The time has officially come. I have moved back to ZSU to start my sophomore year of college. It feels sort of surreal on just how fast the Summer moved by. It legitimately feels like Summer break hardly happened. But it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m back here at college, and I’m ready for whatever comes my way. I’m still looking at a job at the local pizza place on campus called “The Proper Pepperoni”. My good friends, Rachel Boone and Devin Stallard, work there and have decided to put in a good word for me. It’s long hours, but I need the money for my bad spending habits.
Last Sunday, I went to go visit my dad for the last time. He is going on a two-week vacation to Georgia, and I was moving 1.5 hours away back to ZSU. We spent the night having a cookout with his girlfriend, Mindy, her father, and her two-younger daughters. My dad prepared ribs, green beans, baked beans, and even bought some cupcakes for dessert. It was a simple night with some laughs until everyone went home for the evening. My dad and I took one last ride around on his motorcycle, then we went to our rooms to sleep.
On Monday, I went back to my mom’s house as my dad took off for Georgia. I knew that the next week was going to be boring as all hell. It would consist of packing or cramming in the little bit of Summer I had left. The issue is that I’m a major procrastinator, so I wait until the last minute to do anything. My mom would make sure to stay on my ass about it, and I didn’t blame her. I’m a dumbass 19-year-old, what do you expect? For me to be responsible? I didn’t think so.
That evening, I grabbed dinner at a Tex-Mex restaurant with my best friends, Brianna Martinez and Trent Peters. It would be the last dinner we grabbed before I moved back to college and Trent moved back to XMU. The three of us decided that while we had it, we might as well have one last sleepover to celebrate the end of Summer. So, we decided to head back to my house to get as fucked up as possible. We mixed edibles and alcohol together as we gossiped and played drinking games. Sitting there with them, I realized just how much I was going to miss my non-college friends. But that is just something you have to live with when you go to college. It’s accepting you won’t be around the same people anymore. That everyone around you has a life outside of you. Nevertheless, it was a good night that had several laughs and would become a good memory.
On Tuesday, Brianna and I woke up to a nice “hangover breakfast” made by my mom. Turns out that Trent had snuck out earlier so he could head to work at the movie theater. Of course, we had to make fun of him for sneaking out like a girl at a frat house. Let’s just say he was not amused. Anyhow, Brianna left that morning, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have plans. Because after a whole Summer away, I was finally going to be reunited with my college best friend, Kaylee Brown.
Kaylee is twenty-two and a Junior is college. We met in a speech class we shared second-semester my freshman year. We hit it off immediately and practically spent every moment of everyday together. When Summer came around, she moved out to Arizona, and I stayed in my home state. Now, she’s back for ZSU. However, it’s no completely “sunshine and rainbows”. She’s living in a condo with her friend, Maria Perez, and my ex-situationship, Juan Rivera. We ended our fling at the end of the school year, but the time had come where we could need to see each other again. I suppose it was inevitable. I guess on a campus with 25,000 people, you’re destined to see your ex at some point.
Kaylee and her mother pulled up to my house around 3:00PM. I literally squealed as I ran to give her a hug. Her mom didn’t hesitate to wrap me up in a hug too. The three of us went to Costco, then we went to go grab some lunch at Steak N’ Shake. By the end of the afternoon together, I loved Kaylee’s mom, and the reunion was so fun. Kaylee talked about her new boyfriend named Derek (they met in Arizona), complained about Maria and Juan, and her dog Billy. To her knowledge, I am completely over the Juan situation. In reality, I’m still angry and I want to kick his ass. Unfortunately, I cannot. Around 5:00PM, they dropped me back off at home so they could drive that 1.5-hours back up to ZSU. I spent time with my family after that, but nothing special occurred that evening. I just took in what time I had left with my mom, stepdad Gary, and little sibling.
