.

"My name is Kory."

"Richard."

"Are you a freshmen?" She inquired.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yes. First year for me. What is your major?"

"Criminal Justice and business." Richard did not even notice that the ride had started.

"I am also studying the business."

"Are you an exchange student?" He blurted out and immediately regretted it. What a stupid thing to ask, not to mention weird. If he was not red before, he was now. Instead, Kory smiled warm heartedly.

"Yes. Sorry, my English is not very good. I'm North African."

"Your English is great. I wish I was bilingual." She smiled sweetly and turned to look out at the entirety of the carnival as their cart had reached the top of the Ferris wheel.

"This is a very nice place. Americans are as friendly as I was told."

"Have you made any friends here?"

"My roommate is polite. But she likes to be alone, I sense."

"Is that why you're here alone?" Her smile dampened slightly as she turned back to answer his question.

"Yes." Richard stayed silent for a moment, realizing that maybe that wasn't the best question to ask.

"It's okay. I came here with two other people but I might as well have come alone because I became the third wheel." He quipped.

"What is the third wheel?"

"It's when three people are hanging out but what really is happening is that two people are hanging out with each other and ignoring the third person so that the third is sort of just tagging along for no reason."

"Oh!" Kory grinned and chuckled. "That has happened to me before. Where are your two others?" Richard pointed to the table he'd previously been sitting at where the couple was now sharing a basket of nacho cheese fries.

"I like her pink hair. Is the boy your roommate?"

"Yeah. His name is Wally. I think he's a track athlete, but I forgot his major."

"He has red hair like me. Do you like your roommate, Wally?"

"Yeah, he's cool. I hope his girlfriend doesn't stay at our dorm all the time though. It's a very small space."

"Truly!" Kory grinned and positioned her body towards him. "I do think my roommate would have liked a private room better!"

"Do you like your roommate? Do you think she will stay in your dorm a lot?"

" I do," Kory chose her words carefully. "But we are different. She is, I believe it is called, the goth? She has the goth taste. But she does not wear all black and such, but I notice she likes the style. She likes to be alone, but she is already very busy. She has two jobs, I think. So she has no time to stay in the dorm all the time, but she does not go out." Richard nodded in understanding. "I am very...fashion, girlish. I like to go out and do girl things. I invited her to come with me tonight, but she had to work, she said."

"As long as she's not too horrible, you'll be fine."

"Oh no! She is very lovely despite all that. I thought she was mean but she is very nice! We went to the cafeteria together earlier and when they tried to overcharge me on my food, she yelled at them for me!"

Robin raised his eyebrow once again in amusement. Kory shrugged her shoulders.

"I am sure she will warm up to me soon," Kory reassured him. By then, they had reached the end of the ride, back at the bottom. They both exchanged polite smiles as they shuffled to get out of their seats once the metal bar was unlocked and followed each other down the ramp and onto the dry grass of the fairgrounds.

"Which ride are you going on next?" He asked, taking in her full height now that she was next to him. She was about two inches taller. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her denim shorts.

"I am not sure. What would you like to ride?" Richard could not keep himself from smiling as he realized she wanted to keep hanging out with him.

"Have you ridden the comet?"

"Which one is that?"

"It's over there." He pointed to a ride right of the ferris wheel. "It's really fun, you stand against the walls and it spins really fast so that you can sit or lay on the wall without falling. Though, you shouldn't ride it if you have a weak stomach."

"I do not have a weak stomach. Would you like to ride it with me?" She offered shyly.

"Yes." Maybe Richard had managed to make a friend after all.

XxX

An hour and a half later, they were both walking back to their dorms. It was discovered between the both of them, they lived in the same dorm, although different floors, where Kory lived on the fourth floor and Richard resided on the seventh floor. They had ridden almost every ride in the carnival and even had gotten ice cream at an ice cream shop down the street from campus, which they were now enjoying as they laughed along in high spirits after such an unexpectedly good night. Richard found Kory to be a very positive person, which was greatly needed as he had been feeling somewhat pessimistic lately since move-in. Her laugh was contagious and he was pretty much obsessed with watching her curls bounce as she began to feel more comfortable around him and therefore not so stiff. Kory also found him to be delightful to be around, he was very relaxed. He also told her a lot about what it was like to live in the area, as he is from there. They had lots of joyous conversation, and even more fun on rides like the comet, and what a fond memory that will be, to be able to lay upside down against a wall and not fall down! She was almost glad that her roommate, a girl named Raven, did not attend the carnival with her because then she would not have met Richard.

"What made you study business anyway?" They were both recovering from laughter and proceeded with their conversation beforehand as they ride the elevator to the fourth floor.

"It is very important that I learn this for my future." She beamed at him.

"Well, yeah, but that could be said for any major,"

"It's a secret." She whispered to him and smiled down at her Oreo milkshake, stirring it lightly.

"Oooo, a girl of mystery." She began to chuckle but quickly recomposed herself to maintain mysteriousness as the elevator doors to her floor opened to welcome her.

"Tonight was fun. I thank you, Richard, for keeping me the company."

"Same could be said for you," He smiled dumbly at her.

"Goodnight," She smiled at him once again before stepping off and walking away, sipping her milkshake. Richard remained in the elevator, smiling at the now closed doors, feeling very happy as to what the night became. It took him a full minute to realize that he had forgotten to ask for her number.