The two girls hauled their stuff into the dorm and finally received their room assignments. “I’ll meet you after I get settled in,” said Deborah. She held up her cell phone. “I’ll call you.”
It took her only five trips to bring everything upstairs to her dorm. Her clothes were packed in a big green Navy sea bag. She also had brought three boxes with her. One contained her computer and desk stuff. The other two contained diapers. She also had stuffed her toiletry bag in her new back pack.
She had one more thing she hadn’t brought up. She ran down to her car and opened the truck. Inside was a black footlocker she had purchased at a garage sale the week before. It was about 18 inches high and three feet wide. It also had a lock. The lock thing was a big deal. It would be perfect for her diapers.
The only problem was that, even empty, the footlocker was heavy. She leaned into the trunk of her car and tried her best to lift it out. She hadn’t even thought it would be that heavy. The husband of the lady who ran the garage sale had put it in her trunk for her.
“Having trouble?” asked another student. He had a suitcase in one hand and a strange device in the other.
“I can’t get my footlocker out of the car.”
He put down his stuff and reached into the trunk and easily lifted the footlocker out of the car. He put it down behind the car.
“Thanks,” said Deborah.
“No problem.” He put out his hand. “Dave Matthews.”
“You in a band?” asked Deborah.
“I did play tuba for the Newport Knights Marching Band.” He smiled. “I get that all the time.”
Deborah giggled. “I’m Alison Murphy.” She looked over at the device he held. “What is that?”
“It’s a metal detector,” he said. “I like to search for old coins. It’s a bit of a hobby. I think it will be more challenging since there is no beach around, but who knows.”