admin
01 Temmuz 2022, 22:18
MelissaOver the summer, I had thought of Lauren often, picking up the phone to call her dozens of times, but never completing the call. She had made it clear that there was nothing for us for at least the next five years or longer. I loved her, but I supposed she was right and had tried to keep busy working and occasionally going out with friends over the summer. I could not bring myself to date anyone at first, but an old boyfriend kept bugging me, so I finally went out with him a few times, hoping to take my mind off Lauren. After a few dates, he had started pressing me to have sex with him, so I broke it offAfter Tom, I mostly went out with girl friends or with mixed groups of friends. By the end of summer, I had finally come to terms that it was over with Lauren, and was determined to get on with my life. It was finally moving day, and my dad and brother packed up the minivan with my stuff and we headed back to school. I was in a different room, but with the same roommate as last year. After getting me all settled in, I treated my dad and brother to dinner at a nice restaurant in town. they drove me back to campus, then went to a hotel where they spent the night before leaving for home in the morning.As we drove back to campus after dinner, I thought about going through a year without a car. Freshmen were generally not allowed to have cars, but last year, Lauren was always there. A limited number of parking permits were allotted for sophomores on a first come, first served basis. I had been saving for my own car since junior year in high school and my parents had agreed to match whatever I had saved if I maintained at least a B average my first two years in college. Without Lauren around, I would have to take the bus into town unless any of my friends had managed to snag a permit and brought their car back with them.The next week was spent finalizing classes, getting all my textbooks and other materials the classes required. I scoped out where all my classes were located, got my food pass and student ID. I reconnected with a number of friends from last year and caught up on summer activities. A couple of my friends asked about Lauren, but I just said she had graduated early and was in medical school. After a few attempts, most of them figured out we must have broken up; only my roommate knew what had happened as I had told her last semester.A lot of people were pairing off, some with a special someone from last year, and some with new people. Like many others, I checked out the freshman class for potential possibilities, as well as looking at old friends with a new eye, but no one stood out. Since coming back to school where we had fallen in love brought the feelings back a little, I immersed myself in my classes and almanbahis şikayet (https://almanbahis.live/) got a part-time job in the book store working about ten to fifteen hours a week. It kept my mind off Lauren and gave me some spending money and a chance to add a bit to my *car fund.Just before Thanksgiving, a student came into the store looking for a couple of texts. It was actually too late to take classes for credit, but she said she was planning on auditing the classes and was already registered for the second trimester. One of the books was still available, but the other was not."I can take your name and contact info and see if I can locate a copy for you if you'd like. I can put an ad up looking for a used copy. Someone might have one from last year they would be willing to sell.""That would be awesome. I'm Shannon, by the way."?Melissa. Why are you auditing a class so late in the term??"It's a long story, but to make it short, my dad got transferred to this area recently. I had been taking classes at the local community college and just had nowhere to stay once my family moved. A counselor worked with this school to get most of my credits transferred. I was not taking a full load this term and one class would not transfer, but these two classes did. I have a deal with the school to audit the rest of the year, then pay for the classes next term. They agreed that I could just show up for tests and finals and get full credit if I passed. That way, I can still take a fairly full load besides.""That sounds ambitious.""Well, I am trying to make up for lost time. My sister was in a car accident and injured pretty badly. Once she came home from the hospital, she needed help until she recovered. Mom's job was the one that had the better insurance so she couldn't quit. Dad makes more money so he couldn't quit. That left me to help her, so for the last nearly two years, I have only been able to manage a few classes each term. She is recovered now, at least to the point where she can manage for herself, so I can finally get back on track.""Well Shannon, welcome to ASU. I will do my best to find the other book for you. Let me know if there is anything else you need.'"I will. Thank you, Melissa."When I got ready to close up shop, I found a wallet under one of the carts when I moved it to sweep. The driver's license indicated it belonged to Shannon. I immediately called her and told her I found the wallet;"OH! Thank god. I noticed it was missing and have torn my car and room apart looking for it. Can I stop by tomorrow and pick it up? Are you working?""No, I am off til Sunday, but I can either leave it at the store office with a note or if you want to pick it up tonight I can meet you in the student union.""That would be wonderful! I'm sure almanbahis canlı casino (https://almanbahis.live/) my folks aren't using the car tonight. What