2737 Miles

Christen Press was not excited to start her junior year of high school. She was especially not excited to start high school in a place that was 2737 miles away from her family. Her parents had thought it would be good for her to gain independence, so they decided that sending her cross country, to the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, was a good idea. Christen vehemently disagreed. She had argued everything that she could think of, but her parents always had a comeback, so she had given up arguing, and began packing up her stuff.

Christen was currently running frantically around her house, making sure that she had everything that she needed, while her mom screeched at her to hurry up. As she threw one of her favorite pictures into her duffel bag, a picture of her soccer team, she heard the beep of her dad’s car. She gazed sadly around her room, realizing that she wouldn’t see it again for another fourteen weeks, marking the beginning of winter break. She picked up her extremely heavy duffel bag, and proceeded to walk down the hall, tripping and falling face first over her dog, Clementine. Christen sighed. “I almost forgot to say goodbye to you, my little stinky baby.”

She wrapped her arms around Clementine’s neck, and scratched under her chin, realizing how much she was going to miss her dog, whom she considered to be part of her family, like a sister. Clementine began licking Christen’s face, and whimpered when Christen got up, almost as if she knew that she was leaving. Christen patted Clementine’s head once more, and said, “I love you Clem. Don’t make a mess of the house while I’m gone.” Clementine tilted her head to the side, and wagged her tail, saying goodbye in her own dog language. Christen slowly got up, wiped a stray tear from her face, and picked up her duffel bag. She walked down the stairs, and out the front door to her father’s car, and roughly threw her duffel bag into the trunk. Just as she was climbing into the backseat, she heard a shout.

“Christen, wait!” shouted her best friend Julie. “You weren’t gonna forget to say bye to me, were you?”

Christen leapt out of the car and ran into the open arms of Julie. “I’ll miss you, Jules.”

“You better!” Julie exclaimed. “I got you a going away present.”

“Oh, thanks,” Christen said. “What is it?”

Julie handed her a package wrapped in a happy birthday wrapping paper. “Open it,” she said. “Ignore the wrapping paper. I was all out of ‘I wish you didn’t have to move to the other side of the country, I’ll miss you so much’paper, and this was the next best thing.” Christen carefully tore open the paper and set it on the ground, and looked at the gift Julie had gotten her. It was a blanket that bore a picture of their soccer team after they had won their last big tournament, all of them wearing triumphant grins. It was complete with a banner that held all of her teammates’ signatures, and a note from Julie that said, “I know you get cold easily, so just imagine this blanket is a hug from all of us. We’ll miss you so much. Love, your best friend forever, Julie Johnston. PS: Don’t forget to call me and give me all of the juicy east coast gossip. :)”. Christen almost started crying because it was so thoughtful. She pulled Julie in for a huge hug.

“Thank you so much Jules!” Christen exclaimed. “I love it!”

“I’m glad you like it,” Julie chuckled, but then she looked Christen in the eyes and seriously said, “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“I wouldn’t think of it,” Christen replied with a sad smile. “I’ll make sure to tell you about all of the attractive people I encounter.”

“Make sure you do,” Julie said. “I’ll miss you.” She pulled Christen in for one last hug and began walking away.

“Hey! JJ!” Christen shouted, making Julie turn around. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Yeah, what?” Julie replied.

“Ask Zach out!” Christen said with a giggle.

“You’re dreamin’ Chris!” Julie exclaimed.

Just then, Christen’s mother poked her head out of the passenger door window. “I hate to cut your goodbye time short, but we need to go!”

“Bye Christen!” Julie shouted. “And BTW, Zach and I are never going to happen!”

“That’s what you say now, but I’ll prove you wrong at your wedding, and I’ll tell this story!” Christen exclaimed. “Love you, Jules. I’ll snapchat you when I get there.” Julie gave her a thumbs up, winked at her, and then turned around and began walking home. Christen crawled into the backseat of the car, and leaned her head against the window.

“Stop moping, Christen,” her father said. “This can be an adventure for you. I’m sure you’ll make lots of new friends, honey.”

“I don’t want, nor do I need to make new friends. I have plenty of friends right here.” Christen huffed. “Now I’m going to have to join a new soccer team as well. This is all dumb. I’m still not sure why you’re making me do this.”

