Moving On

Five

FIVE
S a n d r a

I take one last look at the room where I spent the last year crying, grieving, and wallowing in self-pity in. It's mostly empty now, except for the squeaky bed and the ugly flower painting that hangs above it which was already there when we moved in. I was against mom about buying extra furnishings for the apartment when she inquired about doing so because I've had a weird feeling that we wouldn't stay here long and that we wouldn't have a place to put those after we've moved out. And here we are now.

Mom told me that she'll just take the additional fittings back to Columbus, and since that there are tons of them, moving all of them at once aren't going to be easy. So I called in movers for her, since mom didn't want to (she says that it's cheaper but it's better to pay than to cause yourself all the trouble) and she can't say anything if I called them in myself.

Now that that's all done, I'm standing here now, recounting the things that happened here. There isn't much to begin with. Without Justin in the picture, this apartment almost means nothing to me. There would've been a lot to reminisce now if Justin were here. Alas, he isn't. I need to keep telling myself to get over it.

"Hey, kid," mom says quietly as she put her arm around my shoulder. "You're going to miss this place, huh?"

"No, not really," I answer without hesitation. But it's the truth, and I'm all about candour.

She laughs-like a legit laugh, and I haven't heard her laugh like that for some time. "You sure are one ball of sunshine." I shrug. "Are you ready?"

I heave a heavy sigh. "Ready as I'll ever be."

-

I was expecting a typical college setting. Of course, like all things I expected, I didn't happen that way.

I was imagining that it would be a clear and sunny day, a trend of students are in every direction you look in, all smiles and eager for the college life that they don't know is going to hurt like a bitch-yet. Old students are sprawled on the green lawn, enjoying the windy afternoon beneath the shadows of the tall and lush trees. You would instantly tell apart the new students for the old ones for the reason that old students would be sitting pretty like I described them, while the new students would be heading towards the same direction, the front office, the whole swarm of 'em.

This is how it really was: it was gloomy and overcast. Only a few students were to be seen and because of the weather, there weren't people chilling underneath the freaking trees and enjoying the breeze since it was freezing and there wasn't a reason to sprawl on the lawn because the weather isn't comforting.

What a happy first day, right? Stay with me, it gets worse.

The people in the front office who were receiving students weren't better than the weather. They were cranky and unwelcoming, like they didn't just get off summer vacation (and I'm guessing that they really didn't, with the incoming admissions and enrolment and all). The lady who processed my transcripts seemed utterly bored with me. It was though as if they didn't say that I was one of their promising students based on my grades in my senior year at Talawanda when I first came here to file in admission. Talk about bipolar.

After a few painful minutes, I finally got my schedule for the first term, my I.D., the iPad the contained all the books I needed for the semester (they're innovated that way), my dorm room number and keys. I quickly fixed them in my grasp, because I don't want to spend another five minutes here in this dismal office.

Thank the gods; the commons were much, much better. The common room were filled with students, and they all looked cheerful and happy for the forthcoming academic year. They were happily chatting with each other around the fireplace, and I don't blame them for loving the heat. I mean, I hated the weather outside. The only thing that bothered me was when I started to notice that it wasn't all-girls here in the dormitory. Shit, I thought. Co-ed. But I think I can deal with that.

They were helpful and friendly too. They told me where to find my room and since I'm new here and I could get lost in this huge dormitory, they just decided to escort me there.

"Thanks, you guys. You were much better than the cranky people at the front office," I acknowledge them.

"No problem," a petite girl named Art (which isn't a pretty name if you're a small girl) said. "And we all cut the front office some slack this time of the year, though. We all know how stressful paperwork can be," she says. She said that she was in her junior year in American Lit, and I think I can sympathize over her hatred with paperwork. It's hard to imagine that this girl is two years above my year and yet I'm towering over her a couple of inches high.

"Plus, the weather's really weird. I mean, summer just ended and yet it feels like winter's forthcoming already!" Cara, a sophomore (though I don't know her major yet, I'll ask her later), added.

"Hopefully, the weather's going to stop being a bitch tomorrow," another girl said, and I have yet to know her name.

"She's majoring in journalism but she's got a thing for astronomy," Art whispered to me. I nodded.

"Okay, guys," Cara started, "We should really leave Sandra alone now. After all, she hasn't met her roommate yet and we're already hogging her to ourselves." All of us laughed.

"S'okay, really," I shrugged. "It's good to have welcoming dorm mates. This place's starting to feel like home already."

"Well, we're all glad to hear that," what's-her-name smiled at me. "You can join us at our room later for dinner, if you want."

"You're allowed to have dinner in the rooms?" I asked.

Art laughed. "Of course we're not. But they're loose about the rules here. They don't mind unless we don't make a mess and we keep our rooms clean. So are you coming?"

"Yes," I smiled. I didn't expect to have friends this early in college, but thank God for friendly people.

They told me to text any of them after I've finished settling down in my room and they'll come and pick me up. I asked them why they won't just give me their room number, and they answered that they wanted to give me a grand tour of the dormitory. We bid our adieus and went to business.

I contemplated knocking on the door first, but then I thought that this was my room too which means that I don't have to knock. I entered the key and opened the wooden door.

"Well, you're late," a voice-a boy's voice-greeted me. Remember when I said that I can deal with co-ed? I take that back. I think co-ed dorm rooms aren't good.

He was fixing something on his bed when I entered.

"I wasn't informed that even the dorm rooms were co-ed," I say.

He turns around and says, "Yeah, me too."

I saw his face and I nearly fainted.