The Underclassman

Good Things Come to an End with a New Beginning

It had been some time since Mick had the luxury of sleeping in on a Saturday and even though the spring semester had officially ended the day prior, this morning still required that he be up and at it relatively early. After his normal round trip to the bathroom, Mick grabbed one of his last energy drinks and nutrition bars before sitting down at his desk one final time while still residing at Bradley Hall. He sifted through his emails and social media accounts and sent a couple of messages and made a few posts before shutting off his laptop and placing it in his backpack.

While he had completed the majority of his packing on Friday, Mick still had a few odds and ends to box up and some last-minute items that needed to find their way into his luggage. He stripped the bedding off his bunk then went about breaking down the two twin beds that he had assembled into a single king-sized berth at the beginning of the year. After unplugging the microwave and mini fridge, Mick was looking around the room to see what else needed to be done when there was a familiar sounding knock at his door.

"Hi neighbor!" said Abby when Mick opened the doorway to his room. At first glance, she seemed to have returned to her normal upbeat self. Mick invited his friend inside and to sit down on the love seat, then they began to chat. "What happened to you last night," inquired Abby, "When I returned you were nowhere to be found."

Mick told Abigail that he gambled all his chips away and after the way she had beelined out, he did not think she would be returning.

Abby remarked, "Yeah, last night got a little weird, eh?"

Mick smiled and shook his head. "It definitely was a little interesting," he told her. They both let out a nervous laugh which was followed by some awkward silence. "I can't help but notice you haven't started back early like you said you were planning," observed Mick.

Abby's mood grew noticeably more serious and she told him, "Jimmy definitely has some fences to mend... but I truly believe the relationship is worth trying."

Mick simply nodded, acknowledging her words. He was no fan of Jimmy's, but he wanted to be supportive of Abigail. Mick figured it was probably best to let sleeping dogs lie regarding the moment that he and Abby had shared on the previous evening.

"And did you think I was going to leave without saying goodbye?" she asked Mick, to which he replied, "Of course not."

"Hey!" exclaimed Abby, back to her typically animated self, "What do you think the chances are that we could end up in the same housing again next year?"

"Right," said Mick, as now it was his turn to be more somber, "We haven't caught up in a while, have we?" Mick apprised Abby that as of today, he had taken out a lease on a small apartment above The Dugout as come to find out, his boss Joe Gilman owned the building and gave Mick a good deal on renting.

"You mean you don't want to live in a dorm full of girls again?" she wisecracked.

Mick told her that he doubted lightning would strike twice and that, "I'll actually save a few dollars."

"By the way I almost forgot," Abigail interjected, who then informed Mick that she witnessed two girls wrapped in towels coming out of his bathroom a few days ago. "Can you believe that?" she asked him.

Abby was certainly a little bit wet behind the ears, but that was one of the things Mick liked most about her--that she always viewed the world so innocently. "That could have been embarrassing," he remarked.

"Society no longer respects any boundaries," she added. The conversation then turned to each other's summer plans.

"So are you going home at all... or do you intend to work all summer?" questioned Abby.

Mick advised her that he was planning on making a quick trip back east but would be returning to Colorado for the summer. He further told her that he would continue to work weekends at The Dugout and had a job lined up as an instructor at a summer camp teaching outdoor skills like backcountry navigation.

"You'll be an awesome counselor!" declared Abby before inquiring bashfully, "But what is it you're teaching?"

"How to find your way in the wild with a topographical map and compass," Mick told her, but she was still obviously perplexed. "You know... before GPS?" he added. Mick chuckled silently to himself, as there was that naivety again which he found so wholesome.

"There's one more thing," said Mick, who then went on to say that the camp goes on a two-week hiatus around the July 4th holiday. "If you guys were around and it was okay with your mom," he began, "I thought maybe I could slide down to New Mexico for at least a few days at that time."

Overcome with joy, Abigail's face instantly lit up and she shouted, "Yes! Yes!" as she leaned over and hugged him.

