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Then I leave the hallway and head confidently toward the living room. I left my school bag in the entrance yesterday. I quickly grab it and leave the apartment in a rush.
Moving in was a shitty idea.
***
Sitting in the grass of the Boston Public Garden with the girls, I enjoy the few rays of sunshine this late afternoon. I take several sips of the coffee we just got to go. Eyes closed, I’m attentive to the exchanges around me while taking advantage of the ambient calm. The day has been exhausting and my short night is starting to remind my muscles.
“Is it still on, Scarlett?”
I straighten up at the sound of my name and look at Paige.
Not so attentive after all.
“About?”
“Going to the guys’ hockey game tomorrow?”
“Always.”
“You don’t sound too excited. Is it because of what happened this morning?”
I sigh as I fall onto the warm grass. I run a weary hand over my face, holding my still-full cup in the other.
This morning…
“I think I’m going to ask to take a student room in your dorm,” I say.
“Don’t be dramatic!” Carol exclaims. “You’re not going to do anything at all, that’s the beginning, Scarlett. You land in their private space and of course they are a little upset. But they’ll get used to it.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Nolan Jones will also get used to it,” adds my best friend. “And if not, he can always go look”
“I’m mostly worried that I’llneverget used to livingtogether.”
The girls laugh and I just lie there, staring up at the clear blue sky. We often came here during our freshman year and walking the lawn of the garden with them again feels good.
“You’ve been living with him almost since middle school. It doesn’t matter if he sleeps in the next room. He was already stuffed at your parents’ house almost 24/7.”
“Technically, he doesn’t really sleep in the apartment,” Paige says.
“Thank you for the reminder.”
The one where Nolan has a girlfriend, a sex life, and all of that together doesn’t involve me directly or indirectly. I mumble, straighten up and take a sip of coffee.
“If you want, we can skip the game tomorrow,” Carol says. “Instead, we can go to the movies. I saw the newTop Gunis out. Airmen, Tom Cruise, testosterone. It’s a win-win, right?”
I giggle along with the girls.
“Ed is going to kill me if I don’t show up at their first game. Even if it’s preseason.”
“Especially if they win. And tomorrow won’t be easy against the Maine Black Bears,” adds Paige.
“After all he’s the captain, so if they win, he’ll want to have a party at the apartment!”
“That’s a good sign!”
Carol gets up to throw her empty cup into the nearest trash can, leaving her sentence hanging until she returns.