“We already discussed this, Christen. We think this is a good way for you to gain some independence, and grow into a strong, mature woman. Our decision is final.” Her mother chided. “Please put your seatbelt on.” Christen obliged, and clicked her seatbelt. The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her parents, and then not see them for three months. She was really going to miss them, she realized, even though they got on the end of her nerves more often than not. Christen began thinking about everything, worrying about her new school, and whether or not she would make friends. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized that the car had stopped, and parked at the airport.

“Christen, honey, we’re here,” her mother said. “Get your bag, please.” Christen got out of the car and stretched out her legs, groaning at the popping sound that followed. She heaved her bag out of the trunk, and waited for her parents to begin walking towards the check-in station. She followed closely behind them, not wanting to get lost in the crowds of people. Her mother entered the information into the computer, and gestured for Christen to hand her bag to the assistant. She mumbled a quick “thank you” when the assistant grabbed the bag from her hands, and waited for her mother to hand her the ticket. Her mother gave her the ticket, and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. “I’ll miss you, sweetheart. Call us when you land, okay?” she sniffled.

“I will, mom,” Christen sighed. “I love you.” She walked over to her dad, who immediately hugged her, and kissed the top of her head.

“I’ll miss you, sweetpea,” he said. “Stay safe, and call if you need anything.” Just then, over the intercom, a woman’s voiced boomed, “Flight 2317, now boarding. Repeat: Flight 2317 is now boarding.”

“I guess I should get going,” Christen said with a sad smile. “I’ll miss you so much.” She gave one last hug to her mother and father, and then ran towards terminal 5, and handed the man behind the desk her boarding pass. He scanned it, and boredly said, “Have a nice flight.” She walked into the tunnel and onto the plane, finding her seat. She sat down, put her earphones on, and grabbed To Kill a Mockingbird out of her backpack, She had just begun reading when a girl around her age, with long brown hair, and bright blue eyes sat down next to her. Because Christen was shy, she scooted as far away from the girl as the seat would permit, and then leaned her head against the window, falling asleep to the sound of the engines starting.

Christen awoke to the sound of the intercom. “Please put your trays in their closed positions, upright your chairs, and buckle your seatbelts.” She did as she was asked, and then looked at the girl sitting next to her. She was sleeping soundly, and quietly snoring, in a way that was almost cute, with her head resting on the back of the chair. Christen debated about waking her up, although she finally decided to, because her seat was still leaned back, and she didn’t have her seatbelt on. She tapped her lightly on the shoulder, and when she didn’t wake up, she tapped her harder, almost hitting her. She finally awoke, letting out a startled sound as she sat up. “Do you need something?” she asked.

“No,” Christen replied. “We’re landing soon, and we have to prepare for landing. I thought I would wake you up so the flight attendant wouldn’t have to come over here.”

“Oh. Okay, thanks.” she said. She sat her seat up and put her tray away, all the while humming a tune that was familiar to Christen. The girl seemed to sense that Christen was watching her, so she turned and raised a single eyebrow in Christen’s direction. Christen’s face flushed as she realized that she had been caught staring, and she stuttered out a sloppy sentence.

“I, um, was just trying to figure out what song that was.”

“Okay,” the girl smirked. “I’ll let you figure that out yourself.” She stuck her hand out. “My name’s Alex. Alex Morgan.”

Christen shyly extended her arm towards Alex, and shook her hand. “Hi. I’m Christen Press.”

Alex smiled for a second, and then gestured around the plane, to the various other people that were currently seated. “I bet people are always imPRESSed when they hear your name, huh?”

Christen put her head into her hands and groaned. “If I hear that pun more time, something bad is going to happen,” she looked up. “My teammates used to say that so often when we would go on long bus rides, and they would do it just to piss me off!”

Alex giggled. “Sorry, I won’t bring it up again,” she almost looked apologetic when she looked at Christen. “You said teammates. What sport do you play?”
“I’m a soccer player.” Christen responded.

“Sweet!” Alex exclaimed. “Me too!” Just then, the plane’s landing gear activated, and Christen gripped tightly at her armrests, and closed her eyes, hoping that she wasn’t about to die. When the plane’s wheels touched the ground, and she had deemed that they were going slow enough to avoid potential death, she opened her eyes. Alex was looking at her, with her eyebrow raised yet again.

“You’re afraid of planes?” she asked.

“It’s more of a fear of death,” Christen sighed. “But yes. Being stuck in an aluminum can slightly horrifies me.”

“Huh,” Alex replied. “That actually makes sense. I’m only afraid of cats, but that’s just because a stray cat attacked me once. I hadn’t even provoked it.”