The two continued to converse for a while before Abigail checked on the time and told Mick that she needed to go. They both stood up and took turns thanking one another--for being study partners, for everything they had done for each other during the past nine months, and for being a good friend to one another. "Do you need help loading your car?" asked Mick. Abby thanked him for offering but advised him that she was all set.

Mick walked over to his entryway and propped his door open with a moving box before inquiring if Zoey was still around so he could say goodbye. Abby told Mick that her parents had picked her up at the crack of dawn to begin their drive home, but Zoe had asked Abby to tell him goodbye for her.

Mick's lip crimpled and a countenance of melancholy swept across his face as he looked down at Abigail. "I guess this is it," he told her.

Abby did her best to beat back her emotions and remain her usual ebullient self, but the tears in her eyes were evident. "I miss you already," Abby told Mick as she extended her arms and hugged him tightly.

"You have a safe trip home," he told her as he hugged her back, "And shoot me a text to let me know you got there safe."

Abby simply nodded, as she knew if she were to speak her voice would crack. She put her hands upon Mick's shoulders and pushed herself up on her tiptoes, then kissed him ever so lightly on his cheek. With that, Abigail turned and walked briskly down the hallway and back to her dorm room for one last look-over before leaving.

With little left to do, Mick piddled around waiting for Lonnie to show up and help him move to the new apartment. Through his open door from the hallway, Mick could hear the noise of his fellow residents making their exit from the dormitory. A few of the girls stopped by on their way out to say goodbye to Mick and wish him an enjoyable summer.

As he sat idly by, Mick could not avoid looking back on his time spent at Bradley Hall. When he first came to understand what his living situation would be--the only guy, who happened to be of legal drinking age, residing in a dorm full of girls with a room to himself... he could not help but be extremely hopeful that good things were to come. Never in his wildest dream did Mick imagine that reality would far surpass expectations as his dorm room, and his relatively private lavatory, has served him incredibly well.

"Jesus! Are there a lot of chicks in this dorm or what?" blurted Lonnie as he came bursting through the open doorway.

Mick laughed and replied, "You could say that."

"The two beds and the desk stay?" Lonnie sought to confirm as he surveyed the room.

"That's right," answered Mick as he watched his friend walk over toward the bunks, apparently fixated on something. "What are you doing?" asked Mick as Lonnie examined one of the headboards.

"Just checking to see how many notches you have on your bedpost," he told him.

"Wow... I don't--," Mick began to say before he was interrupted.

"Did you really spend the entire year spanking your monkey?" asked Lonnie, derisively.

"I'm not even going to respond," Mick informed him, brushing off Lonnie's needling.

Mick and Lonnie went about moving the love seat, coffee table, television, mini refrigerator and all the boxes down two flights of stairs, out to Lonnie's pickup and into the truck bed. "Doesn't your apartment have a fridge?" asked Lonnie. Mick told him that at some point he would sell his to someone. When they were finished, Mick ran back up to his room to make sure he had not left anything behind.

Mick felt mixed emotions as he stood in the center of his room and he let out a deep breath. He was sad that his time at Bradley Hall had drawn to an end but he was also excited for summer break and for the next chapter as he was moving into his own place. Mick walked over to the doorway and flipped the light switch turning off the overhead light. He hesitated for a second, then looked over his shoulder to take a look at his room one last time. With the palm of his hand, Mick patted the wall twice, as if to say thank you and goodbye. He then pulled the door shut and checked to make sure it was secure, then took the stairs back down to the lobby where he found the resident assistant Marlena. After saying a quick hello and goodbye to her and turning in his key, Mick exited Bradley Hall, got into his car and followed Lonnie over to The Boulevard.

Having parked their vehicles in the tenant lot behind The Dugout, Lonnie began helping Mick ferry his belongings through the backdoor, onto the elevator and up to his apartment on the fourth floor. With Gil's permission, Mick burrowed a hand truck from the basement of the bar and was running the last load of boxes up to his new digs after the heavy lifting was done and Lonnie abandoned his co-worker because he had to start his evening shift.

