Shell Of A Man

3 - Orientation

PAST:

Fuck! The first day of school and I'm already late, Ray thought, as he made his way towards the front desk. Once there, he was not-so-welcomed by an old lady.

"You're late," she said. "That won't do here."

"Sorry," Ray said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Name?"

"Raymond Caleb Holt."

The lady opened a book and adjusted her glasses to go through the list of students. "Alright, Mr. Holt. Sign the matriculation book right here," she said, tapping the empty space beside his name.

After Ray signed the book, the lady handed him his things. She then brought down her glasses to the tip of her nose, squinted her eyes, and looked at him sternly. "You have an appointment tomorrow morning to have your student ID made. Don't be late for that."

"Yes, ma'am," said Ray. He went through his things and realized that he was missing something. "Uh, ma'am, you haven't given me my orientation schedule."

"We're out of those. Find someone to share with," the lady said.

"Okay...bitch," said Ray. Even though he muttered the last part, the lady heard it. He ignored her death glare and made his way towards the hall.

When Ray reached the hall, the doors were already closed. He cursed himself again for being late. Now Ray had to open the doors and face everyone looking at him. He took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. The panels made a screeching noise, making him flinch, but to his luck, it was chaos inside the hall, so no one noticed him coming in. Ray thanked his stars and walked in.

On the other end of the hall sat Jason. For once, he was in a really good mood. Happy and content, as he was finally starting law school. He flipped through the pages of his course book as he eagerly waited for things to start. That's when he heard it – a screeching noise. Even though it was loud, he could still hear the doors open.

Instinctively, Jason looked towards the doors and saw a guy walking in. This guy, in particular, caught his attention. He was one of those guys you could tell were gay just by looking at them. He was dressed in black, skinny jeans with a red floral shirt, and his long golden waves bounced with every step he took. Even though the clothes hung over his body like they were hung on a hanger, he somehow managed to pull them off. His confidence played a major role in it. He seemed comfortable in his own skin, and Jason admired that.

Ray scanned the crowd to find a familiar face from the previous night's party, but he wasn't successful. He finally gave up and started looking around to find a place to sit. That's when he saw that a well-built guy, with dark skin and long afro hair, dressed up in blue jeans and a gray polo shirt, was looking at him.

The moment their eyes met, Jason averted his gaze, but by then, it was too late. Ray had seen him, and he was intrigued. He wanted to know more about the hot muscular guy who was checking him out. For a second, he wondered why the guy was sitting alone but then realized that it was a good thing.

Jason was trying to read something in his book when he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up only to find that the guy he was checking out was now standing in front of him. He was taken aback for a moment but somehow maintained his composure.

"Hi," said Ray. To that, Jason courteously bowed his head. "Is this seat taken?" Ray asked, pointing to the seat next to Jason. Jason, again, didn't say anything, just softly shook his head. Is he mute or what? Ray thought.