On Wednesday, I met up with my friend, Megan Samuels, for breakfast at IHOP. I met Megan at work at the movie theater. She is going to a small college called NU because of a basketball scholarship she got, which she is deeply regretting. Megan has what I like to call “Freshman Frights”, in which she is anxious and afraid to leave home. No matter how much I tried to reassure her it would be fine, she was not convinced. It’s a cannon event for every freshman, no matter if they are a boy or a girl. It happens with every college kid, even those “cool and chill” frat boys and sorority girls. It’s ok to be nervous, you just kind of have to wing it. You never know if you don’t try. I told her that she could call me whenever she needed in case she wanted to talk. Megan was appreciative, but still unready to leave home. Sometimes in those situations, all you can do is just push through to see where you end up. You never know what kind of light waits for you at a dark tunnel.
Wednesday night was completely dedicated to packing up clothes, furniture, decorations, and everything in between. My mom and I were scurrying around the house to get everything together. We might as well have been crazy women, which isn’t out of the ordinary for us. Every college kid knows the stress of getting everything together to move back to college. It’s important to get everything together; to make sure everything looks tidy and packed. There was a long day ahead of us on Thursday. My mom and I made sure to get bed early that night, so we didn’t want to fucking die the next day.
On Thursday, it was finally time. It was the day I had been waiting for ever since freshman year ended back in May.
It was time to move back to ZSU.
I woke up around 7:45AM to start loading things into my mom and I’s cars. See, there is a huge difference between my mom and me. While I am more of a “go with the flow, you need to chill” person; my mom is a “OH MY FUCKING GOD, EVERYTHING IS GOING WRONG” person. So, our different personalities do not mix well in times like those. As promised, Brianna pulled up to my house around 9:15AM.
“Hey Sleepy, how’s it going?” I asked with a grin as I opened my front door for her.
Brianna responded with a deep sigh. “I’m tired, and I hate my life sometimes.”
“I hope you’re ready, Brianna.” My mom peeked over from behind me. “AC has a lot of shit.”
“Of course, she does. With her Valentino shoes and her Gucci purse.”
I scoffed. “You both are just haters. We can get everything into the cars.”
“Hey, my other mom, do you think you can air up one of my tires? It’s starting to lose pressure.” Brianna asked my mom.
“Yeah, I’ll have Gary (my stepdad) air it up for you.”
The three of took no time to start grinding. We carried all of my suitcases and my boxes down the stairs and into our cars. You need to understand that I am what my family calls: “spoiled”. I took two-separate jewelry containers and three-suitcases full of clothes and shoes. Hey, what can I say? I like to have a variety in my closet. Anyhow, we continued to load up everything and double check my room several times. When 10:30AM rolled around, we were finally all packed and ready to go. That was until my stepdad made an announcement.
Gary groaned as he squatted next to Brianna’s tire. “Hey Brianna, you have a nail in your tire. That’s why it’s losing air.”
“Shit, am I still able to drive there?” She asked, crossing her arms.
“I wouldn’t. If that tire blows up, you’re screwed.”
I shrugged. “You only have a couple of boxes in your car. Move them into mine and you can ride up there with me.”
“Well, I need to go get a new tire.”
“Don’t worry about it, I can take it for you. I don’t mind.” Gary nodded.
“Then how much do I owe you?”
My mom furrowed her eyebrows then waved her hand. “Brianna, don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of your tire.”
“No, I feel bad.”
“Do not, we are more than happy to do it. You’re our other daughter, silly.”
“I could cry, thank you.” Brianna smiled. “How did you give birth to such a bitch of a daughter?”
I slapped her back. “Fuck you, you’re the bitch.”
“AC Lane, language.” My mom scolded me. Brianna and I looked at each and laughed as we went to go move my stuff out of her car. Once the stuff was moved into my car and I could barely see out of my rearview mirror, we knew it was time to go. So, Brianna and I jumped into my car. I already had a full tank of gas and good playlist from Spotify on. That meant we were all good to go.
