LAILAH
TWO
Having slept peacefully through the night, I woke up feeling refreshed and excited.
I glanced over at the clock and saw it was well into the day.
How had I slept till almost noon? I wandered over to the dresser and grabbed fresh clothes for the day.
I pulled on some yoga pants and an oversized Notre Dame hoodie that my brother Dylan had given me.
That he had given me in hopes that I’d follow in his footsteps.
I decided to finish unpacking and opened the box that had ‘books’ written on it.
I peeled off the tape and started placing the books in the cubbies along the wall.
Seeing all my favorite books made me feel more at home.
Just when I was going to open the next box, someone knocked on the door.
Curious to see who it could be, I opened the door and smiled.
“Did Tony bring up your stuff last night?” Cami asked, brushing past me and jumping on my rumpled bed.
“Yeah, thanks for asking him. He’s super nice,” I said, walking back over to my boxes.
“Tony has been with Ryevick for ages. He knows my sisters, so when I started here last year, they had him keep an eye on me to make sure I didn’t do anything too crazy,” she said, flopping onto her belly to watch me unpack while kicking her feet.
I opened the next box and Elle the elephant, my favorite stuffed animal, popped out and landed on the floor. Cami jumped off the bed and picked Elle up before I could even blink.
“This is so cute,” Cami squealed.
I laughed at her excitement. I’d wanted to take Elle on the plane with me, but I didn’t think I could handle the looks I would have gotten from people. Now that I’d seen how being the scholarship student had drawn so much attention, I was glad I hadn’t added to it.
Carefully, I pulled out the family photo my mom had packed for me. After my graduation, she’d made us all get dressed up and take a fancy family photo. I went to go set it on the desk, but Cami was right at my elbow, pulling the frame out of my hands.
“Is this your family?”
“Yup, those are my parents, Bonnie and Luke. They own the best diner in my hometown, called Percy’s.
The good-looking guy is my older brother Dylan.
He just graduated from Notre Dame this past summer with his MBA and is going back to get a law degree.
He has always wanted to take over our parents' diner when they retire, so he decided to stay in school a little longer. The little punk next to me, who looks like he has been tortured for the past hour, is Kyle. He’s a freshman in high school this year.
” As I talked about them, I felt tears well up in my eyes.
I’d been so good about not crying through this whole thing.
Mom had bawled her eyes out as I got on the plane, but I’d managed to hold it together.
Apparently, this was the moment it all started to hit me like a ton of bricks.
I was in a completely different country, with an ocean and a fifteen-hour flight between us.
I wasn’t going to be able to just drive a few hours and be home for a weekend like Dylan could.
“Oh, hun, don’t cry,” Cami said as she threw her arms around me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad. Let’s go out this afternoon, and I’ll show you around town. That will cheer you up.”
As much as I appreciated her comfort, I couldn’t help but giggle because she was so short, her head was resting perfectly on my boobs. That thought lightened my mood, and I brushed away the tears.
“That sounds like fun,” I said, patting her on the back before I pulled out of her hug. “So, tell me about you.”
Cami walked back to my bed and fell backward on it again.
“Me? Well, my room is one floor down, right next to the elevator, lucky number six. Thank God I don’t have a roommate this year.
The girl I lived last year with was the worst. Hmm, let's see, what else,” Cami said, sitting up suddenly.
“Oh! I’m going to school for journalism!
I love to get all up in people’s business, so my parents suggested that I make it a job. ”
I shook my head and laughed as I continued to pull stuff out of the boxes and put it away. “You mentioned Tony knew your sisters, are they older or younger?”
“I have two older sisters, but one's a half-sister. They're cool, I guess. They are always trying to push me into being more involved in the family business,” Cami said, scrunching up her face in distaste.
“That's funny, my parents couldn’t wait to get me out of the family business. Since Dylan was already planning on taking it over, they didn’t see the need for me to waste my potential.
I think they have me mixed up with Kyle, because he’s the wonder child.
