She still couldn't believe it, even now as she was unpacking her final box, it still didn't seem real to her. The fact that she had gotten into college, granted, Ohio State wasn't her first option, but still, the fact that she had even gotten into college amazed her.
Sure she had the grades, more than had them, she graduated high school top of her class, even with a baby, and she had more than enough extra curricular activities... But she was a mother. A single mother, who had only just had her 18th birthday a few months ago. And still, even with a six month year old daughter, she had still made it into college.
Once Grace had come along, Kate had quit her job at the bowling alley, even though it paid more than her job at the cafe, the cafe had better, more flexible hours, and she had continued working there until the day she was set to leave for college. Granted, it was January, and she was starting later than most, but it was still something amazing for Kate.
She was lucky too. Given her situation, the college had given her a dorm room all to herself. It was a pretty nice room too. There was only one bedroom which she and Grace would be sharing, a bathroom with both a shower and a bath (Kate sent up several prayers thanking God that she did not have to use the communal showers down the hall) a small kitchen complete with a fridge and oven, and a rather spacious living room. And once Kate had moved all their things in, it started to feel like home. Grace's cot was set up next to the bed, their clothes were neatly hung up in the wardrobe, the playpen where Grace was currently snoring loudly was set up in the living room, as was the TV and small sofa (which Kate's parents had bought for them and told Kate she was not allowed to argue). Sure, there were still some things like a kitchen table, chairs and amongst other things, food, which Kate still had to get, but all in all, Kate was pretty proud of her new home.
The drive from Indiana to Ohio had been a long and stressful one, especially with a teething 6 month baby, it had taken longer than planned and Kate was thankful that her parents had accompanied her. They had left just under an hour ago, once everything was more or less unpacked. Saying goodbye to their daughter and granddaughter was hard and heartbreaking to say the least, but Kate promised she would see them as much as she could and she would phone them at least twice a week. As much as she wanted to be strong and independent, deep down there was still a small part of her that was a scared little girl. There probably always would be.
As Kate slumped down on her sofa, her mobile began to ring. She answered it as quickly as she could, hoping the shrill beeping had not woken her sleeping daughter up.
"Hello?" Kate yawned, kicking off her tatty converse and lying down.
"Hey, little sis" Rachael smiled down the phone, Kate couldn't see her sister smiling, but she would hear it in Rachael's tone.
"Hey, Rach!" Kate smiled back.
"How's everything going? Are you all moved in?"
"More or less, yeah. I've still got to get a few things, but they can wait. What about you? How's your second year of college treating you?"
"Good... It's fine. How's my Gracie doing?"
"She's sleeping, for now" Kate replied with a huff, looking over at her daughter. "She's teething right now so she's screaming pretty much all day long" Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. "She misses her big Auntie Rach though, just like her Momma"
"Awwww, I'm sorry, Katie... I miss you guys too. Mom and Dad phoned me before though, they said your dorm is nice, so I suppose that's a good thing?"
"Yeah, it is. I was lucky to get it!I don't start classes for another week so hopefully we'll be settled in by then. I just hope the other people on my block don't have raging parties every single night, its hard enough to get Grace to sleep at night as it is without drunk people and pounding music... Speaking of parties, its a Saturday night, why are you on the phone to me and not at some frat party?" Kate laughed.
"Most people are still on Winter break. And besides, I'd choose my baby sister and my niece over a dumb party any day!"
"Aw, Rach" Kate smiled.
She really did love her big sister. There was only 18 months between them and they had always been close. They were more than siblings, they were best friends. They told each other everything and had total trust in the other. When Rachael had gone away to college, it was the hardest thing either of them had ever gone through (little did Kate know that a few months later she would go through even harder times) and they texted/phoned/skyped each other every day for the first few months. Now they were lucky if they found the time to call each other once a week, so the little time they did have together, they treasured.
"Anyway, Kate, you sound really tired and aren't you supposed to sleep when your baby sleeps and all that crap? So, I'll let you go. I love you so much little sis, Gracie too. Give her a big hug and kiss from me! I'll try and call you soon! Be safe"
"I love you too, Rach. I will, don't worry, and you too. Bye"
And with that, Kate hung up. She debated on whether or not she should wake her daughter up, but it had been a long and stressful day, especially for Grace, so Kate figured she'd be out for the count all night. Feeling a grumble from her stomach, Kate checked the time. It was almost 8pm and she hadn't eaten since 3pm, and then it was only a bag of crisps so Kate decided that since she had yet to go and buy herself some food, she would order in some Chinese and have an early night. After all, tomorrow was going to be another busy day as she was going to get herself acquainted with her new neighbourhood, ie, finding out where the local supermarket, park, coffee shop, etc were and get to know her way around the campus whilst most people were still at home for Winter break.
Oh my gosh, thank you to everyone who had read/reviewed/favourite/followed my story! I didn't expect even one person to read it, so it really means a lot to me! I hope you like this chapter, i'm kind of excited about this story so hopefully it should be updated regularly (well, more frequently than my others... if you've read any of my other fics you will know that updates from me are rare, haha). Anyway, please review and lemme know what you think. Thank you:)
-Gina.