When Mick rolled out of the elevator, he encountered a hot young woman who obviously had no problem flaunting her tan, trim body as she was rocking an ornate navel piercing and dressed only in a pair of cutoffs with a colorful, tropical print bikini top. He could see that she had lovely amber eyes because her pink frame sunglasses were parked atop her long, coarse dark hair.

"Are you our new neighbor?" she asked amiably.

"My name is Mick," he replied, "I'm just moving into apartment 4D."

"I'm Sasha and I live in 4A," she told him before adding, "Even with the dolly, I figured you weren't the Fed Ex guy."

Sasha and Mick immediately struck up a very cordial conversation. Mick informed his new acquaintance that he had just finished his freshman year and was renting through the summer and the following academic year, and that he worked downstairs at The Dugout on the weekends.

"You're going to love it here," Sasha assured him. She told Mick that most of the residents were either college aged students working on their degrees or young professional types. "There are even a few dinks floating around," she remarked. When Mick inquired as to what she was referring, Sasha replied, "Dual incomes, no kids."

Mick politely asked Sasha if she was still in school or working and she answered, "Both." His new friend advised him that she had an undergrad in political science and worked for the city council as a community development policy analyst. "In the fall I'll be attending Georgetown online to work on a master's degree in public relations and corporate communications," she added.

"That's very, very impressive," Mick earnestly told her.

"So you're moving into poor Mr. Brown's apartment," observed Sasha sounding sympathetic, "Does it smell like mothballs?"

Mick told her he was not sure who rented the apartment prior to himself but he did notice that there was the distinct aroma of Bengay that seemed to be lingering about.

Sasha apprised Mick that an elderly gentleman used to rent there who was rather cranky. "Living on the fourth floor of a building full of mostly much younger people with an unreliable elevator couldn't have been easy for him," noted Sasha before further saying that she believed he had moved to Utah to live with his daughter and her family.

"Drop your boxes off and come up with me to the roof for a margarita," suggested Sasha.

"The roof?" said Mick, obviously puzzled.

"We have our own little thing going on up there," she told him, "It's where many of us hang out."

Mick thanked her for the invitation and told Sasha that he still had a few things to do before having to go downstairs for work that evening, but he would do his best to stop by. "Just take the stairwell all the way up, the door is always unlocked," she advised him.

Mick was grinning ear-to-ear as he wheeled his boxes into the apartment as he could not help but wonder how many other girls might be living in the building and if they were half as hot as Sasha. He stowed his cartons off to the side and out of the way then ran the hand truck back down to the basement. When he returned to the fourth floor, Mick went about unboxing his belongings but after a half-hour, his curiosity had gnawed at him too much to continue. He thought to himself, "I have all summer to unpack."

When Mick walked out onto the roof of the apartment building, he was amazed to find that a little party area had been set up. There were several beach chairs and chaise lounges positioned around a few small tables along with two patio umbrellas and some string lights. Sasha yelled, "Mick!" when she caught sight of her new friend, and immediately went running to him. She entwined her arms around his own like an octopus then dragged Mick over to where everyone was sitting. "This is who I was telling you about," said Sasha to her friends, before introducing Mick to a few of her fellow residents--Quinn, Reagan and Andy. They all welcomed him to the building and invited him to grab an empty chair and make himself comfortable, so Mick took the closest seat between Reagan and Andy.

"Sasha told us you go to school right up the street and work down in the bar on the weekends," said Quinn, and Mick replied that was correct.

"Do have time to squeeze in a Corona?" asked Andy, offering Mick a frosty beverage from the red, scuffed-up, forty-quart, steel-belted Coleman cooler he was using as a foot stool. Mick told him he did have time so Andy retrieved a beer from the icebox.

"I like that," said Mick as he pointed at the cooler -- "Retro."

"This is the real deal," replied Andy as he popped the cap off the bottle using the opener integrated into the cooler's metal handle, "Closest thing I have to a family heirloom."

Delicately, Mick asked, "Is Gil--I mean... is this kosher with the property owner?"

"He pops in from time to time to make sure we aren't performing any sacrifices up here," Sasha joked.

