Page 20 of Stops Along the Way
“Yeah, as a person, she was mostly fine…but as a roommate, you don’t even know the half of it.” I’m ready for more of the horror stories, even if they’re just a rehashing of the ones she told me throughout the year, particularly the moldy shower caddy one, because Amelia’s retelling would be so much more expressive now that we’re sitting here together. “Ah well, I’ll probably never run into her again.”
It’s strange to think about living with someone for an entire school year and then just never seeing them again. “Really?”
“Yeah, we’re different majors. Maybe we’ll nod hello as we cross on the quad, but I doubt I’ll see her intentionally. Just glad we made it through this year in one piece.”
“Elizabeth got her roommate assignment today. But I won’t find out about mine until later this summer.”
“You could get lucky and end up with your own room.”
I tilt my head, not following what she’s saying. “Why would I get my own room?”
“If they put you in one of those accommodations rooms but there’s an uneven number of students eligible for them.”
Glancing up to the two beds in this dorm, I acknowledge that it would be nice to have extra space to myself, but it nags at me too. “That seems lonely. I mean, it seems better than a bad roommate,for sure, but at the same time, if everyone else has a roommate, it would be strange to be the only one without one.”
“That probably won’t happen.” Amelia nods multiple times, like a school counselor offering reassurance to a problem you hadn’t even anticipated would be a problem until she brought it up. “Just a possibility.”
“True. Did you get to pick your roommate for next year?”
“Yeah, Camila and I requested each other.”
I’m about to ask if we should see if Camila is around to hang out tonight when Amelia says, “Have you texted your boyfriend about tomorrow yet?”
I give a stern look. “Let’s get one thing straight. Not asinglejoke like that on the drive.”
“Just saying, you knew exactly who I was talking about…”
“You know it’s a joke, and I know it’s a joke, but how is Declan supposed to know it’s a joke?”
“You could tell him. Just be forthright and break his heart.”
I roll my eyes. “What? That makes no sense, because I guarantee he doesn’t like me like that either.”
“That you know of,” Amelia says with a smirk.
“Let me check if he messaged,” I mutter, pulling my phone from my pocket, partially hoping he did send a text, but one explaining that he and his brother were going to drive on theirown and that we didn’t actually commit to caravaning across the country earlier today.
Alas, Declan did send me a couple texts fifteen minutes ago.
Declan:What time should we meet tomorrow morning?
Declan:Also, we’re in Delancey 317 with too much pizza if you guys want to swing by
“What’s your dorm called?” I ask Amelia.
“Franklin.”
“They’re in Delancey. With extra pizza.”
She immediately gives up on the last of her yogurt. “I knew you should’ve texted sooner. You’re about to discover thebestpart of college.”
“And what’s that?”
“Free food, of course.”
“Why even bother with the meal plan?” I ask.
“Because they make it mandatory.”
