“Anna calm down. Take a deep breath. Where was the last place you remember having it?” My mom could sense my freak-out bubbling just below the surface and she’s right. I’ve been rummaging through the box marked Toiletries, the box marked Clothes, the box marked Books, and just about every box I took with me seems to be missing my most prized possession.
“Mom, if I knew where I had it last, do you really think I would be probing through all this crap trying to find it?” I know that the anger and hostility in my voice was unnecessary, but I couldn’t help it. I hate it when people ask me questions like that.
“Well, I’m sorry Anna but you lose things all the time! I’m worried about how you’re going to function here, on your own.” She gestured to my dorm room with all its orange and white, OSU paraphernalia. I stopped flipping through my copy of Bram Stoker’s Dracula to see if I had somehow used it as a bookmark, and looked up at my mother. When her eyes met mine, I saw them start to well up with tears, and I sighed.
“Mom I’m going to be just fine. You can trust me.” I walked over to her, wrapped my arms around her, and waited until she stopped shaking before I said, “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I love you and I promise to visit as often as I can.” She patted my back and looked into my eyes. It felt like she was looking through to my soul, just like she did when I was little and she wanted to figure out if I was being truthful.
“Alright,” she said, “well let’s see if we can find that necklace of yours hmm? I’ll go see if it might have fallen out of one of these boxes and into the car.” With that, she walked out the door, and everything was fine. That was mom.
I went back to looking through my boxes, not really expecting to find my necklace since it wasn’t there the first 7 times I checked. Then I heard a knock at my door and before I could turn around, an all too familiar voice filled my tiny dorm and said, “Hey gorgeous, need any help unpacking?” I couldn’t help but smile as I turned to face my best friend for the last 10 years of my life. Johnny stood there looking as handsome as ever with his thick dirty-blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, Harry Potter-framed glasses, Jack Skellington t-shirt, and ripped jeans.
“Sure that’d be great, thanks Johnny.” As he walked in I realized he was going to figure out that I wasn’t wearing it; the necklace. I noticed that he had his where he always had it, the left side of that blue heart I knew so well, hanging right there over his own heart. It touched me that he wore it all the time, even when he went surfing. The only things he wore above his waist when he caught some waves were his glasses and that necklace. Once he almost lost his glasses to the surf and I asked him why he didn’t get contacts? He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, I’m afraid that you wouldn’t find me as attractive without my Harry Potter frames.” I was speechless. Then he gave me that wink and crooked smile of his as he went to grab some more tanning lotion. He never ceased to amaze me.
I was jolted back into the present when I looked over and saw Johnny stack all my books in alphabetical order by title, not by the author. He knows me so well, sometimes it’s scary. Then I saw it, the blue speck of the right half of the heart he gave me on our 2nd year anniversary of being friends. On the day he gave it to me, they were serving pizza in the lunch line. Pizza day was by far the best day of the week. I had just sat down with my tray, across from Johnny, when he reminded me that I forgot my free cookie. Did I forget the mention that everyone is entitled to one free cookie on Pizza day? Well, hence the awesomeness. When I got back to my seat, draped over my pepperoni pizza were two halves of a blue heart; when put together, the halves read Best Friends.
“Happy anniversary,” Johnny said with a geeky smile on his face. It’s one of my favorite memories of all time. To this day the right side of that heart, the part I decided to keep, has been my most prized possession. And there it was, sticking out from under the bookshelf Johnny was organizing. I bent down slowly to keep him from noticing what I was doing, but apparently it didn’t work. Just as I wrapped my fingers around the broken heart, I heard his voice above me say, “Are you trying to seduce me Mrs. Robinson?”
As I stealthily slipped the necklace into my jean pocket, I couldn’t help but blush as I said, “Ha-ha very funny. And if I was trying to seduce you, you’d know it.” As soon as I’d said it, I wished I hadn’t. It’s just been so hard to prevent myself from flirting with Johnny lately. Just then his smile turned seductive and oddly dangerous as he said, “Who are you and what have you done with my Anna? And how long will you be staying…?” Then he gave me the infamous wink and I couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “Oh, shut up smartass and help me move some of these boxes out of the way.”
“Well…I tried,” he sighed and lifted the empty box that, at one point, held my massive book collection out into the hallway. I took this opportunity to slip into the bathroom and restore my necklace to its proper place.
Johnny was in love with me. He told me so on my 16th birthday.
“I love your smile, the sound of your laugh, and the way your eyes light up when you watch The Notebook for the umpteenth time.” One night he indulged me and my sick obsession with that movie by lying out in the middle of a seemingly empty street with me. “I wouldn’t budge for an oncoming truck if it meant that I could lie here with you for just a minute longer.” I found this unbelievably sweet, if not a little morbid, but that’s my Johnny. When he confessed his feelings to me, he told me not to worry about giving him an answer right away. He didn’t want things to become uncomfortable between us, but he had to make sure I knew what was in his heart.
“My heart is yours. Whether you want it or not, it will always belong to you.” I told him that I valued our friendship too much to risk a romantic relationship. He said he understood, and I believed he meant it. And yet, I still feel like a cowardly jackass. I have been head over heels in love with this guy since the first day I met him, but I’m too chicken to come out and say it to his face. I’m just so afraid that if I was in a relationship with him, I’d screw it up just like I did with every other guy I’ve dated (which haven’t been many). Aside from my mom, Johnny is the only constant thing in my life. I need him so much that it scares me. I hate him for making me love him so much!
