TKB - The Time Apart

Chapter 5 - Moving into USC

Elle POV

The move to my dorm at USC was pretty uneventful. Dad and Brad came with me to help me set up my room. I didn't necessarily ask that Linda stay home, because things were OK with her, but honestly, this was really a family thing, and it just felt right to be the 3 of us. They helped me bring all of my stuff into my dorm, we had a quick lunch, and then I was on my own. It was weird to be by myself in a new place, but I was excited to see what was in store for me.

Interestingly enough, I thought I was moving into a standard double room with one roommate...but it turns out I was moving into a quad, with 3 roommates. This should be interesting! Stephanie, Julie and Alex (short for Alexandra) are my new roommates. Alex and I share a room, and Steph and Julie share a room, and in between there is a common living room and a tiny (and I mean tiny) kitchen. Unlike most of the dorms I've seen, where there is a big shared bathroom for the floor, we're actually lucky enough to have a bathroom in our bedrooms. This may not be too terrible! While Steph and Julie actually started last semester, Alex just moved in today too. She seems down to earth - she is also into soccer and is studying business.

I am taking 5 classes this year, and most of them are just college basics (psychology, chemistry, American lit, and communications) as well as an Introduction to Basic Gaming. That's the one I'm most looking forward to. Julie is in my chem class, and Steph is in my communications class. Unfortunately, I don't really know anyone in most of my classes, but that's the point of being here - to meet new people. My classes are split, so I have the same schedule Mon/Wed and Tues/Thurs, and Friday I have a 3 hour long class that is split between lecture and small group work.  What is also pretty cool is that some of my HS classes actually counted towards my college credits.  So, even though I'm starting a semester behind, I'm actually on track to graduate in 3.5  years instead of 4.   If things go as planned, Lee and I will actually still get to graduate at the same time.

My first week of classes went pretty smoothly. My professors seem fairly interesting. My gaming professor is actually a retired Nintendo executive, so I look forward to learning from him. We don't have much hands on with that class yet, but I know there will be over the next few years.  The other classes are just 'fine'. Nothing special, but I also wasn't expecting them to be. I do like the communications class, because we get to practice writing as well as public speaking. Not that I have any issues with these topics, but they're always good staples to study.

Alex and I don't have any classes together, but we've started to get pretty close. She is super easy going, loves to eat, and enjoys some of my crazy antics like karaoke and dancing. and she likes joining me on my FaceTimes with Lee. She came home to have dinner with my dad, Brad and Linda one night, and we hung out in the garage on my DDM machine. Sometimes its like having a female Lee for a roommate!

I filled Alex (and the rest of my roommates) in on my past with Noah. We had been going through photos that we  wanted to hang up in our rooms, and Julie wanted to know who "the hot hunk" was, when I put pictures of Noah in the 'not being hung up pile'. They already knew Lee, but I didn't want to tell them he was "just Lee's brother", so I told them about the past few years, and how things ended over the summer. As I expected, they were all very supportive, and made it their mission to introduce me to as many good looking guys on campus - whether I was interested or not! While I knew I should get out there at some point, I just didn't want to focus on that now. Its not even that I wasn't ready - I just wanted to focus on getting through my first semester and making friends.  Ok....who am I kidding.  Of course I'm not ready.  Its not like I dated before Noah - I'm certainly not ready now. 

Spring break was in the middle of March, and unfortunately, my break was at a different time than Lee's. He didn't really tell me much about it, but I knew that for part of his spring break he was headed to Boston to visit Noah. I know he and Noah actually talk more this year, and I'm glad for Lee, but knowing my best friend was across the country, in a city I was supposed to be living in...well, it hurt a bit. Not that I didn't want Lee to have a relationship with his brother OR get to go on fun trips, but I still kinda hated it, and maybe I was a little jealous. I think it was a little hard for Lee too, because he would only be about an hour from Rachel. Originally, he had been planning to spend his entire break at Brown, but visiting Noah at Harvard was a nice 2nd place I guess.  Considering we had spent all of our holidays and breaks together for as long as  I can remember, this year just seems 'different'.  

I ended up spending my spring break at home. Contrary to Brad's wishes, he hadn't moved into my room. For now, my dad was keeping my room as-is, so that I feel comfortable coming home whenever I need a break. It definitely made it still feel like home. Linda was around most nights as well, and one night she and I actually went out just the two of us. I took her up on her offer to share some stories about my mom, and it was nice to talk to her. I'm glad I've taken the time to get to know her, and frankly speaking, I've dropped the walls that I had up around her. I've accepted that my dad is happy, so I might as well get to know her better. Also, she doesn't really know Noah, so that's one part of my life that I don't need to re-live every time I'm with her. There's no rehashing the past, only looking to the future.

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Oh, and Lee kept his word and reached out to Lisa when they were back after winter break. It took them a few weeks, but they actually had their first date on Valentine's Day. Cheesy, right?  We FaceTimed as he was getting ready, and I made sure he has all of the major things covered - flowers, dinner reservations, an actual shower - you know.  Seriously though, I tried to calm him down, just like he did for me the night of my terrible 'date' with Tuppen - I mean this just HAD to go better than that.

He ended up taking her off campus to some little authentic Italian place he found.  From what I'm told, he was a true gentleman, and even though she offered, he made sure to pay, and pull out her chair, hold the door open.  And, he ended the date with a nice hug and a kiss on the cheek.  I'm very proud of him.  He didn't really date much  before Rachel either, so its not like he has much practice here.  

Anyway, they've been seeing each other for the past few months. She had also just gotten out of a relationship right before school, so she wanted to keep things pretty casual. Lee seems to really like her, and she seems nice. She's from the midwest, and she's majoring in education. She's been around for some of our chats, and Lee definitely seems happy. I don't think he's quite ready to bring her home to visit his parents though - I'm actually not even sure if he's told them about her.

She seems to get along with his friends too. Carly and Amanda (who I still haven't met, but have spoken to a bunch of times), keep me posted on what's going on up there. Lisa has joined them for a few dinners and study sessions, and she is definitely pretty interested in Lee.

Now that the semester is ending, they've decided to continue talking over the summer, but haven't made any firm commitments to getting together or seeing each other. I think Lee would like to, but after pushing Rachel for a long distance relationship, I think he's learned his lesson here. Especially when its been such a short amount of time.

I'll be headed home in a few days too, and I can't wait to see what this summer brings.  My first semester was great, and I'm really glad I made the decision to go to USC.   I'm a little anxious to see if *he* comes home, but I'm trying not to lose sleep over it.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.