Click here for Chapter Three.

Chapter 4: Pass the Meatball

Gabriel smiles weakly at me, “Shall we?”

I nod and gather my stuff once I’ve put the address in my phone. There’s not too much to pack--I’m a minimalist besides clothes.

We agree to meet up in the parking lot of west campus between both our suites in an hour.

Daniella is running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

A very efficient chicken, nonetheless. She’s moving in with Isaac Wise, a biochemistry major who’s way ahead of schedule to becoming a pharmacist. He has so much hands on experience that he’s basically a full fledged pharmacist, except the license.

I sigh in relief when I remember that we’ve just done laundry so the only dirty thing is what I'm currently wearing. I roll my clothes in on themselves and put them into my luggage. My shoes arranged neatly only take up one bag. Makeup is another story until I realize that it's a communal mess.

“I'll give you the Lolly Lights if I can keep the Right Way palette,” Selena sighs from behind me. She has a stack of towels in hand.

“The spring or summer?”

“Spring,” she mumbles. “I'm going to miss this place, but I'm kind of excited.”

I nod, “Me, too. Gabriel seems nice, though. It might be fun. Now I have someone else to try my culinary skills on.”

I hope they make it to break,” she giggles as we divvy the rest of the makeup.

Gabriel appears just as I close the back door of my car. It’s a dark blue Passat. My cousin sold it to me for $3,000 after sophomore year.

“Sorry, I should've helped you with that.”

“It's alright.”

“I didn't map the directions yet. Do you have them?”

“Yeah. Just follow me.”

Twenty minutes and part of I-45 later, we reach Ivy Post, a townhouse community. The letter said 68. I pull into the drive and use the garage door opener that was in the envelope. There’s just enough room for both our cars to fit. We unload and Gabriel unlocks the door. The first thing we see is a canvas on the wall. It says “Keep On Keepin On.” It’ll probably be more apt as we get further into the semester. There are four medium bedrooms, two with en suite bathrooms.

IKEA is surprisingly not packed when we arrive. On the drive we've managed to devise a list of necessities.

A salesperson walks up to us as we’re choosing lamps for the spare rooms. We've successfully found an inexpensive fridge, a futon and beds.

“I'm Christy. Can I help you find anything today?”

“No thanks,” Gabriel says holding up a clock inspired lamp. “I like this one. The gears make it look thrifted.”

It’s only $15 and I like it too.

I nod in agreement and we move on to other things. Our stipend is only $1,500, but we’ll get a discount since we're students buying in bulk.

An hour later we’re driving back with a ton of Swedish meatballs to devour.

We successfully set up the bare necessities in an hour and a half working together. Gabriel does most of the electrical stuff, as his uncle’s an electrician.

I get into the shower and take my time, working away the grime of moving, glad I don't have classes tomorrow.

When I'm done, I find Gabriel turning on the cable so I heat up the meatballs and toss spinach for salad. He glances at me once he’s got the TV -on ABC. A rerun of SharkTank is playing.

“Looks like I owe you breakfast,” Gabriel laughs turning off the TV just as Mark Cuban makes an offer on a flip-flop line.

“So, where are you from exactly?” he asks slicing a meatball apart.

“I was born in Monterrey, California but my parents moved us to South Carolina before school. They were stationed at Fort Bragg through eighth grade though they both deployed overseas at different times.”

“Army, very interesting. I'm from Portland and we've lived there my whole life. You can call me Gabe by the way.”

“Okay, Gabe. What’s your favorite book?”

“Nothing But The Truth by Anon. Yours?”

“A Separate Peace by John Knowles.”