In the Air (The City Book 1) - By Crystal Serowka Page 0,2

personal language, and between these walls, everyone was fluent.

When I entered the Rose Building, I walked confidently through the expansive room, my eyes roaming over the modern space. I wandered past the hardwood steps that were filled with students interacting with one another then rushing off to their own destinations. Observing the faces, I could tell everyone was excited to be here. Their smiles were infectious.

Arriving at the elevator, I stared at my reflection on the metal doors. Outwardly, I appeared confident. No one would ever assume that I grew up constantly scrutinized by an overbearing mother. Her voice popped into my thoughts. Try harder, Natalia. Look how good she is. Why can't you extend your leg like that? You need to try harder.

There was never a day that passed when I hadn't pushed myself to become better. My mother would never admit it, but I succeeded far beyond what she was able to achieve in her own dance career.

The elevator doors opened and I walked through them, pressing the button for the eleventh floor. From there, I would take another set of elevators to the residence hall. Anxiety moved through me, and I was surprised that I had yet to get lost in the maze of the building.

In an attempt to calm my nerves, I took a deep breath, pulling down on my dark denim shorts and smoothing out the polka-dot shirt I had tucked into them. My personal style fit well in New York. It was a huge city, filled with so much diversity. I could dress how I wanted. My legs were covered in tights, and I wore my favorite pair of black combat boots that my father had gotten me for my birthday. Every time I wore them I was reminded of how they'd been on my feet for some of my most life-changing moments.

I transferred to the last set of elevators and hit the button for the twenty-seventh floor. It was pure luck that I was able to get a room so high up. I looked forward to staring out my window, admiring the busy streets and high-rise buildings. After the final elevator ding, I followed the signs on the walls until room 2725 came into view.

Standing outside the door, I heard muffled noises coming from inside. It was hard to pick up on the conversation, but I detected an English accent.

As I opened the door and stepped inside, the voices immediately halted. There were two women in the room. One, who looked to be my age, leaned against the window, while the older woman rushed forward with a smile on her face.

I would have assumed they were mother and daughter, except they looked nothing alike. The older woman was short in stature with small features while the younger girl towered over both of us. She had a smug look on her face, as if she thought the sun didn't shine until she woke up. Her wild black hair curled in every direction and her caramel skin was flawless. Her lips were the kind you only saw in lipstick ads while her nose was so perfect; it had to paid for. She wore a black mini-dress paired with black over-the-knee leather boots.

Awesome. Living with a supermodel is going to be great for my self-esteem.

"It's so nice to meet you. You must be Natalia Brooks."

The English accent resonated in my ears, dismissing me from the staring contest with my new roommate.

"I'm Trish Hynes and this is Kingsley, your new flatmate." She waved her hand in Kingsley's direction.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Natalia."

"We know your name," Kingsley spat out. She put her earbuds in and turned toward her closet.

I could already tell she wasn't going to be the easiest person to live with.

"Oh, right," I said quietly.

I walked to my bare bed and unloaded the heavy bags from my aching arms. The room wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. The beds were on separate sides of the room with two desks at each end. The white walls were clean, with no nail marks in sight, as if they'd just recently been painted. The carpet beneath my feet had various shades of blue and green. It looked cheap, reminding me to pick up a throw rug to make the room more cozy.

"She's just really excited to be here."

My survey of the room ended when I heard Trish's voice.

"She'll warm up to you." Trish gave me an encouraging smile and walked back over to Kingsley's bed, which was