Eleanor and Park The Sequel: Don't Pass Me By

Chapter 1

                                                                               september. 1989.

 eleanor

        Eleanor jammed her headphones further into her ears and tried to ignore the nauseating gait of the Ford as it bounced down the I-94.  It was hard to tell if she was more nauseous from the long backseat ride, or the prospect of starting fresh at a new school, yet again. 

        To be fair, this time it was college, and everybody would be starting fresh (hence the term freshman, she realized distractedly). 

        To be fair, starting over in St. Paul hadn’t been all bad.  At first she had experienced the requisite stares, comments about her crazy hair, and annoying surprise from her teachers when she showed her intelligence, but Eleanor was used to that.  Besides, nothing could compare to what she had been through with the bullies in Omaha.  Omaha had made her stronger, she now understood.  Eventually, Eleanor had even made a few true friends at her new high school.  Jamie and Melissa were good people, and she was going to miss them now that they were all going to separate schools.  What Eleanor was most proud of, though, was finally showing everyone, including herself, what she was made of when she earned full scholarship to North Point University.  Even her dad had sounded proud when she called to tell him.  Not proud enough to show up at graduation, but still. 

        At the thought of school, her stomach flipped over nervously once again.  Eleanor adjusted the volume of her Walkman, and leaned her head back.  The Beatles’ Blackbird crooned. Take your broken wings and learn to fly.  Eleanor closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to relax.

        “Almost there, Eleanor!” Aunt Susan said sweetly, smiling around the passenger seat. 

        “Yup”, Eleanor replied, trying to sound more excited than tense.  Her uncle, quiet as usual, just down geared the Volvo as he took the exit towards Evanston.

park

            He wasn’t sure, but Park thought he could see tears brimming in his mom’s eyes as they parked the car in the visitor’s lot in front of Gage Hall freshman residence.  This only made him feel guiltier than he had in the past months since he had decided to go to school out of state.  Deciding to go to school farther from home had been a big decision, but not a tough one in the least.  Park was ready to leave Nebraska, and his high-school self, far behind.  He would miss his mom some, and his grandparents a lot, but North had felt like the kind of place he would fit in from the moment he stepped on campus for his senior year visit and noticed that his guide, a junior named Finn, had both Smiths and Misfits patches on his jacket.  He had been amazed to look around campus and see so many people that were just... different.   There were white people, sure, but also Asians, a guy with a Mohawk, and even a group of women in traditional Muslim hijabs. For once, he hadn’t felt like he was the most prominent-looking person around.  Finding out that there was a sophomore course called ‘Sociology of Music: A Survey of American Punk Rock’ was just icing on the cake.  Besides, it was driving distance away.  If there was a really good reason, he could be home without too much trouble.  This was how he had convinced his parents to let him take the Impala to campus with him, and thus why they had made the grueling road trip to Evanston by car: “As a family!” his mom had sung.

            Not that it had taken much convincing to show his dad that it was a good idea for him to get further away from home.  His father, now parking the truck filled with the rest of Park’s boxes, looked downright jubilant.  Usually this type of reaction would make Park feel angsty and annoyed, as he was so used to feeling towards his father’s indifference, but at the moment it was a nice relief from his mom’s sadness.  Park, quite frankly, was stoked about the whole experience – from meeting his new roommate, to starting classes.  He even (naively, he imagined), felt excited to eat in the dining hall for the first time.  Just like a ‘real’ college student.  It was starting to sink in that this was all happening, and now.

        “Let’s get this show on the road, you two”, his father said buoyantly, slamming the truck door closed and undoing the tailgate.  “If we haul all this stuff upstairs quickly, we can be back on the Interstate before too long, Mindy”.

        Park’s mom huffed, “What’s the rush?” and straightened her hair.  Park could have been sure that she sniffled, but decided to ignore it.  He hoisted a box from the back of the truck and walked towards the front doors of the residency hall, trying to ignore any emotions that were bubbling up inside.  Other students and their parents were milling around, saying goodbye and unpacking cars in the parking lot.  Someone was blasting a horrendous pop song from a radio in the lobby, but it added fun atmosphere nonetheless.  Park held the door open for a stocky guy about his age and his parents, who had his hands full of bags.  As he thought for the millionth time about who his potential roommate could be, his nerves fluttered just a little.  To keep his mind off of it, he mentally ran through his to do list one more time: pick up his key from the front desk, unpack his room, sort out his parking pass, and find the student union building where he could pick up his meal card.

        Through the lobby doors Park saw his mom and dad unloading the second and last load of items from the car and truck.  The mid-afternoon sun shone outside, casting  a cheerful glow on the beautiful campus.  Park grinned internally, thinking: finally.