Max and I walked around campus for a little bit, exploring. I knew he missed school and regretted dropping out, but he was afraid of graduating high school now. It was way too late for him. What he's happy with now is making sure Mom and I are.
At about two in the afternoon, he finally decided to leave. We'd been wandering aimlessly for two hours, just looking around. Classes start tomorrow and he knew I needed to prepare both mentally and physically. I had a huge secret to keep to myself and I wasn't going to get caught. I needed this education. This is what I had always wanted. Besides the all boys school thing. That was just uncalled for. Max and I walked around all five of the buildings, making sure I knew where all of my classes were so I wouldn't catch unwanted attention the next day.
I squeezed the life out of Max as I wrapped my scrawny arms around his torso. It was a quick hug, since I wasn't really a girl anymore. I didn't want to come off as gay then be bullied by all the guys here. Even if it was my brother I was hugging. The last thing I want at this school is to be bullied. I saw it at my old school. I was never picked on, just mostly ignored.
I pulled away, my eyes watering just a little bit. Max chuckled, messing up my hair.
"Now don't get into too much trouble, little man," he joked, putting emphasis on 'man'. It made me crack a grin. He had to joke about that.
"Not to worry, old guy," I teased him back. We said our final goodbyes and he finally left.
With a sigh, I turned back to look at the giant campus infested with high school boys. It was going to be a long year ahead of me.
I watched Max pull out of the parking lot and wave at me one more time before driving off. With a sigh, I shoved my hands into my pockets and turned around, heading back towards my dorms.
The Academy was overflowing by now. Everyone must be here now. It was around five. Dinner was around six o'clock, according to my schedule I'd received this morning.
I quickly reached my dorm and walked up the stairs. I was in no hurry. Plus I was still kinda taking the place in. It was huge and I was going to be here all year. It made me feel so small, being who I was and all.
Once I got to my floor, I saw a few guys just opening their doors or casually talking with their friends. They all knew each other. I knew there were bound to be new kids, but not a lot. Except for the freshmen, that is.
When I reached my dorm, I got my keys out. I checked the handle first, in case it was open. It was. I opened the door slowly and walked inside. I shut the door behind me and looked around for Chris. He was seated on the left at one of the desks- the one on the opposite wall of my bed. Why was he at that desk? Wouldn't it be easier for it to be right across from his bed?
"Uh.. Hey," I greeted, kinda awkwardly. I was alone in a room with a guy I didn't know. It was bound to get awkward for me. The TV was on so it would explain why Chris didn't immediately notice me coming in. But once he heard me greet him, he stood up and walked towards me, as if the fifteen feet distance between the two of us was way too far away in hearing distance.
"I've decided.. that I want that bed," he said, casually nodding over at the bed that I had chosen for myself. What? I raised an eyebrow.
"What?" I asked, confusion clear on my face. I saw Chris sigh in annoyence as he looked down at me. With the height difference, he looked very intimidating and.. scary almost.
"I said," he started again, trying to look threatening, which believe me, he did, "that," he pointed at my bed, "is my bed now."
I immediately shot back, "But I chose that bed!" And as soon as those words came flying out of my mouth, I felt myself being slammed against the wall. Chris was holding onto the front of my shirt between his two hands. He'd pushed me against the wall and was holding me in place. It didn't look like a hard job for him, though. It was way too easy to lift me up. I made a loud 'thump' as my back hit the wall.
"Listen, Twerp," he called me, looking very pissed off. I gulped, struggling to see his face through my bangs that were covering my face. "I can snap you like a twig. That bed is mine, and that's final," he told me, his breath having a slight minty smell to it as he slowly chewed his gum between his whitened teeth.
He pulled me away from the wall a few centimeters and slammed me against it one more, making me hit my head a bit harder than the first time he did it. The first time it hurt my back more than my head. There was a louder 'thump' this time, though. I felt a bit dizzy after this one.
"Got it?" he asked, his face close to mine. I didn't say anything for a while, but once I felt his hands tightening around my shirt, I frantically nodded. He released me, letting me slide down the wall a few centimeters as I regained my balance.