"He usually shows his face around the first of the month when rent's due," jabbed Quinn.

Everyone laughed before Sasha continued by saying there were two rules which were, no open flames--so no smoking, tiki torches or cooking.

"If you want food," said Quinn, "We either order wings from downstairs or subs and pizza from the Italian place down the street."

Sasha then informed Mick that rule number two was that nothing gets thrown over the side of the roof.

"Especially each other," quipped Andy.

Mick spent about an hour getting to know his new people who all appeared to be in their mid to late twenties and seemed laid-back. Andy told Mick that he was an advisor at a local insurance and financial firm that offered life insurance, investment and retirement products and services, just to name a few. Reagan was a real estate agent specializing in commercial properties and with her long legs and sassy, shoulder-length gingerbread red hair, in addition to seeming quite personable, Mick thought she was perfectly tailored for that profession. He unfortunately did not get to speak to Quinn nearly as much, but enough for her to tell him that she was a dental hygienist.

When the time came, Mick told everyone that it was great to meet them and he thanked Andy for the beer. Sasha got up and walked with him to the door and Mick told her he was sorry that he did not get more of a chance to speak to her. She advised Mick not to worry about it because they would have plenty of time seeing that Mick now lived on the same floor as her. "What is your schedule like next week?" Sasha asked him.

Mick informed her that he did not start his weekday job until the following Monday so he was free, except for having to purchase some furniture for the apartment.

"Then maybe we could go on a hike as I have a flexible schedule," said Sasha, "Or if you're interested, we could get together for dinner?"

Mick told her that both offers sounded fabulous and he would try and catch up with her tomorrow morning sometime.

Sasha smiled warmly at Mick and said to him with a very beguiling tone, "Don't work too hard tonight."

Even though the knockout standing in front of Mick was on full display, the look on Sasha's face and the sound of her voice alone were enough to make his manhood twitch. "I'll try not to," he replied before telling her, "I'm really glad we met today."

"Same here, definitely" Sasha replied.

Mick opened the door to the stairwell and as he began to descend the stairs heading back to his apartment to get ready for his shift, a wide smile broke out across his face. "This is going to be great!" he said.

The End

* * *

Writer's Note

THANK YOU for reading! Whether you have just begun to follow the story, read a chapter here and there or stayed with it from the very beginning. I really appreciate the encouraging comments and yes, the criticism too. I hope you found it enjoyable and worth your time.

I know some of you took exception to my use of the thesaurus. I was not attempting to exhibit my vocabulary as one person suggested. In fact if anything, it was a crutch as I in no way think I am a gifted writer and struggle to do so.

When I originally wrote the Thanksgiving story it was one long chapter before I realized the need to break it up. It felt monotonous to write "dick" so many times in a chapter and I felt the need to get creative. I also meant for it to add some humor to the story. I guess the inspiration originates from a movie called "Ten Things I Hate About You" where a high school guidance counselor is writing an adult story and asks her secretary, what is another word for "engorged."

Early on, one reader suggested that I rewrite the chapters I had published and remove, in their opinion, the objectional content.

I stumbled upon this website about twenty years ago and really liked some of what I read, finding it very creative and entertaining. Other stories, not so much. I thought I could do at least as good a job as some and thought it would be fun to try at some point. When I finally did begin, I knew I wanted to write something from a male perspective, and that I wanted to write a single story with several chapters. From the time I began to explore various ideas for the story until I felt it was finished, it took me almost nine years to complete, which I did prior to publishing the very first chapter. I had read, re-read, edited, etc. over and over again, and I had no interest in rewriting everything because some did not like my liberal use of the thesaurus.

And that brings me to the final part. It was an enjoyable experience writing this story but at times it took true effort to push forward to completion. I did my best to get there, their and they're correct. I proof-read everything so many times and I still find dumb errors.

While it would seem that I have left the ending open for a new chapter in Mick's adventurers, I have no intention of furthering his story or writing anything else. As I said, it took quite an effort over a long period and although I found it rewarding, at this time I have no interest in writing further.

Thanks again for reading,

MT