Old Dreams No Return (Serena) novel Chapter 11

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11

When the plane touched down, it was drizzling on the West Coast.

The humid air, thick with the scent of an unfamiliar city, hit me square in the face. I took a deep breath, gripping my suitcase handle tight.

A new life. Just like that, it began.

UCLA was nestled right in the heart of this city. Its campus was shaded by ancient sycamore trees, giving off a uniquely graceful vibe you just didn’t get up East.

After I finished my enrollment paperwork and grabbed my dorm key, I got all my stuff unpacked and settled in.

I made sure not to check my phone.

I knew the class group chat was probably still blowing up about Liam and Tiffany.

But all that? It didn’t concern me anymore.

I pulled out a new SIM card, yanked the old one out, and chucked it.

The next day, the dorm was buzzing with activity.

The other three roommates trickled in, one by one. They were from all corners of the country, with totally different vibes, but every single one of them was super friendly.

We all swapped snacks from our hometowns, gabbing away and gushing about our hopes for this new chapter.

I just smiled and listened, throwing in a comment here and there.

But that detachment, being around all these new faces, actually brought me a strange kind of peace I hadn’t felt in forever.

Club rush was in full swing on Central Avenue.

My roommates dragged me through the crowds, but my eyes were drawn to a relatively quiet tent nearby.

I stopped dead in front of the Dance Crew’s banner.

“Hey, into dance?”

A gentle voice asked.

The guy who asked was wearing a white shirt, his club ID hanging around his neck.

He was looking down, organizing the sign-up sheets on the table, seemed like he just asked casually, super chill about it.

“Hmm…”

“Our club has a really chill vibe, and totally beginner-friendly.”

He looked up, his eyes landing on me. He didn’t stare or anything, just gave me a friendly smile and handed over a sign-up sheet. “Wanna fill one out and give it a shot? We’ll have a quick chat next week, mostly just to meet everyone. No pressure, seriously.”

I hesitated for a moment, then took the form. “Thanks…”

“I’m Mark, Mark Grant, a junior in Computer Science,” he said.

He smiled, then grabbed a pen from the table and handed it to me. “You can fill it out right here.”

Just then, another club member rushed over. “Mark! The speaker’s acting up, could you take a look?”

“Yeah, be right there.”

Mark nodded, then gave me a quick apologetic smile. “My bad, you just fill that out. If you have any questions, just ask anyone else here.”

I looked down, finished filling out the form, and handed it to another senior.

As I left the tent, I instinctively glanced back. Mark was squatting by the speaker, totally engrossed in checking the wires.

Interview day.

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got there a bit early, so I grabbed a seat by the window to wait.

“Serena?”

A familiar voice.

I turned, seeing Mark coming up from the stairs.

“Mark.”

1 straightened up.

You’re here early?”

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He walked over, his voice soft, like we’d been friends for ages. “Don’t be stressed. The teachers running this thing are pretty chill. They just wanna check your physical shape and if you’ve got an ear for music.”

I nodded.

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