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“You did say the Lakeside dorms, right?” The driver’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, you’ve arrived.” He steps out of the car to take out my luggage, and I stare out the window.
A row of red-bricked buildings stand guard in front of a blue lake while students push carts across the parking lot.
“I think that’s everything.” He shuts the trunk. “I hope your freshman year is everything you want it to be.”
“Thank you, sir.” I hand him a twenty as a woman in a grey polo shirt rushes toward me.
“Welcome to the University of Alabama!” Her deep and syrupy drawl is a warm hug. “I’m Mae Turner and I’ve been assigned to help you get settled into your living space today! You’re one of the lucky ones who gets a solo suite with a shared living space, so are you ready to meet your roommate?”
“Not really.”
“That’s alright, hon.” She pats my shoulder. “All those jitters will go away once you have a bite of my ‘Don’t Ever Fuck a Frat Boy Apple Pie.’”
“Are the fraternity guys here really that bad?”
“The word ‘bad’ doesn’t even begin to describe it…”
* * *
Later that evening
“If you can,try not to talk too loudly whenever Sulphur is sleeping in the living room.” My new roommate, “Sarah Lee from Tennessee,” smiles at me from our living room couch. “She’s old and doesn’t like noise.”
“No problem,” I say. “Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of at the moment,” she says. “I promise I’ll never get annoyed by your clarinet and violin practices. I have the best brand of earbuds on the planet.”
“Good to know.” I smile at her. “Is Sulphur in your bedroom? Can I meet her?”
“You’re meeting her now, silly.” She waves her hand. “Can’t you see?”
I look around the room, scanning all the spaces under the furniture where her beloved cat may be hiding.
“She’s right here.” She holds up a grey and white pillow. “See?”
“Huh?”
“I thought it was cruel to have her stuffed via taxidermy, so when she died, I brought her back into my life as my favorite pillow.”
“Sulphur’s not alive?” I can barely hear my own voice.
“The whiskers were the hardest features to put back into place, but the best things take time.” She flips the pillow over, revealing Sulphur’s “face” frozen in time.
Only one of her eyes is open, and I’m too scared to ask why there’s a button sewn onto her tongue.
She strokes the pillow a few times, and then she kisses its corner. “I placed her litter box near the water heater, but don’t worry. I’m good about changing it, and she’s not messy at all.”
I have no words to say.
“Let me know how your campus tour goes,” she says, standing. “I’ll schedule one of those after me and Sulphur take our nap.”
Istillhave no words to say.
I watch as she cradles the pillow, carrying it to her room.
