Relieved, Ronny picked up one of the boxes. “You’re really a good guy for offering to help with this.”

“No problemo.” Bad Spanish was part of Jamal’s style.

“I could have gotten a friend to do it but that would have taken longer. It’s nice to get out of here.”

“You done with exams now?”

“Yep. I only had one, the rest were all final papers. Semester’s over.”

They finished packing Jamal’s beat-up Pinto in a couple of trips. Ronny wrote his address on a piece of notebook paper and left it for Kelly, in case he needed money for the phone bill. Though knowing Kelly he’d forget about the bill or lose the note. On the way out of the dorm Ronny fell behind Jamal, lingering to look at everything: the encroaching pines, the distant campus, the sky that remained blue and vast, empty of clouds. There were some people on the balcony, nobody Ronny recognized, and he wasn’t much thinking about goodbyes. While Jamal waited for the elevator, Ronny had a feeling he had left something behind and ran back to the room to check it one last time. All that was left in the room was dust mice, soda cans, and Kelly’s heap of garbage.

On the balcony he looked across to the other wing and saw Ben glowering, foot on the lower rung of the balcony railing in front of his suite. Ben was a big guy, solid and dense in his clothes; his dark hair looked like he’d been sleeping on it. He had black, bold eyebrows and sharp, clear facial bones. Jennifer was with him, slender and straight haired, a sorority girl, prim and upright, planted firmly at Ben’s side.

As Ronny walked down the balcony, Ben kissed her cheek, pointed a finger at Ronny, and headed toward the stairs.

He came pounding up them in a couple of steps as Ronny waited. Ben swaggered to the balcony railing. “Who’s that guy you’re with?” His voice was low, his blue eyes glittering. He was grinding his jaw.

“The guy with the boxes? A friend from a class.”

“He’s helping you move somewhere?”

“I have to get out of the dorm for the summer. I told Tate to tell you I came by.”

“Why didn’t you ask me to help you?”

“Jamal offered. And I couldn’t find you.”

He frowned, took a deep breath, scratched a pimple on his nose. Ronny told him about the news from his mom and the boardinghouse. He was having a hard time getting his breath; he could feel how agitated Ben was. Ben frowned. “That’s great. You’re leaving and you weren’t even going to let me know.”

“I came by last night two or three times. You told me not to leave you any notes. I just found a place to stay yesterday.”

He had to struggle to keep his voice down; his neck was flushed. “You don’t fucking have to move out of the dorm today.”

Ronny’s heart was beating faster. When Ben was mad it was hard to look him in the eye. “I want to.”