New York, New Man

Chapter 1

"51...51..." Alexander Hamilton mumbled as he wandered down the corridor, a green suitcase in tow. He glanced at room numbers on the doors of the Hilton hotel on Frederick Douglass Street. He'd moved all the way from the West Indies because he was awarded a scholarship to King's college. Finally, he found the door that matched the number on his room key. He slid the key over the card reader, paused momentarily, waiting for the quiet beep, and then pushing the door open. The room was small, with two queen beds,a bathroom, and nothing much besides that. Alexander sighed and set down his suitcase. The hotel stay was temporary, but he had to wait 2 days before moving into his apartment, just a few blocks from the school. He would be starting his first year, and he planned on having a 4.0 GPA. Top marks, in his eyes, were more important than a social life. He figured he'd keep his mouth shut, or at least try to. He'd devote the time he wasn't in class to working on his homework, not partying like every other college kid.

Bright and early at 4 in the morning, Alexander was up and awake, ready for his first day of classes. He had his schedule and a map of the campus printed out and color coded with various highlighters. It was still pitch dark outside, and class didn't start until 8:30.

"Room key, journal, pencils, pens, laptop, laptop charger, coffee," Alexander stared down at the scribbled list he composed last night. Everything had two red checkmarks next to it. "Oh, red pen, where's the red pen..." Alex began rooting around the room, looking under things for the pen. He bent down to look under the bed and the pen dropped from behind his ear.

"Ah," he mumbled quietly before tossing the pen into his bookbag.

He looked in the mirror briefly, trying to get his hair to lay flat before failing and gathering it all into a low ponytail. His shirt collar was popped up, and heaven forbid he left looking like that.

Before leaving for his first day of college, he drew the curtains, looking to the world like a man on a mission. Then he slung his bookbag over one shoulder, coffee in his other hand, and shut the heavy door behind him.

Alexander's plan to keep his mouth shut was soon foiled by a tall young man with a mess of curls in a top knot, who walked straight into him. Accident or not, Alex was annoyed. "Watch it," he hissed as he passed.

"Sorry. My bad." the man replied in a heavy French accent.

Alexander grunted and kept walking.

As he stepped into his first class of the day, he was greeted by a blast of cold air. "For those students who have just walked in," a professor looked up from jotting things down on the board. "I do apologize for the temperature in here, the thermostat's broken again. Stupid thing won't budge from 66."

After the class quieted down, the professor introduced himself. "Hello, I'm Professor Franklin." he wrote his name on the board in handwriting that bordered the line between neat and messy.

"Now, today's work will not be anything difficult. We won't be diving into radioactive physics just yet," he chuckled. "Find 3 different people, say your name, major, and hometown. Simple."

He sat down at his desk and watched as the students shuffled around the frigid classroom.

Alexander just milled about in the back, hoping class would be dismissed soon enough. After 5 minutes of pretending to try and socialize, he finally went up to a young man and introduced himself. "Hey," the man said. He was quite tall."What's your name, man?"