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Welcome to The College Years: Learning to Live. This is part 4 of the series, so it may be helpful to read parts 1-3 first.
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When we last left off, the gang was entering their second semester of sophomore year. A lot had taken place in the year and a half that they had been at college, but little did they know that there was still a lot in store for them. Now, on with the story...
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When we last left off, the gang was entering their second semester of sophomore year. A lot had taken place in the year and a half that they had been at college, but little did they know that there was still a lot in store for them. Now, on with the story... Abbey and Jade had worked hard to make a list of all of the friends that they could invite to Mindy's baby shower. The boys pitched in with some names of people they knew of. Carter suggested that they invite Amanda Calloway, a girl in one of his classes. She had recently given birth to twins and he thought that she would be able to give Mindy some advice. Mindy came home from class to find about half a dozen extra people hanging around the common area. She couldn't figure out what was going on until she saw all of the gifts and the decorations. It turned out that her friends had decided to throw her a surprise baby shower. She was more than thrilled and a bit surprised by some of the guests that showed up. Carter had offerred to do the cooking for the shower and spent a couple of hours grilling hamburgers for the party. While everyone was eating Carter's hamburgers, Mindy escaped back downstairs to make a phone call. She had been trying to get ahold of Graham for weeks and she was still getting no answer. It looked like she was totally alone in this. Mindy found Jade upstairs and gave her a big hug.
"Thanks for doing this. It's great to know that people care." Mindy told her.
"Well, I do care, but the one you should be thanking is Abbey." Jade said, gesturing around. "It was all her idea."
Mindy went to find Abbey to thank her as well.
* * * * * Todd knew that his siblings were growing up fast but he was quite surprised when he received a phone call from Adele. She wanted to know if she could come visit him so that she could get a feel for the campus. Todd obliged her wishes and ended up enjoying the weekend that she spent at the dorms. With Mindy's pregnancy advancing quickly, everyone was preparing to have a kid around teh house. Some, such as Jimmy, were more enthusiastic about the prospect than others. Todd had been through many pregnancies with his mother and father and was able to offer some advice where he could. It still amazed him that someone his age would soon be giving birth to a baby. It seemed so surreal. The girls were spending more time around the dorm just relaxing and chatting. They were growing closer and closer each day. Jade found Todd in one of the hot tubs one afternoon. She asked if she could join them and had quickly initiated a splash war. Todd quickly joined in. The two spent the afternoon playing and flirting. They gave each other backrubs and skitted around the topic of their relationship. It wasn't long before Todd brought Jade closer to him.
"Jade," He began. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too." Jade told him.
"I've been wanting to..." Todd began, before Jade cut him off.
"I know." Jade told him. "Me too." Before Jade could comprehend what was happening, the sky had turned dark and Todd's lips were meeting hers. It almost felt like her first kiss was happening all over again. Things were finally falling into place again for them.
* * * * * Jimmy was relaxing in the other hot tub when Abbey and Drew joined him. Things were feeling quite uncomfortable for Jimmy as he watched his fiance splash water at her ex-boyfriend. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole affair. Drew was glad when they all finally got out of the hot tubs because things were quickly becoming awkward with Jimmy there. If things were awkward for him, he could only imagine how awkward things were for Jimmy.
* * * "A lot of us have been talking about getting our own place next year. What do you think?" Abbey asked Jimmy.
"That's great but count me out. I can't afford to live anywhere but in the dorms." Jimmy told her. "Who's a lot of us?"
"Well, I know that Todd, Drew, and Jade are all in. Carter doesn't know where he's living yet and Mindy is thinking about getting a place for her and the baby." Abbey told him.
"You could always live in the dorms again - with me." Jimmy told her. "I know I could but I really want to get out on my own - experience responsibility. Everything is so easy in the dorms." Abbey told him.
"Aren't you worried about us living apart?" Jimmy asked her.
"No I'm not." Abbey told him. "It'll just prove how in love we are when we make things work." She gave him a big hug.
"I guess you're right." Jimmy told her.
* * * * * Amanda Calloway had been visiting more and more lately. Mindy was glad to have someone to talk to - someone who actually knew what she was going through. Amanda was glad for the distraction since she was having problems with her fiance. Amanda and Mindy would talk for hours. Mindy told her all about her affair with Jade's father and in return Amanda shared all the details concerning her missing mother and her fiance. The girls considered living together the next year but decided three babies under one roof would drive them both insane.
* * * * Carter was glad to see that Amanda was getting along with Mindy. He knew that he was right in inviting her over to meet Mindy. It seemed to be helping both girls. Mindy had been watching Carter and Amanda for some time now and had noticed a spark between the two of them. Carter would often stop and stare at Amanda when she was too busy to notice. The two got along famously and enjoyed spending their free time together. Carter would even go over and help her with the babies from time to time. It wasn't long before Mindy was making new roomate suggestions to Amanda.
Amanda was watching TV with Carter when she thought to bring up the topic.
"Carter, where are you living next year?" She asked him.
"I'm not sure, why do you ask?" Carter replied.
"Because I have extra room and the rent's been hard to meet lately. I could really use some help with it and I was wondering if you'd want to move in with me." She told him.
"Are you sure?" Carter asked, uncertain.
"Positive." She replied.
"I guess it couldn't hurt," Carter told her, agreeing to move in.
