Uncharted- Chapter 5
I spent the entire next day packing and preparing for my
trip. I already had my suitcase with me, but Carrie had classes all day and
said I could borrow some sundresses for Italy, so I had a whole other project
to do. I tried to find the simplest ones- maybe dark solid colors, but I had to
slightly alter my restrictions. I occasionally took breaks to go pick up some
other supplies from the drug store like gum, toothpaste, deodorant, boring
essentials. Now that I was coming to terms with my situation, it was all
beginning to feel real and I was more excited than ever. While I was packing the
last of my new toiletries, my cell phone vibrated. My mom was calling, probably
as a result of the cryptic voicemail I had left the night before. I hesitated,
but answered. As I brought the phone to my ear, I panicked, realizing that I didn’t
want to hear anyone trying to convince me out of this trip now that I had
finally gotten to this point. I hit the “end” button and threw my phone on the
bed. I wasn’t doing anything wrong; I didn’t have to explain anything to her. I
decided that I would send her a text when I got to my hotel.
As it got later into the afternoon, I felt my lack of sleep
kicking in. I collapsed onto Carrie’s bed and fell asleep for what felt like
two minutes when there was a knock on the door. Carrie burst into the room just
as I unlatched the chain lock. “How’s packing going?” she asked loudly. She
tossed her messenger bag down onto the wooden chair, making a loud clamor. I
quickly looked at Ally’s bed, expecting some type of reaction. She hadn’t
budged, despite Carrie’s dramatic entrance. “Don’t worry about her,” Carrie
said, reading my mind. “She’s been sleeping through everything since September.” I once again felt sorry for Ally, but
continued my discussion with Carrie. “I’m almost done packing. I just feel like
even with your dresses, I have no clothes to bring.” I had always been what I
called a “comfortably cute” dresser. I made sure that everything I wore out was
presentable, , but I didn’t go out of my way to dress extremely nicely. I never
really thought it was necessary. I wore makeup and did somewhat different styles
with my hair, so that was really my focus when I did put in the effort. I
dressed in a simple fashion and was perfectly content with that. I actually preferred
my new, darker sense of style.
“You can borrow other things if you want,” Carrie offered. “No,
no, no, it’s fine. I’m just thinking that I might need to go shopping.” Carrie’s
face lit up. Shopping had always been one of her favorite things to do. I was a
typical girl in many ways, so I appreciated a good shopping trip as well. It
just seemed like whenever we would go shopping together, Carrie would walk away
with twice the amount of items as me. Carrie hesitated before asking: “…do you
have enough money for that? I mean, with enough left for your trip and
everything?” Carrie had reason to be concerned, of course. However, she was
unaware that I hadn’t spent any money since I started working three years
prior. Seeing as I also worked a second job every summer and have been saving
any monetary gifts for the past five years, I thought it would be permissible. “Yeah,
I think I’ll be okay. None of my clothes are exactly ‘Europe appropriate.’ Do
you have some free time tonight?” Carrie jumped out of her chair. “Of course!
Let’s go!”
One excruciatingly long shopping venture later, I had many
new blouses and tank tops to accompany my assorted pairs of jean shorts I had
already owned. Carrie had pushed me out of my comfort zone, causing me to
purchase more floral and pastel colored patterns than I had ever thought
possible. She was right though; if I were ever to change my look and take a
chance, this summer was going to be the time to do it. As we got ready for bed
that night, I was both nervous and excited all over again. When we settled into
bed, Carrie sighed. “Are you excited?” I
was curious why she was asking, but I responded pleasantly. “Yeah, I am. A
little nervous actually, but I am.” A moment passed silently. “Aren’t you going
to be lonely all by yourself?” I never really thought about this factor of my
trip. “Well, I think I can use some time by myself. And if I get really lonely,
that’s when I can come home.” More silence. “Okay,” Carrie murmured. “As long
as you’re careful.” I sighed again. “I already promised I would be. You of all
people know I don’t break promises.” Carrie chuckled as she said “Yes, I know.
Who know, maybe you’ll meet a hot foreign guy." I laughed right out loud. "Yeah, right. I probably won't even speak to anyone over there." Carrie nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” We settled
in and I didn’t fall asleep for a few hours.
