Bittersweet Temptations (Sam Drake)

P r o l o g u e

"Yes mom, I checked out about an hour ago.. the car is practically filled to the brim- no no I didn't forget anything."

I slid the final box that was packed with my things into the backseat, all while my phone resounded with my mother's voice on the other line.

With her constant questions of concern ringing through my ears, my eyes wandered around the inside of my now congested vehicle, checking to make sure each box wasn't forgotten back in the dorm room.

To my relief, every one of my belongings was accounted for. I exhaled, shutting the back doors of the car for the final time in this parking lot.

I had to admit that even though it wasn't much of a memorable experience for me, considering I would keep to myself most of the time, I was going to miss college.

My roommate that I've had for the past three years here, Hazel, got along with me fairly well, and I was definitely going to miss our idiotic banters until ungodly hours of the night.

Not to mention, I will never forget the putrid smell of cannabis in the morning, courtesy of the two boys that lived in the dorm across the hall. I chuckled to myself, remembering how many times I overheard them being questioned for having some on them. They certainly had several excuses under their belt.

I halted my thoughts when I removed the phone from my ear to double check the time.

11:23 am.

Not too bad, but I'm gonna need to get going if I'm gonna make it home tonight. I walked around to the driver's side,opening the door to let myself in.

"Hey ma, I need to start gettin' on the road now..Yeah.. Okay, I love you too. I'll see you at home," I lifted my phone once more from my ear, ending the call.

As I wait for the car to start up completely, I found myself looking out the window. My eyes fixated on students heading away with their bags in their hands, with a cluster of parents scattered throughout the parking lot. A flatlined smile found its way onto my lips.

An overwhelming amount of apprehensiveness swarmed through my stomach, making me slightly nauseous. With this moment of peace sitting here, it started hitting me all at once; what's next for me? what am I going to do with myself now that college is over?

The radio begins to clamor, thankfully interrupting my anxious spiral. Turning away from the ranges of commotion outside, I yawned briefly, messing around with the gps on my phone.

I had to ready myself for the long drive ahead of me. It was a decent 6 hour drive to get back, so combined with remembering the directions of how to even get home, I mentally noted that a few stops for coffee was probably needed; I didn't exactly want to fall asleep behind the wheel

I carefully pull out of the parking spot, and head towards the exit. With each second passing as I make it closer, more questions attempt to develop within my headspace, but I harshly push them down; shaking my head.

As I finally make it down to the exit sign, I look back at the campus before me, before driving off into the street.