Chapter Four

            Traffic in Nashville was crazy. Zoey had never driven in anything like it and she was quite thankful that she was able to follow her dad through town without becoming separated. Of course, her Mom was riding in the vehicle with her, but the thought of getting lost still made her nervous. She hoped that the congestion was only because of college move-in day and not something that she was going to have to deal with on a daily basis.

            They arrived at her dorm building at around twelve-thirty. She stepped out of her Explorer and peered over the hood at the large four-story, brick building with white columns. She took a deep breath realizing that she was looking at her home for the next nine months. Her room was located on the third floor of the building that she was willing to bet didn’t have an elevator.

            “Ready?” Mark asked as he opened the hatch on the back of his own SUV to start grabbing some of her belongings.

            “I guess,” she replied. She looked around trying to find the registration booths.

            Once she had checked in, she and her parents carried as much as they could into the building. Just as she’s suspected, there was no elevator so they had to take two flights of stairs up to the third floor to find her room amongst the crowded halls.

            She stopped at the top of the stairs, looking to her left to see a door that read suite three-o-two. “There it is,” she said as she moved further along the hall to the corner room.

            Regina stepped up behind her and reached out to knock on the door just in case Zoey’s roommate had already arrived. A moment later, the door opened and a tall, bronze-skinned, brunette opened the door with a bubbly greeting. Her bright, toothy smile seemed infectious because it made Zoey beam without hesitation, and her almond-shaped, chocolate eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

            “You must be Zoey!” The brunette exclaimed. “I’m Miranda.”

            Zoey smiled and held up her hand to wave at Miranda while trying not to drop the bundle of stuff she had in her arms. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

            Zoey’s parents introduced themselves as Miranda moved to the side and let them into the room. “I wasn’t sure which bed you would want so I just threw all my stuff on the floor and waited. By the way, we lucked out by getting this room. There is extra closet space!”

            “Oh my gosh!” Zoey said as she looked around. “You didn’t have to wait. I’m not picky about which side of the room I have to sleep on.”

            “It’s ok. I’ve heard horror stories about roommate disagreements, so I wanted to start off on the right foot,” Miranda explained as she fixed a long strand of hair that had fallen from the messy bun she was sporting.

            Zoey set her armful of stuff down the bed closest to the door. “I’m not claiming this one, that was just getting really heavy after two flights of stairs! You were here first so you can choose. I really don’t have a preference.” 

            “You sure?”

            “Yep! You decide.”

            Miranda finally conceded and chose the bed by the window. Then she offered to go down and help them bring up the rest of Zoey’s stuff. Regina helped them unpack. Mark put Zoey’s bookcase together and helped them hang their curtains. They all chatted a little bit while they worked. Miranda was from Memphis and had driven up that morning with her older brother, Malachi, because her parents were both busy with work. Once they had the room together and everything was put away, Mark suggested that they go get dinner before he and Regina left to find their hotel for the night.

            Dinner afforded Zoey and Miranda more time to become acquainted. By the time they were back in the dorm, Zoey was convinced that she and Miranda would be fine as roommates. They had a lot of the same interest including their favorite band. They definitely wouldn’t run out of things to talk about. They were also planning to major in the same field of Journalism but with different career paths. Apparently, the process that Belmont used for pairing people up worked really well.

            When Mark and Regina got ready to leave, Zoey walked with them back down to their car. She and her mom lagged behind a little bit. “You going to be ok traveling home together tomorrow?”

            “We will be fine, don’t worry. We’ve managed to be civil lately.”

            “Thank you for coming along.”

            Regina smiled at her daughter and stopped walking. “Sweetheart, I know this past year has been rough on you and I’m so sorry for putting you and Dani through all of this. But you know both your father and I love you very much. I wouldn’t have let you drive all the way down here alone. We can get along that long for your sake.”

            Zoey reached out and hugged her mother. “I love you, Mom.”

            “Love you too, honey.”

            Mark was waiting for them by his SUV when the two women walked up to him. He smiled and reached to hug Zoey. “Good luck, honey. I love you.”

            “Thanks, Dad. I love you too,” Zoey replied as she embraced her father.

 

~*~*~*~

            On Tuesday morning, Miranda talked Zoey into having a quick breakfast on campus with her best friend from back home, Carly Jo, who was also attending Belmont as a junior. To describe Carly Jo as a blonde bombshell would not have been an understatement. As soon as Zoey saw her walking towards their table in the cafeteria, she felt somewhat intimidated by her. Carly Jo was tall and had an athletic build that reminded Zoey of someone that might have played basketball. As she came closer, Zoey noticed that her eyes, although hidden behind designer glasses, were the color of the sky and her long hair shimmered in the light. She was beautiful; the type of girl who would have never even acknowledged Zoey in high school. That’s why�"soon after Miranda introduced them to each other�"Zoey lowered her eyes, directing her attention back to the schedule she was attempting to memorize.

