“Good, ‘cause I’m supposed to get online when AJ texts me.”
She stared at me thoughtfully for a minute. “You’re really gonna miss him aren’t you?” Apparently I’d failed at trying to mask my feelings.
“You have no idea. I keep trying to remind myself that it’s only for a little while, though.” I thought back on all the things that AJ and I had been through over the past year: the drama with Antonio and Leila, my father flipping out when he first met AJ, Mr. Hahn’s many attempts to pull us apart, the accident that nearly ended my life……and losing the baby that neither AJ nor I knew existed until too late.
Deanna continued to stare at me as I thought. I got the impression that she wanted to ask me something, but she was hesitant. Just then two figures appeared in our doorway.
“Knock, knock,” one of the tall, thin brunettes said. She was smiling broadly and reminded me of the cheerleaders from high school. Her powder blue shorts were short enough that her panties would’ve been hanging out if she’d had class enough to be wearing any. Her barely-there tank top was tied off just above her pierced naval, scarcely covering her torso. “Mind if we come in?” She asked in her high-pitched, chirpy voice. She didn’t even give us a chance to answer before she pranced in and perched on the foot of my bed.
“I’m Jen. Welcome to Charleston,” she said excitedly . The other girl was just as tall and Barbie-like as Jen, but she seemed to be a little less……well……stupid.
The other girl extended her hand to shake mine. “Hi. I’m Bianca.”
“It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Samantha, or Sam, and this is my best friend Deanna.”
“Well, you’ll love it here. We’re you guy’s suitemates, so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other I’m sure,” Jen smiled and seemed to space out for a few seconds. “Met any cute guys here yet? They’re all over the place.”
“Oh, we both have boyfriends,” Deanna replied.
“Really? Do they go here too?” She inquired.
Her words reminded me that I was separated from AJ. “Deanna’s boyfriend, Karl, is here, but mine is actually on his way to Westwood as we speak.”
“Oh, that sucks that he’s gonna be so far away. No offense, but the long distance thing rarely works. I tried it once and it was too hard to keep things going just over the phone.”
My stomach dropped. “Well, I’m pretty sure we’ll make it work. He’ll be here in January. His application was just submitted too late. That’s all,” I replied defensively.
She didn’t seem convinced, but I think she caught the hint of irritation in my tone. I rolled my eyes at her and continued to fidget with my laptop.
“Do you have a picture of him?” Jen asked.
“Yeah, but it’s still packed I think. It’s one my mom took of us on prom.”
“How long have you two been together?” She inquired.
“It’ll be a year in October. So, ten months.”
“Where’d you guys meet?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes. “School.”
“Is he hot?” She asked.
What the heck? Are we playing Twenty Questions or something? I sighed and stared at the computer screen. “Obviously I think so.”
She finally got the hint and dropped the subject. “Well, hey, do you guys wanna go to The Rip with us later on? A bunch of us are going at like nine.”
“The Rip?” Deanna asked.
Bianca laughed. “Yeah, it’s really called Mitch’s Diner, but the food is deadly so we nicknamed it ‘The Rip’. You know, like R.I.P.? It’s honestly only a matter of time until that crap finally kills one of us.”
“That actually sounds pretty gross,” Deanna said glumly.
“We know, but it’s the cheapest place to eat near campus, so we just deal with it,” Bianca stated.
“I guess I’ll tag along,” Deanna replied. “But I don’t think I’ll be eating anything.”
“What about you, Sam?” Bianca asked.
“Umm….actually I’m supposed to meet my boyfriend online later, but you guys go and have fun.”