Chapter 3

The sky was overcast, and the first brown leaves drifted to the ground. Sam parked his van in the driveway. Mary Gonzales helped the twins packing. Then she helped them carry the suitcases to the vehicle and placed them inside. Sophia and Olivia rushed down the steps, and they went to the kitchen.

“Can we have two bottles of water mother, before we leave?” said Sophia.

“Of course, you can,” said Jenny. Olivia took two bottles of water from the refrigerator and was ready to run to the van. They needed something to remind them of home, even if it’s only water bottles.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to your mother?”

“Sorry, mother. Of course, we are.” The twins were excited, went to Jenny, hugged her, and both cried.

“Don’t cry. Dad will pick you up next Friday, around six p.m. Are you sure that you packed everything?”

“Yes, we did, mother. Mary helped us.”

“Are you sure that you have enough personal items?”

“We have four heavy packs, mother. That’s enough for three months and more.”

“Good. Now go, your father is waiting.” The girls wiped the tears from their eyes, and they ran to the van. They said goodbye to their nanny, and she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“What is this?” said Olivia, “Everyone is crying.”

“They all love you,” said Sam, squeezing his eyes for him to see behind him as he backed out the van. He drove west to the music school. The twins sat in the back, next to each other, and they held hands. Living at the school dormitory is the first time that they will be sleeping away from home, except when they had a sleepover at a girlfriend’s house.

“I will miss Mary. How about you?”

“I will miss her too. She took care of us all these years” Sam heard the twin’s conversation, and he said, “Mary will stay with us. She will take care of our home while your mother and I go to work every day.”

“That’s good to hear, dad.”

The trip to the school took a little over one hour. When Sam arrived, he parked in front of the dormitory. Jordan Powell was there to greet them, “I can show you to the room of the twins.”

“Thank you. That would be nice.” They followed Powell to the second floor. The twins selected their beds and jumped on them.

“Well, girls. Let’s unpack.”

“Yes, dad.” Reluctantly, Sam helped the twins to remove and to organize their clothing. Each twin had dresses, jeans, and blouses that went on hangers. Then they placed shoes and sneakers on the shelf below. The twins organized their towels and underwear. And when Sam grabbed a pack of their stuff, the twins were quick to retrieve it and hide it in one of the drawers. Sam smiled, now I know how to get them to take care of their stuff. When Sam was satisfied with the arrangement of the room, pending their school books, he said, “Well, I think that this will be a new life for you with a major adjustment, and you won’t have the services of Mary. I will be going home now. I believe that you must have dinner waiting for you in the cafeteria.” He looked out the window and saw several students heading for a building on the other side of the campus. He pointed, “The cafeteria must be over there.”

“How do you know that, dad?”

“Give me some credit, kids. I lived on campus for more than six years. And so did your mother.” The twins looked at each other, and one said, “Right, dad.” They hugged their father, and he left.

“What should we wear for dinner?” said Olivia, pressing her lips. Sophia looked out the window, “Most of the students are wearing jeans and sneakers.”

“Good. We should wear the same.”

“Don’t forget your food pass,” said Olivia.

“Right. I almost forgot.” Five minutes later, they followed a group of students to the cafeteria. They looked up, and they saw black clouds forming like a flower in a mixer.

“We better go fast. It’s going to rain any minute.” They barely made it when the sky unloaded water like a waterfall.

“This is almost the same as our school in Shaker Heights,” said Sophia. Olivia nodded.

“It feels good to be inside.” They had vegetable soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with a glass of milk. The cafeteria filled quickly, and only a few seats were empty. Two of them were by the twin’s table. When two older girls stopped, and one of them said, “Would you mind if we sit here?”

“Not, we don’t,” said Olivia, swallowing a mouthful and smiling.

“You must be new.”

“Yes, we are. We arrived this afternoon.”

“I believe that you must be the ones that moved in across from our room. Didn’t your father help you with your belongings?”

“Yes, he did. It was difficult for him to let us go into the world.”

“That sounds familiar. We are in our third year now. All these emotional feelings are mostly gone.”

“So, where are you from?”

“Shaker Height.”

“Wow. This area is an elegant neighborhood.”

“Yea, but both of our parents are working. And where are you from?”

“We are from Akron. We met here at school, and we decided that we should share a room.”

“There is nothing wrong with that.” The twins finished their dinner and were ready to go, “It was nice meeting you. Perhaps we’ll see you later.”

“Yes, perhaps.” The twins stood; they turned in their trays and left. The rain stopped as quickly as it started, but puddles were still all over the ground.

“Let’s go for a walk,” said Olivia, “it’s beautiful here.” Along the narrow path, they walked and looked at the signs on the trees, describing their species. Brown leaves were slowly drifting toward the ground, dripping wet, giving off a unique fall fragrance. The twins enjoyed stepping on them and pushing them in front of them. A young couple, they seemed at least sixteen years old, walked in front of them. The boy had slightly darker skin, and when they reached the next bench, they sat. The boy looked at them as the twins approached and said, “I haven’t seen you before. Where are you from?” Olivia looked at Sophia, and she knew that she should answer, “We are from Shaker Heights. And the reason you haven’t seen us before is that we just moved in today.”

“Wow, you must be very talented. What instruments do you play?” said the boy.

“I will be studying the piano, and my sister will be studying voice and composition.”

“I’m a guitarist, and my friend is just visiting.”

“Are you allowed to do that?” said Olivia, surprised.

“Yes, it’s allowed to visit, but according to the school rules, I cannot stay overnight. I hope that you won’t turn me in,” said the girl, smirking. The twins realized that in this school environment, they would be growing up much faster than they anticipated. This time, Sophia decided to take the lead, “No, we won’t turn you in. We have to go now. It was nice meeting you.”

“Same here,” said the boy, studying the twins carefully. A few moments later, the boy reached out for his date, and both casually followed the twins. He made a mental note of the dorm that they entered. Then he saw that the lights in a room on the second floor went on about one minute after the twins went in.

“I’m tired,” said Olivia, “it’s been a long day.” They donned their bathrobes and took towels to the shower. They helped each other washing their hair, the way they had done it since Mary delegated this responsibility to the twins. It was much easier to take a shower in the dormitory because it was much roomier, and they didn’t have to watch splashing water over the bathtub. When they returned, they stretched out on their beds, and a few minutes later, they were sleeping. On Monday, it will be their first day of class, and they are looking forward to it.