009: Campus Blues
1758 Words
[Rosalynd]
“Rosie! You are magical!!” Slone says slowly, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me with each word as we leave Evander’s house, new keys in hand.
“You just want to see magic everywhere,” I assure her. “I’m just me, Rosie Reid. Nothing special here.”
“I have been in this forest a THOUSAND times and not once have I found that trail.” She points to the dirt path that leads to Evander’s lush garden.
“OK,” I admit, shrugging, “Maybe I’m lucky….”
“And,” Slone continues, “You found us a place to live not 5 minutes after completing your manifestation birthday blessing. What on earth did you wish for?” I begin to open my mouth to tell her when she places two fingers on my lips and adds “no, don’t tell me. That might affect the spell.”
“Now Slone, we still don’t know…”
“Dude, you were surrounded by levitating crystals that were glowing.”
I close my gaping mouth, looking a bit like a frog while Slone tugs me along, pleased with my change to silence.
“Tonight is the New Moon,” Slone explains. “We’ll talk to my coven.”
I sigh, resigned. “Ok, when are they meeting?”
“Squeeee!!!” her jubilation vibrates my entire torso as she bounces up and down! “At sunset. We are meeting at The Goat.”
“Seriously,” I raise an eyebrow in question, “Your coven meets at a place called The Goat. Isn’t that a bit,” I pause, “on the nose.”
“It’s actually a really fun bar and tea room. They have live bands and really great cocktails,” Slone explains. “They named the place after some dude named Richard who had this goat in his front yard that the city wanted him to get rid of but he protested because of, I don’t know, 1st amendment rights to free speech and livestock, anyway…very Arcata.” She nods sagely as if anything she just said wasn’t just crazy sounding gibberish to me. “Anyway, tonight is Karaoke night, and my crew really loves karaoke.”
“Okay…” I respond, a little afraid as we continue to walk downhill from the new house. We are definitely going to need to drive back when we come with our first load of things…this house is WAY up high on the hill. How did we even get here? I don’t remember walking this far into the forest.
About 20 minutes of intense downhill walking later, we arrive sweaty at the bottom of the hill and I find myself wanting those goat milk smoothies we didn’t end up making because honestly, I need something in my system other than wine after such a vigorous walk. We’re about 5 minutes away from the town square, so we hike back up a bit to the Plaza and stop at the coffee shop on the corner. I grab the biggest water bottle I can find and Slone gets an extra tall iced latte. Apparently, she only drinks water in the form of coffee and alcohol.
“How far are we from campus?”
“Another 10-minute hike up the hill.”
I groan. Slone pats me on the shoulder. “Meet me back at our place when you’re done at the college. We can have some food before heading to the bar.”
My stomach turns and grumbles simultaneously at the thought of kale and goat milk smoothies. Trying not to grimace, I reply, “Sure… I will see you later then.”
She bobs her ponytailed hair, the blond in her chocolate brown strands catching the light as she grins and makes a sharp left turn downhill. She turns, waving, before disappearing down an alley.
As I continue uphill towards campus, I receive a text from Axel. I had texted him earlier that day to let him know I arrived safely.
AXEL: Hey friend, wanna get together tonight? I thought we might go get some burgers and maybe play some pool.
I smile at his message, but then frown remembering I have other plans. Sigh.
ME: Sorry. No can do. Plans w/Slone. Karaoke?
AXEL: Nah. Karaoke and me are not a good mix…trust me. I howl like a dog.
ME: LOL. I do not mind. 2 day is my bday.
AXEL: 4real!
ME: Yup. 23 candles!!
AXEL: Awwww.
ME: *blush emoji*
AXEL: How about we meet tomorrow and celebrate your bday properly. We can make a day of it.
A whole day with Axel. My insides tingle at the thought.
ME: OK!
AXEL: I’ll pick you up at 8am.
I groan to myself at the time, but it would be worth it to get up a little early on a Saturday to see Axel. I respond with my current address and hurry up the hill.
I am still looking down at my phone, which is how I run into someone. Papers scatter everywhere, my phone flying out of my hands as both of us landed hard.
