Leah tugged at my shoulder, pulling my mind back to the present. “I think we should skip this part.” she whispered in hushed tones. “I totally have no desire to be part of any club. So why would we need to go to a club fair?” Leah smiled mischievously and started veering us away from the masses. We picked up the pace as we broke free from the pack.
Both of us burst out into giggles, and I reveled in the feeling. We slowed and the giggles subsided, returning to a casual stroll. “Do you want to see my dorm?” Leah asked hopefully.
“Absolutely!”
“It’s just up here.” We veered off the main sidewalk, and past an old historical home. I admired the strong pillars and solid rock construction. The top windows were lit, and I caught a small reflection of a young girl peering out.
“Savanah come on." Leah coaxed.
I turned, following my new friend into the dorms.
“This is the quiet hall.” she whispered, as we approached her door.
Leah’s room was much smaller than mine, but she only shared with one person, which kind of balanced it out. Her side was simple and yet adorable at the same time. She had a picture of her mom and her, a moose, who apparently was a neighborhood wanderer, and her dog. Little frames perched on a shelf above her small desk. Her bed displayed nothing too fancy, more like a simple handmade quilt. “So, what do ya think?” She asked plopping down on her bed with a little bounce.
“I love it!” I looked at the other side. “So, how’s your floor so far?”
Leah shrugged, “Fine. I don’t really know them yet. They have a ton of international students here, so they have a bunch of programs and stuff. I haven’t really gotten to know anyone yet. Of course, I just moved in today. “So, your roommates are all athletes?”
“Yeah, I think so. They all seemed to have that vibe.”
“Did you do sports in high school?”
“Not at all. My school was so small. Basically, we had football and basketball. Really nothing besides that. It wasn’t like I was missing out; I would never have played even if they did offer a bunch.”
“My school was pretty big actually.” She smiled, “I know, people all think Alaska is so sparse. We had all the sports, but I had no desire to play any. Mom always wanted me to try dance, or cheer, or something but I just couldn’t imagine being in the center of a field or a court and having people stare at me. No way!” Her fingers twiddled with a loose thread on the quilt. “I just never wanted that life.” Her eyes reflected that being only half truth. I caught a tiny glimmer of maybe regret, but it disappeared before I could be sure. “So, Savanah, what about you?” Leah asked, imitating a formal interviewer.
I looked away, “What about me? I am about as boring as they come.” Or at least I planned on trying to be. Blending was my key word. New start, new school, and a natural blender, that was my goal.
“Come one!” A pillow hurdled towards my head. “There has to be something. Tell me your deepest darkest secret.”
Nope.
“There is so little. I lived with my grandparents after my mom died. Drunk driver, swerved. I never really knew my dad, he died in the army long before I could remember.”
Leah’s face took on the so familiar feel I’d witnessed so many times before. “Oh, I am so, so sorry.”
I repressed the eye roll that threatened to come out. “It’s ok. It was a really long time ago.”
Leah struggled with a subject change. Not wanting to make it about her, but also not wanting to devalue the news she just heard. “Where are you from? I forgot to ask that.”
“Albion, Idaho. It is the tiniest town in the world, but it’s cool.” I smiled, appreciating the subject change. “My school was in another town, we only had like two hundred people in ours, so after 5th grade, we bussed into the bigger one.”
Leah laughed. “Two hundred in the whole school? Did you have to go outside to go to the bathroom? My gosh, that sounds like you lived on the prairie!”
I rolled my eyes, “It wasn’t that bad, really. As long as you are ok with everyone knowing everything about everyone.”
“So, it was riddled with gossip?” Leah leaned in.
I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t say gossip, it was more everyone just knew. It was like you didn’t even have to be told.”
“What that would be like? We had to work hard for our news. You had to really pay attention.” She pushed her hair back. “But we had over 1500 students. There was a lot to keep track of.”
“Yeah, we didn’t have nearly that problem. Our entire high school had like three hundred people in it.”
“I can see some advantages for sure.”
I shrugged. Maybe if you were not me.
The rumble in Leah’s’ stomach made us check the clock, and realize we were already late for dinner. Walking back towards the dining hall, I couldn’t help but glance up at the small girls’ window. The light was off. We came around the front of the ancient home and I paused as something caught my eye in the small window near the door.
“Whose house is that?” I asked as I