            “So how do you like the campus so far, Zoey?”

            Zoey looked up abandoning the sip of coffee that she was about to take. “Oh. Um, I think it’s nice. Much nicer than I actually expected.”

            “You didn’t tour it first?” She asked while sliding into the chair next to Miranda.

            “I didn’t get a chance to visit. Just looked at the brochures.” The truth was, she didn’t even bother to ask about making a trip to tour the school. Her parents were so preoccupied that she didn’t want to bother them with something like that.

            “What’s West Virginia like? Miranda thinks I’m crazy because I’m just fascinated by the fact that you’re from there.”

            Zoey lifted a brow. That was a first. “Why in the world would you be?”

            “I Don’t know. I just am. Is that weird?”

            “Yeah,” Zoey nodded her head with a hint of laughter. “A little. I’m sure that living in West Virginia is nowhere near as cool as living in Memphis.”

            “One would think that Memphis is great, but live there your whole life. It’s not that great.”

            Once again, Zoey was reminded not to judge a book by its cover. More often than not, that suggestion was proving to be well advised. If Miranda and Carly Jo were any indication, her stay in Nashville wasn’t going to be as lonely as she’d feared.

           

~*~*~*~

            Zoey’s first class of the day was located on the south end of the campus. She arrived early as she did for almost everything. She had this irrational fear of being late. She hated the idea of being embarrassed by walking into a room after something had begun. It was a thing for her; something she’d developed many years earlier.

            Much to her relief, she wasn’t the first one there either. There was a dark-haired guy already seated in the auditorium, lounging comfortably about five rows back in the very center of the room. He turned his head to look at her when she walked through the door. She smiled politely at him and he returned the gesture flashing a row of perfectly straight teeth and sparkling blue eyes that immediately reminded Zoey of the sapphire in her great-grandmother’s favorite broach. 

            “Hi!” He greeted as she walked closer. “Welcome to English 3010. Please have a seat.”

            “Thank you,” she said with a shy laugh. This guy’s cheeriness had to be contagious because she immediately felt at ease and suddenly a little happier to be in an English class. She set her books down on the desk next to his and slid into the chair as her backpack dropped to the floor near her feet. “I’m Zoey.”

            “Nice to meet you, Zoey.” He held out his hand and grinned again. “I’m Brad.”

She chuckled softly as she took his hand. It felt like such an outdated and odd formality; but a welcome one. 

            The two made small talk as other students trickled in filling the auditorium until nearly every seat was taken. Zoey had never met someone who was so easy to talk to�"at least not someone whom she felt so comfortable with so quickly. It was nearly eight-thirty when the professor finally arrived with a heavy load of books in his arms. “Good morning class. I’m Professor Goodwin. Over the next two hours, I will be going over the syllabus for this class and I expect you all to pay close attention and take notes as I will only do it once.”

            Zoey glanced over at Brad who in turn made a face at her, and she heaved a sigh before pulling out her notebook and her copy of the class syllabus that she’d picked up along with all of her other materials.

 

*****

 

            After class, Brad asked her to join him on the quad for lunch. Since she was free after twelve-thirty, she agreed to meet him there at a quarter ‘til one. When she got to the quad, she saw him sitting under a tree next to the fountain where he said he would be. He seemed to be lost in his own world, leaning back against the tall oak, with his eyes closed as he listened to his Discman. She hated to disturb him because she knew herself how much joy one can get from spending time alone with one’s favorite music. She decided to give him a few minutes. She wasn’t that hungry anyway, and he said he didn’t have another class until four. They had plenty of time.

            She dropped her backpack to the ground and sat down next to him, crossing her legs as she prepared to pull her notebook and pen from her bag. She hadn’t written anything in her journal for two whole days, so it was the perfect opportunity. The moment her pen touched the paper, words began to flow and every detail and every emotion that she had felt since moving to Nashville exploded onto the pages. Before she knew it, she’d written four pages and her hand was beginning to cramp up from the stress. She sighed and closed her book, startled when she realized that Brad was watching her. “Oh my gosh!”

            He only smirked and waited for her to put her things away. Once she had, he simply lifted his brow and waited for an explanation.

            “What?”

            “Why didn’t you let me know you were here?”

            She shrugged. “You looked peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you. How long were you watching me?”

