This will be my summer

Chapter 2 – on my way to summer break

When I got back to my dorm Ashley wasn’t there yet. So, I calmly wiped off my make-up and took a shower to get all the sweat off. That southern summer heat really was brutal. When I got back to my room Ashley still wasn’t there. Just when I was starting to worry, as she told me earlier that she didn’t want to go home with anyone tonight, I heard her at the door trying to get the key I gave her into the lock. I was already up to open it for her when she finally managed to get it open herself and stumbled in. I caught her just in time when she tripped and almost dropped to the floor face first. She squeaked and backed off, trying to see who had grabbed her. When she recognized it was me staring at her, she was relieved first. Then a worried look came on her face and she pouted a bit. “I thought you went home with that guy”, she said slowly, trying to fight the alcohol.

“Yeah, I didn’t”, I said and went back to bed. She barely managed to get her dress off and her pajamas on before falling into bed herself. Still pouting she looked at me. I knew she was about to give me a speech and she didn’t disappoint me.

“You really should have gone home with him”, she started. Without giving me a chance to respond, she kept going. “I know you had a rough time this year. But you should really try and put yourself out there again. That’s why you want to spend the summer with me, right? That and that you don’t have any other friends left. We’ll party for the entire two months and you won’t think of him again, I promise. No strings attached. And I know it’s hard, but you’ll have to start trusting people again. Even if it just means hooking up with a stranger. I mean, what do you have to lose? Okay, why are you laughing at me?!” She sat up halfway and stared at me with a raised eyebrow. Halfway during her speech, I started chuckling until I finally broke out into a loud laugh.

“I didn’t go home with him, but I still hooked up with him”, I barely got the words out, I was laughing so hard. She seemed so honestly concerned about me and her confused look now was just delicious. I stared back at her with a meaningful smirk and raised my eyebrows. She gasped. “You didn’t!”

I laughed even harder. “We barely made it out of the bar, so we hooked up in a quiet street behind it”, I said while still giggling. She gasped again. “You little slut! On the street?!” She squealed and shook her head unbelievingly. Then she pointed her finger at me. “I underestimated you. We will have so much fun this summer you won’t be able to walk afterwards.” Then she finally started laughing out loud too.

After a while we were calming down and almost asleep. I looked at the clock on my nightstand and it was almost 4 am.

“Do you remember when we were little, and you would stay over at my place?” Ashley said, breaking the silence that had settled between us. I turned to face her.

“We would stay up all night and play with our dolls. And when we got older, we would talk all night about boys and school and stuff. I really miss that.” Ashley looked kind of said and lost in her thoughts. For the first time it dawned on me that maybe this summer together wouldn’t just be good for me, maybe she needed it too.

“Me too”, I said with a smile. Then we both fell asleep.

By the time I opened my eyes again it was 11 am. I screeched a little. We still had to drive for four hours today and pack hour stuff. Looking over to the other bed I saw that Ashley was still asleep, mouth wide open and drooling a little, her messy hair all over the place. For some reason it made me happy.

As quiet as possible I got up and got dressed in leggings and a big shirt with my university’s logo. Then I left to grab some coffee at the shop round the corner. When I got back Ashley was still asleep. I waved the cup with hot coffee in front of her face until she moved. She moaned “Coffee!” and grabbed it from my hand without even opening her eyes. I laughed and sat back down on my bed to eat one of the donuts I got us for breakfast.

“Get up sleepy head, we got a long drive ahead!” I said while enjoying my donut. She just groaned in response and almost downed all her coffee. Then she sat up rubbing her eyes. “I need to shower first.”

I knew I couldn’t argue about that, so while she took a shower in the community bathroom down the hall, I packed my things back into my suitcase. I had just finished when she walked back in, just dressed in a towel. I raised an eyebrow as I knew for sure she took new clothes with her. “Did you hear some cute guys outside the bathroom?” I asked with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes. “I thought I did, but they were pimple covered freshman. I’m wearing a towel for nothing”, she said disappointed. I just laughed and stated the obvious. “I finished packing; you should get your stuff too.”

Now it was her turn to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “You want to wear that?”

I looked down myself and back at her. “Why not? It is comfortable and a long drive.”

“Absolutely not!” She shook her head with a face that showed me she had already made that decision for me. “You can not go like that. If you want to feel better, get dressed better. Anybody can be pretty with the right outfit.”

I just stared back. “Thanks very much for calling me ugly.”

She rolled her eyes again, sighed and proceeded to open my suitcase again. “No. No. That also no. Do you not have any cute clothes anymore?”, she asked me after pulling out random things and spreading them across the floor. Then her eyes lit up. “That!” She pulled out a really short jeans and a white crop top with some floral embroidering. I didn’t want to waste anymore time to get out of here, so I just changed into the clothes she picked for me. And she was right. I immediately felt better. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t look like a lazy and shy student anymore and more like a self-confident young woman, which gave me an even better feeling. While Ashley packed her ten thousand bags, I applied some basic make-up. Just some eyeliner, mascara and foundation and I felt like a real person again when looking in the mirror, not just someone waiting till things are over.

Together we carried all our stuff downstairs and to Ashley’s Jeep. Luckily, it was big enough for everything. After that I took one last look at my dorm room. So much happened here. Not just in this room, but at this university. I sighed when I locked it. I did have good times here and I was feeling a little sad I had to leave now. But just a little.

After I dropped off the key with the RA I got into the car to Ashley. She had pulled down all the windows and opened the window on the top as well, so it was almost like driving in a convertible. Loud music started blasting when she started the car. I laughed when some people walking by turned their heads after us. After just a few minutes we were out of town and I didn’t look back. When we hit a country road Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles came on and I unbuckled my seatbelt to stand up and peak my head out the ceiling window. While Ashley was laughing at me being silly and singing along to the song, I raised my hands to the sky to feel the cool wind. “This will be my summer!”, I yelled. After enjoying the wind in my hair and the sun in my eyes for a bit longer, I climbed back into the car and buckled up again. I turned to Ashley and she looked as happy as I felt. “This will be our summer”, I said, and I meant it.