The door lock clicked as someone unlocked it from the other side. I sat up from my self-wallowing. In strolled a petite, olive-skinned, girl with long, dark hair. She was followed by a man in a turban and a woman in a sari. My new roommate, Sim, had arrived with good timing to distract me from my failed first day of being a grown-up. Her grin grew as she saw me, and she ignored her prattling father, coming over to me instead of where he was pointing.
“I’m excited to finally meet you,” Sim said, still ignoring her father and mother who were now disputing something about the room. All I caught was that the window wasn’t exactly how the dorm people had described and that Sim’s mother thought they should have come to measure.
“Do you need some help?” I asked. Anything to distract me was a good thing at this point. Not like I could make my day any worse.
“Mom, Dad,” Sim interrupted her parents. “We are going down to get stuff from the car.” Her parents nodded and kept arguing about details of the room. I was surprised they actually heard Sim. She reached over and took the keys out of her animated father’s hands.
I turned to follow Sim back out of the room. She wove her way back through the adjoining hallways that I hadn’t used yet. All four dorms were connected, but it was actually more trouble to go through the dorms than around the outside. I’d have to tell her that for our way back. Navigating the narrow hallways with boxes sounded like it would just add to my failing day.
“When did you get here?” Sim asked.
“This morning,” I replied. “We spent the night in Minneapolis, rather than show up here at ten last night.”
“And your parents are gone all ready?” Sim asked. “I’m going to have to push mine out of here after I get everything to our room and even then, I doubt they will leave easily.”
“Grandfather got called by a client. He’s in the private antique business. If a rich client calls, he goes immediately. They left before I even drove up here.” I tried not to make the story sound sad. I was really used to it by now. Grandfather had gotten called away almost weekly for as long as I could remember.
“Oh, you moved in all by yourself?” Sim sounded sad. Even if she had just been complaining about her parents, she liked their doting.
We made it back through the dorm facing the parking lot and out to her parents’ car. The midsized car was packed full. I couldn’t even find where Sim sat for the ride. Sim took one box and a bag.
“Could you wait here until my father comes down? He’s supposed to be helping while Mom unpacks,” Sim explained. “If one person always waits at the car, we won’t have to keep tossing the keys between us. My parents always demand I lock my car. Something about America not being safe.” Sim rolled her eyes at the last comment.
“Sure,” I replied. Sim wove her way back through the lot.
My thoughts began to wander and underwear model’s face flashed in my memory. I could still feel how soft his hair was. I kind of wanted to touch it again. If I had been brave, I probably could have sat there longer with him. I mean, when am I ever going to be alone with a guy like that again? I had to stop thinking about him. Those thoughts were a bit stalkerish and depressing, but I couldn’t help my wandering mind. I really shouldn’t be left alone. I looked around the parking lot for a distraction. I didn’t want to see any of the guys I met today, but I needed something else to think about rather than underwear model guy.
Sim’s dad, Mr. Singh, made his way back to the car, his turban bouncing with each step. He was very energetic. Maybe it was because I never had a father around, but I always pictured dads to be like my friends’ fathers. They were all lawyers and doctors, very serious men with no bounce to their step. Mr. Singh was very energetic and spoke with a thick Punjabi accent.
“Miss Mari, you’re waiting very patiently,” he commented, coming up next to me. “By now my Simardeep would be yelling at me to hurry up and nagging about how long it took me. Your parents raised such a patient child. I’d love to know how.”
“I’ll have to ask my mom for you,” I replied, picking up two boxes. Mr. Singh smiled at me as I walked away.
I walked around the dorms on the wider pathway outside. It was easier to maneuver between college students on the sidewalk rather than the three foot wide hallways. I kept my eyes open as I turned the corner; this time I wasn’t going to run into someone on my way. No one was around the corner, and I made my way inside to climb the one flight of stairs to our floor. As I neared my room I could hear Sim and her mother arguing. Sim seemed to be as loud as both her parents, and even had a hint of an accent when arguing.
“Where should I put these?” I asked, interrupting the glare Sim was giving her mother.
“On the bed is fine,” Mrs. Singh replied in a friendly tone, like there hadn’t just been an argument.
“I’ll go get more,” I suggested, not really wanting to get between the mother and daughter war that was going on. Mrs. Singh smiled and nodded as Sim continued to glare at her. I quickly backed out of the room and into the hall. I never really fought with my mother over anything. It was strange, but funny, to see them argue.
As I began my walk around the dorms yet again, I was continuing to be cautious. I slowed as I neared the corner. Underwear model guy was standing just around it, talking to big guy and tall guy. I stopped before I could make it around, and paused to see which way they were going.
“I swear I found her this time,” underwear model guy said. His voice was as beautiful as he was. “The goddess promised I would know when I found her. I do know. I found her.”
“Just like the last twenty-three times,” tall guy replied. His voice was fairly nasally for being such a tall guy. I would have expected maybe a deeper voice.
“Dee, don’t tease him,” big guy warned. There was a mixture of warning and sympathy in his voice.
“No. I swear to you guys. She’s the one,” underwear model replied, unfazed by his friends doubt. “Maat came to me in my dream. I promise you this girl is the one we’ve been looking for.”
