The Roommate Assignment

1

Aspen

The beginning of crisp mornings in late August in the north is something I look forward to all year. My little hometown in Maine doesn't normally get higher than the upper seventies during the summer and I look forward to fall and winter-time as soon as spring hits. I love bundling up in oversized sweaters and crochet blankets my grandmother gifted us. Hot tea or cocoa around the living room fires with my siblings and parents; watching snow pile on the trees around my house with my beagle mix Harley (a name my dad picked out due to his love of motorcycles). Unfortunately, this fall and winter wouldn't be like that at all. I was finally moving into my place closer to my university and I would only be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day as long as the weather permitted. It was my junior year of college, I decided it was time to be on my own. I was the last of my siblings to leave, everyone else in college, graduated and or getting married.

I load the last of my stuff into my car and close the trunk, my mom looking teary-eyed in her flannel, holding her morning cup of coffee standing on the porch. It was 11:45, We were supposed to have left by now so Dad would be home before dark.

"Mom I'll be back I promise, plus I'll see you in a few weeks for Labor Day weekend," I assure her, running up the steps to hug her.

"Oh I know, it's just," Mom pulls away, her hands on my shoulder, "You're my last birdie to leave."

"I know," I sigh, hugging her again. I know how sad she felt. I was the youngest of five, and my mom's only girl. She was going to miss me and I knew it, but it was time.

"Alright, come on Aspen, time to head out," Dad says walking out of the house.

Dad kisses my mom on the cheek before heading over to his motorcycle. I give Mom one last squeeze and make my way to my car. I fall into the driver's seat and plug in my aux cord, playing music as we pull out of the driveway. It was a weird feeling, as I pulled away, sadness mixed with the excitement of university and living on my own. I'm reminded of all the friends I have at the University of Maine and I'm excited to see them. Some people I wasn't so excited to see, such as people I used to flirt with or have unhealthy emotional attachments to. But, this is a college, and the likelihood of me seeing people I dislike or have a rough past with is slim to none, and worse comes to worse we have class together.

My dad was riding his motorcycle behind me, my car full of luggage and new apartment finds. After the two-hour drive through the soon-to-be fall-colored trees, we pull up to the apartment complex. It was a row of apartments, all connected. I step out of my car as my dad pulls into the parking spot next to me.

"Let's go scope out which room I want before we load stuff in," I suggested to my dad. I pull the key I was given out and unlock the door stepping into the smell of fresh paint. This was a newer apartment complex, so hopefully, everything would be nice. Dad follows me up the steps and we pick out a room. Both of the rooms were identical so neither was better than the other. I didn't know who my roommate was yet. It was random roommate assignments since I am a firm believer you shouldn't move in with your best friends, and I was more willing to take the risk of not getting along with a random person than my best friend.

The kitchen, half bathroom, laundry room, and living room are on the main floor when you walk in, and the bedrooms up the steps with one full bathroom and a living room. Dad helped me load all my items upstairs into my bedroom and out of it, spilling into the living room.

My arms were sore afterward, and my dad and I drank celebratory hard ciders before he left to head home.

"What if I can't make it home for Christmas?" I ask simply, It was dumb, but it was the one time of year we all got together.