Christen grinned. “I think we can both agree that cats are evil, and that dogs are obviously superior.” Alex nodded in agreement.

The pilot’s voice sprouted over the intercom. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, we hope that you enjoyed flying with us today, and hope you’ll fly with us again. Have a fantastic day!” With the last of his words, people began the mad dash to get their baggage out of the overhead compartments, and Alex and Christen were forced to duck down as arms reached over them, almost hitting them. The pair both waited until the cabin cleared out, only rising out of their seats when they no-longer felt that they were about to be attacked by over eager businessmen. Christen grabbed her small carry-on backpack, and began walking toward the exit of the plane, stopping when Alex’s voice sounded behind her.

“Christen! Wait!” she said, yanking her backpack out of the overhead compartment. “Did you check a bag? We could walk together towards the baggage claim.”

Christen nodded. Although she had previously wanted some alone time to handle the fact that she was newly friendless on the opposite side of the country, it was nice to have someone to talk to, and despite that fact that Alex Morgan was not what seemed like a typical friend of Christen’s, she felt a newfound camaraderie with her. “Sure.”

They began the long trek towards the baggage claim, stopping at a coffee shop, with Christen purchasing an acai smoothie, and Alex a wild berry one.

When they finally arrived at the baggage claim, Christen immediately spotted her blue duffel bag, and hoisted it over her shoulder, suddenly questioning bringing all of those sentimental items.

It took Alex a considerable amount of time to find her bag, and when she did, Christen wondered how she hadn’t found it immediately, as it was a hideous orange color, that appeared as if it was tearing apart at the seams. Christen looked at Alex, and chuckled, asking, “Did you try to find the most repulsive bag?”

Alex frowned. “I like this color,” she said with a straight face, before breaking off into laughter. “No, my mom bought it for me. She said it would be easier to find if it was easy to recognise, but I’m not sure how well her idea worked, because I just spent way too long looking for it.”

Christen giggled. “At first I thought you were serious, and I was worried I was going to have to-”

“Hey!” a voice shouted. “Alex. Patricia. Morgan.” The voice belonged to a girl that looked a year or so older than Christen, and she had dark brown hair, with warm brown eyes, and a soccer player's’ body.

Alex’s face immediately responded with recognition, and she sprinted over to the girl, dumping her bags to the ground, and leaping into the girl’s arms. “Ali! I missed you! How was your summer? How’s Kyle? Is there any gossip I should know about?”

Ali laughed, her nose crinkling in an adorable way, and said, “Woah! Slow down, Baby Horse! We have a whole year to catch up.”

“Some people have way too much patience.” Alex grumbled. She reluctantly let go of Ali, and picked her bags up. “Are we leaving soon?”

“Yeah,” Ali responded. “We’re just waiting for another girl.” She looked down at a piece of paper in her hands. “Her name is Christen Press.”

Alex looked over, and met Christen’s eyes. “You never told me you were going to Lawrenceville!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You never asked,” Christen said shyly, rubbing the back of her neck, as she did when she got nervous.

Ali looked between the two of them, and said, “Oh. You two have already met!” She walked over to Christen, and looked her in the eyes, and with that, a feeling of peace spread over her body. “My name is Ali Krieger. I’m a senior at Lawrenceville, and I’m basically going to be your guide for the first few weeks of school, just until you get ahold of things.” Ali smiled brightly, and it seemed so genuinely pure, and Christen realised she might have a real friend in Ali, so she smiled brilliantly back at her.

“Thanks. Nice to meet you.” Christen grinned.

“Need any help with your bags?” Ali asked, gesturing towards her duffel bag.

“That would be absolutely, wonderful,” Christen responded, and Ali easily lifted the bag over her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Can we go now?” Alex whined. “I’m tired. Can you carry my bag too?”

“Carry your own duffel, Alex.” Ali chuckled. “I don’t want to be seen with that hideous garbage that you call a bag. The car is right outside.” Ali gestured towards the curb, and began walking, tugging Alex along by her elbow. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a key, unlocking the door of a beat-up, old looking Toyota, and popped the trunk. She threw Christen’s bag into the trunk, and told Alex to do the same.

Alex tossed her bag into the trunk, and it made a large clunking sound, probably filled with various trinkets of hers. She slammed the trunk closed, sprinted to the front seat, and yelled, “Shotgun!”

