Full Count
Full Count
By C.A. Williams
Full Count
Text Copyright 2012 C.A. Williams
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and
events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination
or are used fictitiously.
All rights reserved. This edition is copy-written by C.A.
Williams and any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
whatsoever without the express written consent of the author, except for the
brief quotations in a book review.
Edited by Tanya Keetch
Cover Photo:
Istockphoto.com
Cover Design:
C.A. Williams
The feel of the car slowing down caused
my eyes to flutter open. Cars were lined up in streams, with parents and
students loaded down with boxes, filing in and out of the rows of dorms. I had
finally made it. I felt a huge grin break out over my face, even though the
butterflies had already taken flight in my stomach.
“We’re finally here, Paige,” my dad
stated with a big yawn, while patting my knee.
After much deliberation and
thought, I had finally decided that I was attending the University of South
Carolina. Most of what was holding me back was my dad. It had been just the two
of us since my mom had died when I was ten years old and I didn’t want to leave
him alone.
But Max Brinton wasn’t having that,
he wanted me to go where I wanted and I really wanted the hell out of Florida.
For some reason, I just had this itch that I needed to go somewhere else. So
after receiving several acceptance letters, I decided I wanted to stay in a
warm climate. I couldn’t really picture myself going anywhere with snow and
just the thought made me cringe. USC had a pretty good reputation for being a
great school and it ended up being my choice.
I pulled out my ear buds and stuffed
them into my bag, grabbing my phone that had been on vibrate. My dad had
insisted on making the almost six- hour drive to campus and I was pretty glad
he wanted to, I really was going to miss all of our time we had together. Of course,
my phone was jammed full of messages from my best friend, Jake Niles.
Since I grew up with my dad raising
me, I turned out to be a bit of a tomboy, so most of my friends ended up being
guys. Girls just weren’t in to playing or watching sports much, so I did all of
that with Jake. And then most of the girls started hating me because instead of
Jake paying attention to them, he was hanging out with me.
I think Jake was more devastated
than my dad was when I decided on USC. He had already accepted a full
scholarship to play football for the University of Florida and was getting a
lot of media attention for it since he was practically a hometown boy.
I scrolled through my messages and
rolled my eyes as I read them:
I already miss u
I’m sure you’re beating off the
guys with a stick by now
Call me as soon as u get there
Can’t wait till Oct. 20
Since I had never dated in high
school, besides going out as groups with Jake, I wasn’t sure what guys I would
be ‘beating off with a stick.’ Jake had always been protective of me and any
guy who did get too close was promptly introduced to his fist. Maybe being away
from him would be a little bit of a good thing.
“Those from Jake? I thought I heard
it buzzing while you were out,” Dad asked giving me a sideways glance as he
somehow managed to wrangle an empty parking spot right in front of Patterson
Hall, where I would be living for the next year.
“Of course they are. I don’t know how
that boy is going to survive without me. I figured he would be pretty busy with
all of his football stuff.”
Dad let out a booming laugh and
patted me on the knee before he pressed the button to pop the trunk. “Paige,
that boy will always make time for you.”
I punched Jake’s number in while
rolling my eyes at my dad’s comment. He was convinced Jake was head over heels
in love with me, but he had it all wrong. Besides having a protective streak
that only seemed to show up when I was involved, he treated me like one of the
guys. And I was glad. If he ever did show any kind of feelings like that
towards me, it would just make things awkward.
Obviously, I had never been in
love before, but I never got any of those tingly feelings for Jake like I heard
other girls talk about. I always just thought of him like the brother I never
had. I wondered if something was wrong with me with the way girls trailed after
him, always talking about how hot he was.
I mean I wasn’t blind, I could see
what they were talking about it. Jake didn’t look like any other guys at our
school. He was well over six feet tall with a six- pack that most college guys
never achieved. His blonde hair that was bleached by the sun was always a mess,
falling into his face, hiding those piercing blue eyes that made all the girls
swoon with one look. But I had known him when he was just a gangly little kid
in elementary school, picking his boogers and trying to steal his dad’s Playboys.
“Hey baby girl,” he answered after
one ring. I could hear loud voices in the background and I figured he was
probably with the rest of the team. He had to leave for campus two weeks before
I did, even though our hometown was just about 20 minutes from the University
of Florida, the football season would be starting soon and they were starting
practices.
“Hey Jake,” I answered back. “I
finally made it; I figured I would give you a quick call before we unload the
car.” I looped my arms through my backpack and hopped out of the car, with my
phone wedged between my ear and my shoulder. Dad’s arms were already loaded
down with two boxes and there was still a lot left in the trunk. I was amazed I
had so much stuff to bring with me once I was all packed up, I was a pretty
basic kind of girl and clothes weren’t really my thing, much to my dad’s
relief.
I heard a muffled noise and someone
yelled out, ‘Ow’. “I said she’s not my girlfriend and don’t you fucking say
anything else about her,” Jake bit out in a warning tone and I had to stifle a
laugh. Leave it to Jake to already start beating the shit out of someone over
me and I’m not even there.
