Chapter 1: Movin' In (Sam's Song)

“Samantha, are you sure you don’t need help with your bags?!”

“No, mom, it’s fine. I got it.”

“Are you sure, sweetheart?”

Sam rolled her eyes as her mother fussed after her. It was nothing new, her mother Josephine was a fusser from way back, even if she’d stepped up her protectiveness in the last year.

They were moving Sam into the freshman dormitory, and Sam hadn’t even taken two steps away from the car before her mom started babying her.

“It’s just… that one looks really heavy. Why don’t you carry it with both hands, dear? Two at once is probably too much-“

“Mom!” Sam snapped. “I’m fine. This much is nothing.”

“Oh, but look! Your hair is a mess, and your glasses are crooked! Now what kind of first impression is that?” Her mother chastised her, licking her hand and brushing Sam’s golden blonde locks into place.

“MOM!” Sam pulled away in embarrassment and stormed into the dormitory. The way her mom acted, Sam was amazed she’d even been allowed to go to college. But over-protectiveness went out the window where a university this prestigious was concerned.

Sam couldn’t agree more. All-nighters studying, living with a roommate, eating in a cafeteria, there was a lot she’d tolerate if it meant she could put “Westbridge University Alumnus” on her resume.

“Oh, this place is just darling!” Her mother gushed as they walked down the wide hall and entered the common area. “It’s so… European! Like one of those chapels with the big windows! Oh, and look sweetheart! It’s just like the brochures said! A bowl of fruit in the common room, every day! You like fruit right?”

“Yes, mom, I like fruit,” Sam groaned. She knew her mom was just trying to get her excited about her new living arrangements, but she didn’t need to try this hard. Her mom might have been nervous, but she wasn’t. Living away from home was just another challenge. And Sam rocked challenges!

Sam ignored her mother gushing over the furniture and headed up the staircase towards the dorm rooms.

“Remember sweetheart if your arm starts to feel sore then you should stop immediately! Don’t hurt yourself!”

It only took her about a minute to find Room 213. It was right by the bathroom, which was an added bonus. The door was wide open and she walked inside.

It was a pretty nice room, all things considered. At least twice as big as her old bedroom, and it even came with furniture! A desk and a full-length bookshelf, a comfy armchair, heck, there was even a walk-in closet! How neat!

And the bed! It was fabulous! Queen-size? King-size? What was bigger than a king, an emperor maybe? All Sam knew was that it looked a hell of a lot nicer than the rock quarry of a mattress she slept on back home.

“…Hello there…”

Then her eyes landed on the first thing so far that hadn’t kindled joy.

The other side of the room was like a mirror image of Sam’s half, only filled with more things. And one of those things was a girl who looked like she’d never eaten a full meal. Her hair was lighter than Sam’s and as curly as wool, and she had the roundest most innocent blue eyes imaginable.

“I’m Mary,” the girl greeted her, and Sam had to resist the urge to burst out laughing.

“Hey,” Sam brusquely replied, ignoring the sheep-like girl and dropping her bags by the door. She was about to turn and head back down to get more when-

“Wow! So this is your room? It’s gorgeous! Look at how much space you have!”

…When her mother walked in.

“Yes, mom, it’s a nice room,” Sam said, grabbing the bags from her mom and adding them to the pile. “Now come on, there’s more in the car, I want to get this done.” She was practically pushing her out the door, but of course Josephine wouldn’t miss the opportunity to socialize.

“Oh, and who is this now?” Her mom cooed, walking around Sam. “You’re her roommate, right? Nice to meet you! My name is Josephine, I’m Samantha’s mother, and-“

“MOM!” Sam cried, her ears turning red. “I TOLD you, don’t call me ‘Samantha’!”

Her mother glanced back at her with a disapproving frown. “Now Samantha Jones, what do I always tell you?”

Sam sighed in resignation.

“I named you Samantha, and if I wanted to call you something else then I would have,” they said simultaneously.

Her mother nodded. “That’s right. Now, say hello to your new friend.”

She gave an apologetic smile to a very confused Mary. “I’m sorry about my daughter’s attitude, she’s a lovely girl, honest. It was just a long drive up here…”

Sam could just die.

“Hi there,” she said through her forced smile. “I’m… Sam. …Antha. Samantha.”

Mary nodded like the meek little lamb she was. “…Mary,” she said again.

Josephine was all smiles again. “Okay Samantha, I’ll go finish emptying out the car, and in the meantime why don’t you and Mary get to know each other a little better?”