“Sure, just like Melissa,” tall guy remarked. “Or was it Sarah, or Jenny? Just admit it, Seti, you found another pretty face you want to make yours. By all means, man, go ahead. No one is stopping you. Can you tell us who she is so that we don’t go after her, too?”
I backed up slowly. I didn’t need to hear more about underwear model’s conquests. Guys like that always had girls throwing themselves at them. He was more appealing before learning that he was a player. I went back inside the dorms and prayed they wouldn’t come in as well. Looping back through the dorms, I exited the door to the parking lot. The guys were nowhere in sight. I dashed across the lot and made it to Sim’s car about the same time she did.
“Papa,” Sim complained as her father was lying in the driver’s seat, trying to take a nap. He opened his eyes and grinned sheepishly at us both.
“Old men are allowed to take naps,” he replied. Mr. Singh was not what I would consider old.
“And I suppose that means young girls have to carry everything up themselves?” Sim had her hands on her hips just like her mother when Mr. and Mrs. Singh had been arguing upstairs. Sim was being a mini-me of her mother, and I had to hold back a laugh at the sight of her posed like that.
“Oh, sweet of you to suggest that, dear,” Mr. Singh replied as he closed his eyes again.
Sim huffed and went back to the trunk to grab more boxes. She wasn’t really mad. I was getting the feeling that it was more of a routine in their house to argue over everything. I grabbed a few more boxes. It seemed like we were only about half-way done with emptying the car. There were many more trips to go to move Sim into our room.
“Can we go outside this time? Those hallways are just too crowded,” Sim asked.
I wanted to say no in case we ran into underwear model and his friends—literally or figuratively, but I just nodded. I didn’t have a good reason to not go that way without telling her about my wreck of a morning. Maybe with Sim I wouldn’t be as
accident prone.
“Why did you pick Morton?” Sim asked as I walked beside her on the sidewalk.
“To get away,” I replied. I could tell Sim that. I could not tell my mother, grandfather, or other friends that. No one would understand how I wanted a few years away from the life I grew up in. It wasn’t a bad life. We all had good homes, a great education, and enough money to never want for anything, but it was just stifling. Even here at college I wasn’t completely free from my life, as I already had my degree planned out to allow me to continue with my grandfather’s business. For once, just once, I wanted to be free and have a life that I chose. “Six hundred miles from home was the biggest draw.” Sim looked in awe at me. She was from Minneapolis and only a two-hour drive from home. I got the distinct feeling she wouldn’t be far from home ever.
“I don’t think I could do that,” Sim replied. I was correct. “My parents would be lost without me.”
I shrugged. “My grandfather goes away for business a lot and my mother often goes with him. I’m used to being away from them, and I don’t think they ever really miss me.”
“So what? You just randomly chose on a map to head to northern Minnesota? That sounds crazy. How did you find Morton of all places to go?” Sim maneuvered around the corner and didn’t run into anyone.
“I know one of the professors here. He was my private tutor last summer for a class I wanted to get done before my senior year. He always talked about Morton as a good college and a beautiful place to live.” I looked around the sidewalk and noted that underwear model and friends were not walking on them anymore.
“We’ll see if you still say that when there are twenty-four inches of snow on the ground,” Sim replied, stopping at the door to go inside. She sat her boxes down and opened the door.
“Do you know them?” Sim asked, pointing at one of the picnic tables nearby. Underwear model, tall guy, and big guy were all sitting there, watching us. Underwear model guy’s stare was seriously unnerving, like I was prey and he was a wild animal.
“Um, no,” I replied as my cheeks turned red, giving away my true answer.
Sim blocked the door, her hands on her hips, waiting for a better reply.
“You cannot tell me guys that hot are staring like that and you don’t know them,” Sim answered.
“I bumped into the big guy earlier today,” I admitted part of the truth. I was not going to say anything about underwear model guy falling into my lap. That was just weird. Sim nodded and moved to hold the door for me. I saw her looking round me to check out the guys again before following me into the stairwell.
“But he’s not the one really staring at you. It’s the really cute guy. He looks very familiar.” Sim led us upstairs and stopped talking as she was deep in thought about something.
At least she had stopped asking questions. Maybe she knew the guy. She was from around here and maybe he was as well. Maybe she could tell me if he was really a player and if he was dating anyone. I stopped that train of thought. I didn’t want to know more about him. Well, I wanted to, but I shouldn’t want to. He was just a player, trying to add girls to his growing list of conquests. I wasn’t going to be on any guy’s conquest list. I was here to get an education, get away from home, and grow up a bit—not to fall for some player guy that would add my name as another check mark on his list of women.
We set the boxes down in our room where Sim’s mother was unpacking and putting things away. Sim didn’t even seem to care as her mom went through everything. I was surprised. I really didn’t want my mom going through my things. Sim led the way back down and went outside again. The guys were still there and I could feel underwear model’s stares on my back as we walked by.
“Are you sure you don’t know him?” Sim asked, turning back to look at him again.
“Really,” I replied, pulling her back around. I was going to go with the I don’t know him bit and hope he went away. “I’ve never met him before.”
