Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dylan
I was packed and ready for my weekend visit to Penn State. Mr. Dean lent me a suitcase and it was only half full, but I thought I had anything I would need.
Taylor was in her room. She wasn’t looking forward to the weekend without me, but I had to do this. Mr. Dean’s co-worker had a son who was hosting me. I’d texted him a few times and now I was on my way there with Mr. Dean.
The drive would take two hours – a lot of time to fill. Hopefully, he wouldn’t feel the need to ask me about any girls I might be interested in. I couldn’t tell him that I did it with his daughter.
I kissed Taylor goodbye, then found Mr. Dean waiting for me in the kitchen. “You ready?”
“I’m ready.”
“This is pretty exciting.”
“It is,” I agreed.
The drive went quickly. We talked about everything else, but girls. Mr. Dean saw me to the dorm and left me with Chuck, my host.
He was a nerdy guy, which was cool. I didn’t want to party.
“Why don’t we take a tour of the campus,” Chuck said.
“Sure.”
He lived in West Halls. “There are a few buildings further west than we are, but just the meteorology building and the IST building, which spans the road. It’s pretty cool to stand there and see the traffic go under you.”
“Wherever you think I should see.”
“The Berkey Creamery. We’ll get some ice cream, and we’ll get you a sweatshirt. Can’t go home without some blue and white,” Chuck said.
I was lucky. Chuck was a computer science major. He could give me the rundown on what it was like.
“Where are most of your classes?”
“They are actually in the labs. There’s a cluster of science buildings in the middle of campus. That’s mainly where my courses are.”
I nodded as we walked among trees. It was a pretty place to be. Cold and gray, but it was the middle of March. I guess I had hoped it would be warmer. That didn’t deter me from liking the school, though.
“I got us tickets to the girls’ volleyball game later today.”
“Okay.”
“It’s good to see the school spirit we have here.”
“What about the classes? Are they big or small?” I said.
Mr. Dean had given me a list of questions to ask. This was one of them.
“The ones you take the first two years are larger. General Education credits. Everyone needs to fulfill those. English and such. Once you get into computer science, the classes are smaller.”
“Okay.”
The tour of the campus took more than an hour, but we finished up with ice cream. I couldn’t turn that down. It was the best ice cream I’d ever had. If I were to choose a college based on food, this would be it.
I liked it here and could see being here for four years. I didn’t know if my SAT scores were good enough, but I’d have to see. I thought I could take them one more time.
“You have anything you’d like to see?”
“Other than college girls?” I said.
Chuck laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m not the one to show you them. I’m a computer geek, but let me show you what we’re working on.”
When he showed me I gasped. “A satellite?”
“For NASA.”
“Pretty cool.”
“Yeah, I thought you’d like that,” he said.
The volleyball game was exciting. The energy in the place was amazing. I really could see myself f here. Hopefully, I could get some aid.
Mr. Dean picked me up on Sunday. “How was it?”
“Pretty awesome, Mr. Dean.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so excited about anything.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about anything before. I really had a good time. I want to go away to college.”
“Good. Now, we have to look at some of the others. Won’t be the same experience as spending a weekend there, but you’ll get the idea.”
“Yep.”
I couldn’t wait to tell Taylor. I hoped she could be excited for me – especially, since she was going to go away, too.
“Did Chuck take you to all of the sights?”
“Yes. I even have a Penn State sweatshirt now.”
“That makes all the difference, then,” Mr. Dean said. “You pretty set on computer science as your major?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay. Good field. You’ll get a job doing that.”
“For the first time ever, I feel like I have a future beyond high school.”
He smiled. “Good.”
“I have to thank you, Mr. Dean. You’ve really changed my life.”
“I guess you picked the right car to steal,” he said with a laugh.
I was still a little embarrassed by how we met. “Have you ever told Mrs. Dean how you met me?”
“Nope. It’s our little secret. I never told Taylor, either.”
“That’s good. They both might think less of me.”
“You can’t worry about that, but I figure it’s our secret. No need to talk about it now. I really feel you’ve turned yourself around since , Dylan. I’m very proud of you.”
Whenever he said that, I felt guilty about Taylor. The man would be so disappointed in me. It wasn’t as if I just had sex – I really care about Taylor. I thought she cares about me, too.
Mr. Dean’s phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hi, honey. Just wanted to check in and see when you’ll be home,” Mrs. Dean said on the other end.
“We’ll be there in forty five minutes, according to the navigation system.”
“Okay. Dylan? Will you need food? Or is that a stupid question?” she said.
“I’ll need food,” I said.
“Okay. I’ll have some dinner ready.” She hung up.
“She seemed chipper,” I observed.
Mr. Dean just laughed. Guess they’d had a good weekend, too. Not that I really wanted to think about my adoptive parents having sex. I tried not to shudder.