And like that she was gone, leaving Sam alone with a very confused Mary.

“…Your mom seems nice…” Mary squeaked out, and Sam groaned.

“End me, just end me,” she muttered, flopping down on the bed. Ugh. Why did it have to be so soft? It was hard to stay mad in a bed like this!

“So… we’re roommates, huh?” Mary said, smiling a little. Sam’s eyes skipped over her.

She didn’t want to get to know Mary. She didn’t even want to talk to Mary. If she and her roommate never said another word for the next four years, that would be a good relationship in Sam’s book.

But Mary had a surprising amount of determination in her scrawny body. Mainly because she didn’t want to start things off badly with her roommate.

“It’s okay if I call you Sam, right?” She asked.

Sam glanced up. “I would prefer it.”

Mary sighed in relief. “Um… I… I hope we can get along, Sam!” She had a very shaky smile.

“Whatever.”

Her mom returned a few minutes later with more bags.

“Samantha! Don’t just lie in bed!” She sniffed. “You need to unpack!”

Sam groaned and sat up, trudging over to box filled with her textbooks.

“No, not that one! Get one of the lighter ones! Start with the clothes, they’re easy!”

She suppressed a frustrated growl and got to work. Mary watched timidly from her side of the room.

“Um… can I help?” She asked.

“No, you don’t need-“

“Oh, that would be wonderful! What a sweetie you are!”

“…Or ‘yes’, I guess, fine. Whatever.” Sam rolled her eyes and started hanging her shirts.

It took almost an hour but they eventually finished with Sam’s side of the room, and she could finally relax. It definitely looked a lot homier now, she was ready to get settled in.

“Thanks for the help, mom,” she said, hoping her mother would take the hint and get out of her hair.

No such luck, of course.

“Why you’re very welcome, Samantha, but I’m not the only one you should be thanking, Mary helped out quite a lot herself!” Josephine said, shooting the girl a winning smile. Mary's face lit up like a tomato.

“It-It was nothing,” she said bashfully. “It wasn’t like I had anything better to do…”

“Thanks, Mary.”

“Oh Samantha, you can do better than that!”

Sam’s cheeks were red with embarrassment and frustration. She forced a smile to her face. “…Thanks. You were a lot of help.” She almost meant it, too.

Josephine sighed. “My sweet Samantha has become a teenager, where did I go wrong?” She said with an exaggerated groan. “You’re never going to make friends with an attitude like that, young lady!”

“I’m not here to make friends, mom, I’m here to study!”

“There you go again, it’s always ‘books, books, books’ with you these days! I must be the only mother of a teenage daughter in the world who has to remind her to stop studying and go have some fun!”

Mary scooted out of the way, and Samantha kind of snapped. Why did her mom have to be such an embarrassment all the time?! She’d been trying to be cool about it, but her emotions got the best of her at the worst time.

“Yeah, mom? You want me to forget about my studies and have fun? And how did that work out for you!?”

The words had barely left her lips and already she wanted to take them back. She’d crossed the worst line of all, and the distraught look on Josephine’s face spoke volumes.

“I-I’m sorry, mom, I didn’t mean it,” Sam mumbled, forgetting that Mary was even there. She couldn’t believe she’d said something so rude. Maybe she was more anxious about her new school than she’d thought.

Her mother recovered surprisingly well.

“It-It’s fine, sweetheart,” she smiled. “I’m just worried about you. You’re a lovely girl, I don’t know why you insist on shutting yourself off in your room all the time, now that you’ve-“

“Mom!” Sam interrupted her. She didn’t want to talk about last year again.

Josephine sighed. “You were such a happy girl in high school, you had so many friends! And now…”

Sam scowled. “Yeah, mom. Had. I had a lot of friends. And look how that went. No, thanks, I’m fine.” All she wanted to do at college was study, not relive her mom’s partying days.

Seeing that trying to talk to her bull-headed daughter was futile at this point, Josephine gave up.

“…Do I at least get a hug before I go?” She asked hopefully.

“Mom!” Sam blushed, glancing over at Mary. The girl had her nose buried in a book, doing a very good job of pretending like she couldn’t hear a word they were saying.

“Please?”

Sam’s face burned with embarrassment, but she still gave her mom a hug. Josephine’s smothering bear hugs couldn’t be beat. Even though she had humiliated her in front of her new roommate, Sam still found it hard to let her go.