“Sorry about that, Paigey. You can
tell guys up there I’m your boyfriend if you want though, I won’t mind.”
“I think I’ll be ok. I’ll call you
later after I unpack my stuff and meet my roommate. I just wanted to let you
know I made it safe and sound.”
Dad trailed behind me as I led the
way up to Patterson Hall, even though I really had no clue where I was going.
We had done a tour of campus before I decided on coming here, but Patterson
Hall was kind of a last minute thing. It had just been renovated, so I figured
I really had no chance at getting in.
We stepped into the lobby that was
freshly painted and found the welcome desk so I could sign in. I got my keys
and packet for orientation quickly and we headed to the bank of elevators.
“This one still has some room,” I
heard a man shout and a hand stuck in between the doors to keep it wedged open.
“Thanks,” my dad replied as we
shuffled in. “What floor?”
“Eight, please.” A girl that was
standing next to him that I assumed was his daughter, gave me a small smile and
said in a quiet voice, “That’s what floor I’m on too.”
By the looks of her, I was secretly
hoping she might be my roommate. She looked like a little bit of a bookworm,
with glasses perched on the tip of her nose and her mousey brown hair pulled
back in a ponytail. She was dressed similarly to me with just a t-shirt and
shorts on, not trying to make any kind of fashion statement.
The elevator dinged alerting the
arrival to floor eight and the doors creaked open. Ok, this is it Paige. Deep
breath in, deep breath out. I had heard from a lot of people that your roommate
could base how your whole year would pan out, which I believed. I mean, you do
have to live in the same room with this person.
“Any chance you’re in room 814?” I
asked elevator girl, who shook her head at me. “No, but I am in 816. I think
that makes us suitemates. At least we’ll share a bathroom.” She giggled softly
and stuck her free hand out to me. “I’m Madison Rollins or you can call me
Maddie, most people do.”
“Paige Brinton,” I replied as my
dad stopped in front of 814. “I’m sure we’ll get to know each other soon
enough.”
The door swung open before I even
had a chance to slip in my key and I was instantly wrapped in a tight hug. My
dad let out a chuckle and I tried to release myself from the grip of the person
I could only assume was my roommate.
“I’m so glad you’re finally here,
Paige. I don’t live too far so I got here nice and early. I didn’t have to
fight any of the crowds. Plus I have three brothers, so I let them and Daddy do
all of the heavy lifting. No need to mess up my nails, right?”
“Nice to meet you too…” I looked blankly
back at the girl standing in front of me, who looked like the complete opposite
of everything I filled out on my roommate questionnaire. She actually looked
like my worst nightmare. Her blonde hair was pin straight and fell well past
her very tanned shoulders. I mean I was semi-tan, if you live in Florida it
kind of happens that way, but she looked like she laid out for hours on end.
She had on a bright tangerine sundress paired with wedge sandals, which I
probably couldn’t even walk in, and her nails looked like they matched the
dress perfectly.
“I’m Kitty Chapman, honey. Didn’t
you get the information mailed to you?” I glared at Dad who was looking
sheepishly down at the floor with his hands stuffed in his jeans. I’m sure I
probably did, but Dad had a habit of letting the mail pile up.
“No, I didn’t actually. I really
wasn’t expecting it.” I would have been looking for it, if that was the case.
Just the name Kitty Chapman alone would have had me changing roommates. I mean,
who really names their child Kitty?
“Oh, well, my full name is Katherine,
if you were wondering. I never liked the name, just thought it was way too
stuffy. My brothers nicknamed me Kitty when I was four because they were always
chasing after me like our cat, Tabby, and it just sort of stuck,” she explained
like she was reading my thoughts.
“Well it’s so nice to meet you…Kitty.”
I wasn’t sure if she was going to meow at me any second or what. I never really
dealt with girls so I wasn’t really sure how to carry on a conversation. “We
have a few more things to grab, we’ll be right back.”
“Ok, I’ll be waiting. I can’t wait
to set up our room,” she replied in a singsong voice. Dad let out a quiet laugh
as I jammed the down button on the elevator repeatedly. Of course this was
happening to me. How exactly did I fill out my questionnaire and end up with
that?
I was supposed to end up with someone like Maddie, not the southern Barbie.
“It’ll be fine Paigey, you’ll see.
Maybe being around someone like that will get you out of your shell a little
bit and you can have some girlfriends. I know how you liked spending all of
your time with Jake, but college is all about new experiences. Try not to be so
negative and be open to the situation.”
“Whatever you say,” I grumbled out
as we headed back out to the car. Maybe it wasn’t too late to go to the
University of Florida with Jake. At least if I went there, I knew I would have
him around. No, no, no Paige. Just like Dad said, I need to be open to the
situation. College is a brand new place, where really no one knows your name
and now is the time to make something new of yourself.