Chapter 12: All for One and One for All!

August 20, 1982, McKinley, Ohio

"Mike Loucks," I said to the young woman at the desk in the brand-new Rickenbacker dorm.

She flipped through the manila envelopes and pulled out the one with my name on it.

"Your room key, a sticker for your ID to update it for this year, a new student handbook, and your parking sticker," she said.

"Parking sticker?"

"The lots are all numbered now, and you can only park in a space in your assigned lot. Yours should be next to this dorm."

"What about guests?"

"There's a guest parking lot on the far side of campus. No stickers are required for that lot."

"If you know, why did they do this?"

"With the new dorm and an additional 800 students this year, the administration was concerned about parking."

"OK. Are there any other new rules?"

"They added a section on parking rules into the student handbook. There is also a new section about sexual assault you should read."

"Thanks," I replied, then turned to my dad, "Let's go check the room before we get a cart to move everything."

He nodded, and we walked over to the elevator. When the doors opened, we got in, and I pressed '8', the top floor, where I was in room 803-A. We rode up, exited the elevator, and turned to the left, quickly coming to room 803. I unlocked the door and pushed it open. The common room was somewhat bigger than the one in the previous dorm, and had two couches, instead of one, and a table with two chairs.

"Nice," Dad said.

I nodded, "I agree. The window air conditioner is a nice plus."

I unlocked the door to the room marked 'A' and saw that it, too, was bigger than my previous room.

"This is nice as well," my dad said. "Not like our dorms when your mom and I were in school! We both had roommates, and we had a single sleeping area with two small desks; no couches or anything! Shall we get your stuff?"

"Yes!" I agreed.

It took nearly an hour to move everything from the cars and arrange my room. Dad helped me set up the stereo and put my albums on the free-standing shelves I'd purchased, as I'd had to keep some of the albums in stacks the previous semester. Once we were finished, I went back downstairs with my dad, we shook hands, and after he had driven away, I put the parking sticker on my car and headed back into the dorm.

"Hey, White Boy!" I heard a deep voice call out.

"Clark!" I called back, walking over to him.

We shook hands warmly.

"How was your Summer?" he asked. "Full of babes, booze, and blunts?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, right! It was pretty much work, karate, and hanging out with friends. Nothing crazy."

Clark laughed, "Mine wasn't either, unfortunately. I spent the Summer working on construction. I met some good guys, including one who's at Ohio State studying criminal justice. He's a nice white guy like you. He seems to know every diner in the Cincinnati area! He has a smoking hot white girl he's engaged to."

"I could give you Emmy's number," I grinned.

"I do not have a death wish! But she's a sweet little thing! And you know what they say?"

"Once you go black, you never go back?" I grinned.

"It's true! Help me and my mom move my shit?"

"Sure!"

While we were moving his things, we ran into Jason, Pete, and Marie. I greeted all of them warmly, and as more of our friends arrived, we all shifted to helping them move their things in, and by mid-afternoon, our entire group from Freshman year was back together. Melody had said 'hello' but otherwise, she'd given me the cold shoulder. That included when I helped carry a box to her room, and she eventually disappeared into her room without a word to anyone, as far as I was aware.

"What happened between you and your main squeeze?" Clark asked when Melody disappeared.

"We had a difference of opinion," I said.

"So you did have some babes over the Summer!" he laughed.

"Yes, but that's not the real problem. But forget that! We have a new semester to worry about."

"And an entire Freshman class to divide between us!" he grinned.

"I think we should leave some for Carter, Larry, Pete, and Jason, don't you?"

"I suppose it would be pretty low not to share with my brothers! What are you doing tonight?"

"I have a date with Katy," I said.

"So you're still seeing her? And you and Angie?"

"Nothing changed with either of them."

"Hey, where's your best friend? Wasn't she supposed to be here?"

"Going to Purdue," I sighed. "It's a long story."

"All bullshit aside, if you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"Thanks."