"Good," he said, "now go be a faggot somewhere else." He turned and plopped on my... his bed. I didn't have to be told again. The second his eyes left me, I dashed right out of that room, slamming it behind me.
What the hell was up with that guy!? He obviously had some fucking problem to be throwing a fit over which bed he wanted. But then again, it was the better selection. It was closer to the bathroom and dresser and was farthest from the door. Screw Chris. He's such a little prick! I told myself I'd never judge a guy like him- but hey! I was right to judge him before! I was spot on with this asshole!
Guys like him at my old school bullied guys like the one I'm posing as. It was sad and really fucked up. Plus he called me a terrible name! If he actually thought I was gay then he had another thing coming!
I didn't notice I was fast walking down the hallway with my head down until my shoulder roughly bumped into another guy's shoulder. I must have been wanting to get away from the devil himself as quickly as possible. My head immediately snapped up.
"I'm sorry!" I said quickly, holding my hands up as if I really didn't mean it. It felt like I'd run into another Chris and that I'd get shoved into a wall again. The guy I ran into didn't look threatening at all, though. He had a rusty red and black striped hoodie, skinny black jeans, and messy emo hair like me, just chocolate brown. His hair was a bit more hardcore than mine. It was layered all over and naturally messy. He must've had this style for way longer than me.
The corner of his lips twitched upwards a little, as if he wanted to laugh at my reaction. He shook the hair out of his eyes.
"It's cool. Don't worry about it," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets like I'd done earlier.
I nodded and turned away, about to walk off, when he started to talk again.
"You new?" he asked, curiosity obviously hanging off of each syllable that left his mouth- Which I'd noticed had snakebites. I nodded, feeling a bit awkward just standing there under his gaze. He nodded again.
"I'm Dusty," he said, cracking a grin at my awkwardness. I just flashed my famous crooked smile I'd been practicing all summer. "Dakota," I replied.
Dusty nodded, "You goin' to dinner yet?" he asked, guessing that's where I was headed. Dinner was in a good forty minutes but I guess it didn't hurt to be early. I just nodded.
"I was gonna go, too. Let me just drop by my room real fast," he said, stopping just a few doors down. He was on the same floor as me, except on the opposite end of the hallway.
He opened his door and I shyly shuffled in behind him.
"Hey, guys!" he called, getting the attention of two boys playing video games. One on each bed. They looked identical. Their hair was black- but it looked dyed like mine and not natural like Dusty's.
I noticed his room looked exactly like mine. It was a cluttered mess, though. Clothes were strewn all over the floor, two large suitcases were open in random parts of the room with all of their contents spilled all over the place. No one seemed to take notice of the mess, though, as if they've lived with it for way too long to care anymore.
The boys were really rowdy, leaning side to side as they raced against each other in the game. They yelled loud profanities at each other such as "Fuck yeah I'm winning!" "Asshole, you hit me!" "Suck my dick!" I could tell they were both joking because of the large grins on their faces. They looked like an entertaining bunch. Their hair was styled in an emo way- but one of them had really tall spikes and the other just had it layered and a bit teased, plus it went a little bit past his shoulders.
As soon as the twins noticed Dusty there, one of them yelled, "Dustyyy!" and the other yelled, "Dustiiin!" so that's what his real name was.. I wondered if 'Dusty' was a real name, anyways. I guess he just preferred that over his real name.
Suddenly, one of the boys, the one with really spiky hair, jumped off the bed and screamed, "YES! YES, MOTHERFUCKER, YES!" It made me jump, but I quickly shook it off. Boys will be boys. The one with longer hair cursed more under his breath as he lost to his brother.
"Guys!" Dustin yelled at them again, trying to get their attention before they started yet another round. They turned towards us and their eyes landed on me.
"This is Dakota," he said, nodding over at me, who was a good foot shorter than Dusty himself, "he's new."
