He laughed. "It's practical for the mountains, but I see your point."
Carol laughed at his words and followed him outside with her box. Conversation after that was left to short phrases as I dragged the rest of the stuff we had accumulated to the entryway. The majority of Carol's stuff was already at my house since we had been stowing our purchases in my room. Space at her house was limited at best, even with her and her two older siblings off at school.
Carol left when we were almost done so she could help her mom with dinner.
Rick and I finished loading up the back of the Expedition, which I had to admit had a ton of space once you laid all the seats down. Rick filled me in on what was happening at the camp while we worked. He was careful to skirt around mentioning Mason and I was thankful for it. I hadn't cried over Mason since my first night home, but being around Rick brought the raw feelings back to the surface.
"So, Amy's gearing up for Red Rocks," he said, closing the hatch of the vehicle as my mom pulled into the driveway.
"Where's she staying?" I asked.
"In a small apartment off campus. Her scholarship money and loans are enough to pay the bills and her classes. We're all pitching in for the rest."
"That's great. I know how much she wanted to go to college."
"She misses you," he said before turning to greet my mom. "Kate," he said, giving her hug.
"It's good to see you, Rick," she said warmly.
I headed to my room, leaving them to chat.
My room looked bare without all the boxes and bags that had cluttered it the last few weeks. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I thought about my conversation with Rick. I felt bad I hadn't called or returned Amy's text messages since I got home. I had pushed her away, afraid that talking to her would make me miss Mason more. I now realized it was selfish of me to do so. I valued her friendship and I wasn't doing a very good job showing it.
I pulled my cell out of my pocket and scrolled through my messages until I got to the one she had sent.
Hey girl I hear you're college bound. I typed.
Who is this??? She answered.
Hahaha kidding :) She texted back.
Sorry I haven't called.
I understand chica. I know something went down between you and Greeky but figured you didn't want to talk about it.
Yeah sort of.
That's okay. I'm here if you need a friend.
Thanks I value your friendship a lot.
Aww back atcha Twinsie .
I heart you. I texted smiling.
I heart you too <3 Don't be a stranger.
I won't. I typed.
Tossing my phone on my bed, I headed to my bathroom to shower since moving stuff translated to sweaty ickiness.
The evening passed much too quickly for my liking as Rick treated Mom and me to dinner out at my favorite Mexican restaurant. During dinner, Rick entertained us with stories of previous years at the camp. Mom and I were in stitches at some of the fiascos, or as he put it, fires he had to put out. The evening was bittersweet as I got a glimpse into what our life might have been like.
"I had fun tonight," I told them, giving them a hug goodnight as they continued to talk late into the night.
"Night, Kimmie," Rick said, standing.
"Night, Dad," I said, heading toward my room.
"I can't believe she lets you call her that," I heard Mom say.
"Oh sheesh, between Car and Mom, nothing's sacred," I muttered to myself.
My last morning at home passed in a whirlwind of activity as I rushed around like a maniac, grabbing stray art supplies that seemed to be strewn throughout the house. Finally, after many false starts, we were on the road, headed for the campus. The three-hour drive passed quickly as Mom and I talked about mundane things, trying to hold our tears at bay over our impending separation.
The campus was buzzing when we arrived and we wound up circling the block several times until we found spaces. Rick squeezed into the closest space while Mom and I parked a block away.
Carol showed up with her mom and dad in tow, and we made quick work of unloading all the vehicles. Before I knew it, Carol and I were standing alone in our dorm room with tears in our eyes.
"Well, we're college girls," Carol said dramatically, sweeping her arms out and twirling around.
"Yeah, I guess we are," I said, not sharing her excitement.
"Come on Gloomy Gus, we're here. Let's go grab something to eat and we'll deal with this mess later," she said, indicating the multiple boxes and bags scattered across the room.
"Fine, but you're doing your share when we get back," I said, knowing her well.
"Me?" she said, laying on the innocence.
Carol and I walked around the campus to get a better lay of the land before classes started on Monday.
"What time is freshman orientation tomorrow?" Carol asked, sipping her large iced caramel latte.
"Two in the afternoon, I think. Why?"
"Just wondering since the campus seems pretty empty."
"That's what I was thinking. I guess not everyone is as dedicated as us," I joked.
"You mean, dweebie, right? Come on, let’s go get dinner, maybe we'll meet some people."
"By 'people', you mean 'boys'," I said, linking my arm through hers. "How can you be hungry anyway? You just downed an iced caramel latte."
"Hello, have we met?"
"Oops, that's right. I forgot I was talking to the bottomless pit," I quipped as she dragged me into the Terrace Food Court.
"Wow, pick your poison," I said, taking in all the fast food places. "Sheesh, this food court is better than the one at the mall," I joked, heading for the Panda Express.
"I'm going to make the rounds to see what I want," Carol said, dumping her empty cup in the trashcan.
"Okay," I said, placing my order with the girl behind the counter.
Carol still wasn't back by the time I paid for my food, so I picked a table for us. I was halfway done with my food when I saw her headed my way, dragging two very willing guys behind her. I held back a sigh at their twin like appearances in khaki shorts and girly-colored polo shirts. Why guys suddenly thought it was hot to wear pink and lavender was beyond me.
"Kim, this is Chris and his friend Steven," she said, making quick introductions while I glared at her.
"Hi," I said, holding out my hand, reluctantly.
Chris shook it firmly before turning his attention back to Carol, making it clear who he was interested in.
I turned to his friend to shake his hand. He grasped mine longer than necessary, making a production of running his thumb over my pulse point. I jerked my hand back, frowning at him.
"Sorry, there's only room at the table for two," I said, rudely.
"That's okay. We can get a bigger..." Carol started to say, but abruptly shut her mouth when she saw my thunderous expression.
"No problem," Chris said, looking at me like I had sprouted an extra head. "Here, let me program my number in your phone and maybe we can get together after your orientation," he said, reaching for his phone.