The Freshman: Thirty Years Later
By Misha
Disclaimer- I don’t own them. I wish I did, but I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them unharmed when I am done.
Author’s Notes- This one has been in progress for a while. It was one of the first Choices fics I started and then I abandoned it for a while, but was inspired to go back and finish it (as of now, my Freshman/Sophomore WIP folder is empty *hint, hint*). There is a little bit of implied angst here, though I don’t go into detail, but I do hint at a character death.
Pairing- Minor Chris/MC
Rating- PG
Summary- Savannah and her daughter have a conversation the night before the latter’s first day of college.
Words- 1171
“Mom, were you nervous on your first day of college?” My daughter questioned. She was curled up on the couch next to me, biting her lip in a way that reminded me of the little girl she used to be. But at eighteen, Jessica wasn’t a little girl anymore, and the next day she would become a college freshman.
“I was,” I admitted, “It didn’t help that I managed to make an enemy within my first minutes.” I laughed at the memory of Becca and our very rocky start. “I didn’t know what my time at Hartfeld would be like, how I would get along with my suitemates, any of it and it was a little overwhelming.”
“I love the story about how you and Aunt Kait wowed everyone by wearing your bikinis in the quad and going down the giant slip and side,” Jessica said with a smile, “that takes confidence. I don’t know if I could pull that off.”
“That was mostly Kaitlyn,” I said with a fond smile, “left to my own devices, I probably wouldn’t have done it. From the very first day we met, Kaitlyn had the ability to bring out my wild side.”
“She still does,” Jessica teased, “After all, you came back from your last girl’s trip with a new tattoo. I hope I can make a friend like that.”
“I hope so too,” I told her sincerely, “I made the best friends of my life in college. Several of who were my suitemates, I think I won the suitemate lottery.”
“Well since you’re all friends almost thirty years later, I think you did too,” Jessica agreed, “Plus you also met the love of your life. Was it weird dating a suitemate?”
“Sometimes,” I admitted, thinking back to those long-ago days, “When your father and I would fight, sometimes one of us would end up crashing somewhere else just so we could avoid each other. But that didn’t happen all that often and mostly I loved having him close by. He was my best friend as well as my boyfriend.”
I expected Jessica to make a face or call me cheesy, the way her brother or sister would have, but she just smiled. “That sounds nice.”
“It was,” I agreed, absently fiddling with my wedding ring.
“Was it really love at first sight?” She asked after a moment. “That’s what you and Dad always used to tell us.” She was looking at me eagerly and I smiled. She was always my most romantic child and also the one who reminded me the most of Chris.
“It was a little more complicated than that,” I told her, biting my lip as the memories flooded me. It was so easy to picture Chris the way he had been that first day and my heart ached at the memory. “We were definitely drawn to each other from the start and I knew that first day that I could have serious feelings for him, but love came later. Still, the moment I knocked him on the ground, I knew my whole life had changed.”
“I want that,” she told me earnestly, “I want to find that kind of love. I’m not like Ella, I don’t want to date as many people as I can while at college, I’d be happy to just find the ‘one’ as early as possible.”
“There is something to be said about finding the one person early,” I agreed, “dating can be stressful.” I laughed, remembering the first months when I’d had multiple suitors, not a situation I ever wanted to repeat. “Though, your sister seems to be managing well enough.”
Jessica rolled her eyes, “I guess, I think it sounds stressful. I would much rather find the right person early so that I have someone to share all my college experiences with.”
“That was one of the best parts,” I agreed, “it wasn’t always easy though. Relationships are a lot of work and it can be hard to navigate the challenges of college while maintaining a relationship. It takes a lot of work and commitment and it’s why a lot of college romances fail.”
“Yours didn’t,” she reminded me, “you guys got married and had kids and…” She trailed off. “I guess, isn’t it better that you found love early?”
She peered at me, looking so much like Chris that it made my heart ache. “Yes,” I agreed because I was grateful for every moment that Chris and I had together, “I am. I just… I don’t want you to get your hopes up, baby. Just because my story played out one way, doesn’t mean yours will.” I took Jessica’s hand in mind. “I can’t guarantee that you’ll find true love on your first day, but I do hope that the next four years holds a lot of happiness for you and that you’ll find your own path, just like Ella has.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Jessica said, leaning her head against my shoulder. She grinned. “You know, I could send you e-mails about my life and you can write a follow-up to your first book, The Freshman: 30 years later.”
“You can write your own book if that’s what you want,” I told her, of my three children, Jessica was the one who seemed to have inherited my love for the written word, “but one thing my experience has taught me is that you shouldn’t try to tell someone else’s story.” I thought fleetingly of Professor Vasquez and Gabriella and their long estrangement.
“I just wish I knew what to expect,” she lamented, leaning her head on my shoulder.
“I know,” I assured her, kissing her head like I did when she was a child, “but that’s the best part, honey. The next four years are a story that hasn’t been written yet, your story. There’s so much possibility ahead of you and I’m excited for you, I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you.”
It felt surreal that thirty years had passed since my first day at Hartfeld and as I looked at my daughter, I remembered the young woman I had once been and the journey I had been about to undertake. Those had been some of the best years of my life and I hoped that in thirty years, Jessica would be able to look back with as much fondness as I did.
- End