I could hear the ‘man of my dreams’ making his way back into my room for more empty boxes. As I turned out the light to the bathroom and made my way into the living area, necklace in place, he said, “Hey have you signed up for all of your classes yet?” I thought it was an odd change of subject, but said, “No actually. All I have left is to choose a type of social science class. I’m probably going to end up taking psychology or something.” His eyes lit up as he said, “Well that’s the whole reason I’m asking! You know, we haven’t had a class together since the 3rd grade. I just signed up for a class that’s new and I wanted to know if you would take it with me?” I was intrigued. “What’s the class?” I asked.
“Paranormal studies; it’s taught by a Professor Cadenza. It sounded really interesting to me and I thought you’d like to have it as an option.” I’ve never heard of a paranormal studies class, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested. “Okay Johnny, it sounds pretty cool.”
“Really?” Johnny asked, with his big, ocean blue eyes. “Yes!” I laughed as he hooted and gave me a tight hug that lifted me off the ground a little bit. It was strange that he got so excited over a class, but I didn’t think much of it. At that moment my mom walked in saying, “I’m sorry Anna, I just can’t seem to find…” she looked up to find me in Johnny’s arms and I watched a smile slowly creep across her face. “Am I interrupting something?” She asked. “No Ms. Kirby,” he flashed my mom that dazzling smile of his, “I was actually just on my way out. I’ve got a lot of unpacking to do myself, and this one has been hogging me long enough.” He gestured to me and, and of course, mom thought that was hilarious. The only other woman on the planet that could possibly be capable of loving Johnny more than me, was my mother.
“Always nice seeing you Ms. Kirby,” he gave her a kiss on the cheek and she started giggling like an idiot. See the resemblance? “Bye hun, text me.” He kissed me on the cheek as well and walked out into the hallway.
After a moment of silence, my mother found her voice, “Now why is it that you two aren’t together yet?” My mom asked me this for the 50th time. “Don’t start with me mom,” I warned and she, graciously, changed the subject. “I believe I just met your roommate while walking up here. I’m going to head back to the hotel and get some dinner so that you two can get better acquainted.” Smiling, I said, “Sounds like a good plan mom. I’ll have breakfast with you tomorrow before you drive home.” She gave me a sad smile and said, “Okay, just be sure to call me tonight and tell me all about your roommate…AND that you settled in alright.” Laughing, and guiding her gently to the door, I said, “It’s at the top of my list mom, I promise. I love you. I’ll call you tonight.”
“I’m going to hold you to that. Love you too sweetie.” She kissed my cheek and then walked out into the hallway; a bit reluctantly I regret to say. The drive back to Tampa will be hard on her, I thought, but she’ll get used to me being gone. Max will keep her entertained. The thought of Max made me want to cry. Thirteen years is a long time for a dog to be alive, and his age definitely shows. I’d hate to think of him passing away on me while I’m about 3 states away from him. To keep myself from staying on that unpleasant thought any longer, I continued unpacking my last box. It contained just basic items: pictures, school supplies, a few extra clothes I couldn’t fit into the box with my other outfits. And right after I set the last empty box aside, my new roommate walks in.
My first impression of her is that she’s very eccentric. Jet-black hair streaming down to her mid-back, and it was as straight as a homophobe. She had very dark skin and eyes, which complimented her pearly white teeth that I got to see due to the fact that she had a very warm smile directed right at me as she walked in. She wore a teal blue v-neck shirt and a black mini skirt that came about mid-thigh, which proudly showed off her toned legs. I looked down at my own baggy jean shorts with the ripped pockets and my white I heart Florida t-shirt; I felt frumpy next to her.
“Well hey there,” she grinned, “you must be my new roommate.” Pretty and smart. She had a slight twang in her voice and I figured that even though she looked Columbian, she was most likely from around here. “You would be correct. Nice to meet you, I’m Anna Kirby.” I returned her smile easily. She had a very positive energy circulating her. “Anna? That’s beautiful! My mother’s name is Anna.” She exclaimed. “No kidding?” I asked. “Scouts’ Honor,” she answered with her pointer finger and middle finger pointing up, “you a freshman?”
“Is it that obvious?” I asked with a nervous smile. “Well you just have that eager look in your eyes, that’s all. I remember that look staring right back at me every morning in the bathroom mirror my first month here. I’m a sophomore, music major. You?” She asked.
Music. That sounds amazing. “I’m going into nursing,” I replied. She looked at me with all smiles and said, “Aw you seem like you’d be a good nurse. You’ve got the face for it…” She must have seen the expression on my face because she said, “I’m sorry I tend to overwhelm people with all my questions. I guess I just get a little overexcited at meeting new people.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” I said, “I’m excited too! You seem very sweet.” I thought I was going to go blind from the beams of light that her teeth were sending my way. Her teeth were probably whiter than my skin, and that’s saying something. But I was speaking truthfully; I had a feeling we were going to be good friends. And a very strong feeling at that; my ears were tingling. “I’m sorry,” I started, “I don’t think I caught your name…?”
When I said this, she mimicked that popular motion people do on those V-8 commercials. You know, when they smack their open palm against their forehead. “Oh, there I go again getting ahead of myself. Where are my manners? I’m sorry Anna. My name is Jessica. Jessica Cadenza,” and she shook my hand firmly. Cadenza. Well, that’s interesting.
