Gem City

Chapter 10

“Breakaway” – Kelly Clarkson

“Rise and shine, girlies!” Vanessa"s mom shouted cheerily.

“What ungodly hour is this, Mother?”

“Five a.m., up, up, up! Breakfast is on the table, I wanna get on the road. I went to the coffee shop and picked up those drinks you like. Now, out of bed!”

“An iced mocha with a double shot and sprinkles on top?” Vanessa confirmed.

“Yes, yes, get up!”

“Okay, okay, we"re coming. If I have to get up, so do you, Ross,” Vanessa demanded, following her mom downstairs. Courtney was starting to regret their late-night adventure. Her brain wanted sleep.

“I"m up…” She yawned. She pulled on a light yellow long-sleeved shirt and her comfiest jeans, as it looked overcast. In glancing out the window to survey the weather, she saw Ethan"s car pull in front of the house. Her heart rate picked up. He looked like he had rolled out of bed in basketball shorts and a Gem City High School t-shirt. Yep, still hot. She opened the bedroom window, and was unsure if the chill she got was from the cool morning breeze or from him. “Are you going to try to convince me you"re always up this early and just happened to be in the neighborhood?”

Yep, still hot.“Not likely. I didn"t even know things were going on in the world at this time of day. But amazingly enough, Jim"s is open, and I wanted an excuse to see you before you left. I come bearing sprinkle doughnuts, so get your butt down here and let me wish you a safe trip and all that.” She raced down the stairs and threw open the front door, all the while Vanessa and her mother were looking at her like she was crazy.

“As promised, breakfast for you all,” Ethan said, holding out the bag.

“Yay! Those smell delectable! You"re so good to me.” Courtney"s eyes shown with the kind of adoration that only comes from unexpected baked goods with high sugar content. He just gets me.

He just gets me“Well, I"m trying. And really, with the vocabulary this early?” He grinned. “Just don"t fall in love with any college guys while you"re gone, okay?” he finished lightheartedly. “I won"t keep you, I know you guys gotta leave, I just wanted to see you off and make sure you had your sugar fix. I am going the hell back to bed.”

She giggled in understanding at that. “All right, I don"t blame you. I will see you tomorrow when we get back. Have fun at band practice.” She kissed him sweetly. “Love you.”

“Love you, have fun.” They were starting to lose the awkwardness in their goodbyes, and it seemed like the universe was rooting for them- allowing things to fall into place. Courtney wandered dreamily back into the kitchen to share the doughnuts.

“That boy has it bad for you, girl. I would fall over dead from shock if Luke showed up here at five a.m., even if I were leaving for the Peace Corps.” Vanessa was almost fully awake and up to speed with her sarcasm. “Now hand over the pastries.”

bad“Oh, stop, Luke adores you. Ethan and I just have this black cloud looming in the distance of our, whatever this is.” Vanessa assessed her closely, and she willed herself not to get upset.

“Don"t go to the dark side! Stay here and be happy and excited and amazed that your lover just brought you doughnuts. Black clouds are for next week!” Courtney took a deep breath and let those thoughts go. Today was hopefully going to be about figuring out her future.

“All right, doughnuts and mochas it is.” She smiled, picking up her drink.

“Thank you.” Vanessa"s tone held relief. They proceeded to stuff their faces with a massive amount of calories, using the excuse that they would be physically and mentally exerting themselves over the next day. Mrs. Roberts rallied them to get their stuff and pack it into her blue SUV.

“I"ve made sure to pull out all of my favorite road trip tunes,” Mrs. Roberts said, holding up an ancient looking CD holder.

“Negative!” Vanessa yelled, practically ripping the CDs out of her mom"s hand. “I"ve got six playlists ready to go, and that"s just for the way there. You"re outta your element here, Mom,” she teased.

“Such a mean daughter! I"m sure Courtney would never speak that way to her mother.” She winked at her in the rearview mirror.

