Never Too Late

Chapter 1.2: A New Me

                Summer wasn't too far away, and I had saved about enough money for College, but I still had to work as a waitress in Brick House Tavern and Tao over the summer. It was one of the best restaurants in Neptune, and they paid us ten dollars an hour for the waitressing job. Still, I took it. It was just an easy job anyway. Alex didn't have to work, but he still did find a job to keep off boredom, I guess. Apparently, his family is rich, and his parents were paying for college and the place where we were staying in California. Scary, isn't it? There goes another reason why Alex was out of my league. The whole moving-to-New-York thing was a really big step. But since I was leaving with Alex, Laura, and Harvey, I didn't feel completely changed.

6-hour shifts or not, Alex and I still had time for each other. It was the best summer I ever had, and the thought of him just kept me going, kept pushing me to do better. Alex and I always visited Sharon's grave and just hanging out there. We went surfing on the beach, partying at a friend's place, getting really weirdly high with weed, and anything else that made life more worth living. It didn't matter as long as Alex and I were together. Every day was becoming the best day. I constantly kept visiting Mom, Dad, and Red since I was moving away. They were emotional about the fact that I was going to stay at a faraway place, but they were also very proud of me.

Alex and I also made time to visit his family in Seattle, but I don't really want to narrow down on that because that trip didn't really go too well. That pretty much sums up my story with Alex. It was a short time, but it was the best time of my life, and I'd give anything to get it back. The past was such a beautiful place, and I hate the "now".

Alex and I weren't together anymore by the time we finished freshman year in college. To be honest, Alex didn't go to Berkeley with us. Somehow, after we visited his parents, they wanted him to stay there for Alex to take over the family business since his father was almost retiring, and their family business was very important. The brand "Johnson's" is a very popular brand in Seattle. Their company sold bags, shoes, shirts, supplementary products, and all other kinds of shit I don't know how to handle. Anyway, they wanted Alex to run the company, and I didn't want him to turn down such an opportunity since Alex did want to takeover that company, so we tried to do the whole long-distance relationship thing. At first, it was a piece of cake. From Seattle, it was just about a 15-hour drive to California, and Alex called every night and visited almost every other weekend until the next few months where we all got too busy. Alex barely called anymore, and he was always too busy to come to California, and I was also too busy to fly to Seattle.

His call intervals were like months apart, and I felt disconnected to him. Our conversations started to last only about two minutes, and he always sounded exhausted whenever he called. We just drifted apart. It's not that I sulked about it at first; it just happened, and I got carried away. I was just being one of those kinds of girlfriend, the ones that sulk and freak you out. The next thing I knew, I broke up with him over text. He didn't really reply, but he didn't call me anymore, so I guess he got the message.

And there it went.... I got depressed. I started crying in my room all the time. I didn't go to any of my class. My stuff was a mess, all my shit lying around. I didn't shower, and I constantly ate ice cream. Laura checks in my room once in a while, but she wasn't really that much of a help. Anyway, we lived in a loft for college. It was good for three people, and aside from the bedrooms, it had a kitchen area, bathroom, and a living room. It was a good deal since we only had to pay $1695 per month, and Alex pays his share despite not living there. Laura and Harvey were supposed to be living in the same room, but since Alex didn't come, Harvey took his room. They always have sex though. I could hear them every time I fell asleep in the common room watching all the movies Alex and I watched. I was a mess, and it was beginning to be a bother to Harvey and Laura, so they took me to dates. They kept setting me up with guys, but I ditched most of them. It just went on for weeks until I got used to it.

Eventually, I got over the text breakup, and I started catching up to my classes. Laura and I also took another waitressing job in another fancy restaurant a few blocks from the University. I was able to pull it off, but I failed my Sociology class because I had too many absences. Yes, that sucked. It didn't matter. I could always catch up. I planned on taking classes during the summer so I wouldn't be left behind, so I had everything well-planned. I started with a clean slate again. It was the time for a new Liyah.