LIFE AT COLLEGE... The early days (Part 17c)

(What I'm going to do here is to write this almost as if I was a reporter and had interviewed her and was now writing about it. An opportunity arose a few weeks ago for me to "relive" the situation with my wife without giving away my need for the information. I was amazed at how much she remembered. Her telling me also reminded me of a lot things she'd forgotten.)

She said she was the last (of four) to arrive and that the others had already picked out thier "spots, including beds. The college had received more acceptances than they'd planned for and found themselves scrambling to make enough room for the incoming freshman. The girls had been placed in the basement of the dorm in a room that had previously housed the school newspaper. The one good thing was that everything was new. The bad things were many. The biggest complaint they had was that there was only one closet for the four to share. Bunk beds was another complaint and the fact that they didn't really have full windows to look outside or to get fresh air was also a "biggie". As soon as all Elle's thing had been brought into the room one of the girls, Toby, who umistakenly came from the city, called a meeting. Elle hadn't really gotten a chance to even talk with the others and was initially put off by her assertiveness. Toby started right in by waving the stump of an arm around in front of all of them. It was her left arm and it ended at the elbow. The were three little projections right at the end that represented her fingers. Toby started right in by saying that she was born that way and that she'd managed to do most everything she'd wanted to do even without a full arm. Elle hadn't even had time to notice it when she'd first walked into the room. Toby went on to say that she wanted no pity from any of them. She said that she wouldn't tolerate anyone fawning over her, trying to be helpful. She was a "big girl" and if she needed help she'd ask. Elle (and the others) were basically speechless. She went on to say that she had some habits that might be annoying to others and wanted everyone to know right up front. If anyone had a problem with any of them they were to go right to her and not whisper among themselves about it. All Elle could think was that Toby really was going to be a problem.

However, she didn't stop there. She then went on to ask (demand?) that the others voice their bad habits or traits so that they could all figure out a way to make the year a pleasant one. Elle went into a panic. She didn't have any idea how she was going to get the nerve to tell three girls she didn't know that she often wet her bed. One of the other girls, Nancy, gave her a few more minutes to think about it as she told of her faults. She was a small girl who was very outgoing with a smile seemingly painted on her face. She started off by apologizing but she did have a tendancy to snore. Toby, at first, groaned but a smile quickly crossed her face. Nancy then hesitated and it took a minute or two but she admitted that she was super shy about her person. She said she'd appreciate it if the others wouldn't tease her about being so modest. Caroleigh (Carol) was the next. She was raised in in an urban area and had been introduced to smoking by her peers. She said she'd already picked up on the fact that the others didn't and she promised to respect them in that area. She also said she liked to have music to study by but if the others didn't she'd try to do without it. Now it was Elle's turn. She'd worked herself up to the point of almost crying. Toby picked up on it right away and went over by her to comfort and encourage her. Elle was sitting on a chair and Toby stood by her side saying that no matter what it was that it wouldn't go beyond the room. She then elicited (demanded) that the other two agree. Elle finally began by rambling about having a problem with sleep, which, in a round about way, was true. It took more encouragement from Toby but she finally came out and said that if she didn't get up around three times a night that she would end up wetting her bed. She told them about her multiple alarm clocks and how she used them to wake up periodically during the night. Surprisingly, to Elle, they didn't look at her as some sort of freak and seemed to be more concerned about what had happened to cause the problem. That seemed to calm her down. After they'd talked about it for a while, Toby suggested that maybe Carol might give up her lower bunk. That way it'd be easier for Elle to get up and go to the bathroom and have less chance of waking Carol up when she did. Carol readily agreed. The one suggestion they all had was to have Elle put the clocks under her pillow to which Elle agreed. The one thing Elle didn't do was to tell them about the potential for "accidents" during the day. She chose not to because she'd been able to handle it all through High School when she was on a strict schedule and she figured that it would be more of the same in college. When the "meeting" ended Elle felt good about not only her roommates (including Toby) but that her "problem" didn't seem to be a problem for them.

To be continued...