When Sarah first decided to go away for university she had no intention of maintaining her relationship with her boyfriend. Coming from a family of over protective parents, she wanted a chance to spread her wings and try being independent. This included being single. However, when the time came to break up with her boyfriend, Carl, she couldn't do it. They had been together for a year and a half and had done a lot as a couple such as: lost their virginities to one another, fallen in love, graduated together, fought over everything that they could possible fight about, and debated universities together, to name a few; Sarah found herself unable to let go. The truth was, she found herself able to picture a future with him and that seemed too valuable to throw away.
When it came time to leave for school, Sarah packed up all of her belongings and drove with her mom and her brother to Edmonton, where she would be attending university. Her last minutes with Carl were ones that she would never forget; they held each other close and held back the tears that were brimming in both their eyes. After around twenty minutes, Sarah pulled away and got into her car and drove away, tears blurring her eyes.
The trip to Edmonton was a long one but it gave Sarah hope that she had made the right choice. When she was finally about to move into her room she laid everything out perfectly. After she had tucked away her last pair of jeans, she felt a wave of emotion roll over her. It was a mix of excitement, satisfaction, and the feeling of renewed expectation.
Over the course of the coming month Sarah learned a lot: she could not live solely on breakfast burritos (which was the only edible food in the school cafeteria); it was very difficult to have Skype sex when she was constantly worried about her roommate barging in; it was very difficult to masturbate with a roommate sleeping (hopefully) five feet away. She missed Carl more than anything in the world; she would be spending her birthday a lone this year.
Sarah's birthday fell right smack dab in the middle of reading break and all of her friends were heading home to be with their families. Sarah, on the other hand, planned to curl up in bed with a box of wagon wheels and her favorite movie and wallow in self-pity. Birthdays had never been a big occasion in her household, one year her dad forgot to get her a present until about a week later, but Carl had always tried his hardest to make them special for her. This year she would have to settle for face timing and the peace of mind knowing that no one would barge in during Skype sex.
On the day before her birthday, Sarah was tidying her room; Sarah found that living with another person triggered the neat-freak living in her head to work double duty, constantly making sure her half of the room was clean. After she had finished straightening the bed there was a knock on the door of the bedroom.
She heard the voice of one of her remaining floor mates say through the door, "Hey Sarah, can you come out here for a sec? I wanted to ask you about something."
"Sure I will be right there, I'll bring my chemistry notes with me," Sarah replied. The girl, Stella, was constantly asking to copy her notes.
Sarah grabbed the notes off of the bookshelf, heaved the heavy door open, and stepped into the hallway. When she looked up she saw two people, one was her floor mate Stella, and the other was her boyfriend Carl. Sarah lunged forward and grabbed her boyfriend. It felt so good to hug him after three months of only being on a screen.