Purple Ink (SatoGou)

Chapter 7

hi everyone,

Sorry about the gap between uploads. I actually ended up deleting everything I'd written after this chapter (which was 4 chapters, lol), because I wasn't happy with it, and I got caught up rewriting it in a way that I was happy with, so I forgot to post x_x I promise the next chapter will come sooner though.

Just a note: I'm from the UK and so I'm basing the uni experience on my own, which is that when I got to my flat it was like one long corridor with the doors to everyone's bedrooms on one side and the door to the kitchen on the other side. We didn't share rooms or bathrooms but we did share the kitchen. Just to clarify in case anyone thinks it's totally different from what uni is really like where they're from ;-;
also I wrote 'Part 2' because this is the point where it goes to present tense rather than past d:

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Part 2

I'm still checking that I haven't missed anything when my mom starts honking the car horn from downstairs, letting me know that we have to go. I do another sweep of my room, standing on the threshold, taking it in for the last time. I feel like I've packed my whole life away. I suppose I have, in a way.

I check my phone as I jog downstairs, pushing my hair back from my face.

You left yet? I just arrived. I'm the first one here though. It's huge!

I type out a quick reply to Dawn, letting her know that I'm just about to leave. I round the corner and try not to look around the house I won't see for a few months, my throat closing up a little. The car is packed so full it's impossible to see out of the back window. All things my mom insisted were essential. I'd tried to tell her that I didn't need four blankets or throws, but she'd just said "what if you get cold?" and packed them anyway.

I lock the front door and walk to the passenger side. It's the end of summer, but still warm, and the sun blinds me as I step into it. Surprisingly, I'm not nervous. In fact, I'm excited.

There are five other people in my flat. I have no idea who any of them are yet. I know that by the time we've made the four hour drive that most, if not all of them, will be there already. My mom couldn't get off work in the morning, so it's already two in the afternoon.

She's strangely quiet for most of the journey. I look over a few times, and see her bottom lip trembling slightly, like she might be about to cry. The sight makes my chest tight, but I don't bring it up, because then I know she really will cry.

We stop for food towards the end of the journey. She tells me that she's going to miss me, and I tell her that I'll miss her too, but remind her that I'll be back before too long for the holidays. I'm already looking forward to seeing her, and all of my friends.

When we arrive, it's past six, and the sun is already starting to dip in the sky. I step out and stretch, looking up at the accommodation building. We sign in at a reception and then start the process of dragging all of my things through to the flat I've been assigned, which is on the second floor of the building.

The first time I step into it, my heart stops, and I expect to see my flatmates there, but when the door opens, nobody is there. I blow out a breath and scan the corridor, seeing the line of doors, and picking out the door that leads to my room, beelining for it. Unlocking the door, I kick it open gently and stumble in with the boxes that are slightly too heavy for me. Behind me, my mom drags the suitcases I brought.

I steal a glance at the door to the shared kitchen area. I wonder if anyone's in there. Curiously, I walk to it and peer through the glass, but it's equally as empty. There is, however, a note stuck in the centre of it.