“I don’t know. I haven’t really been able to figure out campus yet. I like, know where my dorm is, and basically that’s it.”
I nodded and continued to walk into the dining hall.
Welcome activities kept our focus on our new school, and our new world. We felt exhausted and yet energized at the same time. The evening ended, and the next would lead us to a school tradition of heading to the mountains for a freshman class retreat.
The bus ride was long, but we were happy to have each other. Everything new was easier with a friend.
Friends. That definitely described what had been built so quickly between us. Over the first few weeks of school Leah explained that her dad worked offshore, so he wasn’t around much. She shared how she and her mom had always been like super tight, but now her dad was going to be home after being offered a different position stateside. This was the reason Leah decided it was time to leave Alaska. “They needed a chance to be a couple again, and I needed a chance to be me, whoever that may be.” she giggled over coffee one day at the library.
“I just needed a change. There are schools that are closer to home, but honestly, I wanted to go away.” I spoke from the heart. “I needed to be in a new place without the history of home.”
“I get it. I could have stayed in Alaska but coming down to the lower 48 just felt right.”
If only she really did get it. If only the reality of what my crazy town was could possibly be gotten by anyone in the real world. “I looked at other colleges, but I liked the size of this one, and it was far enough away without being too far. My grandma had hip replacement recently, and I don’t like to be too far from home. You know just in case they need me.”
Fall began to move into the small campus, filling the sidewalks with beautiful leaves ending their summer with a final feather float to the ground. With class and homework, Leah and I had been able to squeeze in some football games, but barely. We spent many days working in the library, away from our dormmates and distractions of the continued hall activities.
Fall break started in two days, and although many kids were making their way home or to a group get away, I decided I’d hang here. I didn’t want to spend the money on gas to drive home for a couple days. Thanksgiving would be coming soon enough and that would suffice.
Leah had been asked to join in a trek to Wyoming for the week. One of her classes offered it as an enrichment. Leah was a geology major, with an anthropology minor, so she had prattled on about nothing since she signed up.
Selfishly, I looked forward to a bit more alone time. Not that I didn’t love Leah, but at times she could be a bit overwhelming. Now that we’d gotten to know each other, the quiet exterior had fallen away revealing a very chatty Cathy. This suited me fine for the most part since I could just sit and listen without having to participate too much. But now, I longed for a bit of quiet time just for me.
We ate dinner at the dining hall the night before Leah left. “I feel so bad you are going to be all alone!” Leah said with her fork filled with another bite of salad. She jammed it into her mouth with a protesting expression. “Not fair.”
“No really, it's completely good. I am going to try and catch up on my class reading. It feels like I have so much to do, I won’t even have time to miss you. There are a lot of kids sticking around. It isn’t like I will be completely alone.” I set my phone down after dismissing a notification. “Besides, I have no doubt you will keep me updated!”
“Oh, that is a given!”
Students had thinned significantly, and after Friday evening, it seemed the dorms were almost a morgue. The only people left in their rooms were those that either were getting ready for the party that night or had practice the next day. I discovered my dorm room consisted of one track player, one softball player and a basketball player. Pretty much someone was getting up at the crack of dawn for something every day of the week. Tonight however, it seemed they were all getting ready to go out, practice be damned. The room felt overcrowded as they tried on different clothes and primped in the mirrors.
This left me as the odd man out. Honestly, though, all I really wanted was some veg time with my Netflix account. I grabbed my wallet and headed out, deciding on walking to the local grocery store, hoping it would kill enough time that the room would be empty when I got back.
The breeze made the leaves twirl and spin in little tornados whirling in front of me. They danced and swayed, then faded away as quickly as they came to be. Smiling, I watched the leaves. My eye caught the upstairs window of the looming grey house. Again, a small girl peeked out at me. I looked away, it had to be my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe it was one of the employee’s children working late? I’d learned the beautiful home once had been the house of the president. It was built by a very wealthy family, who then donated the home to the college, where it housed the music department, among other things. At last it was converted into offices for special events and catering.
Hence no one lived there. At all.
My blood ran cold when I learned this, because if the child in
