“Sure thing.” He gave her a flirty smile and got to work.
While she waited for our order, I excused myself and slipped into the bathroom. I needed to be alone to breathe through the memories. My roommate was trying to help, and I would let her—in a minute.
Bracing my hands against the sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked calm. My eyes were clear. My brow, smooth. Other than the trembling of my lips, no one would be able to tell how upsetting this day had been.
A huge canvas on the wall behind me caught my attention. I spun around and focused on the words of a proverb, painted in funky block letters.
This is your life now.
I shivered. Perfect message. Perfect timing.
“Yes, it is,” I said out loud.
There was a knock at the door. “Sara, are you okay?”
I opened the door, stepped out, and gave her a wobbly smile. “Yes, I’m okay. And hoping to get even better.”
It was strange how simply telling someone about Sean’s death made so much difference. Now that Meggie knew, we were able to talk about it. Not that I could often, but when we did discuss Sean, I could do it without crying.
My roommate appeared to be very outgoing and extroverted, but as the weeks crept by, I could tell she wasn’t. She seemed to know everyone, yet she didn’t hang out with many. Fortunately for me, I was one of the few in her circle.
Meggie had met a guy from Vermont at freshman seminar. After a lot of hints from her, Dan from Vermont asked her out, and he had a brother. So here we were finally, the four of us, at a local pub eating loaded fries.
Meggie and Dan were experiencing some serious chemistry.
“They’ve forgotten we’re here,” Cal the brother said.
“Agreed.” I looked at him. His expression matched how I felt. Nice but no magic. “Instead of watching them drool all over each other, we should talk.”
“Fine with me. I’ve had about all I can stand.”
“Okay. So, what do you like to read?”
“I don’t read.” He rolled his eyes. “Well, not books. Are you into sports?”
“Not really. I took ballet until middle school. But since then, nothing.” No need to tell that sad story. A dislocated knee limited my physical activity to the annoyingly tame level. “What about you?”
“Mountain biking. Newman’s the place to be.”
“I was wondering how you’d found out about this college all the way from Vermont. Favorite TV series?”
“Avatar.”
“Really?” Major commonality here. “Love that and I haven’t seen it in a while.” There was a burn in my chest. I didn’t want to remember the last time.
“Want to watch it instead of them?”
I could do this. “Sounds good.”
We slipped away. They didn’t even notice.
TO: Counselor
FROM: Grant
DATE: 30 September
May I request assistance from Camarin?
