Privacy in Dorm Room 210

Privacy in Dorm Room 210: Caught In Misfortune

Chapter 1:

Caught In Misfortune

Justin McGregor played with the curls on his head while he waited in the reception room of Prestwick West until someone told him where he needed to go. He guessed if it hadn't been overbearingly warm outside, he could purchase himself a drink. Then again, the receptionist had said it'll only be a few minutes. Photographs of campus heads and flowers surrounded him in vases that erected an overbearing amount of its perfume. A headache was throbbing in the midst of his temple, worsening as time went.

He was one of the earliest to arrive at the reception in hope that he'd be escorted to his room immediately - and was now the last, pathetically hunched over on a semi-hard cushion with scratchy armrests, thirsty and annoyed.

They had mixed his room up with someone else and, as a result, transferred him to a different dorm, a new one located behind the dormitories. Wack. He didn't care who was responsible, but they could've saved their breath and his time by seeking out the student and putting the order back where they belonged. Somehow, the thought process never occurred to them.

Maybe it's just common campus policy? Justin never heard such a thing in his life. This school might just be the exception.

When he woke up this morning, the original impression on his first day of university was a simple one: a non-hassle affair where moving into his dormitory and meeting his roommate would be easy as turning on a light switch. As tradition dated back a few years ago, the University of Prestwick had helpers known as Guides to assist students with valuable information and escorting them to their dorms. Justin thought the idea of Guides was as useless as plastic bags, but he supposed there were some positives in all of it. At least there was someone designated to help him out.

Whenever they decided to show up. There was only so much he could do on his phone before that became boring.

Just when he thought he couldn't handle the wait anymore, a woman dressed in a long black skirt and blazer called his name. Her blonde hair was pinned in a tight bun with dark purple strips blending through, and her blue eyes matched the politeness of her smile. It appeared she found the solution he'd been craving since news broke out. Good. It was about time they used their brains.

"Hi," she said, extending her hand as he stood up. "Tracey Bell, one of the Guides here at Prestwick West Campus. And you are Justin McGregor. I am assigned to you personally after hearing about the hiccup that had just happened. Apologies on behalf of the campus; we are here to make your stay comfortable with minimum distractions for your studies. It is awfully inconvenient for you, I can only imagine."

"Right," Justin said, adjusting his bags by his side. "Do I need to do anything before we go? Sign some papers?"

"Not at all. The Head Guide has taken the liberty to make sure all paperwork is processed correctly to the REO team."

He had no clue what she was referring to and frankly didn't care. She could pamper on about who did what and where this could go, so long as she took him to his dorm where he could finally unpack his bags and play some games on his PlayStation.

She gestured to his luggage. "Please."

He debated on letting her help him at all. His luggage consisted of one roller bag, a gym bag full of hygine products, and his backpack that supported most of his school books. Logically, he should hold onto them himself.

But having zero patients left, he accepted her offer and gave her his backpack.

They exited the boring reception room and into the blazing warmth of March. The neat and well-designed courtyard brimmed with bright greens, their benches, occupied with people surrounding tress and cropped bushes with matured flower buds. The air smelt clean and earthy, healthy even. It was ashame his start launched in complete disappointed. He would've appreciated its beauty more.