Chapter 15: Don't Do Sadness

Tina's first semester was going rather well. Her and Raquel still got along, they made new friends, and they frequently went out as a group to parties, meals, and school sanctioned events. Zeke visited as much as he could and tried to talk every day. Raquel enjoyed the single life for the first two months, but eventually started dating their friend Bryson, who was on the basketball team.

One night while Raquel was at Bryson's room, Tina found the time to video chat with Zeke. "Hey, babe," Zeke greeted as he adjusted the screen, "how's everything going?"

"Good, everything's fine."

"Where's Rocky?"

"Oh, she's at Bryson's again."

"I gotcha," Zeke trailed off as he heard someone call from the other room.

"Are you on FaceTime with Tina?" Louise shouted from the other room.

"Yeah, come talk to 'er." He yelled back. Louise and Gene ran into the room and got on the bed with Zeke to talk to her.

"Hey Tina!" Louise shouted.

"Tina, it's me, your brother." Gene said slowly, as if Tina wouldn't recognize him or his voice.

"She knows who you are, you idiot." Louise hissed.

The four of them talked well into the night. They talked about school, work, the family, the restaurant, and asked Tina countless questions about what college was like. Gene was now a junior, so all of this information was important. He and Todd talked about going to a performing arts school, or at least a school with a great arts program. Louise was a freshman and still had a ways away from graduating. Linda eventually called to them to go to bed and they scurried to their rooms.

The following Friday, after Tina was done with her classes, she came back to the room with her friends. Thanksgiving break was a week away and they were all preparing for the long break and a chance to unwind. They did work for their classes, and once they were done, Raquel pulled out a box of wine she hid from the RA's in her closet.

"Alright, guys," She said as she set it down and pulled out plastic cups, "in the spirit of the holidays we're going to order a pizza, maybe smoke some herb, and talk about what we're thankful for."

"Order the pizza before we do this," Amina suggested.

"What do we do about the smell?" Tina asked. Tina started experimenting with alcohol and weed, like most college students do, in college. However, she was still very apprehensive and paranoid doing it in the dorm. Raquel was a self-proclaimed hippie and was an expert at hiding it.

"We'll open the window and spray down the room." She said as she picked up her phone and dialed the pizza place.

"Uhh," Tina groaned.

"T, we'll be fine," Jake reassured, "we'll be quiet and discrete. No one will be the wiser."

Raquel sat back down on the floor and passed out cups. "So, what's everyone thankful for? I'm thankful for my amazing roomie and my new friends!" Bryson cleared his throat. "And you, I guess." She chuckled.

"I'm thankful for my family, my new friends, my roomie, and my boyfriend back home." Tina said as she took her cup.

"I'm thankful for you guys and my pets." Amina said as she poured herself a cup of wine.

"I'm, uh, thankful for Rocky's weed guy." Jake laughed.

"I'm thankful for my mom, you guys, and my special lady." Bryson said as he kissed Raquel. Everyone continued to talk about what they were thankful for until the pizza guy was outside. Now the party could really get started.

The group had a great evening and night together. They ordered two pizzas, drank, partook, and laughed and talked until the early hours of the morning. Tina woke up around noon, not voluntarily, but because her phone was ringing. She looked over at Raquel, who was still asleep, spooning with Bryson. Tina grabbed her key and went out into the hallway to answer it. It was her mom. The two of them talked briefly and came crashing back into the room. "Ha, ha, ha," She shouted as she scrambled.

Raquel woke up startled, "Tin, what's wrong!?" She asked.

"I gotta go," she said as she scrambled to gather clothes and supplies, "something happened at home I really, really, really need to go right now!" She said as she quickly got dressed and packed a bag. She gathered everything she needed, ran to her car, and sped away.

Bob had a heart attack.