Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for reading my story... just a heads up to let you know, I don't go to Harvard, and whatever I didn't know about it or couldn't find out, I made up, so sorry if I make any mistakes - call it artistic license. :) Thanks!

PROLOGUE

It was definitely a change, that much was for sure.

To go from a small town in rural Pennsylvania to the wealthy campus of Harvard University was something that would definitely take some getting used to. The second that Corey Morland stepped foot onto campus all she could do was gape at fancy cars, designer clothes and expensive gadgets hanging from belt loops and pockets. But after a moment she managed to scrape her jaw off the floor and set it in determination – she had a lot of people counting on her, and there was no way she was going to let any of them down.

She’d been there a total of two hours now, and everything was going okay so far. Her parents hadn’t been able to take off work to help her get settled, so she’d driven her tiny little Geo Metro by herself in the rundown car, packed to the brim. She’d found her dorm and started to unpack, wondering when her roommate would arrive.

Eleanor Tilney – the name just sounded rich, and from the few e-mails they’d exchanged, she was now almost positive in her hypothesis. She hated to admit it, but rich people intimidated her – and she didn’t think anything would ever change that. But she did hope that she wouldn’t have reason to be intimidated… after all, she did want to get along with her roommate.

As if on cue, she heard people approaching in the hallway. She turned in time to see a man in a suit, holding a large plastic box appear.

“Um… hi,” Corey said awkwardly. He smiled politely as he entered the room, and to Corey’s relief, a clearly female head of brown curly hair appeared, struggling with another box that was equally as large.

“One sec,” she managed to mutter, edging around the still unidentified man and dropping the box onto the floor.

“Just set it down on top of this one, Miles. Thank you,” she said before turning and smiling at the bewildered Corey. “Sorry about that. You must be Corey. I’m Eleanor, but please call me Ellie,” she introduced herself, extending her hand. Corey smiled and shook it.

“Nice to finally meet you,” she said, taking a look at her new roommate. She was beautiful – curly brown hair that reached her shoulder blades, warm brown eyes, a captivating smile with dazzling teeth. Corey was surprised to realize that she didn’t look rich. She was dressed very similarly to Corey herself, in jeans and a plain gray t-shirt. And her smile was so friendly and warm – she actually seemed pretty decent.

“This is my driver, Miles,” Ellie introduced her to the man in the suit. Ahh… there it is.

“Hello, Miss,” Miles said with a nod. Corey waved awkwardly.

“Well, we’ll just bring up the rest of the stuff, and then we can get to know each other a bit,” Ellie said with a smile and a wink. Corey smiled back.

“Can I help with anything?” she offered.

“I think we’ve got it under control, but thanks,” Ellie replied before they walked out of the room.

Half an hour later, all of Ellie’s stuff was moved in, including a mini-fridge, microwave, TV and DVD player. Before Corey and Ellie had exchanged e-mails, Corey was had been dreading telling her roommate that she wouldn’t be able to afford any nice appliances, but Ellie had headed off that concern by telling her that she already had everything, and unless Corey really wanted to bring something, Ellie didn’t mind bringing it all.

Corey watched as Ellie said goodbye to her driver, giving him a generous tip, and she wondered why Ellie’s parents didn’t come to drop her off. She was tempted to ask, but thought better of it. Ellie turned back to unpacking her boxes, pulling a hair tie off her wrist and gathering her curls t the base of her neck.

“So… how long have you been here?” she asked Corey.

“Only a few hours,” she replied, looking down at the drawer that she was currently filling with clothes.

“Have you met our neighbors yet?”

“No… the door’s been open this whole time, but I think everyone’s still moving and settling in and everything.”

“Yeah, that’s true…”

“So…” Corey managed a smile. The small talk was killing her. “Are you from Cambridge?” Ellie smiled.

“I’m actually from Oakwood, but it’s pretty close to here.”

“Oh really? My aunt and uncle live there,” Corey said.

“Oh yeah? What are their names?”

“Jim and Robin Allen.” Ellie paused in her unpacking and wrinkled her brow for a moment.

“Jim Allen… sounds familiar,” she mused.

“Well, he used to be the chief of police, but he’s retired now.” Ellie nodded.

“I bet that’s it.”

“Yeah… I’m actually planning on going there over the holidays this year.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s our turn to have Thanksgiving with them this year, and I was thinking about getting a job there and staying with them over Christmas too so I can work.”

“Ahh, cool… well maybe we can carpool there,” Ellie said with a smile. Corey smiled back.

“Yeah, that’d be cool.”