1: Freedom In Goodbye

I wasn’t the best role model. Although my mom would argue otherwise, she didn’t know the real me. There was a part of me itching to be let free, and it was about to get its chance. My mom only knew the perfect virgin Christian daughter that I portrayed for her benefit. I wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t even close to perfect. At least, that’s what I thought. She had a problem with letting go; literally. I was 18 and she still hovered like a helicopter. She was a helicopter mom.

“Call me and let me know as soon as you get settled in, and tell Quinn to speak too. Her mom and I are going to be here tonight,” my mom explained as she practically squeezed the life out of me. I gave a little grunt and hugged her back. Quinn’s mom was in a prayer group with my mom. They found every reason to hang out together. Our moms were like older religious versions of Quinn and I in a way.

“Mom, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you as soon as we get there,” I tried to assure her.

“And don’t forget that your first class is next week on Tuesday. Oh, and make sure to find a church down there. Tell me the name of it as soon as you find one,” she said, naming off her mental list. My mom was an assistant pastor at a church down here so church was very important to her. That was an issue for me, because I wasn’t religious at all. I couldn’t wait to sleep in on Sundays.

“Mom, I promise, I will be on time for my classes and I will go to church,” I said.

“Don’t sass me, Jordyn,” she said letting go of me. I chuckled and kissed her cheek.

“I’m not sassing you mommy; I just really have to go. Quinn is waiting for me downstairs,” I said. She sighed and gave me one last squeeze before she kissed my cheek.

“Alright fine,” she finally said. “I love you, Jordyn. Call me as soon as you get there!” she yelled after me as I walked out of the door of our apartment.

“I love you too!” I yelled back, dragging my last suitcase with me. I’d already put my other bags in the back of Quinn’s huge SUV. Like me, she was an only child, but my mom thought it would be best if we only took one car since we would be living together.

But we weren’t living together. Quinn was sitting in the driver’s seat of her huge black Lincoln Navigator on her phone. Her mom had threatened to make her drive a small starter car to college, but, like always, she didn’t follow through with it. She looked over to me and smiled.

“Mom let you keep the Navi,” I joked. Quinn rolled her eyes.

“You’re mom told her that we were going together and needed the space for our stuff,” Quinn shrugged. Quinn and I had been best friends for years. I’d only moved to this area my 8th grade year, but she was my first friend and we stayed friends so that had to count for something. I set my bag in the back seat and jumped in the passenger side.

“I’m so excited!” I squealed. Quinn laughed and shook her head at me. Her perfect blonde locks bouncing around her shoulders. She pulled her sunglasses down over her perfect baby blue eyes before she drove out of my parking garage.

Everything about my petite friend was perfect. She had a tiny figure with abs to kill for. She wasn’t too short or too tall. She always seemed to be tan. She had naturally bleached blonde hair and a clear complexion. I often wondered why she even hung out with me.

I was almost the exact opposite of her. My mom was African-American and my dad was Irish. That left me with a caramel complexion, green eyes, and long very curly blondish-brown hair that hung past my shoulders. I had a stronger build. I had what I called, thunder thighs and a big butt to match. I had a little waist and size C boobs, that often got in the way.

“I hope that they have an all-star in Cali,” I sighed. Quinn chuckled.

“UCLA is known for their cheerleading,” she shook her head at me. Part of what made the physique of Quinn and me was that we were cheerleaders. She was a flyer and I was base… naturally. The trip was long and tiring but we finally made it the next day.

The first thing I did was to hop out and stretch. I had the last leg of the drive so I was beat tired. Quinn only drove the first eight hours, slept almost the entire time. She stretched with a satisfied smile on her face. I only glared at her.

“That was a great trip,” she said. I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed. “Let’s call your mom before we split,” she suggested. I sighed and sat back down in the Navi. I plugged my phone back up to the sound system and called her. Of course, my mom was worried. We talked to both my mom and Quinn’s mom until they finally let us go.

We weren’t rooming together, like our mothers thought. We’d decided that both of us together wouldn’t cut the rent. We’d still be staying in the same apartment building; we’d just have different roommates. My dad knew; hell, he was helping me with the rent. We’d decided to board off campus, but this was California. The rent was going to be expensive. We’d found ads on Craig’s List for a reasonable price and took it.

Quinn helped me take my things inside. All I knew was that my roommate’s name was Hayden and our room number was 352. The elevator looked like it could break at any second. I didn’t trust it, but I had too much stuff to try and use the stairs to get to the third floor. Hayden mailed me a key so I could get in just in case he wasn’t there.

Quinn dropped my stuff off at the door before she gave me a small mock salute and went to go get her stuff. She was staying on the other side of the complex with a guy named Duncan. She was a lot more carefree than I was. I wouldn’t be surprised if she slept with him within the first two days.