Chapter Text
The first day of college was hard for everybody right? Leaving your parents for the first time, being on your own, making decisions for yourself. As I sat on my dorm bed, I heard the shiny silver door handle rattle. Shaking away the forthcoming tears, I prepared to meet my new roommate. She introduced herself as Mavi, but I could tell from her body language that she didn't feel like any more small talk. Her well-kept auburn curls were divided into two braids, with a few single strands framing her face. She wore black jeans that hugged her curves and a grey thermal t-shirt. She didn't look the type to be this nervous, or maybe I misjudged and she was just a bitch. After a couple of awkward minutes of sitting in silence as she unpacked her boxes, a chime rang from my back pocket. Grateful to have an excuse to escape, I jumped for the door. "Sorry, have to take this." I lied pathetically, she knew it wasn't a phone call, but who cares? Mixed in between the dozens of reminders about today, was a text from Marcus, my older brother.
"Did ya make it to your dorm? What's the number- I'll swing by in a bit." Ugh. The dorm wasn't exactly a nice place to hang out, with Mavi's bad vibes emitting all over the place. 'I'll just come to yours, I'm out exploring anyway' I texted back. Although Marcus was two years older than me, at times it felt like we were twins. Best friends, bonded by blood. When he went off to Stanford, it felt like a piece of me had been torn off. The day I got my acceptance letter, I knew all I needed was a needle and some thread. He had promised to help me move in, but he was booked in classes all day, which is fine, it just meant I had to pay some jock 20 bucks to lug my books down the long corridor.
After stumbling around for 20 minutes and finally having to ask directions from a girl on a bench reading Pruest, I made it to the right building. I pushed a pull door -of course- Then sauntered down the hall to room #129. Knocking lightly I waited to be greeted by my brother. The door opened, and I was faced with someone who was definitely not my brother. He was a tall boy, with brown shaggy hair, and kind eyes.
"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, is this the right room? I'm looking for Marcus?" I blurted out.
"No, yeah, this is his room, he should be back from class in a few minutes. You're his sister, Sadie, right? Come on in, I'll wait with you."
I stepped into the tiny dorm room and looked around. It wasn't as messy as I had pictured, there were books scattered everywhere but no dirty socks or moldy pizza. It had been a while since either of us said anything, and I knew I had to break the silence. "Soooo, are you Marcus' roommate, Sam? From what he's told me I was picturing someone much nerdier, and scrawny, and well, not you." I chuckled but then realized that must have come off quite rude.
"Ha, yeah that's me. Sorry to disappoint though."
Sam was rummaging through their mini fridge at this point, trying to find something. "Okay, all we have is beer, sorry."
"Oh, no that's fine I don't need anything, you go ahead though."
"It's 11 am" he laughed as he turned to look back at me. "I know I'm not what you expected, but do I really seem like the beer at 11 am kind of guy?"
Feeling embarrassed by the teasing I apologized. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it!"
"Don't worry I'm just messing with you"
We both began to laugh and as it was dying down, Marcus came through the door, arms wide open. I ran to meet him in the doorway, and I was engulfed in a huge hug. Pulling back after a minute, I began ranting. "I missed you!!! You won't believe what hobby mom's taken up, honestly, I'm gonna make you guess cause it's insane. Also Allen from the supermart said to say hi! Also, I'm so sorry but Dad just turned your room into a workshop, I tried to talk him out of it but he cannot be stopped. I think mine is his next victim. And-" Marcus interrupted with a quick, "Hey! Slow down!"
"Right. Sorry. How was class?"
"Class was fine, how was the move?"
I debated telling the truth. "It was fine, just took a while to get here. Anyways, you promised to take me to dinner, remember?"
He barred his teeth in a remorseful expression. "Right… Can we reschedule for tomorrow night? There's this huge party tonight, this girl I like is gonna be there, I need to put in some face time."
"Yeah okay whatever, of course getting laid is more important than spending quality time with your sister." I rolled my eyes half surprised.
"You can come with us!"
Sam piped up from his desk, "Uh, us?"
"Yeah, I need my wingman with me, dude!"
"I'm not going. I have a paper due this week." Responded Sam.
"Yeah, I should probably have an early night, with it being my first day and all."
Marcus was getting visibly frustrated, "You are both coming and that's the end of this discussion. We will leave from here at 10, okay?"
I knew I was never going to win this argument, so instead I headed home to have a nap before the big night.