“Need some help?” A voice called from behind me.
I turned around to find the same guy I’d noticed in the hall standing about two feet behind me. Startled, I gave him a quick once-over. He was a tall, about the same complexion as me, with chestnut-colored eyes. He looked a little too old to have come fresh out of high school, so I assumed that he was in his third or fourth year. Deanna looked at him just as curiously as I did.
“Uh….no, I think we can manage, but thanks,” I eventually answered, turning right back around to maneuver my desk chair out of the truck. I could feel him still behind me, but I hoped that if I ignored him he’d go away. When I turned to go back toward the building, he was still there.
“Name’s Terrell.” He reached out to shake my hand and I stared at it for a second. I wasn’t sure what his angle was, but I’d had enough drama in my life already without adding him to the heap. Reluctantly, I shook his hand anyway, watching him cautiously the whole time. He laughed at my reaction. “Trust me, I don’t bite. I’m just trying to help.” He held his hands up as if he were surrendering. Perhaps I was being overly suspicious. He seemed like a nice guy, but maybe he had a hidden agenda. I learned the hard way never to underestimate anyone.
“Sorry,” I said quietly, stepping aside so he could take something off the truck. “It was…nice of you to offer.”
He smiled again, grabbing a couple heavy boxes before following Deanna and I to our room.
My parents were already there unpacking the boxes they’d carried in on their last load. When we entered with Terrell in tow, they both stared at him apprehensively. I shrugged my shoulders at Mom to let her know that I didn’t know him or where he came from either. All I needed was for her to think that I was trying to hook up with this guy.
“Mom, Dad, this is Terrell. We met in the parking lot,” I said condescendingly as I pushed the desk chair I was carrying over to the wall.
“Okay. Um….hi, Terrell,” Mom said sweetly. She didn’t seem sure of him, but she was polite all the same. “I’m Mrs. Kelley, Samantha’s mother.”
“Nice to meet you,” he smiled.
Thanks, Mom…..now he knows my name.
Apparently Terrell didn’t scare easily despite my efforts, so between the five of us we made about three more trips to the car before everything was unloaded. Terrell finally returned to his room a few doors down after all the work was done. Daddy made sure to make him feel unwelcome the whole time by mentioning AJ just so Terrell knew that I wasn’t interested in him. Terrell was nice enough, but I’d developed trust issues after the year’s events and I was in no mood for games or drama.
Deanna’s parents returned and gave us one last pep talk before heading back out. My parents stayed to help me unpack most of my things before they decided to make their way back home too. Mom took it hard, but I was a little more at ease now that I’d gotten settled in and had Deanna here with me.
“Well, we’re officially on our own,” Deanna said while smiling, almost as soon as our parents were out of the room. It was kind of exciting when I thought about it – no more curfews, no more being grounded, no one to tell me what to do or when to do it.
We sat down on our beds, leaving the door wide open to see what was going on in the hallway. There were still quite a few students moving in and the atmosphere was lively. The noise comforted me for some reason – it made me feel just a little less lonely.
I reached for the white box on the floor by my bed and pulled out the pink laptop AJ bought for me. I sighed as I stared at it.
“Do you know how to set this up? Like…link it to the wi-fi?”
Deana shrugged, apparently just as clueless as I was. “Karl knows about that stuff. He’ll be here in a little while; I’m sure he’ll help you with it.”