Embarrassed, I start scooping the papers into a neat pile. “I am so sorry, I didn’t see you!”
“Maybe next time put down your phone,” an arrogant voice grumbles above me. “There are people walking around here, trying to get to class. You could hurt someone.”
I was about to say something snarky about him running into me when I looked up and the words disappeared from my mind.
He looks like an angel. His golden brown hair backlit with noon day sun, glowing in the light like a halo of loose waves that frame his face. His chocolate brown eyes glower down at me rudely from behind a pair of thick black glasses that are askew on his face. He is holding out a hand. At first I think it is to help me up, but he clarifies his intention by grumbling “My papers, Miss, if you don’t mind.”
I slam the papers hard into his hand and say “you’re welcome,” before storming away, leaving him with a sour expression on my face as I march toward a school map. I don’t bother looking back to see if he needs any further help. Obviously he’s just a big, self-centered jerk.
Still perturbed, I march into the registrar's office and wait in line. An hour later I’m standing in front of a tired looking middle-aged man with eyes only half open as he stares at me. I pull out my transcripts and license.
“Hi,” I began. “My name is Rosalynd Reid.”
“I don’t care.”
“What?” How rude! Is everyone having a bad day?
“Are those your transcripts?”
I hand them over.
“I don’t want them.”
I pull my hand back. “O…kay….”
“What is your student ID number?” he absently scratches his head before placing his hands back on his computer.
“I don’t have…”
“Of course, you don’t,” he doesn’t quite roll his eyes, but he does look at me like I should be ashamed for wasting his time. “I’m sorry miss, but if you are not already in our system, I cannot help you.”
“What?”
“Just what I said. I can only help CURRENT students.”
“That’s what I’m trying to become. I am trying to enroll.”
At that, he just laughs. “You need to apply to college first. This isn’t a JC. We’re a polytechnic university. Enrollment closed last spring.”
Damn.
I begin to turn away, but then I see a change in his expression. “Hey,” his tone softens. “I can see you’re new to town, so I’m going to give you a bit of advice. If you hurry, and submit your transcripts in the right way, you can still enroll for the Spring semester. In the meantime, you can take extension classes. They cost a bit more, but then you can also finish up any classes you need for transferring in. Don’t worry, we’re not that big of a school, you’ll have no problem being accepted.”
I turn, shocked at his sudden kindness.
“Um, thank you…”
“Now get out of my line, I have people to help here.”
I nod, grateful, and begin to head back out into the sunlight. Shaking off the chill of the previous encounter, I pull out my phone to check the messages I had missed while waiting in line. There are 5 new messages from Axel.
Interesting. I wonder what he wants.
The first message is a picture taken from the driver’s seat of a truck of the sign that said “Welcome to Eureka.”
OK.
Next is a picture of the highway exit “Cal Poly Humboldt, next right.” My heart begins to beat a little faster.
The third is a picture of the entrance sign to the Arcata Community Forest. I look back at the time stamp and it was sent 15 minutes ago.
The fourth and final picture is of a large green field. There are people in the background walking dogs, reading books, and flying kites. In the distance, there is a playset with kids on swings and playing in wood chips. In the foreground, a picnic basket on a large checkered blanket. Next to the blanket is a colorfully wrapped package.
The fifth message is a text:
AXEL: So I know you’re busy for dinner, but how about lunch?
I can feel my face redden as I pull my mouth into a large grin. Axel made a special trip to be with me, going out of his way to make my day special.
ME: Sorry for the late reply. I was stuck in line.
AXEL: *sad face* No worries, I know you're busy.
ME: Did you make a special trip just to see me?
AXEL: I couldn't let your special day go by without celebrating it with you.
ME: *blush* You didn't have to do that.
AXEL: I know. But I wanted to. So are you free? Would you like to have lunch with me?
ME: Yes! That sounds wonderful.
AXEL: *happy face*
Despite my bumpy beginning here, I am excited for my new adventure. New school, new home, possible new boyfriend…!
Things are starting to look up.
- Writer
