Chapter 10 - Bright Horizons
On August 20th, the morning air in Denton was bright, clear, and filled with the frantic energy of hundreds of new college students moving into their dorms.
Dad and I carried the last plastic storage bin up the stairs of Maple Hall to Room 214. The room was bright and airy, with large windows overlooking the lush green quad and the red-brick science building just across the walkway.
My roommate, a sweet pre-med student named Maya from Austin, was already setting up her desk lamp on the opposite side of the room.
Dad helped me loft my bed, hook up my mini-fridge, and hang my clothes in the wardrobe. On my desk, right beside my laptop, I set the navy-blue velvet box containing my mother's diamond ring and sapphire necklace, along with a framed photo of Grandma Helen, Dad, Brenna, and me smiling beside our second graduation cake.
"Well," Dad said, standing in the middle of the room, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "That's the last box."
He looked around the room, then looked at me, suddenly looking a little lost.
"You have everything you need?" he asked. "Textbooks, meal card, emergency cash?"
"I have everything, Dad," I smiled, stepping over to give him a tight hug. "More than enough."
Dad wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight for a long moment. When he pulled back, there were tears in his eyes, but he was smiling.
"Call your grandma when you get settled tonight," Dad said. "And call me if you need anything. Anything at all. I don't care if it's two in the morning."
"I will, Dad. I promise."
I walked him down the hallway and out to the front steps of Maple Hall. We hugged one last time in the warm Texas sun, and I watched as he walked down the tree-lined path toward his truck, waving back at me before getting in.
I stood on the stone steps of my new home, taking a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air.
May you like
Ahead of me lay four years of honors biology classes, late-night study sessions, campus research labs, and endless possibilities. The debt had been settled, the lies had been erased, and the path to my future was wide open.
I turned around, walked back through the glass doors of Maple Hall, and stepped confidently into my new life.
