Starting college is a new experience that comes with a range of emotions. It's exciting—finally getting some freedom, being more in control of what classes and path you want to pursue, meeting new people. It's also nerve-wracking—having to leave home and be independent for the first time, having to take required classes that may be of no use, meeting new people.
Meeting new people is all fun and games until it comes down to roommates. Some students wind up going to the same college as their high school friends and dorm together. But those that won't have familiar faces around have to worry about who their roommate will be. And really, that can make or break the experience.
Ross, always the pessimist, was ready to find out he would be stuck with a bad roommate. He'd have to deal with him for the semester and then try to switch into a different dorm during their month-long winter break. He thought that his suitemates couldn't all be bad, but he wasn't betting on it.
David, however, was more of a glass-full kind of guy. He had high hopes, fully prepared to become friends with his roommate and suitemates. He figured that if things worked out for the first semester, they'd stick it out to the end of the year and maybe even request to live together again the following year.
Move-in day was on a Friday, giving the students about three days to situate themselves before the semester officially started that Monday. David arrived at the dorm room first, wanting an ample amount of time to unpack and make himself comfortable and familiar with the space. He quickly got to work after his parents finished helping him carry boxes in from the car. They left after some hugs and sappy declarations of love, leaving their only kid to unpack.
During this time, David's suitemates had arrived sporadically. He would stop each time to introduce himself, not wanting to start out on the wrong foot. Each time, he hoped his roommate would walk in. But there was still no sign of him.
Eventually, David's roommate was the only one out of the group of eight who had yet to show up. It was getting close to dinner time, so David paused his unpacking and organizing to ask the others if they wanted to get food together. He thought it would be a good time to talk to each other and learn at least some basic facts about one another so they wouldn't feel like complete strangers.
Suddenly, a boy entered the suite, looking disheveled. It seemed like he had rushed to the room. David knew this one had to be his roommate. And his assumption was proven correct when he stumbled into the room David had been in for the last few hours.
He followed the newcomer back into the room from the small common area the group shared to introduce himself like he had with the others.
Before he could get a word in, the boy spoke up, "So, I'm the last one to get here, huh? It figures. My sisters kept holding me back..." he paused for a brief moment, seemingly lost in thought. He then held out his had to David and said, "Anyway, I'm Ross."
"I'm Ross, too!" David exclaimed in excitement before backtracking, "I mean my family is. It's my last name. I'm David. David Ross."
Ross chuckled at David's quick rambling. "Nice to meet you, other Ross."
"I'm electing you as the only person in this suite that's allowed to call me that. Otherwise, it might get confusing around here."
"I like the way you think," Ross replied with a small but genuine smile. So far, things were going better than he expected.
"So, I was about to ask the others to go grab something for dinner. You wanna come with?"
Ross glanced at his bad and boxes. He really wanted to start unpacking, especially since he showed up later than he planned to because his sisters were struggling to let him leave. But when he looked back at his new roommate, he couldn't help but agree to joining them. He'll be glad to get food into his stomach and properly meet his suitemates.
All eight of them left their belongings in various states and went to the dining hall to get dinner.
Ross threw an arm around David's shoulder as they walked across campus. "We could totally put a sign that says "Ross Squared" on our door. What d'ya think?"
"It sounds like a plan," David responded with a smile. "And by sign, hopefully you're okay with a simple piece of printer paper we steal from one of the computer labs."
"Sounds perfect."
Ross glimpsed at the rest of the group, who were broken up into smaller groups as they walked, and he thought, what was I so worried about?