The Plus Side of Negative Thinking

Chapter Nine

Fridays never meant much to Jeisson. It's not like he worked so hard during the school week that he looked forward to relaxing on the weekend. And now that he was stuck at TMSA, with no car to get around, he was even less thrilled with the prospect. What on earth was he supposed to do with his time?

"I go home," Remington said at lunch that day. "I only live thirty minutes away so it's not too much of a hassle for my parents to drive me to and from every weekend."

"I'm going home this weekend, too," Nat said. "My sister has a dance recital, the little twit."

"We'll be here," Alice said, referring to her and Shang. "Sometimes we watch movies in the loft. Or walk to the Starbucks to do homework."

"Well, that sounds... thrilling," Jeisson said. 

Alice shrugged, unperturbed by his comment. "Sorry we're not party animals."

Jeisson should have been the one apologizing, he knew. He was being an asshole. The thing was, he liked having nothing to do, a lot of the time. But looking down the barrel of a whole weekend with nothing to keep him preoccupied... that was a bit too much even for him.

"Hey, where do I get my mail?" Jeisson asked. 

"Oh, there are little cubbies in the office of each hall," Kyle said. "I can show you!"

The two of them left lunch early to walk back to the dorm. Kyle took Jeisson to the main office in the lobby, where one of the RAs was always stationed. Adam was there now. 

"Well, how fares our newest student today?" he asked with a beaming smile. His T-shirt today was a Darwinism Pokémon shirt. 

"I'm swell, thanks," Jeisson said with a casual salute.

"Mail's over here," Kyle said, pointing to a wall of cubbies. 

Jeisson found his name at the end of the row, the last cubby available. He was surprised to find a letter sitting there. It was in a small envelope and had postage but no return address. He pocketed it. "What about packages?" he asked.

"Oh, here." Adam dived under his desk for a moment, and came back with a handful of packages, most of them of the Amazon variety. But then he pulled out a small, plain cardboard box. "Jeisson Walker. Here you go."

Jeisson took the package and could readily make out his mother's chicken scratch along one of the sides. "Thanks!"

"Just so you know, Jeisson, 01 hosts a DnD campaign every weekend, Saturday night. If you ever wanted to participate, anyone's welcome. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure, maybe," Jeisson said noncommittally. He and Kyle left the office and headed to their wing. 

"The DnD campaigns are usually pretty cool," Kyle said. "A bunch of different students play, not just 01-ers, and you know, it's more than just a tabletop game. And with Stranger Things and all, it's really getting a new following. I can help you make a character sheet if you want."

Kyle kept talking but Jeisson was hardly listening, busy ripping open his package as the two of them went up the stairs. He unveiled his old iPhone, along with a letter from his mother. He put it in his pocket and brushed against the other letter, which he had already forgotten about. He pulled it out now. 

"Who's it from?" Kyle asked as they stopped in front of Jeisson's room.

"I dunno." Jeisson slipped his finger under the flap and ripped the envelope open. He pulled out a birthday party invitation. There was a teddy bear carrying presents and balloons on the front. Jeisson was more than confused. He opened the card to find a printed invitation as well as a handwritten note.