The Freshman, Book 2

The Freshman, Book 2 is the second book of The Freshman series. It succeeds its first book, The Freshman, Book 1, and is followed by The Freshman, Book 3 & The Freshman, Book 4.

In this book,  Your Character  starts the winter quarter of her freshman year at Hartfeld, as she deals with old problems, new projects, and her one true love...

Summary
''Winter quarter has begun! Will things heat up with Chris, Kaitlyn or James... or will you be left out in the cold ?''

Chapter 1: Winter in Hartfeld
Your Character is back in Hartfeld for her winter quarter ! Your Character's mom drops her with her stuff and the person Your Character went to the formal with meets both there. After mom leaves and both are making their way to Your Character's dorm, they see a young woman looking lost. Seeing the students, she approaches asking them the way to the faculty offices. She appears to know both their names but goes off without further explanation. As Your Character enters her suite, she meets Zack and Tyler who are busy playing video games. As the freshman meets the others, she gets to know that Abbie and Tyler are now together and so are Zack and Brandon. Amidst all this Your Character gets Professor Vasquez's message to meet him in his office. When she arrives there, she notices that James still doesn't know about Vasquez's cancer and the professor's condition has gotten much worse. She asks Vasquez to tell James but he turns the young girl down. Just at this moment, the young woman whom Your Character met earlier barges in the professor's office and the freshman comes to know that she is Yasmin Udoka, Vasquez's new agent. She wants to digitize his book "Winter in July", but the professor says he needs to think about it. Professor Vasquez then says that Your Character has to put out James play "Rosethorne Park" with her and her friends as actors and Yasmin is going to watch it. If she likes it, she will hire James as her client.

Chapter 2: Welcome Back Party
"Get ready for a big welcome back party at the suite... and a perfect opportunity to recruit some actors for James's play!"

As Your Character and James leave Professor Vasquez's office, they talk about the play and how to get people to audition. James says he has a sophomore friend who'd be perfect for the role of the villain, Lord Rathbone and goes to talk to him. When Your Character walks into the suite she sees that all preparations for the party have been done. The young girl start recruiting people for James's play. Because of her smart and charming personality, she's able to convince the students. Later that night Your Character finds Chris on the rooftop, sad about football season ending and she offers him to try for James's play along with the other footballers. Tripp's flirting with Madison makes Logan jealous. Your Character continues recruiting more people and even Brandon wants in. Brandon tells Zack that he'll be transferring to 'Hartfeld in Peru' for the next quarter causing a slight argument. Soon James arrives with Sebastian, who'd be playing Lord Rathbone. Your Character goes to the rooftop and finds Brandon and Zack have made peace. Next morning, the freshman heads to the auditorium to find people have showed up for the auditions and so has Becca and she's auditioning for the main role same as Your Character.

Chapter 3: Auditions
"James is casting his play, and you and Becca are up for the same role! Will you be the leading lady or a supporting actress?"

Your Character and all her friends audition for the play.Chris is nervous about the audition but after his roomie talks to him, he puts up an amazing act. James is impressed but he also tells Your Character that he isn't sure about Chris being the lead. Kaitlyn auditins for the role of the Duke, despite it being a male character and gives an intense performance. But Sebastian thinks all are subpar. After auditions your character gets to go on Special Dates (for diamonds) or spend some time with herself. Next morning all gather in the auditorium to check out the cast list. Your Character gets the lead rule, while Becca is a supporting character. On the other hand Chris doesn't get the lead.

Chapter 4: Playing the Part
"Rehearsals have begun for Rosethorne Park! You memorized all your lines... right?"

Kaitlyn gets the male lead where as Chris gets the Dukes role, their parts are switched. James has a private conversation with Kaitlyn where he gives her her character's secret. Later he calls Your Character to give her a scret of her own but the freshman gets to decide what the secret will be. The preparations for the play start with the first line read. Fast forward a few days of rehearsal, during the middle of a scene, Kaitlyn gets nervous about on-screen kiss. She then tells Your Character that her parents and friends back home don't know about her coming out. After the talk, she gets back her confidence and the scene goes smoothly. Later that evening, Your Character and James go to meet professor Vasquez where they find him and Yasmin discussing renewal of his book. Yasmin likes James's play but is not happy with it's ending and asks his to think about changing it to a happier one. James is unsure whether to change the ending or keep it as it is. Finally it is opening night of the play and Kaitlyn spots her friend Arjun from back home who also doesn't know that she's gay and gets nervous about the screen kiss.

Chapter 5: Stage Kiss
"It's time for you and Kaitlyn's big stage kiss in front of an audience... including an unexpected visitor!"

