I ignored the beeps as I started talking to Mom about my new roommate, my long journey here, and more importantly signing up to the clubs.
“Shoot, mom I forgot to find out if I could work earlier than next week.”
“Celia, you just got there. One step at a time, get settled and have a little fun. You’re only young once and besides, I told you that I wanted you having fun for once in your life. That’s why I did the doubles, even those triple shifts to get the money together for you to do something more in life.”
I sighed, “Mom, don’t start. You’ll make me feel sad. I know how much you sacrificed for me to be here, which is why--”
“You don’t need to think about the past, but only the future.”
I was about to say something when I heard a voice in the background.
“Mom, are you alone?”
She cleared her throat, which meant that she was trying to figure out a way to answer me, which meant that I knew the answer to her question.
“Mom, it’s okay. I’m glad that you’re not alone. You work too hard.”
I could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “Go have some fun. And send some snaps too. You have your phone now so that you can send pictures. Okay?”
She was right, I had a phone so I could take photos and send them to my family, and I knew all of this was going to open a new door for me in my life. Something that everyone did regularly was all new to me.
I decided that I would send photos and I didn’t have to worry about anyone else seeing them, because this phone was mine.
“Mom, love ya. See you soon.”
“Big kiss and hug from me.”
Then she hung up, and before I knew it, I was lying down on my bed looking at my phone. I didn’t have any messages from boys yet, just the clubs I’d joined, but hoped I would soon. Rachel was out for the moment and I was bored.
I thought about all the sultry text messages my fantasy boy and I would exchange, and how hot it would make us both. I nearly had to fan myself as I thought about it, but then reality set in. I wasn’t nearly as hot as Rachel. I didn’t stand a chance when there were so many gorgeous women like her around.
I jumped when I heard a knock at the door.
“Celia O'Donnell?” The person asked on the other side of the door.
It was weird hearing my name from the other side of the door and I rushed to it, wondering if this was a prank. Maybe the person on the other side of the door was going to do something stupid, just to catch it on video and try to go viral with university pranks. I’d heard of stupid things happening to freshmen.
Maybe it would help if I wore sexier clothes and not the black jeans and matching shirt I had on.
I opened the door with some trepidation but as soon as I saw the boxes next to him, I knew that not only was it not a prank, but my things had arrived a couple of days earlier than expected. I was pleased to see that not all of them were from the trailer.
I smiled at him and said, “That’s me.”
They were things that my family had put together to buy me, like my laptop, new clothes that my Nan made me leave at her house, so Mom wouldn’t feel bad if she found out that someone else had bought me clothes. There were also other boxes that I wasn’t familiar with, but they had my name on them. I figured it was probably more stuff from the rest of the family.
I felt like a real college girl now. I had only had a few things in the trailer, and I knew that the family was doing everything they could to make sure that I didn’t worry about a thing. I had to call them all, even if it did take my last dime. I could do with going on a diet and not eating for a while, to pay for all those calls. Besides a phone call of appreciation would make me sleep better at night.
I signed for my things as he wheeled the boxes in. I was impatient for him to leave because I wanted to see what was in the boxes. He soon left and I thanked him, but I didn’t tip him, I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I was a poor student, and I wouldn’t have enough money to buy any of these things if it wasn’t for my family.
I started to open my boxes. I was happy to see the laptop that I was promised and even more so, some of the books that I needed to buy.
How the heck did they manage to get these?
Clothes that I’d never seen before. Sweaters, pants, sneakers all new with the tags on them. That was something that we did all the time in my family, in case an item needed to be returned. I felt like a little kid on Christmas day, seeing clothes that I could never afford to buy and things that I never thought I would possess. As soon as I stopped feeling emotional about how lucky I was, I knew that I had to make those phone calls.
Number one on the to-do list would be to call them and let them know that not only did I appreciate them, but I loved them with all my heart.
Chapter Six
Keith
“Hey, here she comes again. She’s just a freshman, right? She sure acts like she owns the place, I see. Pretty bold for someone that’s only been here five minutes.”
“So, ignore her,” Grant, my brother, said as my eyes traced up and down the freshman’s body. As I raked her over with my eyes I wondered if she was really a freshman and not a senior. She had the body of a full-grown woman that knew how to use it, not an innocent girl, fresh out of high school.
She glided across the bar with a swagger of confidence that caught a lot of attention and I knew that she was headed in our direction from the way that her eyes stayed on me. It was a kind of dance, as she crossed the large room and swerved around other bodies. No matter how many times I tried to get away from her eye contact, she managed to stare right back at me.