HERO COMPLEX

ii. clean slate

[SEBASTIAN]

Nerves woke me up in the morning, for once not the sound of my alarm clock or my mother screaming. It was five thirty when I ventured out from under the sheets and made my way to the window.

I forgot how beautiful the city was at dawn. People still milled about, but it was calmer, somehow more still. A haze covered the skyscrapers and the sun scraped through it, bathing New York in warm light. Moments like this were easy to be in. No expectations, just existing.

Entranced and procrastinating the move, I stayed at the window until both my alarm and my mother inevitably began blaring. I sighed with a secret smile. Good to know some things never change.

Getting dressed quickly I carefully packed up the last of my belongings and met my parents downstairs for a final awkward breakfast. Table conversation usually consisted of insults and jabs but today I could tell they were trying to keep it clean. We were used to being uncomfortable, but never this kind of uncomfortable. I tried to keep my mouth full of food so that I had an excuse not to speak.

My mother attempted to make conversation. "So, have you met your new roommate yet?"

I shook my head and chewed quickly. "No, his name is Colton-no, Collin or something. Apparently he's from the area. I stalked him a little on instagram, but no real contact." I tried to sound cool, but in actuality I knew every single detail about Collin Harbors after stalking every social media page he had on the internet - from instagram to linkedin. I knew he had two younger sisters, went to Park East High School, was studying to be a civil engineer and his star sign was a cancer.

"Be careful, son. You never know who the enemy is." By enemy, my Dad meant hero.

I rolled my eyes. "This is college dad, no one is a good person."

My mother jumped in. "We just want to you to be safe. There's a balance in this world; yin and yang, dark and light..."

"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter." I finished for her. I had heard this speech a hundred times. I didn't bother to mention that I totally shipped Drarry.

After breakfast we packed up into my car, a tight fit considering all the sweaters and graphic t shirts I had invested in, and took off. I wiped tears from my eyes, not over leaving my family but over leaving my xbox behind.

Traffic was light on our way over, and attempted to park outside my dorm. My dad almost took out about ten kids trying to find a parking spot, honking and flipping people off unapologetically. I instinctively sunk lower in the backseat. I didn't need my idiot father ruining all my chances at friendship before I had even spent a half hour on campus.

We finally found a spot and began the unloading process. As we were taking out my luggage, a police officer approached my father.

No, no, no, I thought anxiously, moving faster. If there was a God he was totally out to get me at the moment.

"Sir," the man said, squinting in the sun. "Your car is in a no parking zone."

Sure enough, the curb was marked with the red and white label. I internally face palmed.

My dad gave a small smile. He thrived off confrontation. "We're almost done here."

"You are violating the law. Please move your car at once."

This seemed to make my dad more excited. "No, I don't think I will."

"I'm not going to ask you again."