Young and Foolish

Chapter 10: Sleep? Never heard of it

Theodore's POV: 

I didn't think I'd have this much trouble already. I didn't think my roommate would be so huge and intimidating. If he was anything like the other kids here, I doubted I'd make it home in one piece by the end of the semester, let alone year. 

I expected my roommate to at least kick me when he opened the door this morning, but when he gave me back my key, I could've cried in gratitude. But it was his fault that I was locked out of my room in the first place, so I couldn't bring myself to thank him. 

I barely had the time to wash my face and throw on my uniform before sprinting to class. 

I was mentally exhausted. I was so terrified and angry last night that I could hardly sleep. I didn't even get to wash up properly and I knew I looked a mess. I hadn't even eaten since lunch the day prior. And on top of all that, I had to keep my guard up around all these new kids that looked like they'd beat the life out of me at the drop of a hat. 

I couldn't eat until the bell rang for the designated meal times in what I could only describe as a prison cafeteria. It even had security guards, though I had yet to find out if they were armed. 

I expected students to be rowdy during class, but it was nothing like that. Rather, everyone appeared almost robotic. Every so often, a student would get up from their seat, write their name on a sheet next to the door and step out for a few minutes. 

This had been explained during orientation. The school promoted individual study, so teachers gave out schoolwork with a general deadline and each student had the liberty to work on it as they wished. The classrooms were meant for quiet study, and if students wanted a break to clear their mind, they could leave as often as they wished but only for increments of fifteen minutes. 

It was a supervised leave though, and apparently, students were not supposed to be able to get into much trouble while outside of the classroom. 

But students were also supposed to not be able to lock their new roommate outside their room for an entire night. 

But I liked the mechanics of it all. It was easy to slip into the crowd, remain another faceless nobody. 

It wasn't totally anti-individuality though. Students were free to act as they wished before 7:00 a.m., when classes started, and after 5:00 p.m., when classes ended. There were a whole tonne of creative outlets and club activities for students to get involved with during this time. 

I didn't originally plan on joining anything yet, but I knew now that I probably needed to. 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. is when I had to worry most. It didn't seem like anyone was interested in causing a ruckus while monitored classes were going on, but based on my experience with my roommate, it was totally fine if trouble was caused when there was no supervision. 

I'd join as many clubs as I could if it meant I'd be avoiding my scary roommate. 

Track and field started at 5:30 a.m. and lasted an hour. I wasn't too great at sports, but I figured being able to run long distances would come in handy at this place. 

Photography was another hour long and it started at 5:30 p.m. Chess began at 7:30 p.m. and it lasted an hour and a half. 

I signed up for all three. Nothing else seemed all that interesting, or there were scheduling conflicts. 

I'd be out of my room from 5:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day. I could already feel the exhaustion sink in.