I walked through the old, rusted, gray gate outside of Marcy Hall. I still couldn't believe I was here. I still didn't know why I was here. I just knew that I was here. I knew I had no choice. I had already gone to the office and was currently looking for my dorm. I found it. Room 139 on the first floor. I knew I had a roommate named Hayley and I knew it was a co-ed boarding house. There would be boys. I have never been good with boys.
I took a deep breath and sighed before I looked down at my light blue Converse sneakers and at my luggage, which only consisted of a suitcase with some clothes and a small bag containing the few valuables I had. I opened the door slowly and sighed in relief when I realized that Hayley wasn't in here. But I soon realized that her stuff was. She had already claimed a bed and I couldn't help but notice that her stuff included a lot of purple and flowers. It seemed that she was girly.
Great, just great. I definitely didn't want a girly girl to be my roommate. I didn't want to listen to her talk about My Little Pony and unicorns and rainbows. I had heard enough of that at home with my 4 little sisters. I decided to stop worrying about Hayley's stuff and start unpacking my own. Hayley could return any moment. I sat my suitcase on my small bed. I put my few outfits in the drawers beside my bed. I used the other drawer to store my small bag of valuables. I got my blanket out of the suitcase and put it on the bed. Wow, what an impressive amount of things I had. I sat on the bed and admired Hayley's side of the room. She had posters and pictures. I looked closer at one picture. It was of a girl with long blonde hair. She was thin and petite. She had fair skin and high cheekbones with blue eyes. She looked pretty. She was next to a older gentleman with gray hair and eyes like the girl's. He looked happy and so did she. You could see the gleaming sparkle in their eyes.
Just as I laid back on my bed, the door opened and Hayley walked in. She was the girl in the picture, I realized. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail an she wore a pair of black yoga pants and a plain purple shirt with a white cardigan. She smiled.
"Hello! You must be Reagan! I'm Hayley."
"Hey Hayley, it's nice to meet ya." She nodded and walked over to her bed. She sat on the plush duvet. I didn't know if the silence that followed was awkward or comfortable. I decided to get up and walk to the vending machine at the end of the hall. I grabbed a quarter and walked out the door.
I was walking down the hallway lost in thought when I bumped into something. Someone actually. I looked up to see a young boy with a red Under Armour shirt on and a pair of loose fitting jeans along with some black Nike sneakers. He had dark hair and eyes to match. He was attractive but very mysterious looking. He smirked at me.
"You must be the new girl. I'm Charlie."
"Yeah, I-uh I'm Reagan. It's nice to meet you Charlie."
"Reagan," he repeated my name. "That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
I blushed and turned at the sound of a door opening. A boy walked out of a dorm room. He walked down the hallway until he got to the vending machine area. The boy had gorgeous brown hair that fell down his forehead perfectly. He was fit and muscular. His eyes were hazel and his plump pink lips curved into a smile, revealing straight, white, teeth. His eyes sparkled when he smiled.
"Hey Drew!" Charlie said to the boy. Charlie turned to me and motioned to Drew.
"Drew this is new girl. New girl this is Drew."
"I'm sure that 'new girl' has a name," Drew said looking at me.
"Reagan," I said and then looked down. I became shy and embarrassed. Drew was so gorgeous and I wasn't. I guess that was why I was so shy. Charlie, Drew, and I sat down in the chairs by the vending machine and bathrooms and talked a bit. I didn't say much. After Charlie stood up and said he needed to go, he winked at me and smirked.
"I could walk you home, Reagan," Charlie offered. I made a face of disgust and shook my head, rolling my eyes. I learned that Charlie was a big flirt and Drew was humble and quiet. Drew stood up and shoved Charlie lightly.
"Charlie, leave her alone. Reagan doesn't want to make out with you. Accept it," Drew said rolling his eyes and Charlie chuckled.
"She didn't say that herself." Charlie winked at me and chuckled. "I'm kidding. I'll see you later Reagan."
"Sorry about him, he can be a bit of a jerk," Drew said after Charlie left.
"Uh, yeah, I've noticed."
"He just said all that because he knows most girls fall for the whole bad boy look. He does that to every girl on campus. I promise he has a good personality though.
"So, how do you know each other?" I asked about Drew and Charlie. They seemed close but were nothing alike.
"Roommates," Drew said. I nodded and took a drink of the soda I got from the vending machine. We sat in silence as I looked at my sneakers because I couldn't look at Drew without staring. Finally, he spoke.
"I-I'm really not very good with keeping conversation. Especially with pretty girls. I never have been good with girls in general." I heard him, but all that my brain processed was "pretty girl" and the fact that he was blushing when he said it. I smiled. I just couldn't help but smile.
" I have never been good with boys either. One time, in 7th grade, there was a cute boy walking down the hallway and I actually ran into him and tripped him. I didn't now what to do, so I just walked away and he never spoke to me for the rest of the year," I said with a laugh. I almost added that I especially wasn't good with hot boys, but I didn't. Drew smiled and laughed. His smile lit up the entire boarding school. So beautiful and effortless.
I never wanted our conversation to end. Eventually, he stood up and said he had to go. I hid my disappointment. In all honesty, I needed to go too. Hayley probably thought I died. I stood and he surprised me by pulling me into a hug. He smelled like vanilla and lavender. He whispered in my ear.
"Let me know if Charlie tries to flirt with you anymore. I'll take care of that," he said before pulling away.
"And don't forget he isn't the only one. Most boys wouldn't stop though. Just be careful." He tore a piece of paper from a notepad laying on the chair that had fallen out of Charlie's back pocket. Drew wrote something and slipped it into my jacket pocket. I wondered why Charlie had a notepad in his pocket but Drew explained that Charlie always carried paper so he could give his number to girls. I laughed.
Finally, I returned to my dorm room to see Hayley already asleep. I walked over to my bed to see a note on the blanket.
Dear Reagan,
I hope your first day was good. You weren't back when I decided to go to sleep. I hope your second day here is even better. Goodnight! xx
Sweet Dreams,
Your roommate, Hayley
I smiled and put the note in my drawer with valuables. It was nice of her to write it. I noticed she dotted her eyes with hearts. I changed into pajamas and then remembered the piece of paper from Drew. I found my jacket and pulled out the piece of paper.
Meet me tomorrow at 5 by the vending machine. Sleep well.
BTW: call me if you need anything. Seriously.
Yours Truly,
Drew :)
I blushed and smiled. He actually wanted to get to know me and see me again. He wrote his number on the paper and I put it in my phone in case I needed him for anything. I was pretty sure I actually had a friend. It felt nice to say that. I smiled and placed the paper in my bag of valuables. I was in a great mood so I laid down and fell asleep, and for the first time in a long time, I didn't have the nightmare.
