Chapter 1
Year 2021
Graham sighed as he pressed the submit button for his assignment. The essay had taken a lot longer to complete than he'd thought. He was late to meet his housemates at Memorial Union, it was a standing arrangement that they would meet every Wednesday for dinner. He ran his fingers through his short dark brown hair with one hand while he pulled out his phone with the other and messaged the group of guys.
GRAHAM: Sorry guys, I just submitted my essay, I'll be there as soon as I can.
JOHN: We're just about to order, do you want your usual?
GRAHAM: Sure, my brain is fried so that makes it so I don't have to think!
JOHN: You're so predictable!
OLIVER: Like you aren't John! Have you ever gotten anything different in the past year?
LUCAS: No he hasn't...
GRAHAM: Have any of us?
NOAH: I have! But the rest of you are stuck in a rut!
ELIJAH: Noah you're almost as bad. And why would I want to waste my money on something I'm not sure I'd love?
NOAH: But you won't know that you don't love it if you don't try it!
ELIJAH: Not all of us have parents who pay for everything!
GRAHAM: Isn't that the truth!
LUCAS: Only the lucky one! But Graham you have a fellowship so you're lucky that way!
NOAH: Hey at least my parents bought the house we live in, you guys should be grateful I talked them into that so you don't have to pay rent!
ELIJAH: Believe me we're grateful, and would be more so if you wouldn't keep reminding us of it.
NOAH: I only remind you when you start after me about money!
JOHN: You know we only do it to keep you humble!
GRAHAM: Are you all sitting at the table texting instead of talking?
OLIVER: Just want you to feel included man.
GRAHAM: I'm heading out now, see you in a few.
Graham had packed up his laptop by then and headed out to catch a bus to meet his housemates. He could walk, but the Wisconsin winter was in full swing and the buses were warmer, not to mention faster. He made it outside and caught the bus just in time. Luckily the bus wasn't too crowded, it was hard to squeeze his six foot, broad shouldered frame on a crowded bus. He typically found it easier to stand than squeeze into a seat, so he found a place to hold on by the back doors.
In just a few minute the bus was stopping at Memorial Union, he got off the bus and hurried in to get out of the frigid air. Just before he got to the Rathskeller he passed by a group of girls. His head turned as his deep blue eyes followed them because one of them looked familiar, but the short glimpse he got wasn't enough for him to recognize where he knew her from. She was classically beautiful, her dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail that swayed as she walked. Her face tugged his memories, from her high cheekbones to her round eyes, with their ocean blue color. There were two girls in the group he'd normally want to check out, but he instead was drawn to her face. There was something about it that he couldn't put a finger on. As he walked in and found his friends, he still couldn't place where he knew her from.
"Why so deep in thought?" Oliver asked. Oliver had grown up in Milwaukee, he'd had a rough childhood and he overcome a lot. His black hair was short and his deep brown skin was more of a lighter umber after being out of the sun for a few months as most people lost their summer tans in the dark Wisconsin winters. Oliver was just slightly taller than Graham but not quite as broad, but not skinny either.
"Just passed someone that looked familiar and I can't place them. You all know I get obsessive when I can't figure things out." Graham explained, his thick eyebrows bunched in concentration.
"Must have been a hot girl for you to be trying so hard to remember." Noah joked. Noah had the all American look, with tanned skin that he kept all winter due to the tanning visits that he claimed were for the vitamin D benefits and to help against Seasonal Affective Disorder. He had sun kissed blonde hair that was a couple inches long and always looked perfect even after he'd just run his hands through it.
Graham shrugged. "She's not one who would normally catch my eye, she's more John's type."
"Which means she's smoking hot." John laughed. John was the youngest and shortest of the group, he was only five foot seven with red hair with green eyes and a mischievous smile.
"It's just so weird, like I should know her but there's nothing. I may remember where I've seen her before but since campus is large I'll probably never run into her again." Graham tried to remain neutral. However, he knew that he would be bugged until he could figure out who she was and why she looked so familiar. This was the first time in his five and a half years on campus he'd seen her, he was sure of that so he knew he may never see her again.
"Where did you run into her?" Noah asked, an idea popping into his head.
"Just in the hall before I came in, she was in a group of 5 girls." Graham explained.
"Could they have just left here?" Elijah asked, picking up on why Noah asked. Elijah was just an inch taller than John, with olive-brown skin, tan hair with deep brown eyes.
"Possible, I wasn't paying attention until I saw them, why?" Graham was wondering why they were so interested.
"There was a group of 6 at that table over there and they left here just before you arrived. Noah knows one of them." Oliver explained, nodding toward a table that was just being cleaned. "And John did think one of them was hot."
"Actually she's my little brother's friend." Noah corrected talking over Oliver's last statement.
John commented just after Noah, "I never said anything, stop assuming."
"Friend or friend?" Lucas asked emphasized the last word. Then turned to John, "You didn't have to say anything, the longing glances you were sneaking sold you out." Lucas was not quite six foot tall with auburn hair and sky blue eyes. If he wore flannel he would look like a stereotypical lumberjack, beard included.
"Friend." Noah stated without emphasis, then went on to explain after the raised eyebrows everyone sent his way, "She is a friend of his high school girlfriend, but they were pretty tight. So she hung around our house a lot especially when all their friends came over. They'd be home when I visit so I know their names and a bit that I'd overhear. You know how it is being an older brother and having them want to hang out with you." Several of them nodded in agreement at this, some were the older brother while some were the younger brother.
Graham only knew because of his childhood friend, who had several younger siblings who liked to be their shadows. Graham's parents had died when he was young and he was an only child as his Aunt who took him in never married.
"It was probably not the same group, didn't you say there were 6, her group only had 5." Graham didn't want to get his hopes up.
"Actually Emma - my brothers friend - left a few minutes before the rest of the group." Noah said, "So it's possible that they are the same group. I could get Emma's info from my brother and see if we could run into them if they meet up again."
Graham pondered for a minute, he didn't want to seem to eager or he'd never hear the end of it from his friends, especially since they all lived together. They'd take it as interest instead of his need to figure it out.
"It could be interesting to see if they were the same group. Especially since the probability that you know someone who knows the mystery girl is low." Oliver interjected. "Although the probability does increase since there is a chance they could be the same group."
"Said like a true Stats major!" John teased.
"Let's try, I'd love to see if I can place her and to prove if Oliver's probability is right or wrong." Graham said.
"Glad to give you an excuse bro." Oliver joked. "And Stats was undergrad, now I'm Finance." Oliver added to John. John just rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, it's just going to bug me until I place where I know her from." Graham explained. He hoped they bought it and wouldn't keep teasing him.
"Well we know it's not from that podunk town you grew up in, you know everyone by name there!" Lucas reasoned.
"Definitely not from my home town, but it's really that I just can't place her but know that I recognize her." Graham knew everyone in that small town.
"Was Emma the only one from your brother's friends that was here?" John asked.
"The only one I recognized, so probably." Noah answered. "I mean there could have been one from their high school that just didn't hang out at my house so I don't know them."
Their food arrived at that point and everyone started digging into the delicious food in front of them.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Emzl
Emzl This is in an alternative timeline where Covid never hits.
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