He’s at this crazy prep school an hour away from home that my mom has to drive him to every day,” I explained.
“When I said that I didn’t understand how I got a scholarship for this school, I wasn’t kidding.
I’m a good student, but nothing that could match up to his abilities. ”
“They must have seen something impressive about you if they gave you one of the four scholarships they have for the year,” Cami countered.
“The only thing I’m really good at is running track and hurdles, but this school doesn’t have anything sports-related on campus,” I said, sitting on the couch.
“Oh, girl, you will never catch me running. I would much rather take out what's chasing me than run from it,” Cami said, standing up. She waved at me to follow her. “Come on, let's go get some lunch. There’s a great little sandwich place in Nettleton. And don’t forget to bring your class list so we can grab your books.”
“I really need a shower. Can we go after I get ready quick?” I asked Cami before she could drag me out the door.
She gave me a once-over and nodded. “That might be a good idea.” She walked over to my dresser and started rifling through my clothes. When she got to my T-shirt drawer, she started laughing. “These are gold, girl. I couldn’t have picked better. Where did you get them?”
“My brothers started my collection of sassy shirts after they broke into my room and read my journal from when I was in middle school. They said my inner snark needed an outlet, so for every birthday and Christmas, I get new shirts that they find. After a while, I embraced it and started buying some of my own,” I said, smiling and remembering how it all started.
“Sounds like your brothers and I would get along,” Cami said, handing me a stack of clothes. “Now, go shower. We have important shenanigans to get up to.”
I showered as fast as I could so she wouldn’t have to wait too long.
I tore a comb through my curly hair as it fell to the middle of my back.
There was no time to dry it with my diffuser, so I threw some curl cream in and called it good.
I wiggled into the jeans Cami had grabbed and looked at what shirt she picked out.
It said, “I’m not short, I’m concentrated awesome.
” I laughed and put it on. I’d never thought of myself as tall, but compared to Cami, I was.
Ready for the day, I headed back to my room to grab the rest of my stuff so we could head out.
“So, how are we getting to town? Do they have a shuttle for the students to use?” I asked, slipping on some sandals.
Cami looked at me like I had just asked her if she wanted to eat dirt. “Oh, my poor, sweet country bumpkin, that will never happen. I have a car here. I’ll drive, unless you know how to drive a stick?”
I shook my head vigorously. “Trust me, you do not want me driving, we’ll end up in another country.”
“Perfect, I love driving,” Cami said, grabbing a purse that she must’ve brought up while I was in the shower.
I walked with Cami to the elevator, and we exited the dorm out the back, where the student parking was.
I scanned the cars, wondering which one was hers.
All of them looked sleek and expensive. I would only ever own one in my dreams. Cami walked up to a small neon-green car with black detailing on it.
The car chirped as she unlocked it, and she waved for me to hurry up.
The car didn’t look like it could hold more than two people, but once I was inside, I was surprised by how roomy it was.
“What kind of car is this?” I asked.
Before she answered, she hit a button, and the fabric roof started to roll back, letting in the sunlight and fresh air. “It’s a Fiat 500, custom color, of course. I can’t get lost in the parking lot looking for this little guy.”
I laughed, thinking that is exactly something I would need to do when I got my next car. My laughing got cut short as Cami dropped the clutch, and we rocketed out of the parking spot and onto the street. Looked like I was going to die before I even got to start school.
“Cami, slow the hell down,” I yelled after clutching the armrests.
“Calm your tits, we’ll be just fine. I drive like this all the time. Why do you think I bought this car?” Cami said and giggled as she turned on the radio, blasting the car with the top ten hits.
My wild curls whipped around my head, slapping me in the face as we went.
Thankfully, I always kept a scrunchie on my wrist for moments like this.
I trapped my hair in a messy bun on my head, and I was now able to at least see some of the blurring scenery as we went.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take us long to get into town and for Cami to swoop into a parking spot.
As she cut the engine, she looked over at me triumphantly, like keeping us alive was noteworthy.