Chatoyant College, Book 1: New Student Orientation

Chapter 24: Small Towns

When it came close to the time that Corrie's mom had said she'd pick them up, they all walked to the gates to wait for her there. Sunset was still a ways off, which Corrie was grateful for; she didn't think she'd want to start getting used to this school at a time of year when sunset came early and it was dark when she wanted to do things. At least this way she had time to learn the layout of the campus, if nothing else. Though almost everything that had happened since she'd moved in seemed perfectly normal, she couldn't shake the feeling that Chatoyant College was even stranger than it seemed at first glance. For example, she didn't want to pass judgment, but Ever was an awfully strange girl. Her salt allergy reminded Corrie of something, though she couldn't decide what. She'd have to talk to Edie and Dawn about it--Dawn, certainly, seemed to have noticed something odd about Ever as well.

They sat on a wooden bench by the huge stone gateway, the side that read "CHATOYANT." The gates were elaborate wrought iron and opened inward. From their vantage point they could see some of the houses and buildings of the small college town, but there were trees and a small hill between the college and the town, and cars rarely came by on the street that faced the college. Before long, a little green car with numerous small dents on its body came up and stopped in front of them. Corrie jumped up, grinning. "That's my mom!"

She walked quickly, ahead of Edie and Dawn, to meet her mother as she got out of the driver's seat. They hugged. "Hi, Mom!" she said enthusiastically. "How are you?"

"Oh, you know. The same. Still working." When they parted, her mother turned to Edie and Dawn, still beaming. "And these are your two friends."

Corrie nodded. "Mom, Edie, Dawn. Edie's the roommate, Dawn lives next door."

Edie stuck out her hand to shake, but Corrie's mother drew her into a bear hug anyway--Corrie had expected nothing less. Edie looked discomfited but pleased. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs..."

Corrie's mother shook her head. "It's Ms., if anything, but please call me Deb."

"Nice to meet you, Deb," said Dawn politely, allowing herself to be hugged as well, though Corrie couldn't help noticing that her mom didn't seem so enthusiastic about Dawn. She thought she knew why. "This is really nice of you."

"Oh, it's nothing," she said, leading them toward the car and opening the doors for them. "I'm just glad to get a chance to meet my daughter's friends. You can just shove that stuff onto the floor," she said to Dawn and Edie. There was always stuff littering this car; besides the emergency kit in the glove compartment, Corrie's mom tended to leave anything she thought might be useful later in the car. Corrie didn't mind the messy habit, since it had proven useful more than once back when she was a kid and they had to move around a lot. She had tossed an umbrella and box of tissues on the floor without a second thought when she got in the passenger seat.

"Even these books?" asked Edie doubtfully.

"Oh, no, not those!" Corrie's mom said, hastily turning around in her seat. "No, those are for you--well, to borrow, anyway." She grinned hugely. "Corrie said you were interested in Goddess worship, so I thought I'd bring a few books for you to read."

"Wow." Edie sounded, frankly, overwhelmed. Corrie twisted around in her seat and laughed at the stack of books in the middle of the back seat, almost as tall as Edie herself sitting down. "I don't know if I'll have time to read all these, but I'll try. Thank you."

Corrie rolled her eyes, turning back around to face forward. "You didn't have to give her every book we own, Mom!"

"I didn't!" she said. "Just the more beginner-friendly ones. Besides, if she's a friend of yours, I know she's a reader."

That made all three of them laugh. "It's true," Edie said, sounding more relaxed now. "I'll probably make time to read them out of time I don't really have, assuming they interest me."

"They will," Corrie's mom assured her confidently. "Okay, anyone not buckled up?" She was answered with silence, so she started the car and pulled back out into the street.

"So where are we going, Mom?" Corrie asked.

"Well, I figured since you don't have classes yet, you have time you won't have later in the year, so I might as well take you into the city. And as long as we're going into the city, we may as well go to Feninni's."

"Awesome," said Corrie, leaning back against her headrest with a grin. Feninni's had been her favorite pizza place since she was a little kid. They had gone there once a week when she was in high school, even when they had lived in a part of the city that wasn't so close to it. It was a small, family-owned place that still used a wood-burning brick oven and really cared about its customers. She hadn't been in months, but she knew the owner, Andre Feninni, would still remember her and her mom.

"So how's college treating you?"

She had to laugh. "I don't know! Classes haven't even started yet."

"Yeah, but you're living away from home for the first time. Things have got to be different. Hey, you have trees to do your morning run in now."

"Actually, we're not allowed in the forest," Dawn said from the back seat.

"Really?" Corrie's mom frowned, glancing in the side mirror so she could change lanes. "That's... suspicious."

"Oh, it's nothing weird, Mom," Corrie assured her. "At least, that isn't. The college just doesn't own the whole thing so they don't want us to get in trouble. I'm sure a city girl like me would get lost in five minutes, anyway."

"I think I'd get lost in those woods, and I've lived near a forest all my life," said Dawn. "The ones at school just seem so... dark. Or maybe American forests are just weird," she added with a laugh.

That was a surprise. "You're not American?"

"Well, I'm as American as you can get without being a citizen, I think. My parents moved to Canada before I was born, and we didn't live too far over the border. But yeah, I'm Canadian."

"That's pretty cool. Hey, Edie! Where are you from?"

She was answered with silence, then Dawn spoke again. "Edie, wake up!"

"Huh?" said Edie. "Are we there?"

Turning around as best as she could, Corrie saw that Edie had one of the books open in her hands and an unfocused expression. She grinned. "I'm asking you a question! I didn't expect you to make time right now."

Edie sighed and closed the book, but Corrie could see that she was trying to hold back a smile. "Oh, fine. What was the question?"

"Where are you from?"

"New Hampshire. About two hours out of Boston. Tiny little town... probably the same size as the one outside the college, but with no college students to fill it up in the spring and fall."

Corrie had never seen a real small town before that one. Granted, she'd hardly left the city in her entire life. "You'll have to take me to visit sometime. I want to see your tiny little town!"

Edie laughed. "Maybe I will."