After a couple of wrong exits, Brianna and I were finally chilling on the highway. It was a 1.5-hour drive that actually seemed to go by pretty quick. We sang to music, gossiped about work, then even called Trent on the phone while he was on a road trip with some friends. We passed the time fairly quickly.
Eventually, we arrived at apartment complex where I would be living. We met up with my mom there as we went to check in at the front desk. There, I received my key to my apartment. Without wasting another second, the three of went over to my new apartment. The apartment was relatively empty and didn’t have any decorations. The senior girl living there, Miriam, did say that the apartment was pretty empty since she wasn’t home much. But damn, I didn’t think it would be that empty. Upon arrival, Molly was there with her mother, already moving in. About an hour later, Alyssa arrived with her own mother and Carter.
My mom, Brianna, Carter, and I got a lot of my room set up. We put all of my clothes away and organized, my mini fridge set up, my TV stand built, and my shelves all hung up. The rest were things Carter and I could do on our own. Around 5:00PM, my mom and Brianna were ready to leave and head back to my hometown. I showed them out of the apartment, then down the stairs. Once we hit the sidewalk, my mom looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“This is it.” My mom sniffled.
“You promised you wouldn’t cry.” I said as I hugged her.
“I know.”
“You’re gonna cry anyway, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” We went silent for a moment after that. I don’t know why, but I am not good at emotions. I can’t process anyone else’s, nor my own. But my mom was sad, and that made me feel empty. I just want her to know that I’m well, or that I miss home too. When I hear someone talk about “Grey’s Anatomy,” or when I see the boys on ZSU’s campus with golf clubs. When I’m with a whole group of friends, or when I’m alone in room with my own thoughts. I may be gone, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten home. And besides, there’s no such thing as “goodbye”. There’s only: “see you in a little while.” For right, I’m happy and she doesn’t need to worry.
Brianna and my mom left, leaving me alone with my roommates and Carter. Molly and Alyssa’s parents had left, which meant it was time to start adulting on our own. Miriam, the mysterious new roommate, did make a guest appearance. We made small talk for a moment, then she went to go hangout with her friends. It was a good enough start for us. The roommates and I were in desperate need of groceries and shit for our rooms, we decided to make a run to the store. And I decided that the best thing I could was give my good friend, Kaylee, an invite to go with us. The good news was that she took it, so I drove all of us to come pick her up. Little did we know, she was actually going to invite us inside.
Kaylee opened the front door to her townhome. It was two-bedrooms, three-bathrooms, and had a basement. It was cozy for her and her two roommates. “I’m sorry, it’s a little messy. I’m still unpacking everything.” Kaylee grunted as her golden retriever, Billy, was running up to us and jumping on all of us.
“Ah, Billy! He’s so cute!” Alyssa gasped since she was in complete of her dog. Molly and Alyssa completely doted all over Billy while Carter scanned the place.
Kaylee looked at me with a small smirk. “Juan’s bedroom is downstairs.”
“Hm.”
“You can go see it if you want. There’s nothing in there since he’s not coming until Sunday.”
“Might as well, it’ll be the only time I’m ever invited into that man’s bedroom.” I joked, but Kaylee did not see that amused. The five of migrated down to the basement. FUCK HIS ROOM IS NICE. He has his own common area, bathroom, and bedroom. His hookups are going to love his area, and not just the one in his pants. Anyway, the five of us left soon enough to head over to the market. Not before I got fucking yelled at the entire way there.
Kaylee gasped as she grabbed the handles in my car. “You dumb bitch! Why do you break so hard?”
“What do you mean? You’re being so dramatic!”
“She’s really not, AC.” Carter declared. “You’re making all of us nauseous.”
Alyssa shook her head. “I’m literally so scared right now. Like, don’t play with me.”
“I think you need to be in a car accident just to make you a safer driver. Not to seriously injure you, just humble you.” Kaylee nodded.
“I am not a bad driver, guys!” I yelled.
