We turned into the school and immediately my heart lit up as I saw the long road stretch up to a building with four white pillars and a brick staircase. It was just as I remembered from Admitted Students Week only four months ago. I found the library on my right. An equally impressive three story building with a quaint garden by the entrance. I knew I would become quite acquainted with those shelves teeming with words.
My mom flicked on the blinker and looked around trying to find a sign. "What dorm were you again?"
"I'm in the girl's only dorm, Shrinor Hall." I said and flipped through my school binder which I had stuffed full with all the information about the school. I found the school map and looked for the building. They made these things so difficult to read. I had no idea if Shrinor Hall was "f" or "g" on the map. Actually it could have been "e" only I was fairly certain that "e" was a parking lot. If only I had gotten into the dorm that I had actually wanted. It sucked that freshmen were put wherever there was room. I had no choice. At least I heard it was the nicest dorm since it got a lot of funding.
"Well where am I going?" my mom asked, irritated. I stared at the map and hoped that maybe one of the letters would actually tell me where to go. They didn't.
"I guess keep going straight--wait, maybe turn down that street?" I wavered as the line on the map disappeared. My mom pulled over abruptly.
"Let me see the map," my mom turned and thrust her hand towards me.
"Mom, you're not going to understand it any better," I mumbled and gave it to her. "Sorry for being useless."
I slouched down into the seat and popped a Combo in my mouth. My dad replayed one of his favorite country songs by Blake Shelton for the third time and I groaned internally.
"Hey isn't that your President that quacks at ducks?" My dad asked and rolled down his window. This was no lie, I remembered those four months ago when we were equally lost at Admitted Students Day and he was the first person we saw. There he was, standing in front of an academic building, quacking with quite some volume, at a duck. Our college President. I knew right then and there that this was the college for me. He was a bright and cheerful older man with silver hair whom had no qualms with being a little...what was the word? Weird? Strange? My cup of tea. If you weren't strange, you were boring.
My dad waved him over and he came up to the side of the car. "Good afternoon, sir. We were wondering if you could point us in the direction of the girl's dorm."
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"How can the elevator be broken on move in day? This is ridiculous!" My mom huffed as she carried a tote begrudgingly up the stairwell.
"You would think you would be able to have an elevator if you pay forty-two thousand a year." my dad's voice drifted from below as he struggled with my tote of books.
"I don't want to hear anything. I'm the one carrying the mini fridge." I grunted as I rested on the third landing. Apparently freshman girls lived in the attic on the fourth floor. I scooted to the side as a girl with long dark hair and booty shorts slid past me and nearly skipped up the stairs. I held back a glare, she must be having a lovely move in. Not me, I think I might have pulled a muscle on stair number thirty-six. When I finally made it to the floor I belonged on I let out a huff of relief. The worst was over. Nothing like carrying a small teenager up four flights of stairs. My legs quivered as I remembered.
I stared down the hall at the creme colored walls and reddish marbled carpet. It looked a bit like a hotel. I found the little bronze sign that told me which way to go to my room which was 402, a triple. Yes, somehow I ended up with two new roommates rather than one. The mini fridge continued to pinch my fingers and I shoved it next to the door that was mine. I smiled at the little name tags with dolphins and seastars. Mine was there among two other girls whom I had never met.
"Do you have the key?" my mom asked as she came up behind me.
"Hurry it up this fucking thing is heavy." my dad waddled toward us with the tote swinging in an unstable way that you just had to wonder if everything would be on the floor in a matter of seconds. At least it wasn't my underwear. I could live with my books on display, but undergarments were a no go in this place of first impressions.
I fished my key out of my jean pocket and struggled to open the door. And struggled. And struggled some more. Maybe I just wasn't used to locks. "I can't get it opened," I admitted as I tried to get the key to turn. I looked back at my parents who were already tired and annoyed.
"Seriously?" I honestly thought my dad gave me an eye roll. My mom stepped in and gave the key a few turns before the door opened.
"You have to pull the handle down right after you unlock it," my mom informed me and dropped the key back into my hand. I held the door open to let them in.
I was surprised it was so spacious. It was open and three beds fit the room nicely. There was no privacy, of course. I shuffled in past the armoire on the left when you first come in the door. I noticed the only natural light source was a small square of light on the far wall. Would I call that a window? I dont know. Maybe for a gnome or something. But after all of these things came the weird slanted ceiling. What. Oh right. The attic. Well, living in a small cave with two other people wasn't all that bad. I mean I wouldn't get lonely.
That was when I turned and the plain blue mat that I expected to be on the bed was replaced with green and pink zebra print bedding. One of my roommates was already here. I was suddenly extremely nervous and somehow thought she would pop out of the closet. Well, she didn't. I even went and inspected it as a guise of seeing the closet space. It was a walk in closet and it had a shelf above the bar. I was happy then remembered it was shared. Then I was happy again realizing I really didn't have that many clothes.
"Well let's get to unpacking." My dad said and popped his head into the closet.
"But I dont know which bed is mine." I walked out of the closet and analyzed the two remaining beds.
"Well your roommate chose without you so I guess it's first come first serve." Dad pushed a green tote against the wall and popped it open. "The hell is this? You brought a box of books? I give up." he sighed and sat on the blue mattress.
I sat next to him. I silently remarked that the mattress felt like a board. Good thing I had a mattress pad. The web was not kidding when it said that mattress pads were essential.
It felt like no time at all, we weren't even finished unpacking, when my roommate came back to the room. With the rest of her family. About eight of them, I think.
She was really pretty though. She had warm brown skin and straight black hair that came down to her shoulders. She had an athletic build and wore running shorts that showed off her muscular calves and a plain blue tee -shirt. She smiled when she saw me and her teeth were perfect. My roommate was perfect, wow. There went my self esteem as I looked down at my ripped jeans, cowboy boots, and shirt with cutoff sleeves.
"You must be Cailee. I'm Maresa, and that's my mom my grandma and my little brothers and sisters," she laughed, "we have a big family."
"Me too," I replied with my friendly smile reserved for being in the most awkward scenario. It looked a little like those horror movie smiles when you knew that person was crazy and that someone was going to be murdered. "Oh," I blushed realizing the situation. "They aren't here though. My older sister lives out in Oklahoma and my other older sister is also in college, and my little sister has school..." I rambled on like the rambling man.
My parents decided now was a good time to go grocery shopping and I narrowly avoided embarrassing myself further. Maybe I would be less embarrassing when my parents weren't breathing down my neck. Also when my dad stopped making fat jokes and using Larry the Cable Guy lines. Get 'r done.
Nope. Permanently embarrassed. Goodbye college career.
