The Most Memorable Moment

Chapter 2

“No,” I said grimly, “no, no no. This is not happening.” My mom helped me get my bags out of the trunk. “Oh my God. No. Mom, please. No.” She turned to look at me. She smiled, though I could tell that she was upset.

“Please, Clay,” she said softly. “Please just do this for me. Go in there and make some friends. Take your classes seriously. Be respectful. If you can do that, you’ll be home to take classes back in Durvey by next year.”

I groaned and rolled my eyes. I had to spend a whole semester and the summer here. I pulled on my sleeves a little. It was barely summer and already it felt a bit chilly. “Should I help you take your stuff to you room?” she asked.

“No,” I said rather quickly. “Just… can you just go check in with the office?” I glanced over at her and realized how I had actually sounded. Her expression was hurt. “I’m sorry. Please?” Without another word, she nodded and walked in the direction (or I’m assuming, the direction) of the front office.

I quickly found that the school was laid out around the classrooms. There was one hallway in the middle full of classrooms, and at the end of the hallway was the cafeteria. In a semi-circle around the classroom hallway were the dorms. They all face the woods. I also quickly found out that beyond the woods is a lake where a lot of the students hang out, but we’ll get to that later.

I took my bag to my dorm (room 24C) and looked around. The room was plain and boring. There was a small table under the window that was only large enough for two people, and already there were papers sprawled out all over it. On the opposite wall were two doors, which I assumed were the closet and the bathroom. On the largest wall was a bunk-bed, and the bottom bunk was already taken. I could tell because large piles of messily folded clothes covered the wrinkled sheets. My roommate had already been here.

After a few moments, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. The energy in the room had changed. I could tell that someone was watching me. As I turned around, the strong aroma of some type of floral perfume hit me. There was a girl standing there. It was like she had come out of nowhere. I stepped back, startled, and took a minute to look her over. She had long, curly-ish, dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Freckles dotted her cheeks and nose. She had a small gold stud on the left side of her nose. I wondered if her parents knew about that. She wasn’t particularly busty, but she wasn’t flat either, and I could really get a good look with the skimpy purple tank top she was wearing. Aside from that, she had on jeans that cut off just below her rear end, and it looked like she had cut them herself. Her feet were bare, revealing her bright pink toenails.

“Well,” she said sharply, snapping me out of my trance, “What the hell are you staring at?”  I opened and closed my mouth a few times, unable to speak. She raised an eyebrow. “You must be new here.” She extended a thin hand towards me. I took it carefully, still wordless. Her hands were soft. “Are you gonna say something or just stand there like an idiot?” she asked rashly.

“Oh! I…I’m, uh, I’m Clay. Clay Cortese. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m sure it is,” she responded quickly, wiping her hands on her pants. “I’m Dana. Not Donna, not Dina. Dana.”

I nodded briskly. “Dana. Got it.” There was a short moment of awkward silence before she walked past me and shoved the clothes off of the bottom bunk. She jumped onto the bed and laid down.

“Um,” I said confusedly, “is this your bed?”

I could hear her laugh through the pillow that her face was buried in. She sat up for a second. “Oh God, no. Do you honestly think that I’d be allowed to bunk in one of the guys’ dorms?” She didn’t give me enough time to answer before she said, “It’s Josh’s.”

“Josh?” I asked. That must have been the name of my messy roommate. “Is he your boyfriend?” Why else would she be lying on his bed?

“My boyfriend? Ha! I’d never date that guy in a million years! I mean I love him, but I’d never date him.” Curious. At that moment, someone knocked on the jamb of the open door. Dana’s head shot up. “Josh!” she screamed. In a flash, she was across the room and into his arms. “Damn, man! I missed you so much! Why’d you have to go away for the summer? I was practically the only one here. Me and Ugly Betty, that is.”

He smiled and put her down. “I’m sorry, Day! What can I say? Too much Josh love to go around, not enough time.” His dark, brown eyes quickly fell on me. He wasn’t much to look at. Sure, he was tall and muscular, but other than that he looked like every other guy. His medium-length, brown hair was spiked up a little in the front and his medium-colored skin was well-tanned. It looked like a real tan, too.

As soon as he saw me, his expression changed. It resembled that of a puppy who had just been asked if he wanted to go for a walk. “Hey, man! How’s it going?” he asked, sauntering over with a half-handshake, half-pat on the back. I was slightly confused by his friendliness. “You’re the new roommate, I’m assuming? I’m Josh. I see you’ve already met Dana. Don’t worry, she’s all bark and no bite.”

“Sometimes,” Dana threw in with a scowl.

Josh laughed. It was an open, airy laugh that would make anyone feel comfortable around him. “Yeah, okay. And what’s your name, tiger?” he asked inquisitively.

“Clay Cortese. Nice to meet you,” I offered. He grinned and looked around.

“So how are you liking the place so far?”

“I haven’t seen much.”

“No? Well then, how about we take you around?”

I thought about it for a moment. I didn’t really need to unpack my stuff until later. “Okay,” I said slowly, “but I have to find my mom. She’ll want me to say goodbye.” Dana snorted. I could tell what she was thinking.

“That’s fine. We’ll all go find her,” Josh replied. I was glad that my roommate was turning out to be such a nice person. It almost made up for his extreme messiness.

It didn’t take long to find my mom. She was standing in the middle of the courtyard, looking furiously at a map. “Mom!” I called. She looked up quickly, relief washing over her face.

“Clay! There you are. Did you find your room alright?”

“Yes, and this is my roommate, Josh,” I said, gesturing to the guy standing next to me.

“It’s great to meet you, Ms. Cortese. I’m sure your son will love it here,” he said, extending a hand. My mother took it. To my surprise, he leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against my mother’s hand. It made my cheeks feel hot.

“Oh, my!” she giggled. Yes, my mother giggled. “Such a nice boy. Thank you.” After Josh released her hand, I stepped to the side and gestured behind me.

“And this is Dana. She’s Josh’s friend.”

My mom looked behind me, then back to me. She gave a faint smile, raising an eyebrow. I turned to see what she looked so puzzled about. Josh laughed. Dana was gone. She had disappeared just as silently as she had appeared in my room.