The four lettered word (LOVE)

Chapter 13

August 27, 2006

First day of college.

You may have prepared yourself for the whole college experience for a long time. It may have been the only thing on your mind for years. You might have worked hard to earn a place for yourself in a college that you have always wanted to go. So when you finally get that, you must be excited for the first day experience. But no one can deny the nervous jitters they feel when they step into the college for the first time. It actually overpowers your excitement a little.

And it was the same for me. I was cool and kept my face stoic on the outside but I was actually panicking on the inside. And my heart thumping a little too fast against my chest was not helping either. If I was a nervous wreck, I couldnt even imagine how Jenny was managing the first day of her college.

Jenny.

She had become stronger now after everything that had happened in the past few years and how everything has finally settled in our minds. She was at shock first. But as days passed and after the initial shock wore off a little bit she became really quiet and unnaturally calm. It was weird to see her like that. She was always bubbling with excitement and it was heartbreaking to see such a lively spirit like her lose all those liveliness and turning into nothing but a shell of a human being. It was getting me really worried and I was dying to do anything to make the life return to her eyes.

And suddenly one day she came back to our home carrying so many things that I couldnt even see her head through the mountain of bags she was carrying.

"Oi! Dont stand there like a tree. Come and help me with these bags Ash!",
I quickly moved to her side and carried the bags to the living room.

She dropped on the couch and let out a long sigh and muttered something about curtains and slow witted salesman with no taste. I wanted to ask her what was with her sudden change of mood but unsure how she would take that and really worried if that would bring back some bad memories that would make her lose her liveliness again, I chose to stay silent. After our eventful past few weeks I was walking on eggshells around her and was watching my every word. It was frustrating but that was outweighed by my concern for her. I just wanted her to be happy and it was good to see her retreating to her old self.

So I settled for asking something simple, "Care to explain why you were on a shopping spree?"

"You live like a pig and I don't like the idea of living in a pig sty", she deadpanned.

I don't know whether to be offended or feel guilty. It was typical for Jenny to say something like that. I am not the cleanliest person and sure the carelessly strewn clothes on the floor and every other vacant furniture would attest to that and I dont know how many days it had been since I mopped the floor. Was it two days or weeks? Any way the point is that I live like any other normal teenager but that doesnt make me a pig!

"Oh yes it does my friend", said Jenny with a smirk making me scowl. Guess I said that aloud.

"Anyway with that said I am going to show you how normal human beings live and educate you on something known as hygiene. Seems like you have never heard of that", she said picking up pizza boxes from under the couch.

The rest of the day she made me clean the entire house even mop the floor and wipe the windows. And she said SHE was going to clean my house. She was such a slave driver I tell you. By the end of the day my house was totally redesigned from curtains to pillow covers and as Jenny said fit for a normal human being to live. I couldnt even scoff at that as I was completely exhausted and our day ended with the dinner Jenny cooked and us laughing at the movie Mummy and commenting on how hilarious the ghosts and other creatures in the movie were.