I followed behind Sim to make sure she didn’t turn back around.
“He’s really cute,” Sim added. “I wish I had a hot guy watching me like that. I mean it looked like he’s ready make out with you right here on the dorm lawn.” While my heart beat a little fast at that idea, I tried to keep my mind from wandering there. What would it be like to kiss him?
“He’s not really my type,” I lied. He was completely my type. He was anyone’s type; tall, dark, and handsome.
“You don’t like the “I’ve been taken away from heaven and planted here on earth” drop-dead-gorgeous type? We’re in college. Time to explore new types, girl.” Sim raised her eyebrows as we approached the car. My face was already red. I couldn’t deny what she said, but how else could I say that I knew better than to be interested in him? I couldn’t let myself be interested in him. Guys like him were always trouble.
“Simardeep, what could you be doing to make your new friend blush that much?” Mr. Singh asked. My face reddened a bit more with embarrassment, though I would not have thought that was even possible. I didn’t need to discuss cute guys with Mr. Singh.
“I am being nice, Daddy,” Sim replied. “We were just talking about finishing all these boxes, and I made Mari run back down here with me. She’s just warm.” Sim lied expertly and winked at me when he wasn’t looking. Maybe Sim wasn’t as completely honest with her parents as it seemed before, when her mother was putting all Sim’s stuff away.
“Well, if you ladies can take the top three boxes, I can get the rest,” Mr. Singh offered.
I grabbed the top two boxes. The less trips past underwear model, the better. Sim grabbed the other box and led us away as her dad piled the rest on the closed trunk before locking up. I looked back to see if we should wait for him.
“He’s fine,” Sim answered my unspoken question. “He walks slowly. My mom and I leave him behind all the time.”
I wouldn’t say that he walked slowly, remembering how he had bounded across the lot to me when I waited before, but I followed Sim anyway. She seemed to be in a bit more of a rush than last time. We flew by the guys still sitting at the table and up to our room without a glance back. Sim pushed me in first, and I set the boxes down on the bed. She snuck in behind me when her mother’s back was turned and slid the box in her arms under my bed. She put her finger to her lips begging me to be quiet about the mystery box. Sim stood back up quickly and smiled at her mother as she turned around.
“I’ll go back down to get the door for your dad,” I offered as Sim’s mom started to hand Sim clothes to hang up.
I went back downstairs. It wouldn’t be a problem because I didn’t have to walk outside again by the guys. I could just stand inside the door and open it once Mr. Singh made his way there. He wasn’t far down the walkway when I got to the doorway. I leaned against the door and ignored the students walking by.
“Was she the one in the red shirt or white?” a familiar, nasally voice asked.
“White, with the short shorts,” underwear model replied as they passed by.
I looked at my shirt. It was white and my shorts were a tad bit short.
“Oh, you mean the hot one that ran into me today when we were looking for you,” a third voice added. None of the guys noticed me flattened against the doorway.
I might have convinced myself before that I wasn’t the one underwear model was looking at for his next girl, but it was going to be harder to convince myself of now. What did I do to be targeted? It was only my first day at Morton.
“Melissa is going to be mad,” tall guy said as they walked down the hallway out of hearing range. They hadn’t seen me, but I had heard them. College was getting harder by the minute and I hadn’t even been to my first class yet.
I looked up and Mr. Singh was trying to get the door open. I reached over and pushed it open for him. He smiled, surprised to see me.
“Oh, Mari, thanks,” Mr. Singh replied as I took a couple boxes and led the way back to my room.
Sim was almost done unpacking with
the help of her mom. It wouldn’t take more beyond the boxes we just arrived with. Sim took the top box from her father and opened it as I sat down on my bed to watch. They were like a well-oiled machine. Each person had a task, and they all moved around getting it done. For as much as they bickered, they were quite the family unit.
“Here,” Sim said, tossing me a booklet. “Look at the football team.”
I paged through it until I found the football team. Sixty-some faces stared back at me, all lined up together for a group shot. In a way they all looked the same to me. I didn’t know what I was looking for at first. Sim motioned for me to turn the page. I turned the page and stopped. Underwear model was staring back at me. Seth Sangre. He had a name. And he was their all-star quarterback. I smiled meekly up at Sim. Seth Sangre, the player, star quarterback, planned to make me a name on his list. Ugh. College was not off to a good start at all.
Chapter 2
Orientation
The next day was orientation. I woke with enough time to get ready and scarf down a granola bar. Sim seemed even slower moving than me so early. I couldn’t blame her. She was correct in that her parents were hard to get rid of. After unpacking, they insisted on taking us for an early supper. After that, we had to go to several stores, as they needed to be sure Sim had everything she needed. Then after visiting all of the stores and returning to the dorms, they still weren’t sure if they should leave yet and thought a dessert run was in order. It was past eleven before we got them on their way. They seemed even more nervous about college life than Sim and I combined. While Sim seemed annoyed, I actually found it kind of fun to be fussed over. I missed my mom already. Unfortunately for us, the college thought we should get into the school mentality by having orientation at eight thirty in the morning the day after we moved in.
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