Living in Dorm 16

I savored the last few moments of warmth before the sun sank beneath the horizon.  One of the few perks of living in the countryside was the view.  Waking to the sun rising above the hillside, watching the beautiful plant life follow the sun throughout the day, and then concluding the day with a breath-taking sunset.  I couldn’t imagine life any other way, but, sadly, soon I’d have to learn.

       “Do you really have to leave and go to that boarding school?”  Megan, my best friend, complained, her mouth twisting into a frown.  We’ve been practically inseparable since the day I moved out here.  Sure, we had our own extensive group of friends, but in the end, Meg would always be there for me, without a doubt.

       I reached over and pushed the corners of her mouth up into a smile, but she ended up looking like a squirrel with acorn-filled cheeks.  I laughed.  “You know I can’t stay, Meggy.  Chrysanthemum Academy offers high quality education.  Not only that, but they’re also a top-of-the-line school.  Registration is hard enough, not to mention acceptance. It would almost be insulting to the Academy to turn down an opportunity like this.”

       “Yea, yea, I know, Smarty-Pants,” Meg replied, pulling my hands away from her face.  “It’s just that…” her voice faltered, and broke when it could be heard again, “I’m gonna miss you, Dani,” she concluded, her eyes looking down.  I sighed, and pulled her into a bear-hug.

       “Aww, c’mon now.  It’s not like this is our final goodbye.  The school allows visitors during spring and winter break, and you could bring the whole gang,” I suggested.  Meg’s eyes began to brighten at the mention of the word, “visitors”.

       “You mean I could bring Erin and Cassie and Charlie and Kathy and Blake and--” Meg rambled.

       “No,” I interrupted.  “You know, the “gang”.  As in me, you, Will, and Alex.  The four of us, as always,” I corrected with a smile.

       “But now it’s only going to be three,” Meg whined before bursting into tears.  This talk wasn’t going well.

       “Alright, alright, what’s going on here?” Will said in a commanding tone as he approached us.  Will was like the older brother I never had, and I loved him just the same.

       “I punched Meg in the face,” I answered monotonously.  “That’s why she’s crying.”

       “Whaa…?”  Will questioned as his eyes widened.

       “She’s going to miss me, stupid, why else would she be crying?” I reassured him with a laugh.

       He replied with a sigh of relief, and then laughed.  “Okay, good.  You looked so serious I thought for a second that you did punch her.”

       “What’s this about punching others?”  Alex inquired as he joined our small gathering, a cookie dangling from his mouth.  Alex was a bottomless pit, yet he never gained a pound.  That lucky bastard.  Not to say that I was overweight, I was average for my age, but I had to sacrifice a lot to maintain my weight. R.I.P rice.

       Snatching half the cookie from Alex, Will responded, “Dani and I teamed up against Meg and Dani punched her.”

       Alex was the dubious one in our group, so we could tell him anything and he would have to find the scientific explanation behind it.  But it looked like our plan worked, because Meg was laughing, her tears no longer falling.  The three of us would always look after Meg, her being the youngest in our group.

       “See, Meggy?  Nothing’s changed.  And nothing will change when I’m gone.  We’ll always be together, no matter what.  We’re a family,” I said, gently smoothing the stray hairs on her head down.