After Your Character and Kaitlyn talk she gets ready to give a good performance. Chis impresses Sebastian with his performance. The play goes on and Yasmin is watching it intently. James tells Your Character about the alternate happy ending he's written but he's not too trilled about it. His lead actress tells whether to keep the ending as it is or change it. The play comes to and end with Your Character and Kaitlyn sharing a kiss and the crowd aplauding. Yasmin is impressed with James's play but tells him she needs to think about it. The cast moves to your suite to celebrate the impressive show with a cast party. Arjun joins the party and is unfazed by the kiss. Kaitlyn is extremly relived about this - until Arjun tells that he's transferring to Hartfeld from UT Austin.

Chapter 6: The Cast Party
"Your friends gather in your dorm to celebrate a successful opening night!"

Your Character pushes Kaitlyn to come out to Arjun since he's going to stay in Hartfeld. After the three of them were catching up for a while, Your Character tells Kaitlyn that Arjun obviously has feelings for her and she should tell him about her being gay instead of leading him on. Kaitlyn isn't ready for this step and asks her bestie for some time to reflect. So Your Character goes to the rooftop to finds James being nervous bout his play and about Yasmin deciding to take him on as his client. Back at the party Your Character sees Becca flirting with Sebastian. The sophomore congrats Chris to his excellent performance and offers him the position of vice president for his upcoming student council campaign. When Sebastian finds the Chris went to public school, the former ridicules the latter leading Chris to decide to run against Sebastian for president. Later that night, Your Character and Abbie discuss their relationships and Your Character decides to have 'the talk' with her special one.

Chapter 7: The Talk
"It's time to have 'the talk' but will it be with Chris, Kaitlyn or James?"

Your Character gets to have 'the talk' with the person she's dating. Your Character goes back to the party. There is a knock on the door and upon opening the door you see Professor Vasquez and Yasmin. Yasmin talks to James about his play and takes him on as her client. Professor Vasquez observes the students at the party and takes notes. As Professor Vasquez is leaving the party after a lot of drinks, he stumbles and collapses.

Chapter 8: The Hospital
"When Professor Vasquez collapses at your party, the truth about his illness is revealed."

Your Character, James and Yasmin get Vasquez to the hospital. Your Character finds out that Yasmin is aware about Vasquez's cancer. But while Yasmin tries to keep things professional, Your Character is very worried about James and doesn't want to hurt his feelings by lying to him anymore. Back at the campus, after she realizes that Vasquez didn't tell James about his cancer in the hospital, the two students meet Gabriela again, who already knows about her father's illness, and Your Character tells James about the cancer. He's very shocked and hurt that she lied to him and says that he needs some space. Back at the suit, Your Character's roommates are waiting for her and she tells them everything. She also finds out that Kaitlyn still hasn't told Arjun she's gay and Chris is very excited about running for president. Few days later, you've still not heard from James, while Arjun asks Kaitlyn to hang out.

Chapter 9: Just Friends
"Arjun has asked Kaitlyn to hang out... are his intentions romantic, and can she tell him the truth about herself?"

All roommates decide to help out Kaitlyn by going with her to meet Arjun where Your Character tries to find out how Arjun really feels bout Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn chickens out from telling Arjun that she's gay. When Your Character and your friends confront her, she walks out. Your Character follows her out and manages to calm her down. Brandon joins you all and he and Zack share a kiss, and Arjun is totally fine with it. Finally Kaitlyn tells him that she's gay. He's shocked initially and really disappointed that his friend didn't trust him, but he promises not to tell anyone. You head back to your suite where Sebastian drops by offering to pay Chris to drop out of the presidential race.

Chapter 10: Ballot Boxing
"To run for president, Chris will need to collect signatures... but Sebastian has other plans."

The next morning, your character and her suitemates head to the auditorium to hear Chris's speech; where Ms. Twombly announces that the presidential campaign students' names won't appear on the ballot till they get 100 signatures from students. Chris gives a good and positive speech but Sebastian ridicules the scholarship program at Hartfeld and Chris. Later, Chris has his doubts about getting the 100 signatures but your character convinces him. Later, the player also gets the option to give Chris a makeover to look more presidential. Back at the suite, James drops by to help Chris with his presidential speech. Later, your character and her friends host a cupcake sale and try getting signatures to support Chris when you come to know that Sebastian is hosting a Alyssa Griffin concert in the evening which will be free for those who endorse Sebastian. Becca ignores Madison giving your character a chance to get her to endorse Chris. Madison also asks her for relationship advice and the player can push Madison's relationship forward with Logan or Tripp or be neutral. Though more signatures are obtained, they still fall short when the concert starts and students start to head there. Sebastian comes over to gloat which gives Tyler an idea to save the campaign by giving free coloured snowballs to those who sign the petition. The snowballs are a success with all students playing with them and the concert being a failure; allowing Chris to get his 100 signatures. When the group reaches the suite, they find Kaitlyn's parents waiting for them.

