au in the corner。 It was sheer torture being surrounded by her stuff； and not her—Vanessa was up in Vermont； visiting her parents for the holidays； until Wednesday。 She didn’t even know that Dan was transferring to Columbia； he wanted to surprise her with the news in person rather than via their evening Skype calls。 Now； the anticipation was killing him。
The gallon of Folgers can’t help； either。
Dan grabbed his black Moleskine notebook and flipped to a blank page。 It wasn’t difficult to find one： Practically every page was blank。 He’d had writer’s block from the moment he stepped on campus in September。 When he’d decided to go to Evergreen； it had seemed like a good idea to get out of the city。 After all； he’d lived here forever。 But in the Pacific Northwest； everything was just…。 wrong。 There was too much space； the trees were too tall； and the coffee had names like organic shade…grown mild blend and earth…friendly mellow brew。 His dorm fielded its own Ultimate Hacky Sack team； his roommate was a vegan allergic to cigarette smoke； and every single poem his classmates submitted in his creative writing seminar was about pot。
The only thing that got Dan through was the thought of Vanessa。 He’d text her all throughout the day； every time something funny or tragic or inane happened； and he always arranged his day around their nightly Skype calls。 But Vanessa was so busy with school that she was sometimes rushed or distracted； and seeing her pixilated face just wasn’t the same as holding her in his arms。
Dan thoughtfully chewed the end of his Bic pen。 Suddenly； for the first time in several months； words began to flow。
Missed kisses。
Missed shreds of carpet。
Torn by your Doc Marten feet。
I’ve lost weight。
Or mayb