Chapter 1: Checking In

Monday, July 5, 1982

We got up bright and early, had brunch with Mom and Dad, and then headed over to campus. When we got to the residence hall where I’d be staying there were a few tables set up for checking in. Few parents seemed to be around, but ours weren’t the only ones.

We unloaded our luggage, went over to the check-in line, and waited. The guy checking me in was apparently in his early 20s, likely a graduate student. He issued me a key and a big packet of papers and welcomed me to Indiana. He also reminded me that there was an assembly at 5pm and we should all be in the dorm’s common area around 4:30pm so they could lead us to it.

We all headed into the dorm. A couple of dozen teenagers were hanging out in the common area. Mostly guys, but a few girls were there. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be allowed up to the rooms most of the time, though no one stopped Angie. Or Mom, for that matter. After all, they knew the parents would want to see the accommodations.

We headed up a flight of stairs and found my room. I got the door unlocked and looked in. The room had two twin beds, two small desks, two dressers, and two small wardrobes. No TV, no phone, nothing like that. My roommate wasn’t here yet, most likely, since there were no personal belongings in sight, either. I put mine to one side. If my roommate really cared, we could negotiate that, but there wasn’t enough room in the middle to indicate that I didn’t care which side I got.

I locked the door and we headed downstairs. We all got back in the car and drove the short distance to Angie’s dorm, repeating the check-in process. Unlike my dorm, there was a receptionist who permitted Dad to head up, but not me, so I waited on a bench until they came back down.

“My room’s nicer!” Angie said with a grin.

“It is not!” Mom said, with a bit of a chuckle.

“Yes, it is. Not much nicer, but it is nicer. There’s a bit more closet space and a bigger mirror.”

“Both of which you need, and I don’t.”

“True enough.”

We headed back outside and hugged Mom and Dad.

“Take care, kids,” Mom said. “We’re really going to miss you!”

“I’ll miss you, too. Both of you,” I said, smiling.

“Me, too. But it’s not that long and we’ll be back together again,” Angie said.

“A preview of things to come,” Dad said.

Mom sniffled just one little sniffle. “I know. That’s what I’m worried about!”

We both hugged her again.

“I love you, Mom,” Angie said.

“I love you, too, honey,” Mom said.

“And I love you, too. Both of you, for that matter,” I said.

Mom grinned. “Somehow, that helps! It’s just silly enough. I love you, too, Steve.”

We got them into their car, promising to phone tonight.

“I want to go unpack,” Angie said.

“I’d help, but...”

“Yeah. That’d upset them.”

“Love you, sis.”

“Love you, too, bro.”

We split up. When I got back to the dorm, I found the door open and a guy a bit taller than me unpacking a suitcase. He was also heavier than I was. He seemed in his own world, but looked up when I ‘accidentally’ tapped the door stepping into the room.

“O ... oh. Um ... hello. Are you my roommate?” he said.

“Yeah,” I said, offering my hand. “Steve Marshall.”

“Henry Reese,” he said, shaking hands. Not the best grip, but not terrible. “Um ... where are you from?”

“Houston. Houston Memorial.”

He shrugged a bit. “Never been there. I’m from Dayton.”

“Never been there. Closest I’ve been is Cincinnati, and that was years ago,” I said. To be exact, it’d be about twenty-five years ago, which also means about fifteen years in the future, which I obviously couldn’t tell him. “I don’t remember any of it, of course.” Pretty much that was true enough.

“I ... um ... how do you want to work this? I mean, I can see you’ve got the left side of the room.”

“It doesn’t matter much to me,” I shrugged. “I haven’t unpacked at all.”

“Nah, right’s fine.”

“Otherwise, I don’t know. I’m not a neat freak, but I try to keep things straightened up, mostly.” Yes, that was a pretty big change from my first-go-round teenage self. “I don’t plan on hanging out here all that much. If I’m awake I’ll be doing something elsewhere, except maybe reading a bit before bed or something.”

“That works. I’ve never had a roommate or anything. I mean, no brother sharing a room or anything. Just sometimes roommates on tournament trips,” he said with a bit of a shrug.

“Ditto. I’ve got a sister, but we never shared a room.” Hotel rooms, and sleeping, don’t count. Plus, nearly impossible to explain. And way too personal.

“Cool. I’ve got two brothers, no sister. So, what’s your specialty?”

I shrugged. “I do fine in Extemp and CX. Not the best on my team, nor the worst. The best are at Nationals, so I’m fine being a step off.”

“Wow! We’ve never had anyone at Nationals.”

