Same Places, Different Worlds

Chapter 1

Fuck my life.

Fuck it. Fuck everything. Fuck going to school. Fuck my shitty brother for sending me here. Fuck the next 1095 days of my life. Fuck all the other students who would no doubt exile and outcast me. Fuck them all! I hope that the moment I step foot outside of this airport, the earth is going to be swallowed by a black hole or get hit by a meteor or something. The end of the world sounds a lot better than what I'm about to went through.

Sorry, I was in the middle of one of my rants, as usual. Let me start over. My name is Dante Dalmatian and I know what you're all thinking, "Why is your family named after a dog breed?" well, the answer is: I don't know, either. Anyway, I hate my life. Why? In case you can't tell by that one huge paragraph, I'll explain everything from the beginning.

My older brother, Dylan, decided that I need to socialize and get out of the house more, and since I'm starting college, he (without my consent) submitted one of my poems to an art school in Amsterdam. I was already fuming at his actions, but what's even worse was that I was actually accepted. Can you believe that? How dare he sent something I wrote without my permissions.

And, when he said that he wants me out, I didn't think he meant out of the country! And why The Netherlands of all places?! With my luck, the entire country would be underwater by the time I get there (oh, please let that be the case!).

I hate going places. It's always so weird and terrifying being in a random city, not knowing where to go or what to do, or what to expect and to watch out for. What if someone just walks up to you and stole all your things and you're just standing there like an idiot, not knowing what to do, huh? Then what are you gonna do? I'd much more prefer staying in my room, just reading my H.P Lovecraft books or working on my poems in the safety of the darkness.

Ugh! Plus, I hate meeting new people! They always judge you without even getting to know you! And they're so fake! Putting on a smile, like everything's fine, but I see through them. I see through their lies! Plus, they're also so rude to others who they don't think meets the qualifications for being 'normal'.

So, I guess you can say that I'm an introvert. A goth, to be precise.

Anyway, I just got off the plane and went through immigration (the lady in the counter was so rude and she made the whole process painfully slow) and I'm now waiting at the baggage claim and, as I predicted, my bag isn't here. Ugh, great! I haven't even been here for 5 hours and I already lost all of my things. What a fucking great way to start a new life in a foreign country. Note the sarcasm.

"For fuck sake, could this day get any-" "Hey, there! Need any help, stranger?" "Holy sh-!" I jump in surprise as a voice suddenly called to me from behind. I turn around to look at who the voice belongs to and come face-to-face with a short, orange-haired male.

"Um, excuse me?" I ask him, still slightly startled at his sudden appearance. Are all Dutch people like this? Just popping up out of nowhere like a jump scare at an Annabelle movie? Eh, I guess I can't be too angry, though. I am the same myself.

"Hehe, sorry for scaring you there, but you look a bit lost. Do you need any help?" I couldn't help, but to stare at him with a confused expression. Why is he so nice to me? I'm a stranger to him.

"Have we met before? Do I know you?"

"No, but if we have, then I'm pretty sure I would've remembered. So, do you need any help?" he offer once again. I pause for a moment, deciding whether or not I should accept his help. For all I know, he could be a crook or a thief who wants to rob me, but after inspecting him, I'm starting to doubt that theory, since he looks too.... sweet? Innocent? Plus, I don't have any other options here and I do not want to waste anymore time in this place.