* * * * * The gang was gathered around the table talking about their upcoming exams when somebody brought up the topic of living situations and rent money for the following year. Mindy excused herself from the table, explaining that she was taking care of all of that for herself. Jimmy soon excused himself since he would be living in the dorms and Carter shared the news that he would be moving in with Amanda. That left the four from Meadowbrook sitting at the table. They were quickly discussing the need to start saving money and looking for a place to live. "I have an idea of how we can earn some money if you guys are up for it." Abbey told the group.
"How?" Drew looked intrigued.
"We could start our own band. People around here love going to concerts and it would be a way to earn some extra cash." Abbey told them.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Jade agreed.
The boys agreed to go along with the idea, though Todd had his doubts. After Drew and Abbey had headed off to find outfits for the band, Todd brought up his worries with Jade.
"Do you really think a band is such a good idea?" Todd asked her.
"Sure, why wouldn't it be?" Jade asked.
"Because I don't like to sing or play instruments in front of people, remember?" Todd asked.
"Well, you can cheer us on from the side until you're ready to be up on stage if you want." Jade told him.
"Are you sure?" Todd asked.
"Of course."
* * * * * The band got their first gig at the Campus Lounge and headed over for their first performance. Todd sat on the sidelines and watched while people cheered on the group. He couldn't believe how much fun they seemed to be having and began to wonder if he could see himself up there. Jimmy and Mindy had also joined them for their night out. Mindy sat nearby and cheered the group on, while Jimmy hung out at the bar. This was just one more reminder that Abbey would be living with Drew and not him the next year.
* * * * * In the days to follow, Drew and Abbey began spending more time together as they worked out a schedule and locations for the band. Jimmy was becoming more and more jealous with each passing day. He didn't want to say anything to Abbey though, afraid that it would cause even bigger problems.
* * * Mindy was fast approaching her due date and she was beginning to feel the effects. She was constantly tired and barely had any time left for school work. She had taken Amanda's advice and was staying on top of it though because it would be difficult once the baby was born. She was also spending a lot of time reading all of the parenting books she could get her hands on. Jade was being quite supportive and Mindy was glad to have her as a friend. The more that Jade was enthusiastic about the upcoming arrival of the baby, the more that Mindy felt guilty. She knew that she needed to tell Jade the truth about the baby's father but she didn't want to ruin their friendship. It was a few weeks before finals when Mindy went into labor. As the pains were going through her body, she vowed that this was the only kid she ever wanted. But as soon as she held the little boy in her arms, she forgot about the pain she had gone through to bring him into the world. She stared into his eyes and gave him the name of Jake. Jade was happy to help out with the baby when Mindy was in class. It worked out great because they had different class schedules. Whenever she looked into his tiny face, she would get the odd sense of recognition. It was as though there was something extremely familiar about this baby. Jade couldn't quite figure out what she was missing. The baby seemed to have the features of someone close to her, but she couldn't ever put her finger on who it was. She felt as though there was a piece of the puzzle missing.
* * * * * Drew answered the phone to receive some good news for the band. A local club owner, Jessica Hutchinson, had invited them to play at her club, The Hot Spot. Jessica explained that she had recently inherited the club and liked to have bands her age play at it. It looked like the group would be making its first trip downtown to perform. They arrived at The Hot Spot to find an outdoor stage set up for them to perform. After much deliberation, Todd decided to join his friends up on stage. They played for hours that night. While the band was playing outside, Jimmy was making some new friends inside. Jessica Hutchinson seemed to have taken a special liking to him and Jimmy found that there was something about her that he liked. Jessica spent many hours that evening staring at Jimmy. He seemed to be just perfect for her. She couldn't wait to get him alone. She led him outside to a secluded spot and started to work her magic. Jimmy found himself staring into her eyes, unable to resist her feminine charm. He stared transfixed and didn't protest as she dipped him to bite his neck. A few minutes later, he found that he was more carefree than he had been in years. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened but he liked this new feeling.
* * * The band played long into the night and even took a turn at the karaoke machines after they had finished their set. Jade was happy to see Todd enjoying himself on the karaoke machine. She could remember him telling her on their prom night that she would never get him to sing duet on a karaoke machine again. How times change.
* * * * * The group spent a few hours after their karaoke fun looking for Jimmy around the club, when they couldn't find him, they assumed that he must have gone home early. They headed home and were dismayed to find that he wasn't at home. Carter and Mindy had the campus news channel turned on and the gang gathered around for the special report.
"....there have been several missing people reports on campus lately. Some are assuming run aways, others are assuming supernatural, and a few are even wondering if these students could turn up dead somewhere. We'll keep you posted..." A couple of days went by with no return from Jimmy. Drew offered his shoulder for Abbey to cry on as often as needed. He promised her that they were going to find Jimmy. If finding Jimmy would make her happy, then he was going to find Jimmy, even if it meant he would never have her himself.
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Thanks for reading The College Years: Learning to Live. The next chapter will pick up at the beginning of their Junior Year. A few of the characters won't be featured much in the story anymore and I thought I'd let you know where you can continue their stories. Carter will be joining the characters in my series, That Special Bond. Mindy will likely appear in The Chronicles of the Carr Family again at some point.
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8 Comment(s) posted so far
On May 25, 2007 MissJay wrote:
5.0!!! It was great!!!
On May 25, 2007 itachigirl wrote:
On May 26, 2007 sweetheartwva wrote:
On May 26, 2007 sadie7684 wrote:
Woot, college stories are so much fun!
On May 26, 2007 spacemouse wrote:
Great, loved it.
On May 27, 2007 molli17 wrote:
On May 27, 2007 emmy27 wrote:
great story , loved it
On Mar 8, 2008 qasert wrote: