Page 1 of Crazy Pucking Love
Chapter One
Megan
Me + new living situation + college classes - everyone all up in my business = endless opportunities and the chance for a whole new, stronger me.
Me + no longer holding back who I am + regaining control of my life = happier me.
Me + making mathematical equations out of my life instead of finishing unpacking = procrastination level: expert.
The excitement coursing through me made it hard to focus, and before I seriously finished unpacking and arranging my things in my new dorm room, my brain needed to reduce all of those thoughts to the most simple equation, because math nerds like me loved that kind of thing.
Me + Boston College = a fresh start
For two years I’d wanted to escape from my life in general, but I especially wanted to get away from toxic friendships and never-ending gossip, and out of the living situation with my aunt, who couldn’t be any more clear that she wished she hadn’t gained custody of me after my parents’ death. Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful for everything she did for me, but living under a roof with her was oppressive, not to mention extremely lonely.
Loneliness shouldn’t be an issue here,I thought as I glanced around the tiny dorm room. The place was considerably more cramped than my former residences. I’d be sleeping about ten feet away from my roommate every night—or at least I’d be attempting to, as sleep and I weren’t on good terms right now, and hadn’t been in quite some time.
The white wall I’d hung my corkboard on had obviously seen many, many coats of paint through the years, the carpet was the flat kind that’d be itchy to lie on—not that I’d ever actually lie on it, becausegross—and the closet could only accommodate about a fourth of my clothes and shoes, and that was after shoving it so full there’d probably be a jack-in-the-box effect whenever I opened it.
While my new digs didn’t exactly scream homey, they did scream freedom and endless possibilities.
I took a deep breath of air, and when it smelled more like staleness and stuffy boxes than opportunity, I cracked a window. The January air held a chill that made me reach for my jacket and zip it all the way up. The ends of my hair caught in the plastic teeth, and I lost a few strawberry-blond strands in the process of tugging it loose—luckily I had more than enough hair to spare a lock or two.
I glanced over the grounds, watching the people milling around campus. People who didn’t know who I was, or who my family was, or all the drama that had surrounded me for…well, as long as I could remember, but especially the past two years.
I did it!I managed to graduate high school early and get out of New Hampshire.I did a fist pump, then swung my hair around and added a booty shimmy.
“Oh my gosh, I’m going to catch pneumonia in here. It’s freezing.”
I turned to face my new roommate, Vanessa, who of course had a guy with her, because having only one person witness my booty dance wouldn’t be embarrassing enough. She and I had met earlier today, and while I’d hoped to click with my new roomie, so far it’d been more forced encounters of the awkward kind. Apparently her former roommate had cracked under the pressure last semester, and that was why this slot had opened up.
I hope my bed’s not cursed. That’s the last thing I need for my fresh start.
The side of me trying out the whole optimism thing pretended the change of scenery would fix my horrible insomnia, but with all the stress that’d come along with higher-level classes and adjusting to my new life, I knew that’d be pretty much impossible.I won’t crack. I can’t.
The window screeched as I forced it closed and secured the latch. My other disadvantage was starting spring semester instead of fall, since most people already belonged to cliques. But once I’d decided on this course of action as my best plan of escape, it’d taken some time to convince my aunt to let me pass go—otherwise known as skipping senior year, studying for and attaining my GED, and then jumping right into college a semester early.
Once my brother, Beckett, had seen how much I wanted it, he helped me apply and then enroll, despite Aunt Tessa giving it a month before I quit it, the way I did everything. By everything, she meant all the other things I’d used to try to fill the void in my life after my parents’ death, before realizing that until I got away from my past, I couldn’t truly start my future.
I glanced at my corkboard, where my Fresh Start Checklist hung, although with my roommate in here, I wondered if it’d be better to put it in a less conspicuous place.
But seeing it every day is what’ll help ensure I stay on track.
“What’s the deal with this tower o’ boxes? I thought you’d be done unpacking by now.” Vanessa squeezed her super skinny body through the narrow alleyway. When I’d tried to do the same, I knocked into the desk, and I was sure I’d have a bruise on my hip bone to show for it.
Thedealwas that the stuff in those boxes didn’t fit anywhere. “I’m getting there.”I just have to stop trying to find the perfect equation for my new life and cut back on the celebratory dances.“But I’m afraid the only way I’m going to find room for them is a shrinking charm.”
I waved my hand at them. “Reducio.” I shrugged. “Dang, I really hoped that’d work.”
When Vanessa tilted her head and looked at me like I’d sprouted a unicorn horn, I realized I might need to keep the Harry Potter references to myself. Then my Fresh Start Checklist caught my eye, and number one jumped out at me.
1. No more holding back who I am to fit in
Then again, I might need to ease Vanessa into who I was. Random information just stuck in my head and popped out of my mouth, usually at the most inopportune time. It wasn’t like I’d memorized every Harry Potter spell one night when I was bored and didn’t have anywhere to go or anything. Just, like, half of them, and it was at a time when I often daydreamed about wielding magic and escaping to Hogwarts so I wouldn’t have to face everyone at school anymore. And that wasbeforeI’d learned how bad things could really be.
But I digress.
“Don’t worry,” I said to Vanessa as I moved over to my boxes and opened the cardboard flaps of the top one. “That was just a joke, but I’ll take care of them for reals. I just might have to rearrange some things.”
