I Love You

Welcome to Arberry

It was close to 11pm. As Madison steered her way onto the final exit of the highway, she let out a long sigh. 12 hours of nonstop driving and she was almost there. Arberry, home of the esteemed Worchester Private University. She had not been sure what she wanted to do with her life, matter of fact she was still unsure as she made her way to the town of Arberry.
All she knew was that she really had to pee and the first gas station she had seen in miles was coming up rather quick. Slowing her car, she veered off into the gas station parking lot and hastily parked her vehicle before awkwardly waddling inside. The smell of the gas station hit her, a mix of cleaning products and cigarettes. A bell chimed as the door opened, waking up the man sleeping behind the counter.
"Hello, ma'am." he said through a toothy grin. Madison gave him an uncomfortable half smile and proceeded to look to each corner of the small building for a sign that indicated there was a bathroom. Finally, she saw it. A small cardboard sign taped to the wall that read "Restroom" with an arrow pointing left.
She followed the sign, and found herself standing in the doorway of the most disgusting bathroom she had ever laid her eyes upon. Miscellaneous brown stains covered the leaky toilet, and the smell was so horrendous it made her eyes water. Madison threw her hand over her nose and mouth, letting out a small gag.
She thought to herself, "How am I supposed to go in a place like this?" Standing there, tapping her foot anxiously, she thought about getting in her car and just going to the next gas station. "But how far away is the next gas station?" she thought, "I've had to pee for over an hour, I might as well just suck it up and go." After contemplating the predicament she had found herself in for a couple of minutes, she took a deep sigh and slowly stepped into the restroom. It looked bad from the outside, but it got significantly worse once you stepped in.
Roaches scattered up and down the walls, the sink never turned off, and there was what Madison thought was a peephole right through the door that didn't lock. She quickly relieved herself, watching the door intensely to make sure no one barged in on her trying to empty her bladder. Reaching for the toilet paper, she quickly cleaned and adjusted herself.
After washing her hands and having to dry them with toilet paper due to the absence of paper towels, she hastily made her way out of the gas station and back to her car. Settling back into the drivers seat, she looked in her rear view mirror, "A new town, a new life, just don't fuck it up." She started the car and sped out of the gas station parking lot.
"20 more minutes." she thought, looking down at her GPS. The town of Arberry was only 20 minutes from the wretched gas station she unfortunately had to stop at.
She continued driving, bobbing her head to the music she was playing through her car radio. Music always made trips like these more bearable to her. Like the time her parents dragged her all the way from Georgia to California by car, the only thing that helped her make it through that drive was music.
Looking to her GPS again, she found herself only minutes from her new town.
An anxious feeling began to stir in her stomach, "What am I gonna do? I don't know anyone. I'm going to be living on campus with a complete stranger as a roommate. I don't know the town. What was I thinking?" She continued to ramble on in her mind, trying her hardest to dismiss her anxious thoughts.
In the midst of her anxious feelings, she looked up and there it was. "Welcome to Arberry," a grand sign read, "Stay awhile." She was there, she was finally there. Letting out a sigh of relief, she began the last leg of her journey; the drive to her new school.
It wasn't far, it was only 10 minutes from the edge of town. However, to be fair, Arberry wasn't a very big town to begin with.
Her anxiety stirred in the pit of her stomach, she was so unsure of everything. How would she fit in? Would she fit in at all? What are the people like? Madison's anxiousness made the time pass faster, before she knew it she was pulling up in front of the Worchester dorms. "Oh god," she mumbled, "oh, fuck." She felt herself on the verge of a panic attack.
Anxiety was something Madison had struggled with since middle school. She thought everything was going to be okay, but she clearly underestimated the terror of moving to a new city 12 hours away from home.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of her car. Her legs felt like jelly, her heart was racing. She took another deep inhale, and took her suitcase out of the back seat. It had her essentials; toiletries, a phone charger, extra clothes. All the things that a girl her age would need, the rest she didn't feel like unpacking from her car right that second.
After mustering all the courage she had in her 5 foot 4 body, she began slowly walking her way to the management office for the Johnson Building Dorms where she was assigned to reside. It was dark, pitch black. No stars like there were back home, just an infinitely black sky and city lights.
As she made her way up the stone path to the large brick building, she stopped, gathered herself, and took a step inside.

END CHAPTER ONE