Next Semester

1: rainy day

2755 words

Tyler groaned as he pulled himself out of bed. He stretched as soon as his feet were planted on the floor and looked out the window. Of course, rain. It was always fucking raining. With an annoyed groan, Tyler shuffled to his dresser like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He did not want to go to class. The class was fine, he guessed. It was just that it was at 9:30am across campus, and he did not want to have to trudge through the pouring rain first thing in the morning for the 3rd time that week. His roommate, Jude, chuckled and shook his head as he stood shirtless in the middle of their room,
"Dude, quit whining. It's not even that early."

Tyler shot him a hooded eyed glare, "I'm not in the mood." His voice was low and raspy and his throat was dry. Jude just smiled and shook his head, pulling a striped, long-sleeve shirt over his head. Tyler trudged to their bathroom, eyes practically closed as he did so. He was not a morning person, especially when he had to walk across campus in the rain just to be done for the day an hour and 15 minutes later. He thought it was such a waste of a trip to have one class at 9:30 and no more for the rest of the day.
He stomped out of the bathroom, stray hairs hanging in his face and making him huff them away. Again, Tyler was not a morning person.

"Want any coffee?" Jude asked, filling his travel cup with iced coffee concentrate that he kept in his mini fridge. Tyler shook his head, still angry that he was awake. Jude finished making his own coffee and began pouring one for Tyler anyway. He knew his grumpy roommate would whine that he didn't have coffee on the walk to class. Tyler stood in front of the mirror, glaring at his reflection. He sighed and brushed his teeth, grimacing at the taste of the toothpaste. He rinsed his mouth out and stood up straight, trying to figure out how he could save his hair with the 5 minutes he had left to get ready. He ran his hands through it and tried to guide it to sit nicely on his head but did not succeed. He let out a loud groan and just shoved his feet into his shoes. His wavy, frizzy hair sat in an unraveling ball on his head, and he couldn't care less.

"Extra rough morning today, Ty?" Jude asked, handing the mentioned a stainless-steel travel cup. Tyler just sighed, turning around and pulling their front door open dramatically. Jude tapped Tyler's shoulder and held out his backpack, "Do you think you might need this?"

Tyler gave him a small smile, a little embarrassed, and grabbed it from him. He slung the bag over his shoulder before walking into the hallway, watching Jude tie his shoes in their doorway. Tyler looked at his phone: 9:16am
It was only a 10-minute walk to class, so they had enough time to get there. Jude followed Tyler out into the hallway and pulled their door shut behind him. He pulled Tyler's keys out of his own pocket and handed them to him, "You forgot these...again."

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Judy." Tyler sighed as they walked down the hall of their dorm building. Jude shook his head at the nickname, hating when Tyler called him that. They made their way to the exit and Tyler could already hear the rain.
"Why the fuck does it have to rain every single day?" Tyler groaned, zipping his jacket and pocketing his phone securely. Jude chuckled softly and shrugged, "That's what you get for coming to Maine, of all places."

"I thought the nature would inspire my art or some shit." Tyler pouted for the 18th time that day already. Jude nudged him as they walked out into the rain, "You being all emo all the time will help with your art, so I guess you were right."  Tyler sent him a playful glare and nudged him back.

He was grateful that Jude had class in the same building at the same time as him; It always made his mornings a lot easier on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He was thankful for Jude in general, though. The two had met freshman year and were inseparable ever since. Wherever Tyler was, there was Jude, following along to make sure everything was running smoothly. He lucked out when he found out that Jude was a psychology major, which was in the same building as the English department.