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“How many of them are there?” Hannah murmured.
My eyes slid over their bikes. Some were stark black. Others had red racing stripes. It was intriguing, too, how their eyes raked over campus. There was a man at the front and a man at the back. Almost like a pack of wolves. And as my eyes slid along their leather jackets and torn-up denim, my curiosity piqued.
Not that it mattered.
“Well, don’t I feel better,” Mom said.
“Honey, don’t,” Dad said.
“Let’s get you upstairs, shall we? We’re on the top level with a great view. And a corner room, so there’s a little extra space,” Hannah said.
“Yes,” I hissed.
“Goodie,” Mom said flatly.
“Are there elevators?” Dad asked.
“Actually, yes. There is one. Though it takes a while for it to come downstairs sometimes. Since there’s only one elevator servicing the whole building,” Hannah said.
“I don’t mind the wait,” Mom said.
“I’ll wait with your mother. You girls take up the lighter things,” Dad said.
The engines continued revving off in the distance as Hannah and I hauled things out of the car. I had all sorts of things to take upstairs. Snacks I packed. Outfits I wanted to hang up instead of pack away in my dresser. Decorations for my desk and sheets for my bed. Hannah helped me get everything up to the top floor while Mom and Dad stayed downstairs with my four small suitcases.
And when I walked into the dorm room, it felt like home.
“Wow, this is bigger,” I said.
“See? Told you. Now, let’s put these snacks in the little pantry I’ve got made up. I already stacked my mini-fridge with sodas and cold coffees. So we should be good to go for the first week or so,” Hannah said.
She helped me make up my bed and rearrange my things. I wanted my desk in the corner near the window, because she was right. The view was outstanding. As I gazed out the window, I saw those bikers come back down the street, revving their engines as if they were trying to alert campus to their presence.
The guy at the front of the pack pulled off to the side.
Huh.
“We’re here!” Mom chimed in.
“We made it. You weren’t kidding about that elevator,” Dad said.
I pulled away from the window and took the suitcases from them. I saw Mom looking around the room with a wary eye as Dad rubbed her back. And when my stomach growled out loud, Hannah giggled.
“Do you want us to get a hotel room and come help you tomorrow?” Mom asked.
“Honey, she’s got it from here,” Dad said.
“I mean, we could grocery shop for you.”
“Rena.”
“Pick up a few things.”
“Reen.”
“I could pick up some decora--”
I threw my arms around my mother’s neck and held her tightly. And when she wrapped her arms around me, I felt her sniffle. She shook with the force it took to hold back her tears, and I stroked her back lovingly. I knew she was going to miss me.
