NaNoWriMo'10 - beginning

And in that moment, I was utterly alone. A fresh breeze picked up and fluttered my hair. I shuffled my feet against the grey concrete and bit my slightly chapped lips. I tucked my hair back in place and eyed the area around me. Mothers were clutching their new young adults and fathers were patting their backs offering comforting words. A girl near me was fighting back tears. Most of the guys just looked uncomfortable. Other families kept it short. Just pats on the back, last minute checking, maybe a quick hug,and then it was over. Mine was too drawn out.
“Everything out?” my father said as he looked into the obviously empty trunk of the minivan.
“So it seems,” I said and shifted my weight from one foot to the other.
“If you have any trouble with the loft, just ask the front desk, they’ve all done it before,” my mother tittered and shuffled her keys.
“Right,” I nodded.
“Make sure you get a chain or something to put your key on,” my father reminded as he caught sight of it in my hands. I tucked it into my pocket.
“Sure thing,” I returned with a small smile.
“And...” my mother said slowly, searching for more reminders. “And...just call if you need anything.”
“Anytime,” my father reassured.
“Thanks,” I said, “I will.”
“Well then,” my father said, “Must be off.” He pulled me in for a hug and I returned it. I turned to face my mother and she had her turn. She smiled straight, but I saw her eyes getting watery.
“You’ll do great,” she whispered in my ear.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said back.
They stepped away and repeated some last minute reminders. I nodded at each one, hoping to be reassuring. My mother reached out of the passenger side window and squeezed my hand. My father waved as he backed out. With a turn of a corner, they were gone.
They had kept it clean, no snot or tears left on me. Pretty good for single kid parents. I was grateful. But now, as I stood in a sea of families, I was sticking out anyway. So I took a breath and stuffed my hands into my pockets. I turn and headed into my dorm.
The halls had become sparse. I passed a couple of rooms with doors open.
A group of guys in the one, shouting and crowding. The next a guy hunched over his computer. Up the stairs. Two girls squealing. A girl talking loudly on her phone. One just sitting there. In her new butterfly chair, staring at the wall. And then my room. The door was already open. My new roommate was at her computer with ear buds in. Her eyes strayed to me as I walked in. I sat down at my desk under my loft. She swiveled her chair to face me. She paused her ipod and removed the ear buds. She eyed me from behind her red rectangle glasses.
Her name was Jillian. We first corresponded a month earlier. She had a list of what she would bring to the room and what she expected me to bring. She checked in a week later to make sure I had it all. Then she disappeared until orientation. Her almond eyes were sharp and a deep green. She tucked a loose hair expertly back into her bun.
“You left the door open,” she said.
“Oh,” I said and stood up. I shut it quietly. Jillian tilted her head at me.
“You left it open when you left,” she said.
“Oh,” I said again. I leaned against the door awkwardly. “Sorry.”
“Someone could have come in,” she explained as she adjusted her blouse.
“Yeah, I was distracted,” I said and brushed my hand against the wall. “I'll close it from now on.”
Jillian observed me for a minute longer and then returned to her original position. I opened my mouth to ask...something. What are you listening to? What are you working on? Are you always going to be this way? But I just closed it instead. I returned to my desk and turned on my shiny, new laptop. My background of a picture of me and my friends smiling and cheering from graduation greeted me. I stared at their frozen smiling pictures and then glanced back at Jillian. Welcome to college.