would be a good time?""Well, I am closing up now. It should take me about thirty minutes""Perfect. I need about forty minutes to get there, but will see you then."I finished closing the store and headed over to the student union and found a table where I would be easy to spot, even without my red hair. Several minutes later, I spotted Shannon and waived at her."Here it is.""Thank you sooo much, Melissa. I would have been so screwed if I lost this for real. Can I treat you to a shake or a sundae or something?""Uhm, you really don't need to do that. It's no big deal.""I know I don't have to; I want to.""Okay. How about a root beer float?"Shannon went to the counter and ordered two root beer floats and brought them back to the table."So when you start school next semester, will you be staying on campus, or living at home since you are so close?""I already have a room lined up on campus. I don't live that far mile-wise, but with traffic, the commute could be an hour or more when I would be driving. In bad weather, it could be longer. Besides, since I gave up so much to help my sister, my parents want me to have the full college experience.""What year will you be in?""I am somewhere between a sophomore and a junior, closer to a sophomore, unfortunately. So hoping with the two extra classes I will audit for the remainder of the term, and if I can pass them next term without much attendance, plus my normal class load, I will have enough credits to be considered a junior by summer. I might have to take a class or two in the summer term though.""That's pretty ambitious. I hope you succeed.""Well, this will be the hardest year, but I really want to catch up. Not that I resent helping my sister at all, I was happy to help her. But I should be in my senior year. I want to be a fashion designer and maybe someday open my own business. I have already sent some of my designs to a number of fashion houses and a few have shown some interest. But they all want a college degree. And if I plan on opening my own company someday, I need to understand how to run one.* I am majoring in business with a second major in design. What about you? What's your story?""I am wavering between teaching science or going into researching biochemical fuels and environmental science. I would love to be able to encourage more girls to get into the field through teaching, so just not sure. The first two years are mostly required and prerequisite classes and many of the classes for either degree are the same anyway, so I have time to decide.""That could be ambitious too. Could that end up being a five-year course, rather almanbahis casino (https://almanbahis.live/) than four?""If I go into research, yes plus I would go for my Masters as well."We sat and talked for about an hour before I finally had to get back to my room to finish an assignment for a class tomorrow. I promised to call Shannon as soon as I heard anything about the book. About a week later, I got a response to the ad I had put on the bulletin board about the textbook. The student said he could bring it back with him when he returned from Thanksgiving weekend. I called Shannon just to make sure she was still interested and the price. Shannon said to go-ahead, so I made the arrangements to obtain it.It was too far for me to go home for such a short time so I would be staying at school over the holidays. There were quite a large number of students staying at school so I would not be alone. When Shannon asked me what my plans were, I said I would be staying at school, she didn't say anything, but about fifteen miutes later, she called me back."I talked to my folks and I would like to invite you to my house for Thanksgiving dinner. You have been so helpful to me and if your family is anything like mine, Thanksgiving is a big deal. You shouldn't be stuck at school.""That's really nice of you to offer Shannon, but there are a lot of students that stay here, so the school puts on a pretty good spread.""It's not the same though and I am not going to take no for an answer and neither is my mom. I will come and pick you up about 9. It is an all-day affair in my house, starting with brunch and going through dessert after dinner. Dress is casual; jeans and comfy shoes reign. Just tell me what dorm you are in and be waiting for me tomorrow.""You really don't need to do this you know. But okay, pick me up in front of Prentiss Hall."I scoured my stuff looking for something to bring with me and finally decided to ask one of my friends that I knew usually had a few bottles of wine in her room if she could snag one. Then I went to the student union and picked up a small plant at one of the kiosks. Right on time the next day, Shannon pulled up in front of the dorm and I hopped into the car and buckled up."Thank you for doing this. I would have been fine at school, but you're right, this is a big holiday for my family too. Are you sure I won't be out of place?""No, we almost always have some strays or orphans on holidays, even Christmas. Our motto is 'The more the merrier', so don't worry about it. My older brother, his wife and their twins will be there along with my younger sister, my grandparents, my brother's mother-in-law and a widowed neighbor will be there. Plus we almost always have friends that drop in for a visit through the day,"We arrived at the house and went inside where I gave the plant and wine to Shannon's mom and barely had time to meet the rest of the family before they announced brunch was ready. Shannon grabbed me a plate and walked me through the table, extolling the praises of each dish.