“Never ever. I"m a good child.” Courtney received a glare from Vanessa. They got the approved music going and danced their way out of Gem City and onto the interstate. First on their list was University of Dayton since it was the closest. It was probably also the top school on Courtney"s list of those in Ohio. She became more observant the closer they got to the campus. She found herself among tree-lined streets, Victorian houses, and red brick buildings as they approached.

“This is beautiful,” Mrs. Roberts commented, pulling into one of the lots. Courtney just tried to take it all in. The paths were cobblestone rather than concrete, and the doors to each building were a dark walnut stained wood.

“The online tour really didn"t do it justice,” Courtney admitted. She had liked this school the best, even before walking on campus, because it was small and had a great pre-law program. Now that she was there, it felt like she could see herself: living in the dorms, walking the pathways to class, being near Vanessa. Maybe she was thinking of Ethan too, though she didn"t want to let him cloud her judgment.

“Courtney, make sure to take lots of pictures for your mom, I know she wishes she could be here,” Vanessa"s mom reminded. They explored the library, the student union, and were able to get into one of the dorm rooms since they were mostly empty for the summer.

“I don"t know if I could live in one room with another human, but these are pretty nice,” Vanessa declared, looking around at the sparse living space. “I think I could spruce it up.” Mrs. Roberts seemed happy that Vanessa appeared to be getting into the college spirit, so she offered to take them out instead of eating the sandwiches they had packed.

“You need to get a feel for the town, so this is the best way to do it.” They enjoyed lunch at a small pizzeria. They gave it a seven out of ten, only knocking off points for the lackluster personalities of the employees. Afterwards, they piled back into the car for the drive up to Bowling Green. Courtney knew this was Vanessa"s school of choice. It was quite a bit bigger than UD, and Mrs. Roberts had gone there as well. “We will spend the night up there. I found a hotel with spa services and booked us all a massage for after dinner tonight.”

“Your mom kind of kicks ass, V.”

“And don"t you forget it.” Her mom smiled.

“Well, now that"s just going to go to her head, you have to be careful with compliments like that, friend,” Vanessa joked. Courtney fell asleep on part of the drive up, and she was glad. She woke up feeling refreshed and hyper.

“Are we there yet?” she asked, being purposefully annoying. Vanessa"s mom attempted to hit her with a college brochure.

“You bite your tongue, Miss Perky. I"ve been up here driving while you got your beauty rest!”

“Hehe, sorry. Just kidding.”

“But yes, we are almost there, ya ding-a-ling.”

Courtney enjoyed walking around the BG campus but already knew that if she chose Ohio over Arizona, she would be going to UD. It was clear that Vanessa was interested, though, which made her mom happy. They all enjoyed a late dinner near the hotel and the most amazing massages. Courtney felt relaxed sipping her cucumber and mint water with her feet in the spa.

“This water is amazing. Like, why haven"t we been drinking water like this our whole lives? It"s just cucumber, I can slice a cucumber. But it"s like magic!”

“I was literally thinking the exact same thing,” Vanessa replied. “It"s like an energizing elixir of some kind. I don"t get it.” Vanessa"s mom soon joined them and sat down.

“That was fun, wasn"t it? We could probably go rent a movie in the room before we go to sleep. Do you guys still want to hit Ohio State tomorrow before going home?” The friends exchanged looks.

“I think we"re actually good, Mom. I like it here, and I know Courtney fell in love at UD, so can we just have a leisurely morning before we head home?” Vanessa asked.

“I think I agree,” Mrs. Roberts responded. “I had an awesome time with you girls today. I know it"s selfish, Courtney, because your mom would miss you so much, but I do hope you decide to go to school out here. You could come to our house for any holidays or long weekends that you couldn"t travel home. You know I love you like my own. Vanessa is so happy when you"re here.” Her mom teared up a bit.

“Awww! Mrs. Roberts, that"s so nice! I love being here, too.” Courtney also felt a bit emotional. She felt Vanessa"s arm link through hers and she put her head on her friend"s shoulder. There was no denying that she was not ready to go home. She felt like she already was home.