Give Me Love (a Jack Gilinsky Story)

1.

April.

After wrestling with my bag to get my keys for about 10 minutes, I finally get inside my apartment. The heat in the hallway was about to make me evaporate, and my apartment isn't very different. I drop everything on my kitchen counter and turn on my air conditioner full blast. It's coming toward the end of April and the temps are reaching up to 90 degrees and I have got to get out of the habit of wearing jeans every day. As I walk into my bedroom, I glance at my alarm clock and see that it's 11:34 and hurriedly strip off my jeans and slip on a pair of cut-off denim shorts. I slip on my black converse, rip the hair tie out of my hair and let my hair fall. It goes down to my lower back and has a natural wave, so I don't tend to do much to it. As I freshen up my mascara in the bathroom, my phone starts to ring. I walk into the kitchen to retrieve it from my bag.

"Hey mom," I say without even consulting caller ID. She is the one who calls me around this time anyway, unless Jack needs a ride to work. But he had already texted me during class.

"Hi sweetie. What are you up to?" She asked.

"Oh you know, getting ready for work, just got out of stats like every Thursday when you call." I responded, the annoyance evident in my voice.

"Oh." Was all she responded with? She paused and I knew what she was going to ask. "So do you have any plans with your friend's tomorrow night?" I rolled my eyes at her question. She just so desperately wants me to be more social, especially since I moved here by myself.

"No. I have a test on Monday, so I'll be studying all weekend. Even took tomorrow night off of work." She sighed. I know my mother wants what's best for me, but I really don't want to get close to anyone here. I have all my friends in California. I just want to get college over with and then move back to Huntington Beach and get my teaching credential.

"How are you really doing Karalynne?" She asked.

"I'm fine mom. Promise," I said, even faking a smile to myself.

"Okay, I'm sure you have to go. I'll call you tomorrow sweetie." She hung up the phone. I locked my screen, and turned off the lights in my apartment and left the AC running for when I got home later. I hate lying to my mother, but I just don't want her to worry about me. And, it's not like I'm absolutely and totally unhappy, because I'm really not. I just get lonely sometimes. I'm not homesick either, I just miss my friends and really regret coming to Arizona alone. But I just knew that if I didn't leave my hometown then, I wouldn't have ever left. I open the door of my apartment, lock it, and go out into the hot Arizona sun.