I'm Not Perfect (Michael Clifford)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As I walk down our front walk a tear escapes my cheek. This is the last time I will ever see my house as my home, when I get to LA I will have my own dorm. With a new face in my room, great. I climb into the front seat of my car, there aren’t many boxes with me because a moving truck already delivered my stuff to my dorm.

As I drive my anxiety starts to get to me. What if my roommate doesn’t like me, or what if I don’t like her. What if she has a horrible taste in music, what if I get there and she is the biggest nerd ever and what if she is a huge neat-freak. I might as well go insane because of all the ‘What If’s in my head. I guess I am going to have to make the best of whoever I get because I am going to have to spend a whole year with them. But the thing that I am worried about the most is finding someone. Whether it is a boyfriend or a bestfriend, I’m going to need someone there for me. Or I am going to feel more alone than I already did. This is my chance to start everything over, to become a new person. To shape and mold my life into what I have always wanted.

I still have a really long drive ahead of me so I decide to jam out. I made sure my large box of CDs was delivered in this car so I would have some sort of entertainment on the way. I shuffle trough the box and decide to start with One Direction’s Up All Night album. Yes, yes, I know I always talk about how I have a great music taste and many people thing One Direction suck but I like them, get over it. A familiar beat rushes out of the speakers and spreads throughout my car. This is going to be a fun car trip.

** ** **

After listening to at least 10 albums I’m almost to the UCLA campus. I am so nervous, as I turn into the main office parking lot to get my dorm room I start shaking. But I just brush it off and walk confidently into the office.

But my confidence shatters within one step. It is a beautiful office filled with many beautiful girls. I am so jealous of how skinny and gorgeous they all are. With their perfect hair and amazing clothes. Then there is me with my ripped jeans and a Twenty One Pilots T-shirt. I look homeless compared to all of these people. But then I realize that none of them are paying any attention to me so it’s probably a good idea to get in and out of there as fast as I can.

I walk up to the dorm registration, tell the woman my name, and she gives me my key with the number 153 written on it. She also told me that my roommate has already checked in and is probably in the room getting unpacked. Great, another person to judge me. I walk as slowly as I can to my dorm, dreading what is about to come. I’m so nervous over this.

When I reach my room I unlock the door and no one is there. All of my boxes are neatly stacked on my bed. The room is about the size of my old room, but this time I have to give half of it to another person. Her side of the room is partly unpacked, it looks like she gave up and went out for a bit. Good, this should give me more time to get myself situated. I start to unpack my things and get lost in the music that is blasting out of my headphones. The next thing I know I hear a voice sarcastically saying hello.

I turn around to see a skinny beautiful girl with colorful lavender hair carrying a large box. She sets the box down. “Are you lost?” She rudely asks.

“Uh…. No this just happens to be my dorm” I reply.

“Oh, well I’m Lauren and your box of books is on my side of the room. It would be nice if you would move it.” She says.

I stand there in shock for a minute. “Well?” She states. I walk across the room and grab my box.

“Well If you would like to know, my name is Charlotte” I say.

“Okay Charlotte. Its nice to meet you and I’d love to stay and chat but I have a friend to see.” She says. There is a loud knock on the door. “and that would be my cue to leave.” She starts rummaging through her boxes. There is another knock, louder than the last one. “Damn it Ash! Just a second! Ugh, this is gonna take me a minute. Just come in!”

The door opens and a boy with sandy brown hair walks in. He smiles and two dimples show “Glad to see that the princess in a good mood today.” He teases.

“Don’t play with me. Now let’s go” she says as she slides on the sweatshirt she just pulled out of a box.

“Whatever you want, your highness” the boy replies and jokingly bows before walking out the door.

It takes me a couple of minutes to process what just happened.  Of course my roommate was a total bitch. Maybe she was just having a bad day because of moving in and everything. I guess I’ll just have to see how it goes. But that boy…I’m pretty sure he was Australian…that’s new. I finish unpacking everything until I realize there is still one box left in the corner. It’s my box of posters, I grab my roll of tape and hang them all up. I step back and take in the space that I will spend most of the next year in. It looks pretty cozy to me so I grab a Looking For Alaska and curl up on the bed. But my reading is interrupted by a small knock on the door. I climb out of the bed to answer it.

When I open the door a tall boy with teal-blue hair is standing in front of me.

“Hi” I say quietly while looking at his Jack Daniels T-Shirt.

“Uhm.. Hi. Is Lauren here? Because she left her phone at my house by mistake and-“ he rambles. Does he have an Australian accent too? Or am I going crazy?

“No she isn’t here right now. I don’t know when she’ll be back but I can take it in for her.” I interrupt.

“Oh… I guess that works. Thanks.” He replies with hesitation.

“It’s no problem.” I say.

“Well okay. Thanks again.” He says and walks down the hall.

“Bye” I state plainly and walk back into the dorm. I set Lauren’s phone on her bedside table. Hopefully she will think better of me since I got her phone back for her.

Hmm.. That mysterious boy was surprisingly cute. He seemed very sweet but I could tell he was hiding pain in his beautiful green eyes. I know that kind of pain, the kind that no one else notices. But once you feel that kind of pain you start to see it everywhere. I just happened to notice it in this strange boy with colorful hair. I really hope to see him around again soon. I lay down and read for a bit longer until I find myself drifting off. It’s a good thing I don’t have classes for another week because I would probably sleep through them.