forget-me-nots [h.s.]

eight

Fall 2011 

Harry's arm was draped around my shoulder as we watched our parents pull away from the parking lot. We waved to them and saw them off. Both of our mothers had been a mess--both of their nests were empty. We had been moving in and unpacking all day-- Harry and I had planned it well enough that we ended up in the same building. He was on a floor above me and we happened to both get assigned the same move-in time. 

We both had our new keys hanging on a lanyard around our necks. My roommate seemed sweet enough, her name was Talia and she was from New Hampshire. We had been emailing back and forth all summer and she was supposed to move in tomorrow. Harry's roommate was named Ethan--he had moved in already, but he had gone back home for the weekend so we both hadn't met him. 

Harry and I strolled back to our dorm building--so this was college. This sense of freedom and independence that I had never experienced before. We were just two young adults on our own for the first time. We ended up exploring the campus a little-- it was dusk and the sun was low in the sky. 

"I was thinking that we could walk through our schedule tomorrow," Harry began. "To see where everything is."

"That's a good idea," I told him. We walked along a path that was covered by trees. Squirrels scurried around at our feet on the hunt for nuts and other things. They were fearless--far different from the squirrels that were around our town. 

"This is weird, isn't it?" Harry mused. "Being on our own?" 

"Yeah," I said softly. I looked at me feet, watching them fall and lift from the ground. The path was covered in leaves that cracked underneath our footfalls. Harry bumped my hip lightly and my smile grew. I bumped him back a little harder, he returned it once more and I ended up shuffling off balance. I nearly fell into a bush, but he caught my arm. We ended up laughing harder that we should have. 

"It hasn't hit me yet," he began. "The loathing of growing up... I think I kind of like it."

"Maybe it is because we are sort of in a limbo," I said. "We don't really own anything, were don't really pay taxes, we are adults but we aren't." 

"You might be right," he admitted. "I like being on my own."

"You aren't alone," I told him. "You have me."

"I do," he smiled. "Don't I?" 

I hummed in response and he hugged me from the side. It was growing darker, the sounds of the summer night seemed to become amplified. I would have never thought that the boy I met by the pool over a year ago would become my best friend--and I would have never guessed that we would be going to school together. 

"I think this year will be something good," I mused. 

"I agree," Harry said. 

I could see the town's lights in the distance. The campus was surrounded by a small town that was lively and homey. It was an older town, and the county was trying to turn it more urban. The campus dominated most of the town, but it was enchanting. 

"Are you hungry?" He asked me. 

"Yeah," I told him. 

We had both skipped lunch so that we could unpack and both of our stomachs were growling profusely. Harry had a better sense of direction than me--I always got turned around; for example, right now, I had no idea how to get back to our dorm building. I would be fine after a couple of days of walking the campus, Harry, however, was brilliant. He could walk a path once and then remember it. 

The boy was like a walking map. 

I followed him through the maze that seemed to be our campus. Harry had only taken a tour once during orientation, but here he was; leading me through buildings and going down different paths that I had never seen before. We ended up at one of the many dining halls on campus. I wasn't entirely sure if it was open or not, but I had to remind myself than there were only a few freshman on campus at this point.