            “Not long. Maybe a half a page. What were you writing?”

            “It’s my journal. I like to keep track of my thoughts.”

            He smiled nodding with approval. “As do I. So… Lunch?”

            “Yeah. Where are we going?”

            “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?”

            “I have no idea,” Zoey replied. She hadn’t really been thinking about food. She’d been so lost in her journaling that she’d forgot about it. “Any idea what’s good?”

            “There is a pizza place across the quad. It’s pretty good. You like pizza?”

            “I do. Do they serve salad and stuff?”

            “I’m pretty sure they do. You watching your figure?”

            “Something like that.”

            Brad stuffed his Discman and headphones in his own backpack and stood up as he slung it over his shoulder. “Come on,” he said as he held out his hands to her. “Let’s go find some rabbit food.”

            Zoey laughed and reached up taking both his hands to let him pull her from her seat on the ground. She gasped at how quickly and effortlessly he pulled her up. “Geez, do you work out or something?”

            “Something,” he said with a wink.

            She shook her head as she dusted off her rear before picking up her things so she could follow him to the pizza place that he’d mentioned.

            While they ate, Zoey learned quite a bit about Bradley Fletcher.

            Brad told her that he grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky and was the oldest of two, but only by a minute and fifty-two seconds. His parents owned a salon and barber shop�"he had worked there every summer since he was old enough to find money a necessity. Early on, he and his sister had a friendly rivalry when it came to personal style. “Actually,” Brad explained. “Alicia and I were rivals in every way possible. Even when it came to catching the eye of the newest hottie in our school.”

            Zoey grinned, realizing why she’d felt so comfortable with him when she rarely ever felt comfortable with guys so quickly. “Oh. Really?”

            “Yeah… is that cool with you?”

            “Why wouldn’t it be?”

            Brad shrugged his shoulders and reached for another slice of pizza. “You never know.”

            “I should have known though. I can never have such easy conversations with straight guys,” she emphasized with an exasperated sigh which caused Brad to furrow his brow and give her an incredulous glare. “What?”

            “I find that hard to believe. You seem pretty outgoing to me.”

            “Quite the opposite,” Zoey explained. “I’m a bundle of nerves and my anxiety levels are off the chart when I’m around people I don’t know well. Especially those of the male type. I’m usually a blubbering mess or I just don’t talk at all.”

            Brad chuckled. “Well, aside from my,” he made little quotation signs with his fingers, “quote-unquote, preference, I’m still a guy.”

            Zoey’s eyes went wide as she realized how insensitive she must have sounded. “Oh my gosh! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply that you were any less…” She trailed off, frowning when he started laughing and shaking his head.

            “Calm down. I didn’t get that implication. I just don’t see the difference.”

            With a sigh, Zoey leaned back in her chair. “You’re just so easy to talk to. You make me feel comfortable. I haven’t once felt like I was being sized up or something.”

            “What kind of d****e-bags do you hang out with?”

            Zoey had to laugh. “None! Honestly. I don’t make a lot of guy friends. Obviously because I overthink everything.”

            “Obviously!”

            “You didn’t have to agree.”

            “Well I don’t lie,” he pursed his lips, sending her a playfully, pointed look. “So! Am I officially you’re best guy friend now or what?”

            “Uhh…” She gave him the most genuinely sorrowful look that she could muster.

            “No?” He asked, his eyes wide. “How can that be if you can’t talk to guys?”

            “I said most of the time. I have a couple of good guy friends back home, one in particular who is pretty amazing, so I can’t replace him just yet.”

            Brad let out an exaggerated sigh. “Oh, alright then. I guess I can just be your gay best friend ‘cause everyone needs one of those, right?”

            “Can’t a girl have more than one best guy friends?”

            “I get jealous easily,” he teased. “It’s just better to consider me one of a kind.”

            “Oh, I definitely think that you are one of a kind.”

            “So this guy back home,” he began with a wiggle of his eyebrow. “You said he’s pretty amazing. Did you by chance mean pretty and amazing?”

            Zoey chuckled. “Maybe I meant amazing and pretty.”

            “Oh, do tell,” Brad insisted.

            “He’s just a guy,” she responded. “He’s a senior in high school this year. We worked together for a while and we just hit it off extremely well. I don’t really know what else to say.”

            “But he’s cute?”

            “Yeah, I guess. I mean he’s my friend so I try not to look at him like that.”

            Brad gave her a pointed look and then rolled his eyes. “I’ll have to see for myself I guess. I assume you have pictures?”

            Zoey laughed at the slight theatrics in his actions. “Yeah. Back in my dorm.”