Two weeks have passed since I moved into Quilene's dorm. Tomorrow will be Tuesday, September 4th; the first day of classes for us. Quilene and I talk for a bit about what our lives were before we came to live here at Nichols Apartments. She listens intently to what I've had to say about myself, my family, and the beach house where we live. She's intrigued by how interesting my life has been.

"So you, your brother, and your mom have been living with several different people in the same house?" Quilene asks, genuinely surprised by this information.

"That's right," I answer with confidence. "There's us, there's Aunt Pearl, Aunt Belinda, Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg, and then Uncle Greg's wife Aunt Margie. Before me and Jonah were born, Uncle Steven had been living with them since he was little. Then when he moved out, his dad Uncle Greg moved in. Grandma Ruby and Grandma Sapphire had also been living with them at the time, but then Grandma Sapphire took over Diamond Bright Records and they moved to New York. They've been living there ever since."

"Wow, that's so cool. I still can't believe your Grandma Sapphire is the head of Diamond Bright Records."

I amusingly shake my head. "Me neither. I mean, she's been doing so much to make sure everything runs well and smooth. She just wants all the artists working for her to put out their best material."

"Aw man, you must be so proud of her."

"I am. She and Grandma Ruby are just the best grandmas anybody could ask for. When I was writing my graduation speech, I thought about all the struggles they went through to get to where they are now. All the hardships they faced just made them better people."

"I'd like to meet them sometime."

"Maybe sometime during the holidays, I'll ask them if you can visit."

"Okay."

We then just sit there on the futon couch, trying to think about what we can do next. I make a sideways glance at her. I'm curious to know if Jonah might be romantically interested in her. After all, we're young, and I can't help but feel that this is now the time for us to sow our oats. Besides, she seems quite sweet and innocent. Who wouldn't want to date someone like that? It's at that moment that an idea starts to hatch in my brain.

"Hey, Quilene," I speak out to her.

Quilene turns to look at me with curiosity. "What's up, Hope?"

"Are you seeing anybody right now?"

Quilene shakes her head. "No, why? Are you asking me out? If so, then I'm just gonna say right now that I'm not interested."

Her answer takes me slightly aback. "Okay, thanks for letting me know. Actually, I was going to ask if you would want to maybe go out with Jonah. You seemed interested in getting to know more about him when I was talking about him, so I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date with him."

"Ah, I see." She thinks about it for a minute. "Sure, I'd like to go out with him. Can you give me his number and give him a heads-up when I try to call?"

I give a simple nod. "Yeah, I can do that later tonight. I just need to check in with him that he's not too busy to call you or anything."

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Uh, I'm feeling kinda hungry. You wanna go get some lunch?"

"Sure."

After lunch, Quilene and I head back to our dorm and talk about what classes we'll be attending tomorrow. Tomorrow, I will only have two classes to attend to on the first day. Quilene, meanwhile, will be taking three classes tomorrow during her first day. Man, that already makes me feel inadequate inside. I shouldn't be feeling this way, though. I graduated William Dewey High as valedictorian! I push that feeling of inadequacy aside for a moment while talking with Quilene.

"So what two classes will you be taking on the first day tomorrow?" Quilene asks me.

"Well, let's see..." I go over the classes I'm taking in my head. "I've got the Greek Civilization class that runs from 9 AM to 10:20 AM, and then I've got the Introduction to Creative Writing class that runs from 1 PM to 2:20 PM. What about you?"

"Okay, so tomorrow, I've got the Introduction to Human Evolution class that runs from 1 PM to 2:20 PM, I've got the Cleopatra class that runs from 5 PM to 6:20 PM, and then I've got the General Chemistry class that runs from 7 PM to 8:20 PM."

"Wow, sounds like you'll be busy all night tomorrow."

Quilene just chuckled. "You said it. I actually wanted to have lots of free time in the morning and afternoon, so most of my first day classes take place at night."

"Ah, I see. Does that mean you might be staying up most of the night doing homework?"

"Uh-huh. I'm pretty much a night owl. I like to think I work better at night than during the day."

"I can remember staying up a few nights before while in high school, but it's not for me. I'm more of an early bird myself."

"Is that why you picked your first class to be in the morning?"

"Yep." All of a sudden, my iPhone rings. "Oh, hold on. I'm gonna have to take this."

"Oh, okay."

Quilene doesn't say much else while I pick up the phone. Surprise, surprise, it turns out my mother called to see how I've been doing here. I wish she could've picked a better time to call, but I'm just happy she's calling now.

"Hello?" I speak as soon as I answer.

"Oh, hey, Hope," Mom says. "How have you been these last two weeks? Nothing wrong, is there?"

"Mom, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I've been fine, Quilene's been fine, everyone's been fine."

"Oh, good. I'm glad. You know your first day of class is tomorrow, right?"

I amusingly roll my eyes, a faint smile on my lips. "Yes, Mom, I know."

"Okay, good. Now remember, tomorrow is your first day, so please be good and listen to what your professors have to tell you, okay? That goes for your brother as well."

"Okay, Mom. I'll be good. Don't worry."

"Thank you." A few seconds of silence follow. "I have to go now. I have to help Steven and Connie go over their birthing plan."

"Okay. Are you gonna call back later?"

"Of course. Buh-bye, Hope, I love you."

I swear I can hear her smiling on the other end, so I smile back. "I love you too, Mom. Buh-bye."

With that, I hang up and I go back to talking with Quilene. I feel like there's a friendship growing between us, which is a good thing considering that we have to live with each other for all of fall semester (and maybe even spring semester if possible).