Kevin got out of his parent's car and looked around. Outside the dormitory were hordes of parents and students. Cars were lined up along the road. Boxes and luggage were being carried into the building. Kevin stretched out his tall thin body and was thankful he was at college. His parents had been overbearing and annoying all through high school. He had secretly only applied to out of town colleges and was thankful he got into one that was a few hours away from home. He had heard a line from a song and it suited his situation perfectly – close enough to make the effort, far enough to make excuses. He knew his parents would want to visit, but since their flower shop business was booming, he knew that unless he visited on a regular basis they would only see each other at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break.
"Do you have your room number sweetie?"
Kevin's mom was trying to act so cute. She was in fact very upset that her only son was going away to college. She had cried for days when he had told her and now she was trying to be brave when in reality she just wanted to grab him and hug him forever. She forgot, of course, that Kevin was almost nineteen and didn't really need to be cared for by his mom.
"Yes Mom. Room 312. I have the key and everything. Can you help me with my stuff?"
Kevin grabbed a few of his boxes, weaved his way through the people, and got into the building. It was an older residence with a grand staircase that went from the first to the third floor. There were two working elevators on either side, but he figured that two flights of stairs weren't that bad. He walked into his room and saw that his roommate had yet to arrive.
He had taken a 100-question personality test, which according to the residence advisor was the best way to accurately place students of similar lifestyles and interests. Kevin figured that as long as his roommate didn't smoke or do drugs he was doing fine. If he studied occasionally and didn't listen to country music, he'd be set.
After three trips up and down the stairs, all his things were in his room. His parents held hands and tried to hug and kiss him. Kevin blushed and hugged them quickly.
"It's a long trip home guys. You should leave before the traffic gets bad."
His parents nodded and wished him well. He knew that his mom would be calling on a weekly basis anyway.
Kevin had always been very picky about where things went in his room so he spent the rest of the afternoon arranging everything of his perfectly. His clothes were in his wardrobe and his computer was set up at his desk. He put all his toiletries in one of the drawers of his desk and lined up his shoes under his bed. The bookcase above the bed had a picture of his sister Sarah. He had placed his C.D. player and C.D.s next to the picture and had the radio playing since there was actually a good radio station in town. The door of his room opened and in fell his roommate. He had tripped over his bags and had landed on top of them.
"Shit."
