Blythe Tatum expected her freshman year at university to be nerve-wracking, though nothing out of the ordinary. The beginning of her school year starts off as averagely as possible, though Blythe soon finds herself caught up in an unexpected and ine...
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As September morphs into October, a chill settles into the air that seems to have no intention of fading. The weather brings along a new season, which has all of the trees around campus wilting from bright and lively shades of green to deep oranges that will soon give way to a deadly brown color. Leaves tumble to the ground, decorating the sidewalk I walk to and from class along with a physical representation of the oncoming cold.
With time comes no answers as to what happened to Naomi that night on campus, which now feels like forever ago. In all honesty, it felt like the police quit trying to solve her case within the first few weeks her body was found. However, a bit of the silent fear that had lingered around campus after Naomi's death seems to have faded; at least, I feel much safer than I did those first few days after hearing about what happened to Naomi.
Even The Cardinal seems to have found new topics to write about, slowly moving on from the tragedy. Though I hope the case will eventually be solved, I've long since tried to let go of the irritation the fact that no one seems to be doing Naomi justice brings along. After all, I live in America. Our justice system has never seemed to be fair. However, my heart still goes out to her loved ones and relatives. I can only imagine what they must be going through, having lost a friend, daughter, and sister without the clarity of at least knowing what happened to her so they can allow her to rest in peace.
October brings along the start of the football season, which has Jacob practicing twice as much as usual. Part of me aches to see him, missing him whenever we have to spend time apart. However a smaller part of me almost enjoys having time to myself to do with as I please.
The longer Jacob and I date, the closer we grow. A week ago, he even called me his girlfriend in front of a group of his friends, which had me over the moon. Though I've spent an increasing amount of time with Jacob and his teammates, I still have yet to actually ask him about the title he gave me when introducing me to his friends that night at the party. Of course, I'd mentioned the girlfriend title the night it was first brought up, though it's not as if Jacob and I had a very serious conversation about it. Every time I go to ask him, I end up holding my tongue. I suppose I'm afraid to seem too eager when I mention the subject.
I'll ask him tonight, I tell myself as I wrap my jacket tightly around my frame, walking toward the building before me. Whenever Jacob and I hang out, it's almost always in his dorm. Jacob's roommate transferred recently, which left him with his own room. We rarely hang out in my dorm, as Kehlani is my roommate and I don't want to invade her privacy for selfish reasons. His building isn't located very far from mine—maybe a few hundred feet—though Jacob still doesn't like for me to walk over to his place alone. He usually insists on picking me up, though tonight's football practice will be running late. I suggested I'd walk over to meet him in his dorm afterwards and, after lots of arguing back and forth, Jacob finally agreed.
Wrapping my arms around my body for warmth, I step hurriedly toward the illuminated building a few feet away. The orange glow from lights on within dorm rooms casts a shadow across the ground before me, which looks almost spooky. The leaves rustling in the wind and falling from trees to the grass creates a sound that has me on edge, causing me to increase my speed toward the direction of the welcoming building now close by. Once I'm finally inside, I almost sigh in relief. Warm air blasts through the hall from the vents, sinking into my skin and ridding me of my chills. The door falling closed as I enter frees me from the sounds outside, calming my nerves.
