A garden lined with roses on one side and daisies on the other. A loving couple seated on the large wooden swing in the middle. Two kids .a boy, maybe 8 and a girl,6, are playing near the swing. You can hear somebody calling them. Probably grandpa reminding them its time to get in. It's going to be dark soon.

　　The voice is getting disturbingly louder. Things are getting blurred. I hear a scream and I am pulled out of that beautiful picture. It's my mom, calling me, rather screaming at me to wake up. It's my graduation day after all.

　　How the three years went by I did not even know. I should say they were the best years of my life, the crazy schedule with crazier partying. It was my dream to graduate, get a job, settle, and have a happy life like my parents. I have been blessed with the most loving parents. We have had our times of naughty kid, teenage rebellions, occasional breakdowns but still, our small family has always been very close-knit. I really could not ask for more. And today is the first step towards my dream, I have graduated with distinction and been recruited to a job which I start next week.

　　"Hurry up Aki!! We are going to be late". Aki, Akira Park, that's me and that impatient voice belongs to my best friend Stan. Tristan Doyle.My neighbor of three years. He was a transfer student, joined after college started and moved right next door and now we are inseparable.

　　"Give me a minute". I reply. As if.

　　I drag my half-asleep ass out of bed and into the bathroom. I look into the mirror and rewind the crazy night in my head. My curly hair is not doing a good job in hiding my disastrous hungover face from me. I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness as my college life comes to an end.

　　I quickly took a shower and by the time I came out to the kitchen, he was finishing up breakfast. He usually stays for most meals at my place since.its just him and Uncle Tim at home. They moved here after his mom passed away and uncle usually travels a lot for his job.

　　"C'mon Aki, not today. We need to be on time" Stan is impatient.

　　"Ooh the lover boy is restless" I teased him. Mom rolled her eyes at me and fixed his tie.

　　"Don't be nervous. You look perfect. She is going to say yes. She loves you". My mom tried to encourage him. Yes. He is planning to propose to his girlfriend Ivy Jones after the graduation party. He was looking really handsome today in a tuxedo. It really fit his 185 cm frame and gave a manly look, unlike his usual boyish charm.

　　"I really hope so," He said under his breath as he nervously ran his hand through his wavy hair.

　　"Its gonna be fine!!" I said to him as I pulled him out of the house. "All the best!!" My mom called out after us. It was just our fathers coming with us today.

　　At the college, it was all banners and flashy posters. There were a few batches graduating today and the place was buzzing with excitement. My dad was a professor at the college and went with Uncle Tim to find his colleagues and we went our way to the class.

　　Most of my class was here today and as usual, the main topic of discussion was our chief guest, Mr. Daniel Anderson.

　　The Andersons were a prominent family in the city, with their business spread all over the world. It started with Daniel's grandfather but each generation added to the accomplishments. Daniel joined right after he finished business studies at Harvard University. Daniel scaled heights previously unknown. He was named in the top ten entrepreneurs at barely 28 by Forbes. We have all seen his pictures and interviews. He was an extremely handsome man and a great speaker. I could say I was a fan probably just like all the other girls and boys in my class. A few of us were placed at Andersons' as interns and that added to the excitement.

　　"The principal was looking for you" a classmate informs me. I remembered that dad wanted me to personally meet the principal before I left the Uni.

　　"See you in a bit," Stan said as he left me to find Ivy, and I went to find dad.

　　As I proceed to the principal's room, I was stopped by Terry Anderson. The spoiled brat from the Anderson family, Daniel's nephew to be exact. He is a playboy and quite famous for his pursuits. It is said he changes girlfriends like suits. But girls still swoon all over for only gods know why. I mean, he is tall and handsome, I'll give you that and obnoxiously wealthy, no doubt. But is that all you need, good looks and money? My feminist mind can't comprehend that such girls exist in this era..in these times. Pathetic!!!Ah!! He disgusts me to the core and that perverted smile of his, makes me wanna puke.

　　"Hello, darling! How are you?" Terry asks me as he blocks my path.

　　"Terry! We have been through this. I am not interested. Please move." I say as calmly as I can. His buffoons of friends, Joe and Ned, tail along to watch the fun. I am probably his next quest and he has been rejected by me once. It's because my dad is a professor here that he doesn't come too strong. After all he treats the college as his playground and nobody questions him as he is an Anderson. But the rejection seems to have affected his ego more than what he seems to let on. This might be his first, for girls are waiting to be chosen by him.

　　"Let's not be so hasty, my love," he says as he inches closer to me. I am not comfortable and I realize that we are closer to the staff rooms than the main building where all the buzz is. It feels like he calculated this move.

　　"Oh, no need to think too much. The principal is not looking for you. That was just me. They all would be busy welcoming my uncle. They don't have time for anything else now." He sneered as he inched closer. I easily walked into his trap.

　　"Terry, I am warning you! Leave me alone or this will not end well" I hiss as I can feel anger building up within me.

　　"Ooh!! I am scared!!" He mocks and tries to push me to the wall.

　　I do not wait for him to take action and slap him hard on the face. Maybe not the best move as it's just me and they are three. But since he was not expecting something like that it gave me the time to slip.

　　As I turn and make a run for it, I hit something of a hard wall and fall down. Took me a minute to collect my bearings. I look up and...