"Hey," the kid with spiky hair said, making his way towards me. He stretched out his hand. "I'm Collin," he introduced himself. I reached for his hand, thinking we were just going to shake, but he pulled me into him, making out shoulders bump. I stumbled slightly, not expecting it, but covered it up nicely so it wasn't noticeable. I nodded at him once he released me. I shook my bangs out of my face.
The twin with longer hair came over and did the same handshake, but I was prepared this time. "Drake," he introduced himself, giving me a small smirk as he took in my small frame. I must've looked so little compared to them. They were all way taller than me.
"Let's get dinner," Dusty said, going over to the tv to turn it off. He then turned to Collin, "And stay off my bed, Peters," he said with a grin. The bed Collin was sitting on was all messy due to his squirming during the game. It must've been Dusty's bed. That only meant he shared the room with Drake.
Drake grabbed his hoodie, pulling it on. Collin just grinned at Dusty and made his way to the door. I just followed them out.
As we walked down the hall, Collin came over and slung his arm around my shoulders lazily, putting his weight on me, making it harder for the both of us to walk. He didn't seem to care, though. "So where ya from, 'Kota?" he asked. Him leaning on me like that was obviously because he was mocking my short height.
I cleared my throat before answering, "Up north. Past Medford."
Collin just nodded then after a pause asked, "Wait.. so you're from Oregon?" he asked. I was. Medford was the city that was pretty much right next to the border of California. I may be in a different state, but I'm so close to home.
I just nodded, "Yeah."
The four of us made our way downstairs and crossed campus towards the first building, where I'd signed in earlier. On the other side of the building was a huge cafeteria, made to fit a few thousand students. The tables were big and round, made to fit ten students each. They were lined up in rows to get around them easier. On the very right, the whole wall was like a buffet. And behind the food counters were lunch ladies in uniform, bustling about and getting their dishes done for six pm.
I raised my eyebrow at the sight. A whole buffet wall? This was crazy! At my old school, we didn't have a choice in what we ate. But the wall I am seeing right now is divided into different sections, with appetizers, main dishes, desserts, drinks, everything! It was unbelievable. You could even tell I was gawking through the hair in my face.
Collin snickered, heading for a table near the back wall of the cafeteria. Drake stayed quiet as he followed Dusty and I to the table. There were others in the cafeteria, but we were the first ones at the table. I was seated in between Collin and Dusty. Drake sat next to Collin. I turned to Dustin, who was on my left, as he spoke to me.
"So I'm guessing you're not a freshman, considering you were wandering around the upper classmen dorms?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice as a corner of his lips dared to twitch upwards. I just narrowed my eyes at him at his sudden bluntness.
I could hear Collin snickering on my right, having heard Dustin make fun of my height. I noticed Drake was ignoring us, having put his ear buds in. We could all hear the muffled screamo blasting through his ear buds, but seeing Dusty and Collin ignore it so easily made me think if that was a normal thing for Drake to do. It really seemed like it.
Three boys walking over to our table made me snap my attention towards them and away from Drake. They didn't look as hardcore as Collin or Dustin, but I could definitely tell that they belonged to this table.
One had copper hair, a shade that was very close to Regina's hair color, just more of an orange glint. Another had really dirty blond hair with natural highlights. The third boy had bright, unnaturally colored blond hair. The tallest, the one with copper hair, wore a white wife beater with an unbuttoned shirt over it. He had baggy jeans and I immediately noticed the gauges he had in his ears and the way his hair was parted in the middle and didn't cover his face. He definitely stood out the most in the group, but he fit right in. He nodded at me as soon as he got to the table.
"Who's the twerp?" he asked, a hint of both curiosity and annoyance in his voice. I cowered under his gaze and looked down, almost immediately noticing him softening his stance towards me. He must've noticed he had scared me. He looked over at Dusty, waiting for an answer.
"This here is Dakota," Dustin said, roughly dropping his arm around my shoulder. "Jesus, you've got scrawny shoulders!" he said with a small laugh as he loosened his hold on me. The guy in front of me nodded, reaching over the table as he sat down.