Ali sighed, probably wishing that Alex would settle down, and climbed into the front seat, putting the key into the ignition, and the car started with a sputtering rumble, which evolved into a stable humming sound. “Go ahead and hop in the back Christen. We have about an hour until we get to the school, so make yourself comfortable.”

Christen climbed into the back, and buckled her seatbelt, leaning her head back against the headrest. Ali gassed the car, and they sped forward, and Alex launched into another series of questions about Ali’s summer. Christen fell asleep to the sound of Ali shushing Alex, and the eventual quiet murmuring of the two.

She was roused when Alex leaned back and lightly tapped her on the knee. “Hey, Christen. Wake up. We’re here.”

Christen sat up and stretched, letting out an enormous yawn. “How long was I asleep for?”

“Pretty much the whole drive, I think,” Ali responded. “You can’t really see much right now, but we’re right next to the soccer field.” Christen gazed out the window, and was met with a sight that made her feel right at home: a soccer field that was with damp with dew, and a stray soccer ball rested against the bleachers.

Ali pulled the car into a spot, and parked, turning the car off, abruptly stopping a song that Alex had been listening to.

“Hey!” Alex exclaimed. “I like that song.”

“You can listen to it on your own time Alex,” Ali said. “I’m exhausted, and I want to go to bed.” She threw open her door, and stepped out, and opened Christen’s door as well. She grabbed Christen’s arm, and pulled her up. “Welcome to Lawrenceville, Press. You’ll love it here.” She then opened the trunk, tossing Alex and Christen their respective bags.

“You and Alex are both in Kennedy Hall, which is building two.” Ali lead the way, keeping a brisk pace, until they arrived at their dorm. “Alex, you’re rooming with Allie Long this year.”

“I’m so glad!” Alex said. “Everyone better watch out though. Allie and I will probably get into shenanigans this year.”

“Just keep the trouble away from me, okay?” Ali replied. With that, she ushered Alex up the stairs, and Christen heard an excited shout of “Alex!” before the door closed.

“I’ll walk you to your room, okay Christen?” Ali said, and she grabbed Christen’s wrist tugging her up the stairs, to a door labeled 2A. “You’re rooming with Tobin. She’s super chill, so you guys should get along well.”

“Thanks, Ali.” Christen said. “I really appreciate it.”

With that, Ali vacated the area with a wave, and Christen was left standing in front of her door, wondering whether or not to knock. After a moment of careful consideration, she decided that knocking would be the best option, as she would be able to be introduced to her new roommate. She stepped forward, tapping lightly at the door, and when no one answered, she knocked louder, which received a response. The door was flung open by a disgruntled looking girl, who sleepily muttered, “It’s really late.”

At first, Christen didn’t answer, because she was so caught up with the girl in front of her. She had skin that looked amazingly smooth, with light brown-blonde hair, and honey brown eyes. She had a lanky figure, with long arms, and tanned skin, and appeared to be in good athletic shape. However, her eyes were mostly drawn to the girl’s defined jawline, which looked like if Christen touched it, it would slice her.

When Christen regained her composure, she responded. “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up!” She held her hand out, saying, “I’m your new roommate, Christen Press”

The girl put her hand in Christen’s and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Tobin Heath.” Tobin shuffled backwards into the room and laid back onto her bed, mumbling, “Your bed is over there. It’s all set up for you. Goodnight.” With that, Tobin’s head fell to the side, and her breathing became steady and even.

Christen wandered over to her side of the room, and set her stuff down on the floor by the foot of her bed, reasoning that she would have tomorrow to put her stuff away. She quickly put on a pair a of shorts and a Stanford tee-shirt, and climbed into bed. Just as she was falling asleep her phone buzzed, and she sat up to look at it, seeing that it was a text from Julie,

Jules: Are you there yet?
Christen;Yeah, just got here a few minutes ago. My roommate seems chill.
Jules; That’s good.
Jules: Any hot people yet?

Christen put down her phone for a second, and looked over at Tobin sleeping peacefully, and nodded to herself.

Christen: Yeah. I’ll give you updates tomorrow. I’m super tired.
Jules: Ok. Goodnight, love you.
Christen: You too.

She set her phone down on her nightstand, and fell back into bed, casting one last glance at Tobin. She had never been attracted to a girl before, but there was no doubt about it, she had instantly felt captivated by Tobin. She fell asleep thinking thoughts that probably weren’t very ladylike, and she decided she was going to have a good year.