The four of them all cried out at the same time: “Yes, you are!” It was humbling, really. The truth is that I really am a shitty driver. Like, a God-awful driver. But hey, my goal is to get from Point A to Point B. Do I do it safely? No. But do I get the job done? Yes. So, they can all suck it, thank you.
The five of us bought groceries, cleaning supplies, the whole nine-yards for home items. It wasn’t until after we left the store when we realized that we were going to need to make another trip the next day. All of us had forgotten to buy some shit. As we were driving down the street, it suddenly hit me.
“Kaylee, we didn’t pay for the trash can.”
The car fell silent. “Shit.”
“It’s literally fine. Nothing is going to happen. Shit happens all the time.” Alyssa rolled her eyes.
Molly looked around. “Do you think we should turn around and pay for it?”
“Fuck no, I’m too lazy to do that.” I started laughing. “Well, congratulations everyone. You have all become accomplices. Great way to start the school year.”
After that, we placed an order for some Indian takeout at the restaurant on campus. They have the best butter chicken, and we had all been craving it. The five of us picked up the food, then we drove back to Kaylee’s home to drop her off so she could call Derek. The four of us drove back to my apartment where we scarfed down our food. Instead of watching a movie, we unpacked our rooms a little more and played “Super Smash Bros”. My room is a black-and-red theme with some The Weeknd, Lana Del Rey, and Chase Atlantic posters around my room. Once we finished around 12:00AM, Molly drove Carter back to his dorm so we could all go to sleep.
Yesterday, I woke up early with Molly. The two of us snuck out the apartment so we could take a trip to the mall. There was a nice indoor mall about twenty-five minutes away from where we lived. I had only been once with Kaylee and Maria back in April, but not since. I was in need of using my bad spending habits. And it’s safe to say that I did a really good job at that. I spent $100 on a new Michael Kor’s purse. Hey, every girl needs a good beginner designer purse. I did buy some jewelry as well. Then, Molly and I couldn’t help ourselves, so we stopped into “Spencer’s”. I bought a cute pink Playboy mug that I thought would fit my aesthetic. Besides getting whistled at by some old ass men, it was a successful shopping trip.
Molly and I met up with Miriam and Alyssa at a local brunch restaurant on campus. It was necessary to attempt to bond, especially since we would all be living together for the year. Turns out, we all had some lore to drop. Miriam has had her fair share of boy and roommate drama, which made all of us lowkey relieved. I appreciate someone with lore. It keeps things interesting. The three of us found that Miriam is actually pretty fucking awesome. I have a feeling that we’re going to have a good school year with her.
Miriam had to leave so she could go to work. Alyssa, Molly, and I drove back to the store to buy a couple more things. Loading up everything really has been tough, let me tell you. The three of us have been spending more money than we can keep up with. We spent another $50 there, then I went to drop Alyssa off at the apartment since she had plans with friends. That meant Molly and I would go pick up Carter from his dorm by ourselves. And so, we did just that. Campus has been hella busy to drive through because of freshman-orientation week. During move-in week for freshman, there are activities and group events to help freshman get to know each other and the campus better. My roommates and I had to do it last year, and now it was Carter’s turn. With all the pedestrians and slow traffic, it added an extra ten-minutes just to get to where he was living. Eventually though, we did it. Carter came out to my car, and we headed to “Home Depot” to buy some screws for my TV. This is where Carter likes to go into “Dad mode”. He analyzes everything and acts like an old man trying to help out his kid. Molly and Carter might as well be my “other parents”. But we would have to set up the TV later because Carter wanted to eat dinner with his group for freshman-orientation. After getting my screws, I dropped him back off at home and Molly and I went back to our apartment.
We found Alyssa at the apartment, already back from her hangout with friends. Also, it turned out Miriam’s job told her she didn’t need to come in that day. About an hour later, Molly, Alyssa, and I went back to campus to pick up Carter. We had the genius idea to play “Deepthroat” by Cupcakke on full blast. In case you don’t know, it is probably the most inappropriate-dirtiest song on the planet. As his favorite group of people, we had to embarrass him a little. We parked right out front, rolled the windows down, and played the song.
