Ginger Ale

Chapter 2: Rocky

The steam from the shower fogs up the mirror. All I see in front of me is a suggestion of a body, a silhouette. I draw a little face in the spot where mine should be. Two dots for eyes and a little U for the mouth. The mirror smiles at me, but I don't smile back.

I've been in this shower for an hour now, and the skin on my fingers have shrivelled up thirty minutes ago. I don't want to get out because that means I'm ever closer to the start of this new school year. Maybe I can just stay here forever and let the world pass me by.

I pull my towel from the rod and wear it around my waist. I go out and head to my closet, sighing along the way. But in the corner of my eye, I spot a boy laid out on the bed on the other side of the room. He's sleeping on his stomach, and his face is towards the wall, away from me. He's snoring silently. Must have been pretty tired. He didn't even change out of his jacket and jeans.

How long has he been here? I didn't hear anyone come in. Granted, though, that the shower gets so loud it drowns out everything else. The sharp sounds of water hitting the floor is the only thing you hear when you're in there. Plus the deafening sound of your own thoughts.

I head to my desk and look at my clock. 8:47 am. I'm early, like I always am. My first class isn't until 10. I rummage through my closet and choose a simple outfit. Black shirt and red tennis shorts that fall just above the knee. I think for a second. Shorts on the first day? Probably not a good idea. I stoop down to the bottom drawer to get a pair of blue denim jeans.

I wear my outfit for the day, all the while wondering who my new roommate is. The room is so quiet that I can hear him breathing. Maybe it's someone I already know. He feels oddly familiar. But it would be rude to look over his face to see who it is. And what if he suddenly wakes up and sees me staring?

I put a glob of product in my hair and style it haphazardly. It looks messy, with a few strands falling over my forehead, but I like it that way. I go over to my bag I've put on the side of the bed, and take out my blue folio to take a look at my class schedule. I had it printed out so I can tape it above my desk for easy reference.

My 10 am class is for Psych 153, titled Motivation and Emotion. It's one of the courses in my program I've been quite excited about ever since I saw it in the curriculum. Maybe then I could learn how to push myself to do something that I've been so afraid to do.

In the afternoon, I only have Anthro 10 at 2:30 pm. Bodies, Senses, and Humanity, whatever that means. It's an elective I enrolled in because it sounded mildly interesting. But mainly because it fit my schedule perfectly. I planned my Monday to only have two classes at most, and to finish early enough so I can have the rest of the afternoon to do whatever I want.

I look over at the stranger across from me. Still fast asleep. I'm deeply curious about who he is, but my watch beeps lightly. It's 9:30. I should be on my way now. I carefully place my laptop and my folio into my black canvas backpack. I put on white socks and my Nike Blazers, and I'm on my way out the door.

"Bro, we seriously need to go to Bali," Tomas proclaims at the Pepper Lunch. "We went there this summer and it was sick."

Miguel sits across the table from us, not looking up from his phone. "Yeah, we were supposed to go to Bali from Koh Samui, but we ended up just staying."

"I mean, bro, the nightlife there is insane. Think La Union but trashier," Tomas leans back in his chair and smiles a knowing smile. "And the babes..."

I smile weakly but say nothing. Tomas continues, "Good thing I didn't bring Tina 'cuz I scored pretty much every day."

Miguel looks up momentarily, calling out Tomas' bluff. "Yeah right..."

"Migz, I swear, pare. The girls there are so easy."