3. The First Day

The kind of bond me and my Mom has is something I will never trade for anything. She’s all in one- a mother, a sister, a best friend, my confidante. I told her everything and she would just listen. She’s a good listener, and that’s just one of the many things I love about her.

I have two sisters, but I am the closest to my Mom. She’s cool and she always reminds me that my feelings are valid. She always says the best words.

I went out of the Dormitory and waited for her at the gate. It’s already dark since it’s almost 10 pm now. The moment I told her I needed her, she quickly got into her car and drove here.

Home is two hours away. I don’t want to hassle my Mom but I’m just too overwhelmed with all of these fuzzy feelings. And only she can help me feel at ease.

There are still a number of students out so I’m not scared to wait for her here outside. It’s not yet the official start of classes so the curfew is still not valid. We’re still allowed to accept visitors.

I just sat on the pavement, waiting for my Mom. I’m already in my PJs and I just put on a sweater since it’s quite cold now.

I saw a car approaching. I had to squint my eyes to check if it’s my Mom’s car and when I confirmed it was indeed her, I quickly stood up and waved.

Mom parked the car just outside the gate. When she got out of the car, I almost ran to her to hug her.

“Oh, sweetie, no worries. I’m here,” Mom murmured while caressing my hair. When I pulled away, she smiled at me. I tried my best to smile at her even if my tears are threatening to fall. “Come on, let’s get inside. I brought food.”

Taylor invited me for dinner earlier but I declined. I just didn’t have the appetite to eat anything earlier. But the moment my Mom mentioned food, I felt my stomach grumble. I guess I’m hungry now.

Mom said ‘Hi’ to Vincent when we passed by him having late dinner at the lobby. I just gave him a small smile and proceeded to walk to our room.

We reached the room and found Taylor finishing up unpacking. She’s almost done with her stuff. I just finished mine while waiting for Mom. So the room’s pretty fixed now.

“Tay, this is my Mom,” I said. “Mom, this is my roommate Taylor.”

“Oh, hi Taylor. Nice meeting you,” Mom said smilingly. Taylor shyly greeted her. “Jazzy’s feeling homesick so she called me. Is it okay if I spend the night here? It’s just tonight.”

“Oh, no problem Mrs. Arizona. It’s fine by me,” Taylor replied.

“I brought food. Come on and help us eat all of these,” Mom said. Taylor nodded shyly.

We set up a carpet in the middle of the room and arranged all the food there. We still haven’t talked about what else to put in the room so we don’t have a dining table yet. Good thing Taylor brought this huge carpet. Now it’s like we’re having a picnic. A picnic at night.

Mom brought her specialties- spaghetti and chicken salad. There’s also tuna sandwiches and fruits. She also brought a huge cookie jar with her special chocolate chip cookies and said I could share it with Taylor. She even told me to call her if we’re emptying the jar so she could bring another batch of special cookies. Have I mentioned how much I love my Mom? Because I really do.

We enjoyed the food and it somehow made me feel okay. It made me forget about these fears I have upon entering college.

Now, she’s sharing tips for the first day of School. Based on her experience, as she said.

“Know your way around the campus. Study the map of the buildings. You can ask seniors where lecture rooms are but don’t ever ask them where room TBA is,” Mom said. I laughed at it.

“What’s room TBA? Does that exist?” Taylor asked curiously.

“Room TBA means the room is to-be-announced, hun,” Mom replied.

“Oh. Oh God. Good thing you said that,” Taylor mumbled. “I checked my class schedule and it has a room TBA. I was planning on asking the RA where that room’s gonna be,” she added. Mom and I laughed. She already told me what room TBA is so I already have an idea. Good thing she mentioned it again to Taylor.

“Hmm.. What else..” Mom murmured. “Oh! Sleep while you can and while you have the time. When midterms or finals are coming up, you will regret not having enough sleep while you can.”

“I’m dreading that hell week. Jas, we should really not procrastinate. Please remind me of that,” Taylor said. I’m glad we’re on the same page.

I already planned on how I will spend my time to avoid cramming for a deadline. I don’t work well under pressure so I must manage my time well. I should start doing my schoolwork while it’s still early. That way, if I ever finish early, I will have more time to review and check if I did good. If not, then at least I will still have more time to improve things.

“And always, always be careful with boys,” Mom said. She already said that a lot of times to me. And I already imprinted that in my head. “Sometimes, they just want to get into your pants. Some of them? Just want to break your hearts so don’t ever fall for their sweet words,” she added.

I think I get what my Mom is trying to say. I mean, I never had a boyfriend and I haven’t really entertained a guy or someone. But when I think about it, I think she’s right. They say it takes more years for a boy to mature so I shouldn’t risk my heart this early.

“How many boyfriends did you have when you were in College, Mrs. Arizona?” Taylor asked. Oh, that question again. My mom already told me all these stories when she was still in college. I guess it’s time for someone else to hear those.