"Logan," he introduced himself, cracking a grin as Dusty's gestures towards me. If it amuses this group so much that I'm little then I can't wait to see the rest of this school's reactions towards me. They'll probably think I'm some freshman or something. I looked at the other two guys that sat down, as well.
"Hey, I'm Dean," the guy with dirty blonde hair said, holding out his fist so I could bump it with mine.
"'Kota," I said, nodding at him. I also nodded at the guy with bright blond hair, who looked like he could honestly care less that I was there.
"Nigel," he said, nodding at me before looking away.
I could tell everyone at this table had a different story to tell. That is, if they were even willing to share it. Dustin, Collin and Dean seemed like the friendliest guys so far in the group, not to judge too quickly. So far I'd been right about Chris, my roommate. Who knows about these guys? Speaking of Chris..
I cleared my throat and asked the group, "Do you guys know a.. Chris?" I asked, looking around. Dustin raised an eyebrow and Logan leaned in a bit more. The two seemed most interested. The other guys just listened.
"Be more specific," Dusty said, "know a last name?" he asked. I scrunched up my eyebrows in thought. I knew I'd seen his full name somewhere. I reached into my hoodie to pull out my paperwork that I'd taken along with me when I wandered around the school. Unfolding the papers, I had the school map on the front, followed by my schedule, as well as all the other information that I'd gotten from that overweight secretary from earlier. That included my room information.
I quickly skimmed the page before finding that dreaded name of the asshole that I shared a room with.
"Chris Reitman," I said, looking up at everyone at the table. Almost all of their faces turned sour.
"Yeah, we know him," Logan said from across the table, "he's the diva of this school. Everyone worships the ground he walks on," he said in pure hatred and disgust. I turned to Dusty, who scoffed.
"Almost everyone," he said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. They must really hate this Chris guy as much as myself. Collin turned to me with a questioning look, glancing down at my paper. His eyes widened as soon as he realised why I was asking.
"You're Chris's roommate?!" he asked, catching the attention of all the guys at the table. I looked down in my lap, trying not to blush from all the sudden attention I was getting from everyone. Well, everyone besides Drake and Nigel. I just nodded.
"Well shit, little man," Logan said, frowning at me, "that sucks."
"Yeah," Dean agreed, nodding, "I feel for ya, man," he said.
Their sympathy made me feel worse. I honestly feel like my high school career has plunged into the toilet. This guy will be around me throughout a very large portion of each day for the whole school year. And no, you can't switch. It's pretty much like the locker rule I have back at home. Whoever you share a locker with you have to share with them for the whole year due to your confidentiality and whatnot. Lame rules and laws here and there. What can you do?
I sighed as Dustin patted me on the back. Suddenly, the mood was lifted as Dean and Logan rose, looking towards the buffet.
"Dinner, ladies!" Logan yelled, before standing from his seat and heading towards the line. Collin and Dean raced each other, shoving each other out of the way and into other people. I smiled at them. Logan walked ahead of us with grumpy Nigel. Dusty walked with me behind them, and Drake silently stalked the group from the back.
Being here on a full ride scholarship, I had free food. Only the administration knew of me being super poor and I would much rather keep it that way. It would only give others a reason to bully me. Not like they even need a reason, according to Chris's actions.
We were one of the first ones in line. I grabbed a small salad as a starter, then some pasta for the main dish. Getting to the desserts and snacks, I had a tough decision to make. As if my life depended on it, I quickly chose a slice of chocolate cake as I moved on to get some juice and eating utensils. I sighed. Tomorrow was another day to try some of that delicious looking jello..
Sitting back at the table in my previous spot, the guys were laughing and shoving each other and just being guys. They fought over each others' cookies and argued about who's summer was better. They chewed their food then showed off what mush they'd made in their mouths. Typical boys. With a small laugh, I shook my head at them. This was Max times ten that I'd have to get used to, literally.
But these guys were my new friends, and I hoped to keep it that way.