In The Orbit (Part I)

17. Harold

I am so homesick. I knew that the waterworks were coming, so I took off, following the signs to the bathroom. I know it's pretty lame to cry in a bathroom, especially as a 16 year-old. My birthday was yesterday. But anyway, there is no way I was going to cry in front of my roommate.

Khan is a dick. He is one of the bullies I was talking about earlier. He and his friends always sat on that sign in front of the dentist and jeered at me or yelled at me. One time his friend Berg threw a can of Red Bull at me and it hit me in the head and knocked me over.

So I'm sitting there crying in the men's room when someone comes in. Actually two people. I see the shoes and my stomach drops. It's Khan. And someone else.

I see Khan's face peeking under the stall. I scream, like it will help anything.

"Hey, you poopin'?" he asks.

"NO GO AWAY!" I screech. Khan drops onto his back and slides under the stall. I cover my face and scream, "GET OUT OF HERE!!!"

Khan stands up and unlocks the stall door. He opens it and Strom comes in.

"Dude, he's crying," says Khan, eyes wide. "Sorry, bro, um..."

Strom looks at Khan, then says, "We wanted to talk to you."

I wipe my eyes. "Go away." Khan could beat me up with his hands tied and Strom is so tall. I have a sinking feeling. Strom is on Khan's side.

"Why are you crying?" Khan asks.

"I'm not telling you," I screech.

Strom shushes me. "There are audio devices in the hall."

"Tell us," murmurs Khan.

"No way. You'll laugh."

"No, man. I won't. I swear."

Strom looks at me intensely and says, "You know something. That's why you're scared."

I shake my head. "What are you talking about?"

"My parents warned me about something, like illegal or morally wrong that they're doing here," Strom whispers.

My head snaps up, "What?!"

"I don't know, okay. I thought you knew something and that's why you ran off. You seem like a scared kind of guy."

I glower at Strom. "Well I don't know anything."

Khan asks, "Why were you crying then?"

"'Cuz I'm homesick and I hate you, ok!" I retort.

"Because of CFHS?" That's Columbia Falls High School.

I look at Khan with a look that shouts; duh.

"Sorry about that, man. My friends were assholes to you."

"Nice, blame it all on your friends," I reply.

Khan shrugs. "Well, it wasn't me. And honestly? Crying in the bathr-"

Strom pinches him. Khan's automatic response is to punch him in the jaw.

"Holy shit! I didn't mean to do that! I am so sorry! It was reflex!"

Strom finishes reeling from shock and gives him the finger. Then he leaves the bathroom.

"I swear!" Khan tells me, eyes huge. "I didn't mean to do that!"

"Go away," I say, and this time he leaves.

I go back into the stall and continue my crying session. It's probably an hour later when I go back to my room.

Khan is sitting on the bed, shirtless and watching TV. He quickly switches the channel when I walk in.

"All good?" he asks.

"I'll handle it," I reply. He waffles between a few channels.

He has abs and I am immediately self-conscious about my belly. I stop regretting the fact that I didn't eat dinner, even though my stomach growls.

"Don't worry, you have enough body fat to survive without dinner. Your body consumes that fat, you know?" Khan drawls.

"No genius, I, a sophomore in AP Bio, didn't know that," I snap back.

I change my into my pajamas in the bathroom because I really don't want Khan to see how far my gut sticks out or my man-boobs. I also usually sleep in boxers, and I am glad I brought my pj's.

I get into bed next to Khan. Unfortunately, the bed is the only place to sit in this room, except for the desk chairs. Our room is small. It is set up like your typical hotel room, and the bed takes up most of the space. There are two little alcoves, one for the desks and one for the fridge and microwave. My stomach growls looking at the kitchen alcove. I direct my attention to the window and look at the stars instead.

"Hey, choose a channel," Khan says, tossing the screen remote to me. I scroll through the channels on the remote. I can't find any that I wouldn't be embarrassed watching with Khan. I like those girly romance shows. They are usually pretty funny. But I honestly don't know what to watch with him.

Finally, he snatches it back and says, "Hey, that's new."

It's some weird fantasy show. We play it and I love it. Khan likes it too, and he is really getting into it too, like yelling at the screen and all. But then he glances at me as if he just remembered I was there and stops. It surprises me a bit to see Khan embarrassed. He is so cocky. It makes me think that maybe there is a slim chance I'll be able to survive being here with Khan