Chapter 11: Visitors
"Kaitlyn's parents decided to surprise her with a visit to campus. It should be fun... if you can keep a secret!"

Kaitlyn's parents talk to your character and Kaitlyn and ask about Arjun. They later invite the three to see the ballet version of Romeo and Juliet the next day. They leave after giving Kaitlyn her stuff from back home. Kaitlyn is upset about her parents visiting and trying to set her up with Arjun, but your character consoles her and the player gets a chance to read Kaitlyn's diary with her. The next morning, your character, Kaitlyn and Arjun take the train to see the ballet where Peter and Grace try to get Kaitlyn and Arjun together. Frustrated, Kaitlyn heads out with Your Character during the break and starts ranting and literally shouting that she's gay only to realize that her parents are standing right behind her. Peter is too shocked to speak and he goes back to the theater but Grace hugs Kaitlyn saying that she had suspicions and she's fine with her being gay and that her dad just needs some time. Kaitlyn heads back to Hartfeld; when Your Character tries to follow her and comfort her, she gets mad and doesn't talk. Batck at Hartfeld, Kaitlyn storms into her room and Your Character tells Zack what happened. The young girl tries to talk to Kaitlyn again but she shoots her down.

Chapter 12: The Debate
"The campaign trail is getting rough for Chris. Meanwhile, Vasquez struggles to find the best way to say goodbye to his daughter."

On the day of the presidential debate after Your Character helps Chris to prepare for the debate, she heads to meet Professor Vasquez's office, where she finds him and Yasmin in between a heated argument about the renewal of his book "Winter in July". He confides in Your Character about not wanting to lose his daughter over the book. He also tells his assistant that he feels bad about Your Character and James's fight and promises to speak to his mentee. When Your Character is about to leave, Vasquez gets a call informing him that Gabriela is in labor and she goes with him to the hospital. When Vasquez goes to meet Gabriela, Your Character meets Madison who is volunteering there for the Kappa sorority. Vasquez and Gabriela come out with her new born son. When the baby starts crying, Gabriela sings to him and Vasquez joins in but then he walks away as he scared of losing his grandson. After your character talks to him, he decides to give the rights of 'Winter in July ' to Gabriela and they reunite. Your Character rushes back to Hartfeld for the debate and makes it only to the closing statements. After the debate when she goes to talk to Chris, Sebastian lets her know that Chris has a criminal record and he threatens to tell the entire school if Chris doesn't drop out of the presidential campaign.

Chapter 13: Swing Vote Sixties
"A 60s themed party is the perfect way to kick the election off right. But will it be a night of good, clean fun, or will someone be playing dirty?"

After Sebastian's suspicious allusion, Chris takes Your Character on a long drive where he tells her about his past. Chris got into the wrong company and got caught stealing a car. He was close to getting expelled and having a juvie record but his football coach took Chris under his wing and even got his records sealed. His coach was the one who encouraged Chris to apply to Hartfeld and helped him get his scholarship. Back at the suite, Chris tells all the roommates about his past and Sebastian's threat. They all accept Chris and even suggest getting back at Sebastian but Chris asks them not to. At the 60's themed party, Your Character runs into James and they talk things over. Later, your character sees Chris and Sebastian having a heated argument, but before she can go talk to Chris, Becca comes to her saying she has something on Sebastian. She tells your character that Sebastian has been funneling his campaign funds into his personal account. Your character, Becca, Zack, Tyler and Abbie decide to get proof of Sebastian's wrong doings with your character distracting Sebastian and the others sneaking into Sebastian's dorm. They manage to get proof and Sebastian agrees to not tell everyone about Chris's past if they don't tell the school about his embezzlement.

Chapter 14: Inauguration Night
"With the information you've uncovered about Sebastian, nobody will find out about Chris's criminal record... right?"

With only a couple of days left for the quarter to end, the presidential candidates give their final speech before the elections. During the speech, Chris comes clean about his past and is well received by the audience. After the finals, at the inaugration party, Chris comes to know that your character and the others blackmailed Sebastian and he gets upset. Professor Atiyah and Ms. Twombly announce that Chris won the election and he is the next president. Chris is upset and he decides to crash at Darren and Logan's place. Back at the suite, Your Character realizes that her closest friends turn their back on her. She's so heartbroken and is about to leave Hartfelt prematurely for escaping the whole situation. At this moment, James comes to the suite to tell Your Character that Professor Vasquez is missing and Gabriela wants to meet both of them at the hospital.

Chapter 15: Setting Sail
"Freshman year is coming to a close and it's time to celebrate. There's love to be found on the high seas, but with whom?"

Your Character finds Vasquez at the park and he tells her to make peace with her loved ones, which she does.

Trivia

 * Alyssa Griffin, a character in "Most Wanted" series, makes a cameo appearance in this book.