(4) Welcome
1097 Words
"I'll miss you, Alex," Kayla said as she hugged me while I loaded my suitcase into Mom's car trunk. Dad stood by the front door, watching with a small smile, prompting me to roll my eyes.
"I'll miss you too, Kayla. Just keep Julian out of our room," I whispered.
"Will do. See you in three weeks," she nodded, releasing me.
"I wish you could come to Miami with us, little sis. I'll send pictures and email updates," Aiden said, giving me a bear hug.
"You better, and text me every day," I insisted.
"Of course," he smiled.
"Let's get going, Alex," Mom called from the driver's seat.
"Be safe! I'll video call you later!" Ally shouted from an upstairs window.
"Bye, Ally! And if you see Olivia at cheer camp next month, give her a hard time."
"Already on it," she winked as I got into the car. Elliot was getting a ride with his mother, and I planned to meet him at the check-in desk.
"Hey, Alex!" Noah called as I grabbed my suitcase and a small bag. I turned to see him approaching with a smile.
"Hey, Noah. Mom, this is Noah, one of the guys I met on Friday," I introduced him.
"Hello, Mrs. James," Noah said, shaking her hand.
Mom smiled. "Nice to meet you, Noah. Can you make sure Alex doesn't get into trouble? She attracts more trouble than boys," she joked, and he laughed.
"Mom," I said sternly, but she gave me an innocent smile.
"I can do that," Noah assured her, taking my suitcase.
"Such a gentleman! Now that's a guy for you," Mom winked at me, and I rolled my eyes.
"Morning, Aunty Sophia! Hey, Alex," Elliot said, dragging his suitcase toward us while his mother talked on her phone behind him.
"Excited, Elliot?" Mom hugged him.
"You bet," he nodded.
"I have to go. I'll call you back later," Aunty Jenny said, hanging up. "Alex, honey, how are you?" she asked, kissing me on the cheek.
"I'm fine. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, but I'll see you for July 4th," she replied, and I hugged her.
"Let's go; that check-in line is getting longer," Noah said.
"Bye, Mom. Love you," Elliot said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.
"Love you too, sweetheart," she smiled as we headed toward the main building.
"You're such a mama's boy," Noah teased, and Elliot looked annoyed.
"Shut up!" he snapped.
"Alex James, here's your schedule. Your locker combination and uniform are in your dorm room," the man said, handing me a paper. "Next."
My first class tomorrow was history for two periods with Mr. Edwards. "Cool, we have the same classes until lunch," Noah said, looking at his paper. After history, we had a double period of algebra with Mr. Alexander, followed by a single period of geography.
"Looks like I'll see you at lunch on Mondays since we have no classes together," Elliot said, joining us. He had two periods of biology, a single period of physics, and a double period of English.
"Yeah, but at least we have Spanish and P.E. together," I smiled.
"I wish we had those subjects together too," Noah pouted.
"But at least I see you every day; we have algebra and geography daily," I replied, though I didn't like algebra.
"Yeah, that kind of sucks. I hope we get assigned to the same group for projects," he said.
"I'll see you guys at lunch; I'm going to my room to see if my roommate will talk to me," Elliot said.
"Is he really shy?" I asked.
"Well, he didn't say a word to me or even look my way," he shrugged.
"Is his name Xavier by any chance?" Noah asked.
"Not sure. Like I said, he didn't talk to me. Why do you ask?"
"Because he has a reputation for being a troublemaker. The principal told him he must attend summer school to graduate next year due to skipping classes," Noah explained.
"Well, I'll see if that's him," Elliot laughed.
"What's your roommate's name?" I asked Noah.
"My parents signed me up for a single room so I can concentrate during quizzes and tests, but it's kind of lonely," he said, scratching his head.
"Well, you can come over to my dorm and hang out with Charlie and me sometimes," I offered.
"I'll do that," he nodded.
"Honey, I'm home!" Charlie laughed as he entered the room while I put my clothes in the closet. "I brought our junk food to put in the small drawer between our beds," he added, showing me the bag.
"Thanks, Charlie. Got your schedule yet?" I chuckled.
"Yes, I have double French first thing in the morning," he whined, closing the door.
"Can we switch? I have history," I pleaded.
"No can do; I'd rather have French than history any day," he said, shaking his head as he put the snacks in the drawer.
"My uniform is just like the guys': navy blue pants, a white shirt, a navy blue jacket with a monogram, a tie, and black shoes."
"They give you a uniform like that? I can't wait to see you in it," Charlie laughed, and I glared at him.
He handed me his schedule, and I saw that we had biology, English, P.E., and Spanish together.
"Wow, I'll see you every day. Cool!" he smiled.
About an hour later, Charlie suggested, "You know we can go off-campus during the weekend? I have my car here; let's go to the city for lunch."
"Can my cousin and friend tag along?" I asked.
"Sure, the more the merrier," he nodded.
I texted Elliot:
Me: Come to my room in ten minutes
Elliot: Where are we going?
Me: Somewhere
"I'll check if Noah wants to come. Be right back," I told Charlie before leaving.
I knocked on Noah's door. A few seconds later, he opened it. "Hey, Alex! Can I call you AJ since your first name is Alex and your surname is—"
"Sure," I interrupted. "Do you want to join Elliot, my roommate, and me for lunch in the city?"
"You're my hero! Let's go," he said, grabbing his jacket and room key.
"So where will we have lunch, Charlie?" I asked as I got into the passenger seat while he sat behind the wheel, and Elliot and Noah took the back seat.
"How about we hit the mall and eat at the food court?" he suggested.
"Sounds good to me. You in, AJ?" Noah asked.
"Yeah I guess", I shrugged.
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- Writer
