The Best Days

Chapter 10 Part 2

That same night I was back in my room working on some French vocabulary flash cards. I liked to keep them color coordinated and organized by categories. I lay back on my bed careful not to squish my freshly twisted hair. I probably looked a hot mess. I got a quick look at my reflection and almost let out a laugh. I looked like bozo the clown with my twists coming from all over the place on my head. Sure my hair looked crazy now but when I took out the twist-out I'd be looking cute.

Even still, I knew that if Strauss ever saw me looking like this I'd never be able to live down the ridicule he'd give me. Speaking of which, I glanced over at his side of the room which was still empty. As it had been for the past two days.

Where was he anyway? Had he really not come by the room all day? Did he not need to sleep?

Eh, enough of that.

I'd done enough moping for one day. I needed to stop worrying about Strauss and start worrying more about me. Numero uno. No, wait. Numéro un. I sat up and packed up my flash cards. I was starving and my focus was waning. I couldn't study anymore on an empty stomach. I'd just do a quick run over to the dining hall and grab something to eat. I pulled on my largest hoody and slipped the hood part over my hair before heading out.

I ran into Nate, Ryan's roommate, and Gavin's football player friend Jeremy in the dining hall and stopped to chat with them for a few minutes. Eventually a few minutes turned into me eating with them. I congratulated Jeremy on the good game he'd played. I told him if he kept it up I'd invite him to come and join Tequila Mockingbird. I even rehashed a greatly exaggerated tale of Ryan's party to him. Jeremy and Nate had been in stitches by the time I was done. I hadn't known I could be so entertaining or perhaps they'd just been humoring me...

Somehow in the conversation Gavin had come up and I learned he'd been hanging out at Nate's for the past couple of days and not buried in some ditch. Allegedly he'd gone back to the room already.

I tried to hide my excitement as I made my way back to my dorm. I thought for sure I wouldn't see him until our flag football game on Thursday. But just as Nate had said he was back. I thought this smugly as I turned the doorknob to our room. The door was already unlocked.

I pushed it open but stopped midstep as I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing.

"What are you doing?"

Gavin paused for a second to take me in before continuing to fold his sheets and place them in the brown box that was at his feet. I looked from the box to his empty mattress to the wall above his bed that had been stripped of his obnoxious superhero poster. All his clothes were no longer hanging in the closet. His side was empty. Undoubtly packed up into the crates stacked beside the door.

He was...packing?!

"W-why?" My gaze finally settled back on him. I hadn't seen him in days. I don't know why I was surprised to see that he still looked exactly the same in his black v-neck and basketball shorts.

The corner of his mouth raised into a smirk. "You look like Bozo the clown."

"Huh?"

"Your hair."

I reached up and touched my head. My hood had obviously slipped down as I'd hurriedly headed back to the room. I couldn't help my frown. Why was he talking about my hair now of all the times...

"You're leaving?" I cringed. Why did my voice sound like a mewling calf?

Strauss raised his brows at my question. "Yeah. I am." It had been a stupid thing to ask. Of course he was leaving. The boxes on the floor were a clear indicator. "I turned in the room change form."

My heart dropped at his words. He had? This had seemingly come out of nowhere. "Is it because I..." My voice trailed off.

"Because you what?"

I flinched. He knew why... "Because I..." I shook my head. "Nothing."

He rolled his eyes and continued packing the last of his things. He wrapped up the cords for his PlayStation and tossed them into the crate by the door and alas he was done.

"Well, I turned it in a couple of weeks ago if that's what you're wondering. Before the...whatever. Cody and Max down the hall broke up a while ago so they really wanted to switch with us. It must suck living with your ex. I heard Max's been sleeping in the common room and you know it's gotta suck being out there. Since the couch is actually garbage..." He must have realized he'd been rambling so he stopped and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, so that's what happened. Cody's moving in here tonight. She's packing up her stuff as we speak."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I said unable to keep the whine out of my voice.

"Because I knew you'd have this reaction."

I pouted out my bottom lip, realized what I was doing and quickly returned it to its original location. "What reaction?"

"Like it's the end of the world."

It was my turn to roll my eyes. Sure I was slightly hurt but that was the overstatement of the year. "Don't flatter yourself. This isn't the end of the world."

"Exactly! So stop looking so betrayed. I'll just be right at the end of hall. This is for the best anyway."

I had to scoff at that. What exactly was his definition of 'best'? "I'm being forced to live with a stranger."

"Cody isn't a stranger. You've seen her like a thousand times in the halls. I think she's in your French class or something."

Hm, she was.

"It'll be better now that you don't have to share a room with a smelly guy."

"But you don't smell." But like seriously when had my voice gotten like this...

Gavin faltered a bit but managed to continue on with his whole spiel. "You guys can have slumber parties and paint each other's nails and do Pilates or whatever it is that girls do."

"I hate pilates..."

"Good. Then I'll see you on Thursday for some football!?"

He was obviously trying to make the best of this. Acting like it was no big deal. I felt silly for being such a whiney pants. I squared my shoulders and quickly made a resolution to handle this better than I was currently. "Yeah. Football...I can't wait."

"Save your enthusiasm for the game." He reached down and picked up the box at his feet. "For now you can make yourself useful and help me move my stuff."

I reached down and picked up the nearest crate of his belongings.

He moved like he was about to head out the door but hesitated just as he stepped out. He turned around and gave me one last once over.

"What?" My face heating up under his gaze.

"Jenny...did you really go out looking like that?" He adjusted the box he was carrying over to one arm and reached out with the other to pull my hood back over my head, completely obscuring my view. "Much better." Then continued on his way.

Jerk.

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  A/N: Sorry for the late Update. ^__^; The holidays made me forget about everything. But I'm back in action!