Move-in day

1:00 PM

Abbie's POV

Behind my dad's truck is a U-Haul trailer carrying everything I will need for the next four years of my college experience. Four years in one trailer. Seeing it serves as a reminder that I am far from the comforts of home.

The drive from Texas was one of the most difficult I have ever experienced. We've driven west many times for family vacations, but this is completely different. This is the first time my brother Clayton isn't with us. He left for college a month ago and, although he is attending the University of Texas at Austin, and I visited him on campus just last weekend, nothing felt the same. My mom cried when we dropped him off for the first time even though he swore he'd come home at least one weekend a month.

As we're approaching my campus, I'm trying my hardest not to cry. If I cry, my mom will start to worry and tell me that this wasn't a good idea. She cried for half of the drive over here and she's already starting to cry again. I don't blame her. This is a huge step for me. I'm the first in my family to live outside of Texas and I'm starting to wonder if moving to California was a mistake. I don't know anybody here. I could have played it safe by attending UT with my brother. We could have lived in the same building and helped each other adjust to college life.

Before unloading my stuff, my parents walk with me to the check-in table in front of the residence hall I've been assigned to. "Abigail Carmichael" I say to the girl at the table and she hands me a yellow folder with my name on it. I open the folder and see my room key along with a list of Welcome Week activities. Some of the activities are cheesy, but others don't seem so bad. If my best friend Virginia were here, she'd want to attend each and every one and I'd have no choice but to go with her. We got accepted to the same schools, but the University of Arizona offered her a softball scholarship and there was no way she'd turn that down.

I glance at the contents of my folder to see what room I'll be spending the next nine months of my life in. The building I've been assigned to is a high rise so I start hoping I'll get a room on the first or second floor. Wrong. Room 925A. These elevators better be reliable. My roommate is supposed to check in around the same time as I am, which makes me remember something that Virginia told me about girls on move-in day. "Most of them are brutal," she said. "If you're not the first one there, you'll be left with the top bunk and the least amount of closet space." Poor Virginia had to learn the hard way.

I start to realize that it's now 30 minutes past my scheduled move-in time. I better start unloading my stuff and heading up to my dorm before my roommate Serena beats me there. I've never met her before and I've only spoken to her once on the phone but once was enough to know that we are nothing alike. I'm from rural Texas and she's from some affluent neighborhood in New England. I forgot which one, not that it matters. My brother and I are the first in our family to go to college. Serena's dad is an investment banker and her mom is a corporate attorney. She's a legacy at Harvard and her parents nearly disowned her when she told them she didn't want to go there. That must have taken some nerve. Maybe she won't be so horrible for a preppy girl.

My parents and I start to unload the U-Haul and take my belongings up to the 9th floor. After countless trips up and down the elevator, every box is finally out of the U-Haul and stacked in my new dorm. I look around and see that there are two separate beds as opposed to bunks. There's also separate dressers and closets. Thank goodness I won't have to fight over space like Virginia did. The room seems small, but it's far from cozy. The walls are white and bare. I know I can put up posters, but I forgot to bring any. My mom promises she'll send pictures for me to put up, but I don't know what I'm going to do in the meantime to make this place seem like home.

My dad tells me he forgot something in his truck and he'll be right back. In the meantime, my mom and I decide to survey the rest of the space. My roommate isn't here yet, but it's hard to miss the fact that my suitemates have already checked in. They are three of the loudest, most obnoxious girls I have ever heard. Virginia and I used to make fun of girls like that and now I'm being forced to live next to them and not just live next to them, but share a bathroom with them. Five girls sharing one bathroom? Sharing a bathroom with my brothers was easy. Guys are usually in and out of the shower in five minutes. But girls? I don't know how I'm going to survive this. Their curling irons and toiletries are already surrounding the sinks.

"Do you need help unpacking, sweetheart?" my mom asks me when we sit down on my bed and take a look at the amount of boxes surrounding us. I want to say yes. I want to ask her if she'll help me make this place feel like home, but I know that no matter how my room looks, it will never be home.

"I can do it," I tell my mom and I know she can sense the uncertainty in my voice.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it'll give me something to do anyway. Serena isn't here yet and classes don't start for another five days," I tell her even though what I mean to say is "No, I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if I should be here."

"You're going to have so much fun here," my mom says, trying to convince me. "I bet you and Serena will become best friends and the boys here are cute. I saw one down the hall looking at you."

"Mom!" I say as I throw myself back on my bed. "I'm not even thinking about that."

"Abbie Carmichael not thinking about boys? I'm shocked!" my mom says in an attempt to cheer me up.

I'm about to say something equally sarcastic when my dad comes in carrying a gift for me.

"I was going to hang this in my garage, but once I saw how bare these walls are, I figured you'd need it more than I do," my dad tells me.

"Daddy! It's perfect!" I say as I open the bag and unfold the Texas flag. "Help me hang it up?"

The flag takes up half my wall, but I wouldn't have it any other way. "Now you'll never forget where you come from," my dad tells me and I try to choke back the tears.

"I can't do this," I tell him.

"You'll be fine, Abbie," my dad says as he gives me a hug. "It's only for a month. We'll be back for Parents Weekend."

"And after that?" I ask.

"You'll come home for Christmas break," my dad tells me.

"And after that?" I ask. "Come on, Dad. We're running out of major holidays here. I want to fly back for Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day and Easter and Mother's Day too."

"You say that now, but you're going to be having so much fun here," my dad says to me. "We will be the ones begging you to come home."

"Yeah, probably," I say, trying to be optimistic. They're trying to adjust to this situation the same way I am.

"Do you want me to walk you out?" I ask.

"No," my mom says. "Bless your heart."

"You sure?" I ask.

"If I see the truck pull away from you and you're standing by yourself with that sad look on your face, I'll be tempted to tell your dad to turn around so we can bring you with us," my mom tells me.

"Okay," I tell her as I give her one last hug.

After five more minutes of tearful goodbyes, I'm alone in my dorm. There's still no sign of Serena and although I know she'll be nothing like Virginia, having someone in the room with me is better than having no one at all. Maybe I should introduce myself to my suitemates.

"I love college!" I hear one of them shout. Oh God, she's already drunk. This is going to be a long school year.

Four hours later, my bed is made and my clothes have been unpacked. I figured the rest could wait. I decide to put on some music and lie down. The first song that starts playing on my iTunes is "God Blessed Texas." Hearing it makes me even more homesick than before. I decide to call Virginia, but she doesn't answer. Same goes for Clayton. Why would they answer though? They've already been in school for a month and it's a Saturday night. I'm sure they both have plenty of friends to hang out with.

I'm starting to reconsider introducing myself to my suitemates. They seem like idiots, but at least they know how to have fun and they don't seem the slightest bit homesick. As I work up the nerve to go over there, I hear a keycard being inserted and four numbers being punched in. It's the moment of truth. I'm finally going to meet the girl I'll be living with for the next nine months.