Page 3 of Love Legacy

Naomi

“ I ’ll be fine, Granny Mae. I promise you that,” I say, balancing my phone between my shoulder and ear as I carry my suitcase down the hall to my new apartment.

I knew she was worried about me, moving to a new state and university three years in.

Sure, it was my first time on my own, but she, of all people, understood why I was getting away.

“Now, sweet pea, I love you. I understand you needed a fresh start, I just wish you had stayed closer to home. I would’ve helped you with tuition at the University of Georgia or Spelman.”

“Granny, I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’re already paying my rent up here; I can’t ask for rent and tuition.”

“You don’t have to ask me for anything! You’re my favorite grandbaby. It’s what grandmas do.”

“Granny Mae, I’m your only grandbaby,” I say, rolling my eyes, knowing full well that she can’t see me. “Hey, Granny, I have to go. I’m finally at my apartment.”

“Okay, honey. Make new friends and take a lot of pictures for me.”

“Alright, I will. Love you.” I hang up the phone, taking a deep breath.

12B.

I guess this is where I’ll be living for the next year.

I turn to knock on the door, pausing for a moment.

The apartment manager gave me keys when I signed the sublease earlier this week, but she warned me that my roommates had already been living in the apartment from the previous academic year.

It felt weird barging into someone else’s space.

The door flies open before I get the chance to knock, a smiling redhead standing in the door frame.

“Hi! You must be Naomi, right? I’m Maeve, one of your new roommates,” the woman says, holding her hand out.

I shake her hand. “Yes, ma’am, Naomi Williams.”

“Oh my god, I love your accent!” she says, grabbing the handle of my suitcase and dragging it into the entryway of the apartment. I follow her lead, stepping inside.

Looking around, this is exactly what I pictured a New York apartment to look like.

Granted, we’re in the Hudson Valley and not actually in New York City, but this apartment captures that same aesthetic.

Coming into the apartment, the wall to my right is exposed brown brick extending down to the far side.

The wall at the end of the apartment is taken up by a large rectangular window, letting in a flood of natural light.

To the left, the wall of the entryway opens up to the open concept floor plan, and the kitchen and living room are separated by a small breakfast bar.

The kitchen is full of stainless steel appliances, with a simple, black, single-serve coffee maker tucked into a corner.

The upper cabinets are made of shiny white material, the counters are butcher block, and the lower cabinets are black wood.

A large white sectional fills the living room, leaving enough space for a wood and black steel coffee table and a tall bookcase in the far corner.

There’s a large TV mounted on the wall opposite the couch.

It’s such a sleek and modern place, and I can’t believe it’s mine for the next year.

“So Naomi, our other roommate, Alex, should be back soon with some food. I’m not sure if you’re hungry, but we ordered sushi if that’s alright?”

“I’ve never had sushi before, but I’ve always wanted to try it.”

Maeve’s mouth drops open at my confession. “Never had sushi? Where’d you move from, the middle of nowhere?”

“Close enough. A small town in Georgia. Two thousand five hundred people, two stop lights, you’d miss it if you blinked.”

“Wow. Well, you’re in luck then because we got a sampler platter.

You’ll be able to try a bunch of different rolls,” she says, heading toward the fridge.

“Would you like anything to drink? We have water, coffee, soda, protein shakes, probiotic soda, wine, cider…” Maeve digs through the fridge, pulling out a small soda can for herself.

“Water is fine,” I say, taking a seat at the counter as she slides a water bottle toward me.

“So I’m not going to ask you too many questions right now because I know Alex’s going to want to know your story, but what’s your major? I’m Biology, pre-vet focus. She’s a linguistics major with minors in Spanish and Mandarin.”

“Well, at my old school, I was a business major, but Pinebrook had a lot more options when I enrolled. So I’m going to switch to the Global Management BA program.”

“And do you know what you’re going to do with it? I mean after college. I know I plan to go to veterinary school, and I think Alex said she wanted to work at the UN as an interpreter or something.”

I shrug. “Well, originally, the plan was to take over business operations for the mission organization that Daddy’s parish is partnered with, but now, I’m not so sure that’s what I want to do.”

Maeve rubs her chin, squinting her eyes at me. “Mission organization… So you’re like religious religious?” she asks, eyeing the cross around my neck.

I smile sheepishly, taking another sip of my water. “That’s a long story and one that’ll need something stronger than water.” Maeve laughs, and shortly after, the front door opens.

“Hey, I’ve got the food! Is the girl here yet? Oh, it’s you,” a brunette says, rounding the corner from the hallway. She puts the two takeout bags on the counter before turning to me. “Hey, I’m Aleka, but most people just call me Alex.”

“Aleka… That’s a unique name,” I say with a smile, getting up to help them with the food.

“Thanks, it’s Greek. My dad moved here as a teen from Patras, my mom’s from Xanthi, though she moved here as a baby,” Alex replies, taking out the different containers of sushi rolls and other side dishes.

Maeve gets out a couple plates and little dipping bowls for us.

“So Naomi, we ordered a few different rolls: California, Spicy Tuna, Salmon and Avocado, Philadelphia and Spider rolls. We also ordered Crab Rangoon, Rock Shrimp, Edamame and Pork Shumai,” she says, pointing to each item once we’ve unbagged it all.

“Naomi here has never had sushi.”

“No freaking way!” Alex responds as she hands me chopsticks. “On second thought, I’ll grab you a fork,” she says, taking back the chopsticks.

“Yes, please,” I reply, fixing myself a plate with one of everything before sitting at the counter. Maeve pours some soy sauce into each of the dipping bowls before handing one to me and Alex.

