BXBX NOVEL Chapter 38: Back To Campus
My dad was helping me out.
I placed a small Morgan electric stove, which I picked up at a local appliance store, into the trunk.
I also brought out my stereo, a small but very nice Bose system.
My entire family was sitting on the porch watching us. My mom, my sister, my grandfather.
Britney was also with them. She stared blankly at what we were doing, quiet as always.
As I was loading the last few items into the Mustang, Grandpa came over with a small bag in hand.
His weathered face bore a gentle smile as he pulled something out of the bag.
"Jack," he said, holding out a beautifully carved tobacco pipe and a small pouch of tobacco. "I want you to have this."
I took the pipe, admiring how nice it looked. "Thank you, Grandpa."
My mom saw what was happening and walked over. "What's that, dad?" she asked, looking a bit concerned. "Why are you giving him this?"
"Don't worry," I glanced seriously at my mom, "I won't smoke it. I'll use it as a decoration in my room. I'm going to put a branch of mimosa inside it and add some more flowers around it. It'll look great on my coffee table."
My mom looked at me like she didn't believe it but let it go.
I leaned in close to Grandpa and whispered in his ear, "I have a prediction for you."
Grandpa tilted his head, curious. "Oh yeah? What's that, sport?"
I smiled and whispered, "The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will play against the Oakland Raiders in the January Super Bowl, and the Buccaneers will win."
Grandpa's eyes widened a bit, and he nodded slowly. "We'll see how that turns out."
'I will bet as much as possible on that game.' I thought.
I gave my grandpa a big hug.
My mom gave me a hug right after. "Take care of yourself, Jack."
Then I walked up to my sister.
"I'll be back in late April. Don't forget what I told you," I said, looking her in the eyes.
She nodded. "I won't."
I turned to my dad, who gave me a firm handshake and a hug. "Make us proud, son."
As I was getting ready to drive away, Chloe showed up.
"See you later, Jack," she said with a wave.
"See you, Chloe," I replied, waving back.
As I drove away, I noticed Jacob running down the street. I stopped the car and got out.
"Yo, Jack!" he called out.
"Hey, dude!" I said as Jacob jogged over, slightly out of breath.
We clasped hands in a bro handshake and pulled each other into a brief hug.
"Take care out there, bro," Jacob said, slapping my back. "Don't forget to hit me up."
"You got it. We'll catch up soon." I told him and then got back into the car and drove away.
'Ashley was already in Orlando.' I thought as I drove out of Wahneta.
One stage of my life is now closed for the second time and another is about to begin.
...
I wanted to get to Gainesville as early as possible. During the next few days, the campus would become a fucking zoo!
By getting there early, I was able to snag a good parking spot near the main entrance to the dormitory.
I parked my Mustang and started unloading my stuff, putting everything in the room.
It was time for a bit of restructuring.
I asked the administration if they could remove some furniture, like beds or a desk, and store it elsewhere. They told me that they could remove one desk and store it, but that was the limit of what they could do.
A maintenance worker came and helped me bring the desk out.
There were some students who had also checked in early or those who stayed over the summer and they looked confused when they saw a desk being brought down the stairs.
With the desk gone, I finally had the extra space I needed to organize my room. I set up my small stove and carefully placed my Bose stereo system where it would be most convenient. Next, I decided to bring the two beds together in the center of the room.
Leaving briefly, I went out to buy a coffee table. I found one that fit perfectly—fully wooden, clean lines and a minimalist style.
I bought a fan on the way back as well, because it was getting hot.
I put the table together and placed it neatly on the side, placing the tabacoo pipe on top.
By the time I finished setting up the coffee table, it was already late evening.
But there was one more crucial thing I needed.
Internet access.
Thankfully, the dormitory had Wi-Fi available. It was 880 kbps.
I decided that buying a notebook would be more efficient than purchasing a PC and a USB Wi-Fi adapter. I remembered that I could only afford to use computers in the library until 2004, when I bought a notebook.
I went to the shop and purchased an IBM ThinkPad T30 for $2,500. It had 1 GB of RAM and a Pentium 4 CPU, which was cutting-edge technology.
'I'm broke now.' I thought, as I dropped on the bed, exhausted.
...
I woke up early, pulled on gym shorts, did body-weight excercises and then jogged around the campus for a bit before heading back to the dorm and showering and changing.
Now that I was living alone, I was able to skip breakfast.
I don't know who came up with the crap about breakfast being the most important meal of the day.
By noon, I was hungry enough to go over to the dining hall and eat a real lunch.
The dining hall was next door to the dormitory, so I ate there and when I came back, I put on music in my room, sat down at the notebook, installed Windows and then looked over the stock market.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Ten minutes later, there was a loud thumping on the door.
I roused myself out of the chair and opened the door to look out and find a girl about my height, maybe a touch less. She had a soft look to her. Her hair was dark red and long, down to her shoulders, and very curly. Her face was slender, with a narrow chin and freckles around her pettite nose.
She was wearing a black cropped tank top and baggy jeans.
Her body was slender and had a defined curvature, but her chest lacked the swell of femininity.
She locked her dark brown eyes with mine. "Could you turn the music down?" she asked, annoyed.
I moved to my set and turned the volume down to about halfway on the scale.
"Is that okay?" I asked.
She scowled slightly. "It's broad daylight. Can't you keep it down?"
I smiled, trying to ease the situation. "It helps me focus on my work, but if it bothers you, I can definitely keep it lower. By the way, what's your name?"
She visibly relaxed at that.
"My name's Jennifer, but everyone calls me Jinny."
Then she peered over my shoulder. "Hey, what's up with your room?" she asked, "Why are the beds joined together? And why do you have a coffee table?"
"I just asked for one and they gave it to me," I deadpanned.
She looked at me skeptically. "There's no way. That's not fair."
"Yeah, there is no way. I live alone and I bought that coffee table."
I chuckled. "I live alone."
Jinny raised an eyebrow, "Alright, Mr. Solo with the fancy setup."
She looked at me with a hint of jealousy, like she was saying 'Good for you, you have it great, hmm?' 'You think you're better?'
"I'm Jack. Wanna smoke tobacco?" I offered.
"Never smoked tobacco."
"There is always the first time."
"Thanks. No thanks."
"Alright. What year are you?" I asked her.
"2nd year, Botanic studies."
"Finance, first year."
"If you wanna listen to some music, there's a bash goin' down at FAU Square tonight," she informed me.
"Are you throwing parties on Tuesdays?"
"Most people don't have classes yet."
"Okay, well, thanks for the heads-up," I said appreciatively.
"So you're goin'?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Why not," I replied with a grin. My shoulders shrugged involuntarily.
"Cool, I'll see you there then." She smiled slightly and then turned to leave.
Turning back to my room, I sat at my desk and took one last look at the market. NetEase was at $5.11, and my total balance had risen to $1,429,032.80.