Doll House

“Just one more hug,” my mom sobbed before throwing her arms around me and pulling me into a tight, knock-the-wind-out-of-you embrace, rocking me back and forth like I was two again, and not eighteen.

I awkwardly patted her back, chuckling as my brother Ace gave us a funny look. “Mom, I'm just moving into my dorm – not falling off the face of the planet.”

Ace glanced at his watch impatiently, groaning. “Come on, Mom, it's not like she's the first one you've sent off to college.” He rolls his eyes. He's just jealous because Mom didn't make this big of a deal when he left for college a year ago, being that he's the oldest. I offer him a smile and pat her back, signaling her that the hug's over.

“I'm just going to miss my little girl,” she admitted, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She offered me a sad smile while she wrapped her arms around her small frame. “Are you sure you don't want to go home and get your old toys out?”

I shook my head and picked up my old, ratted black backpack, slinging it over my shoulder. “I'm sorry, Mom, but I have to go. Ace has to meet some of his friends, and you know how he is about being late.” I gave her one last peck on her gaunt cheek and picked up my stuff.

“Bye! Love you!” she called halfheartedly after me, but even though I should've listened to her, I just waved and hauled ass after my brother, who had ditched me for some of his buddies.

Truthfully, though, I really appreciated the fact that I was even here, at San Diego State, considering the fact that my mother had to work three jobs just to pay the bills. My father hadn't been in the picture since I was conceived – they'd had Ace, and then as soon as he heard about me he bailed. We didn't really mention him much when we were growing up, just because I don't think it was necessary to put my mom through any more crap. I mean, it didn't really matter to Ace that he didn't have a father figure in the house; he had our uncle, our dad's brother who didn't agree with his kid brother's actions and decided to pick up his slack when he left.

Don't get me wrong, Will's a great guy... I just don't think my mom felt the same way about him as he did for her.

And , as weird as it seems, who wouldn't think about my mom like that? Back in the day, she'd been one of the hottest girls around. She was a twig, of course, with such a fast metabolism that she never gained a pound no matter what she ate. She's the origin of my own dull copper hair, only on her, it's a fiery red that you can see for miles. And she's got the prettiest blue eyes that all her ex-boyfriends compliment her on – ones that, unfortunately, I didn't inherit.

My mother was, in a sense, beautiful, but she chose to get what she wanted the old fashioned way: by working for it. I'm so proud of her for that.

I was jolted out of my reverie by a girl running through the hallway. She crashed into me and swore loudly, cradling her forehead.

“Hey! Watch where you're going!” she hissed, narrowing her eyes at me menacingly.

My eyes widened. Fantastic – I'd only been at school for two seconds and I already made enemies. Good going, Georgia. “S-Sorry,” I sputtered, hoisting my bags onto my shoulders, awkwardly trying to get all of them into one hand. Ace had taken the other ones, but he'd disappeared as soon as he saw some girl in a skirt walk by. “I'm – I'm just – here, do you know where this is?” I handed her a small slip of paper, containing my dorm number.

She glanced at the paper. “Down the hall, two doors down on the left.”

I thanked her and headed to the room, sighing. If only my stupid brother hadn't decided to ditch me, I might not have been so clumsy under all this baggage.

When I opened the door, a confused-looking blonde girl stared back at me, her arms full of stuffed animals.

“Hi,” she said suspiciously, dropping the teddy bears and puppies onto the bed. I watched as a few fell to the floor. “Are you Georgia Hastings?”

I glanced behind me, wondering why she was treating me like I was some kind of criminal and hoping that maybe the answer was back there. It wasn't. “Yes...?”

She nodded curtly, picking up one of the stuffed animals and putting it onto a shelving unit that acted as her bed's headboard. “Scarlett Henderson. I'll be your roommate this year,” she remarked, picking up another toy and setting it next to another equally pink bear. “Well, unless you decide to rush, I guess.”

I awkwardly set my bags down next to my bed, on the other side of the room. The room itself was decent sized – it had two twin beds and two closets, separated by a decent amount of space that was already taken up by a small refrigerator and some chairs, all of which I assumed belonged to Scarlett. Everything was remarkably well-organized. It was also remarkably... pink.

I'm not a huge fan of pink.

“Is there a problem?” I asked warily, watching as she went about organizing everything she could get her hands on. “Did I do something?”

Her frantic hands stopped moving for a second, and she sighed. “No, I guess not,” she muttered, continuing her work. “Nothing you did, anyway, it's just that guy you arrived with...” She bit her lip, her cheeks flushing just the slightest pink color. “He's kind of my ex. But I'm not jealous, or anything.”

She was so jealous.

I couldn't help myself – I burst out laughing. “You thought – Ace – Ha!”

She furrowed her eyebrows, confused. “What's so funny?”

I shook my head, laughing. “Ace is my brother... he's just meeting some of his friends here, and then he's going back home.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Do I know you?”

She shrugged. “It doesn't really matter,” she mumbled, finally finishing with her organizing and sitting down on her impeccably made bed. “I bounced around from family member to family member when I was younger. I don't remember many of the people I met. But him,” she emphasized, making me feel just a tad bit nauseous. “I remember very well.”

I didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but I'm not really sure I wanted to know. I didn't ask anything further.

For the rest of the day, we chatted about small stuff – where we came from, what our majors were, what our past boyfriends were like. (Besides my brother.) It was refreshing to talk to a girl like that for once, since all my friends back at home had been guys. I hadn't had much exposure to the world of girls, except for the pictures of me when I was five that Mom dug out every time I went on a date with someone. I just didn't get along well with girls.

“So, are you going to join a sorority, Georgia?” Scarlett asked as we were getting ready to crash.

I stared at myself in the mirror, contemplating the question. I was a scrawny, freckle-faced ginger with ugly brown eyes and a nose that looked like a “J”. I was nothing remarkable, save for the redhead part. I thought of all the girls that I knew to be in sororities – bubbly, blonde, and tan. I was none of those.

I laughed. “Over my dead body.”

Truer words have never been said.