My alarm rings at 7 am. Not that it needs to because I've been awake since 5, trying to count sheep but my excited body keeping me awake. Today is the first day of my new life. Berkeley, all my hard work finally paid off last semester when I finally got my acceptance letter. My mother was absolutely thrilled, I got a new car out of it to celebrate, a petite red Ford. I nicknamed it Ruby as soon as I got it, it felt fitting.
I'm always on time for everything, so today is no exception to delaying my extensive planning. I hear my cat scratching outside my door, I groan and roll out of bed, catching myself in the mirror and seeing a nightmare staring back at me. Dark, deep bags have formed under my perfectly blue eyes, probably from my lack of sleep the last few nights. Anxiety has slowly been forming beneath my skin, this is probably one of the last times I will ever see my childhood bedroom and call it mine ever again.
''Charlotte, breakfast!'' My mother shouts proudly from downstairs. It's been just me and her since I can remember - I don't know my dad at all and she refuses to talk about him. Not that it bothers me, I quite enjoy it, the constant girl time and not having the awkward conversations with a man about 'needing pads from the shop'. I am who I am because of all that my mom provides for me.
Practically crawling toward the door, I open with the surprise that my cat has pissed all over the hallway. 'Great, This will at least add another 10 minutes to my schedule,' I think whilst spraying enormous amounts of carpet cleaner on the floor.
''It's getting cold!'' Another delighted shriek courses the house.
''Yeah, I'm coming'' I reply, probably sounding much gloomier than I intended to be. I am excited about this new journey- but when you are leaving everything behind that you know, it makes you nervous. I'm moving from Oregon to California as an 18-year-old with little to no life experience. When everyone else was out partying late or having one-night stands with the captain of the football team, I wasn't. I was inside, studying or reading until late. I worked my ass off for this opportunity and I earnt the chance to go. I would say deserve but as Abby Lee Miller once said, 'you deserve nothing, don't have an attitude that you are entitled to in this world...' and I live by that.
When I enter the kitchen, my mom has gone all out with breakfast, there are piles and piles of food. From hashbrowns to sausages, mushrooms, bacon, eggs and even bagels. It all looks delicious but my nerves are quashing my appetite. ''Eat honey, you know you will regret it,'' she whispers keenly over my shoulder. I grab a plate and 2 hashbrowns along with some bacon, and a sausage. I'll pack a bagel for later as the journey is long and I won't feel like eating much else.
''Thanks, mom,'' I smile and wash my plate. As I leave to go back upstairs, the sniffles of my mother's tears stop me. I understand how painful it must be for her, but I hope she is proud.
I can't decide what to wear, the weather is so unpredictable lately and my wardrobe can't accommodate that. After 10 minutes of pulling the remainder of my clothes out of the wardrobe, I decide on dark blue mom jeans with a white graphic t-shirt, I'll probably put my red Chuck Taylors on and slip on an overshirt for cover. I'm not the type to care about looking presentable, all that people need to know about me is on the inside, not the outside. Trying to master my hair takes the longest, I try about 4 different styles (half up/half down, braids, fully down and a crazy bun that resulted in me detangling my hair for a while) until I finally allow it to be scraped back into a messy blonde ponytail. I could always fix it later, I think to myself, knowing I most likely won't. I don't have any classes today so appearance matters even less than it typically would, but I know through my mother's stress that she will be in her best heels and dress to keep up the 'reputation', despite the fact nobody there will know us.
My mother's best friend, Jaime, is coming to bid farewell to me. She's pretty much my unrelated auntie, so when I step down the stairs, clearly feeling tense, she welcomes me with her warmness and her sing-song voice. 'Oh Charlie, you are going to have the best time at Chamberlain!''
''Jaime? She's going to Berkeley...'' My mom chimes in, irritation brisk in her voice.
''Oh...OH! Wow, what are the odds? So is the girl I used to babysit, she's called Dylan.''
I have no recognition of a girl called Dylan. A girl? Called Dylan? I think this is odd but I move past it quickly, annoyed she didn't know where I was going to college but glad she is here nonetheless. There are about 13 boxes we need to puzzle together to ensure they fit in the car, they're each as heavy as the other. Full with utensils, notebooks, clothes and shoes, paranoia poses in my mind, I don't want to drop any and get even more behind schedule.
Jaime and my mom are bickering about which box goes where so I intervene, carefully and meticulously placing them so they don't obstruct view whilst driving and most importantly, don't fall over!
My heart rate is increasing as I enter the passenger side of my car. I've allowed my mom to drive because I'm so nervous. Jaime closes my door behind me and picks up my cat, who came to join us before we left - she is looking after him whilst my mum is in Cali with me. The engine starts cleanly and we are on our way.
YOU ARE READING
Glass
Roman d'amour''We shatter. We're beautiful. We're delicate. We're strong...'' Charlie is a good girl, she has everything she could ever want or need. An innocent mind with a forward direction. Her first experience at a university is when she comes across someone...