I dip one of the spicy tuna rolls into the soy sauce before putting it in my mouth. Once I finish chewing, I look up to see Maeve and Alex staring at me.

“So…?” Maeve asks, eating her own sushi.

I give her a reassuring smile. “It’s delicious.” Both women relax once I answer.

“Okay, good. Just wanted to make sure we didn’t ruin your first night with food you hate,” Alex says.

“Now that we got your first taste of sushi out of the way, tell me this long story about you and religion,” Maeve says, pouring a glass of wine.

I point to the glass. “Is that for me?”

She nods, sliding it across the bar counter to me. I take a big swig before taking a deep breath.

“Okay, so where do I start? I transferred to Pinebrook University right before my senior year because I got kicked out of my old school for one too many honor code violations with no remorse.” Maeve and Alex both gasp.

“Kicked out?”

“Honor code violations? For what?”

I laugh cynically, taking another big swig from my glass of wine.

“Let’s see. First, I wore a skort to class during the summer.

Then, I got a second violation for insubordination because I posted on Instagram about how ridiculous the policy was.

I got my third violation because someone took a photo of me and my boyfriend studying in his dorm and sent it to the Dean of Students.

According to policy, after three violations, we’re supposed to go through a ‘restorative conference’ and then the Conduct Review Committee would reevaluate my standing.

I told them they could take their policies and shove it where the sun don’t shine, and they dismissed me with the status of Non-Return. ”

Maeve and Alex just stared, looking at me as if I had five heads.

“Over a skort?”

“Studying in a dorm?”

“What’s a restorative conference?”

“What does non-return mean?”

“What outdated ass school did you go to?”

They both fire off a bunch of questions, and I wait for them to finish before I respond. “I went to High Valley University.”

“Oh! Well, that explains everything,” Maeve says as she starts to clean up the leftovers from dinner.

“Wait, isn’t that one of those super-religious schools?” Alex asks, taking a seat next to me and refilling my wine glass.

“Yep, nicknamed ‘the BYU of the South’,” I respond, drinking more wine.

“So why the hesitation on whether or not you’re religious?” Maeve asks, leaning on the counter in front of me.

I look down at my wine glass, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “It’s not that simple. My daddy’s the lead pastor for our congregation. I grew up in the church. I’m religious, but I’m starting to realize that some of the things that I was taught aren’t quite right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, take my violation for wearing a skort. Why does my choice to wear knee-length shorts over a floor-length skirt affect my education or my relationship with God? Why is it that women are treated as less than men and it’s okay?

I know y’all didn’t sign up for my identity crisis, but there’s just some things I need to work through on my own with religion.

And until I do, I don’t know where I stand. ”

Alex pats my arm reassuringly. “Well, you don’t have to figure it out just yet. And we can help! You know, show you what it’s like outside the religious bubble.”

I smile, finding comfort in the two women. “Thank you. I appreciate that!”

“Speaking of the quintessential, secular college experience, Rush starts this coming week!” Maeve says, going to sit down on the couch.

I turn around on my stool. “What’s Rush?”

“Oh, my young padawan, you have much to learn,” Alex says, taking our glasses and washing them in the kitchen sink.

“Padawan? What’s that?”

“You’ve never seen Star Wars ? Alex, add that to Naomi’s experience list,” Maeve says with a laugh.

Alex takes a notepad from one of the kitchen drawers and actually starts making a list. “So Rush is the one week a semester when all the sororities get together and try to recruit students to join their organization. Pinebrook does things a little differently because instead of forcing you to go to multiple houses, each sorority does their own individual rush. It’s less overwhelming this way and takes up less of your time. ”

“Okay, I’ve heard of sororities, but I’m not sure what they do. I’ve heard some horror stories about hazing, do the sororities here do anything extreme?”

Maeve shakes her head, giving a small shrug. “Nothing extreme, but I have heard a rumor that one of the sororities will essentially kidnap you in the middle of the night to take you to your member initiation.”

Now it was my turn to be shocked. “That’s slightly terrifying.”

“Yeah, but it keeps you on your toes!” Alex says with a laugh, scribbling on the notepad. “Okay, so for your experience list, I have: learn how to use chopsticks, rush a sorority, and watch Star Wars . Anything else I should add?”

I bite my lip. “I want to make out with someone!” I say in a rush.

She raises a brow. “I thought you said you had a boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend, I guess. It was an arranged relationship with the expectation that we’d get married when we graduated, but I haven’t talked to Josiah since I left High Valley. He blamed our sanction for being together in his dorm on me.”

“And you guys never kissed?” Maeve asks, completely surprised.

“We shared a kiss once or twice, but he never let it go much further than that. I remember the one time we accidentally kissed with tongue, he went to confession the day after. So yes, I would like to have the normal college experience of kissing and making out.”

Alex chuckles. “Well, the normal college experience goes a little further than that, but we’ll start out slow,” she says, adding make-out sesh to the list.

“I’m going to leave this list on the fridge. If you can think of anything else you’d like to add, just add it. And that goes for you too, Maeve. And then Naomi, as you do the things on the list, just cross them off! It’ll be cool to see how many new things you try this year before we graduate.”

“About that… Since I’m transferring in so late, I have to take an extra year. Pinebrook won’t let me graduate until I’ve completed thirty credits here, and I can’t do that in one year,” I say.

“Well that’s fine, just more time for you to try out new experiences,” Alex says with a wink as she tapes my list to the fridge.

I’m optimistic. Already, I’m feeling more at ease with my two new roommates than I had felt in a while at High Valley University.

Maybe moving from Georgia to New York to attend a brand new university wasn’t such a crazy idea after all.

I’m excited for what Pinebrook University might have in store for me.