“HUMP ME! FUCK ME! DADDY BETTER MAKE ME CHOKE!” The song played. People were looking over with confused looks as Carter walked up with the most embarrassed expression.
He opened the car door. “I actually hate all of you. Die.”
“Hey Carter, like the music?” I asked we laughed until I decided to drive off. Fifteen-minutes later, the four of arrived back at the apartment with Miriam. For the rest of the night, Carter pulled through and helped me put my TV together and on my TV stand. Then, he and Miriam put up my LED lights for me around my room. Yeah, I know, I sort of have some of the best friends ever. It took forever with a lot of stress and yelling at each other, but we did. Once it was all done, we could relax and play “Super Smash Bros” until it was time to drop Carter back off at his dorm and the rest of us could go to sleep.
Yesterday, the three of us (Molly, Alyssa, and I) went to the club fair ZSU was hosting. There are at least forty different clubs people can join. I took an interest in the fencing club, since spoiler alert, I fenced in high school. Then there was “The Flash”, which is ZSU’ school newspaper. In case you all haven’t noticed, I love to write. Probably why I have the blog, but who knows? Then Alyssa and I will be making a return to ZSU’s Filipino Association. Alyssa will also be joining the Tae Kwon Do club. As for Molly, she took an interest in the French club. This is the boring shit college kids do, yes. Look at all the different clubs to figure out how we can make fucking friends. Heavy on friends outside of each other.
I did the same shit that day that I had done every other day. That was until Alyssa and I had the genius idea to go get frozen yogurt, go home, then take edibles. And we did just that. There’s a little hole-in-the-wall frozen yogurt place on ZSU’s campus that’s a hit on weekends, along with all of the other restaurants on campus. “Downtown ZSU” is a hotspot full of restaurants, bars, and activities for its students. My roommates and I always pulled up to the area on weekends during our freshman year. That would continue the next year. Anyway, I drove us in the area to grab our shit, then drive back to our apartment so we could get the party started.
Some edibles and snacks later, we were lying on the rug in my room. My LED lights were purple, Chase Atlantic was playing on the speaker, and we were high as fuck. Alyssa and I were giggling about nearly everything.
“Ugh, I need some new lore.” I complained at one point. “The Juan lore is so boring now.”
“It really is. Cause everyone knows about it now. You need new lore.”
“Maybe I’ll get a new man when I’m working at “The Proper Pepperoni”.”
Alyssa smiled. “Literally.”
That is when I got a text. It was from Aiden Thatcher, Juan’s best friend. I was confused, as I hadn’t been expecting it. The message was sent to an old group chat we had with him, Juan, Kaylee, Maria, Rachel, Devin, and I. The message said one sentence:
“Who wanna get dinner tomorrow?”
I gasped and jumped up to my feet. “No fucking way! Alyssa, Aiden asked our group with Juan to get dinner!”
“Oh shit, no way.”
“Yes, way!”
“Are you going to go?”
“Of course I’m going to fucking go! This is fucking crazy.” I laughed. “
Alyssa groaned as she slumped farther down into my rug. “What do you think is going to happen?”
“I’m not sure, honestly. But this should be fun.” I liked the message. I was going to dinner. I was going to This here is true college advice for any boy or girl. Just do better than the person who hurt you. Even better, look hotter than the person.
As of now, the week is ending on an interesting note. Truly, I have no idea what is coming next. Not with my new classes, my roommates, or Juan. This is just a part of young adulthood; just winging everything. We sort of just need to wing everything to figure out what is next. We never know until we try, even if we don’t know the end result. No matter what happens next in my life, I’ll always try and find the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m so tired of letting life kick my ass. Even if it does, and I assume that it will continue to, the important part is that I always stand back up in the end. You mut learn to do the same too. That is truly the best advice a college sophomore can give you. So just listen to me, ok? Or take edibles and question your life choices, that’s ok too.