When we finished moving everyone in, we all went to buy our books, and after the general grousing about the cost of the textbooks, we carried our purchases back to the dorm. Melody hadn't been with us, so I decided to take the bull by the horns and go talk to her.

I walked down the hallway to her room. I was very happy that in this dorm, there were no restrictions about when and where we could be. The girls' bathroom had a locking door, which their room keys opened, but otherwise, we were free to mingle, and there were no rules about 'overnight' guests who lived in the dorm.

I knocked on the door to 817 and waited. Melody's roommate opened the door.

"I'd like to see Melody," I said. "I'm Mike."

"One sec," she said.

She knocked on the 'B' door of room 817, and I saw Melody open it. She saw me and came to the door.

"I'd hoped you would talk to me," I said.

"I believe you made it clear we have nothing to talk about when you didn't call me back. Where's Jocelyn?"

"Purdue," I replied.

"You broke up with her?"

"She wasn't my girlfriend; you were," I countered. "What was going on between Jocelyn and me was all about our relationship since Kindergarten. It's hard to explain."

"She's not going to be here?"

"No. Not this year for sure; probably never."

"Your decision or hers?"

I frowned, "A decision I made led to her decision."

Melody smiled, "You told her you wouldn't sleep with her."

"It's far more complex than that. Can we have the rest of this conversation in private?"

"Sure. Come in."

I went into the room, and she led me into her sleeping area and shut the door. She turned on a radio and tuned it to the Columbus Top 40 station, WNCI.

"I'm not actually sleeping with anyone right now."

"Let me guess," she sighed. "Some priest told you to stop."

I shook my head, "No. Well, I mean yes, that's a given, but that has nothing to do with this. It was my decision, based on everything that has happened, and it's not a permanent thing. I need to get my head screwed on straight, and that means not having that kind of relationship with anyone."

"Do you think I'll accept that kind of situation?"

I shrugged, "It's a decision I've made."

"You know my opinion on that."

"I do."

"Then I guess there isn't anything left to talk about, is there?"

"I suppose not. I was hoping we could still be friends. If not, it's going to be really uncomfortable with the gang."

"You can have them in the divorce," Melody replied flatly.

"It doesn't have to be that way!" I protested.

"It'll be easier if we just do it my way."

"I disagree. I wish you'd reconsider."

Melody's eyes flashed with frustration and something that looked a lot like pain. She opened her mouth, closed it, then shook her head sharply.

"Come to bed," she said, more of an order than an invitation.

"Back to that?" I asked, shaking my head.

"We had this conversation, and I'm not going to rehash it," Melody declared firmly. "Go hang out with your friends."

"Where's the strong, intelligent woman who helped me work through my problems last semester?"

"Not interested in babysitting you!"

I realized I wasn't going to make any progress with Melody, and there was nothing left to say, so I got up and left. I couldn't comprehend why she was acting so differently, and thought back to my break-ups in the past, but really, only the one with April had been serious enough to call a breakup. Jocelyn was a different story altogether.

I actually saw parallels between the two situations, and what I saw scared me. Not because of Melody, but because of Jocelyn. When Nancy and I had split up, we managed to stay friends, though it had been a bit rocky after the first break up. I'd heard tales of horrible breakups in High School, but neither Jocelyn nor Dale had one, so I really had no experience.

If what happened with Melody — and April before her — was typical, it didn't bode well for me and Jocelyn. As I slowly walked back towards my room, I realized I needed to chat with Angie. I hadn't had time to talk to her while we were all moving, nor when we'd gone to buy books. I walked back to 813 and after I knocked, Angie opened the door.

"You look like someone killed your puppy," she said. "Want to come in?"

"How about we take a walk? I need to go to the Quick Mart to stock my fridge. I'll buy you a Coke!"

Angie laughed softly, "You don't need to bribe me to spend time with you!"

"Thanks," I said, truly grateful for the simplicity of our friendship.

We walked to the elevator and rode down the lobby, then walked towards the Quick Mart, which was now four blocks further away.

"What's bugging you?" Angie asked. "Jocelyn?"