My big sister, Penny, was helping me with that. Not that she really needed to but it was her idea. After our parents’ death, she figured it was the only way to keep things as normal as possible and I didn’t have the heart to tell her any differently.
I mean, I know Mom and Dad left us a little bit of money after they died but Penny said it was best to just let the bank take everything with funeral expenses, the mortgage and other bills. So, that’s what we did. And though Penny was helping me with my tuition, which wasn’t necessary, I still worked part-time to keep up appearances. I was a college student after all.
I couldn’t imagine doing any of this without my sister’s help. She was an amazing woman and I wanted to be just like her. My sister was a personal assistant to some fancy social elitist. He paid her well and she never complained. She told me once that they met in college when they both attended Loyola University.
She was a straight-A student on a scholarship and he was the one she tutored and made sure he graduated.
During their time, they formed a friendship and when they both graduated, he hired her as his personal assistant. They’ve been together ever since. Her boss kept her quite busy, so we didn’t talk as much as I would have liked but she was always there for me when I needed her.
When our parents died, Penny dropped everything and came home to Georgia. I didn’t know what to do and I was thankful when she arrived. Like all the times before, she jumped right in and before I could blink, she had everything under control. My sister was just like that. She believed in organization.
Me, not so much.
I did well to find matching shoes half the time. That’s probably why I preferred flip-flops. Of course, living in the south, there wasn’t much need for anything else.
Though we may have been close as sisters, we were night and day. Penny was beautiful, intelligent, elegant. I was a messy contradiction between beauty and a hot mess. Yeah, I wasn’t anything like the pretty people in magazines. I got my figure from my momma’s side of the family and Penny got hers from Dad’s. Where Penny was tall, blonde, svelte and runway-worthy, I was just your typical five-foot-seven country girl, with boobs too big for my body. I had hips that swayed no matter how hard I tried to walk normal and curly dirt brown hair that never did what I wanted, except to make me look like my finger got stuck in a light socket. My face wasn’t much to talk about either but I wasn’t a dog, so I guess that was something.
I guess I was just your average southern country girl, in jeans, t-shirt and flip-flops, with my hair pulled into a high pony because that was the only way to contain that monstrosity. Momma always told me I was born to be a bohemian princess. What she actually meant was that there was no hope for me and I should embrace my shortcomings.
“Donnie,” my friend Carrie gasped, trying to catch her breath. Yeah, if anyone shouldn’t run, it was Carrie. The girl was one asthma attack away from calling 911. I loved her though. We’d been partnered in her freshman year as roommates. I was the simple country girl and Carrie was the social butterfly. Carrie came from a well-to-do family from Atlanta, Georgia. Raised in the upper class of Atlanta’s social elite class, Carrie was nothing like her peers. Where they all snubbed their nose down on everyone, Carrie embraced them, making friends wherever she went. Me, not so much. According to Carrie, I had a chip on my shoulder that repelled good, decent folks. What she meant was that I had a mouth and wasn’t afraid to use it. “Girl, I’ve been looking all over for you. Bobby Ray wants to talk to you.”
“Why?” I asked, rolling my eyes. Bobby Ray Michaels was the school’s quarterback and the biggest jerk on campus. He was also on a mission to fuck every girl within a fifty-mile radius. I just knew that one of these days, his tiny dick was going to fall off or if I was lucky, he would contract syphilis or gonorrhea.
Of course, I was secretly hoping for crabs.
The thought of him scratching his dick off had me smiling.
“How the hell do I know. He just came by the apartment and asked for you.”
Turning, I continued walking towards the library. “I hope you told that asshat to go away and never come back.”
“Donnie,” Carrie sighed, rushing to catch up to me. “He’s the hottest man on campus. Everyone wants to be around him.”
“Then he’s all yours. Just do me a favor and make sure he wears a condom. No telling what disease he has.”
I wasn’t heartless.
I didn’t want my only friend to catch something.
“Where are you going? It’s Saturday.”
“Library. I need to finish my mid-term paper for English Lit.”
“But that ain’t due till next week.”
“Yep and since I’ve got nothing else planned, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Donnie, you work too hard. College is supposed to be fun.”
Ha. That’s what she thought. Unlike my best friend who was enjoying her college years, this experience was something I was too familiar with. School was something I never escaped. Even from a young age, I found solace in books. While many of my peers were running around partying and having fun, I got enjoyment from learning. “I am having fun. Every time I see an A on a paper or test, it makes me smile.”
“Ugh,” Carrie stopped, throwing her arms in the air. “There’s no talking to you. What do you want me to tell Bobby Ray when he comes back?”
“Tell him the Campus Clinic is open from eight to five, Monday thru Friday. He should get tested for everything,” Laughing, I continued towards the library.
God, I was funny.
Too bad my humor wasn’t enough to get me through this stupid English Lit class.