“Ok, suit yourself. Want us to bring you anything back?” Jen asked.
I pictured a plate of green slop with a face and hair, and quickly replied, “No, thanks.”
“Ok then, Deanna, we’ll be by in about an hour to pick you up. Sam, hope you change your mind and come too,” Bianca smiled.
Doubt it.
As soon as they were gone, Karl came in through the open door and sat on Deanna’s bed. She greeted him with a kiss, sending a wave of jealousy crashing down on me. Immediately I thought of AJ being miles and miles away while these two had one another right here with only a short walk between buildings separating them. I dropped my gaze and stared at my comforter.
“Oh, Sam needs you to set up her laptop so she can talk to AJ tonight,” Deanna said to Karl.
“Sure. Hand it here,” he replied. I passed it across the open space between me and Deanna’s beds and then leaned back on my pillow. I stared at the ceiling and daydreamed so that they didn’t feel like I was watching them. They were laughing and joking together while Karl worked on my computer. It only took him about ten minutes to get everything going and to get me set up to video chat.
“Thanks,” I said cheerfully – it wouldn’t be long now before I could talk to AJ, which was going to be the highlight of my day.
A few minutes later Jen, Bianca, and three guys showed back up at our door to get Deanna. Karl tagged along of course. I shut the door behind them and checked the time on my phone. AJ was probably just getting in so I had a little while before he’d be ready for me. I decided to shower and pack for New York in the meantime. I gathered the nerdy toiletry basket my mom bought me before I left – she had a container for everything. I changed out of my clothes and pulled on my robe. The heavy door leading to the bathroom creaked a little as I pushed past it and flicked on the light.
There were strands of long brown hair from Jen and Bianca all over the floor and counter which made me gag a little. I frowned and walked to the door joining our room with our suitemates’, locking it so that I didn’t have to worry about anyone coming in on me. I placed my basket on the long counter and started missing my clean, private bathroom at home. I’d never had to share and now I had three other girls to deal with. I closed my eyes and tried to think of home.
When I stepped out, I was careful to step right into my slippers to avoid picking up the girl’s hair on my wet feet. After unlocking the other door, I nearly ran back to my room. I rubbed on some lotion and dressed quickly before pulling out my suitcases to pack. Four pairs of pajamas; four outfits; three pairs of shoes; underclothes; and a small bag for personal items. I squeezed the bag together, forced the zipper closed, and moved it to the floor of my closet. Now what? I sat on my bed and waited pitifully for AJ to text me, and he did about twenty minutes later. I could hardly get the message open from the excitement that jolted me.
“Already waiting 4 U.”
I tossed the phone onto the nightstand carelessly as I scrambled to get the computer open. The glow from the laptop was plenty of light, so I hopped out of bed to shut off the switch. It didn’t take long to boot-up and I quickly signed in to chat. With the webcams it was going to be very much like sitting right across from one another, minus being able to touch him.
When I saw his face, I swear the corners of my smile actually reached from ear to ear. He smiled back and I could almost smell his cologne – like he was really in the room with me.
“Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey. How was the drive?”
He shrugged. “Long. Tiring. How ‘bout yours?”
“It was ok. My mom talked my ear off the whole time, telling me stories about when she went away to school.”
“Nice,” he replied sarcastically. “You all settled in?”
I did a quick scan of my room. “Mmm mostly. I have a few things left to put on the bookshelf, but other than that, I’m good. What about you?”