Room Two-One-Two

 

Friday, December 12, was our last night as roommates. The residence of room two-one-two, Melissa, River, and I, had become a family. Since it was Friday, it meant it was our favorite holiday, Pancake Movie Night. We did not end up eating until after ten that night, but we enjoyed our delicious nutella and peanut butter smothered breakfast for dinner while we watched one of my favorite movies, Elf.

 

I remember my first reaction when I saw River was, “Wow! She’s taller than I expected.” When we interviewed with each other earlier in the year, our conversation lasted for over an hour, when it was only supposed to be twenty minutes. She was a very welcoming person and we got along well with each other. The first time I saw Meli, I did not realize that she was in twelfth grade. However, she did act like an IB student because she was always in her room hiding behind her computer.

 

As we squished onto the pull out couch, we decided we were going to pull an all nighter because Meli had to leave at three in the morning. It seemed like a good idea at the time because it was only a couple of hours, but as soon as Meli got up to shower, River and I passed out without seeing Buddy tell his story about travelling through the Candy Cane Forest.

 

For Melissa’s birthday on December 3, River and I surprised her with a chocolate Countdown cake, sparkly candles, Tabasco sauce, beans, and Tabasco flavored chocolate. She went to bed at 8:30 on her eighteenth birthday, so we celebrated it the following day. Three slices of the wax spotted cake were eaten in the glow of little tea light candles while we talked about our lives. We went to sleep after the last flame was blown out.

 

Meli snuggled herself onto the couch with us at 12:30 and we all took a nap until we were awoken at three in the morning. Joseph came banging on the door for Meli to come out. We quickly said goodbye. Then, the group of students and suitcases packed into the van and drove toward the airport.

 

We cooked dinner together almost every night, and we sure did make some amazing meals. The Countdown order for room 212 always included bagels, pancake mix, cheese, granny smith apples, and of course avocados. We even added tomatoes to the weekly list once we realized that River and I could still eat them even though Meli was allergic. If it weren’t for River, I would never know that I am in love with tomatoes. In our closet sized kitchen, we created pitas with fried eggplant, tomatoes, pesto, avocado, and cream cheese, which tasted a lot better than they sound, some delicious eggplant parmesan sandwiches, and amazing avocado and macaroni and cheese. Of course, I perfected the Aunt Jemima’s golden chocolate chip pancake as well.

 

River and I went to sleep in our own beds for the last time. However, we were awoken at 7:30 when it was time for her to depart. Instead of going back to sleep or packing, I cleaned the entire hotel room, from the garbage in the corner to the dirty pancake dishes.

 

We continuously nagged each other, but in a loving way. I am sure River will never forget my lessons on how to match your underwear to your outfit and I definitely will not forget to have a good day after Meli told me so many mornings as I left for breakfast. River always yelled at me not to harm my eyes by staying up late to finish work in the dark and how to open your home to everyone. She was my therapist, dishwasher, editor, roommate, and friend. I could not have ask for a better roommate. Who else would have read my lab report on empathy or watched and edited my weXplore videos until they were perfect?

 

I had nearly eight hours before I even had to leave and I spent most of that time trying to get my suitcase under 50 pounds. That is probably one of the hardest things about TGS. Packing your entire life into one suitcase and then attempting to get it underweight on the way back, after all of the extra memories and souvenirs you have added.