“This is our ... fourth year in a row, I think? Fifth? I forget. One of our team got first in Extemp last year. He graduated, but we sent one CX team, an LD’er, and an Extemper this year.”

“Damn. Your coach a slave-driver?”

I chuckled. “Nope, Meg’s really cool. She mostly just lets us all do our thing and keeps us focused and motivated.”

He shook his head. “Ours really pushes. I dunno. It works, but sometimes it’s annoying. We all scattered for summer programs. Coach’s plan. I drew Indiana.”

“We scattered, but it was personal choice.”

I started unpacking, and he resumed. He finished before me, which wasn’t much of a surprise.

“Hey, I’m gonna head downstairs. See you in a while,” he said, heading out.

“See you in a while.”

Once I’d finished unpacking, I debated going over to the girls’ dorm, but decided it’d be better to wait. Instead, I found the lobby phones and made the first of a few calls.

“Hello, Francis. It’s Steve.”

“Steve! So good to hear from you. I assume you are calling for Jasmine?”

“I am.”

“She’s home. I’ll put her on.”

A few minutes later, I heard the phone get picked up. “Steve!”

“Jasmine!”

“How are you?”

“Missing you, but good otherwise.”

“Missing you, too! I’m almost all packed. I fly out Sunday morning.”

“We’ll have to coordinate via either your parents or mine to figure out how to call each other. We just have pay phones here.”

“I’m not sure if I’ll have a room phone. And, I’m not sure how often I’ll be in my room. We’ll probably need to make a schedule.”

“I’m good with schedules.”

“Better than I am, but I’ll be okay. What’s it like there? Met your roommate?”

“It’s nice enough, so far. He seems okay. Not great. I mean, we won’t be best friends, I doubt. But fine for three weeks.”

“So ... no sudden burst of attraction.”

“That would be a ‘hell, no!’”

She giggled. “Just as I expected.”

“I’d better go. We have an assembly soon.”

“Love you, Steve!”

“Love you, too, Jasmine!”

We both made kissing noises, then hung up.

My second call was to Meg.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Meg, it’s Steve.”

“Steve! Great to hear from you! Safely at Indiana?”

“Yup. Angie and I checked in a bit ago. I haven’t seen Cammie, but I’ll probably see her at the assembly that’s coming up soon.”

“I figure you want to hear about Nationals.”

“I do!”

“Everyone broke, which, honestly, beat my expectations. Callie lost in quarters. So did Janet and Lizzie. I saw their round, and I think it was highway robbery, but you know judges.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I do.”

“Amit made it all the way to semis and placed fifth. I don’t think anyone was more amazed than he was.”

“He’s damn good. Tell them all congrats for me. No shame at all in losing in quarters at Nationals.”

“Not in the least. I’m thrilled, especially since I get you all back!”

“Anything else interesting?” I asked.

“The trip was terrific. I’ll take San Francisco in June anytime. Janet was over the moon, as you’d expect, and Lizzie right along with her. Amit had an aunt and uncle and cousins come up from San Jose. Callie liked it, too.”

“Cool. I wonder where it is next year.”

“Near Kansas City.”

“Not quite San Francisco.”

“Nope,” she chuckled. “I still want to go.”

“Me, too. I guess I’d better let you go. Thanks for the update! I’ll pass it along to Angie and Cammie.”

“Of course you will. Try not to get caught chasing any girls up there.”

“I never chase.”

She laughed. “I actually believe that. No one runs away from you!”

I chuckled at that. “Thanks, Meg.” Inside, I was laughing at this conversation. I remembered 2010s standards well, and this conversation was well outside of what had been acceptable then.

“Keep in touch!”

“I will, promise.”

I hung up, smiling, and headed outside. That’d exceeded my expectations, too. I wasn’t going to invest too much energy in chasing Nationals next year, but it’d moved another step into the ‘realistic’ category. I knew Cammie and I were neck-and-neck with Lizzie and Janet, and, if they were National quarterfinals good, we were good enough for a shot at going.

Of course, we were from the same state. That was a real handicap.

I walked around the dorm and nearby buildings for about an hour, returning to the dorm just before assembly time. The common area was packed by time I got back. It was fairly easy to spot the Drama guys.

Most — not all — of the ones I figured were Debaters were wearing polos or button-downs or the like. A surprising number were in long sleeves. Indiana in July isn’t Houston in July, but it was hardly cool outside.

On the other hand, I guessed most of the ones with t-shirts — especially t-shirts featuring plays or musicals — were Drama kids. Also, the guys wearing ruffled pirate shirts or the like had me assuming Drama.