“Well, I’m not really a fan of relationships before. But I had two,” Mom answered. “One from when I was a freshman. That lasted for about three months. Can’t stand the guy because he’s so clingy. The other was when I was in my third year. I thought he was the one but nah. He transferred and I don’t believe in long distance so I broke up with him.”

Yep. Already heard all of those.

“So you didn’t meet Mr. Arizona in College?” Taylor inquired.

“Well, here’s the funny story. We were schoolmates in College. Saw him numerous times in School. But back then, I never really thought about him. He’s attractive but that didn’t make me be into him. Although,” Mom paused and grinned. Yeah, she loves this story. She loves to tell people how head-over-heels Dad is for her. “He has liked me since we were freshmen. He never got the chance to court me because there’s always something or someone who got in the way.”

“Wow,” Taylor commented. “But look where you are right now.”

“Yep. Married with three wonderful children,” Mom said proudly.

“Destiny really has its own ways of making people end up together huh?” Taylor commented. I didn’t say anything about Mom’s stories. I already commented a lot of times before.

“Yes. So you girls, don’t rush, okay? If someone’s meant for you, you will end up together. And please, if you ever decide to have sex, make it a safe one,” Mom mumbled and that earned a face from me. “Shoot! I should’ve bought condoms for you girls.”

“Mom!” I called, but she just laughed.

If there’s one topic that I find very uncomfortable, that is sex. Maybe it’s because of my lack of experience but it just really makes me uncomfortable. I get that it’s natural or something, but I still can’t imagine doing it with someone. Not now, my God.

“Noted,” Taylor laughingly said.

“Anyways, I think it’s quite late now. You still have an early freshmen orientation tomorrow, right?” Mom asked. Taylor and I nodded. “Then you should all go to sleep now.”

Taylor and I went to bed while Mom volunteered to clean first. We insisted on helping but she said it’s fine, that we should just sleep now.

But I still couldn’t sleep so I watched her move around the room. Taylor, on the top bed, is now already snoring.

“Still can’t sleep, hun?” Mom asked when she finished cleaning. She changed into my PJs. We’re the same size so that’s not a problem.

I moved to give her space in bed and she occupied it. It’s supposed to be a single bed but we can just squeeze in just for tonight.

“Big day tomorrow,” she murmured. “Nervous?”

“Very,” I replied.

I heard her chuckle. And then I felt it- her hand around my waist. My mom’s hugging me. She used to do this when I was still a kid. She would hug me until I fell asleep.

“You’ll do well, sweetie. I believe in you,” she mumbled.

I’d like to believe in myself too. I did it in High School. Easy peasy. But here in college? It’s a different thing. It’s a different place, with different people surrounding me.

I hope this is just me still trying to adjust. I hope this phase will be over soon and I can go back to fully believing in myself.

“Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“The necklace you gave me,” I murmur. “It’s weird.”

I felt my mom stiffened. She didn’t answer right away. “I’ll tell you about that other time. But please, wear it. Don’t take it off. It’s for your safety.”

My Mom murmured her good night and the place turned quiet. I have a feeling that Mom is really hiding something from me. It was all in my head until I fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up without my Mom beside me. The PJs she wore are now folded inside my laundry basket. I guess she left early because she still has work.

I slowly sat up and looked around again.

It’s another day, another thing to conquer.

I got sad knowing my Mom’s no longer here but I have to remind myself I’m an adult now and I should learn how to handle my emotions. Getting too emotional will just take me nowhere.

I stood up, wore my inside sleepers, then made my bed. I could still hear Taylor snoring.

I walked toward my study table to check the time. But the first thing I noticed is the paper bag and two to-go cups of coffee with a note.

Got you and Taylor breakfast. Have a blast, Jazzy. –Mom

I smiled upon reading the note. My Mom never fails to cheer me up.

I was reminded to check the time and when I did, it said it’s 6:02 in the morning. Our freshmen orientation will be at 8 so I woke Taylor up. We need to be early because our bathroom’s shared by everybody on this floor. There may be a lot of cubicles, but there are also a lot of students here.

It took me a few tries for Taylor to wake up. She’s such a deep sleeper! I pinched her and even shook her but she never moved. She only woke up when I screamed in her ear.

“Sorry. You should prepare a bucket of cold water next time. It’s hard to wake me up,” she mumbles as she climbs out of bed.

“Mom got us breakfast so that’s already covered. Now, I’ll go and take a shower before my breakfast. It’s up to you whether you wanna eat first or wash up,” I said as I pick up all the stuff I’ll need to shower.

“Oh, I’ll shower first,” Taylor said and also hurried in taking her stuff.

When we made sure we already got the stuff we’ll need, we got out of the room together to go to the common bathroom which is just a few steps down the hall.

“Good thing you woke me up this early. I guess we’ll be the first people in the bathroom,” Taylor mumbled while we’re walking down the hall. I even smiled proudly.

But when we reached the common bathroom, I couldn’t say a thing.

“I guess waking up at 6 isn’t as early as we thought,” Taylor mumbled while we’re looking at the long line. There’s no way we’ll get in anytime soon.

We are doomed.