Walt Disney University: Thomas

Ch. 1 Move-in Day

Thomas Gates couldn't believe Move-in Day at Disney University was finally here.  It was going to mean exactly what it said, moving in.  The scary part was knowing he would spending the entire school year without his family.  He was going to miss them a lot.  Thomas hugged and kissed his family goodbye and even took his little sister, Caroline, from his dad's shoulders and gave her a big squeeze.  Caroline looked at him sadly, "I'll miss you so much."  Thomas pressed her close to his chest, "Me, too, sweetie.  Listen, I want you to be a good girl for Mom and Dad while I'm gone, okay?"  Caroline sniffled, "Okay."  He smiled, "Remember, Mom and Dad said I could come over on the weekends.  I won't miss it."  Caroline smiled back and gave him an extra big squeeze and kissed him on the cheek.  As he took his things and waved one last goodbye to them, he didn't know that someone he would meet later was watching him from afar.

John Smith and his roommate, Phoebus, as they were getting ready to head in, saw Thomas saying goodbye to his family.  John nudged Phoebus in the side, "Must be a new guy, freshman, you think?"  Phoebus grinned, "Totally, man."  He chuckled, "Looks more like a big sweetheart."

Later, John and Phoebus learned that Thomas would be bunking with them.  When they heard the news, they started unpacking and chatted as they went.  Phoebus went right to how to get Thomas settled in, "Okay, man, we gotta make sure he's not gonna feel too awkward."  John gave a knowing nod, "I know, right?  We've all been there."  John started doing some real thinking, "Let's try to make sure we act cool with him, you know, not go the full nine yards.  Evidently, he's gonna need chill time."

Thomas reached his dorm and, before he could even think of knocking, he stopped dead.  What was going to happen?  What would they think of him?  It felt like the scariest thing in the world to even knock.  Thomas felt himself beginning to sweat.  He tried to take a deep breath, but it just wasn't working.  He stood near the door paralyzed with anxiety.  Again, he didn't know, but Phoebus and John saw what he was doing.

Wondering where Thomas was, John looked through the peep hole and saw Thomas' terrified face.  He turned back to Phoebus, "Okay, dude, he looks like he's really freaked out.  Keep up the welcome, but be calm."  Phoebus gave a confident nod, "No worries, man.  We got this."  John unlocked the door and looked out at Thomas who, was so nervous, he didn't notice anything.  When he saw this, John put on his best gentle, but excited voice, "Dude!"  Thomas gasped and almost jumped a foot.  John did his best not to laugh, "Whatta ya standin' there for? Come on in."  Thomas took his suitcase and brushed a hand across the back of his neck, "Uhh...Okay."  John lead a blushing and incredibly nervous Thomas into the dorm.  Phoebus looked up from where he was organizing movies and books and gave him a nod, "Hey, man! Make yourself at home."

As Thomas unpacked, John decided to try to get this kid feeling warmer around the place, "Okay, remind us, what's your name, kid?"  Thomas looked up from where he was unpacking his Lord of the Rings DVDs, "Thomas..Thomas Gates."  Phoebus gave him a puzzled look, "You just go by 'Thomas'?"  Thomas nodded, "Yea, pretty much."  John went on, "I'm John and this here's Phoebus."  Phoebus stood up, "So, this your first time here?"  

"Yep."

Phoebus and John exchanged worried glances, "Dude, we gotta make sure you know your way around."  Phoebus nodded and put a hand to his forehead, "Memo to me, make sure Thomas gets a tour."

As soon as they were all done unpacking, Thomas found himself between the two blondes and being shown the entire campus.  John and Phoebus made sure Thomas knew the entire layout and where to go for each of his classes.  After quizzing him several times and making confidently sure that Thomas knew where to go, they found another thing that Thomas would need help with if he was going to survive: Thomas was very top of the line shy.  For this reason, they knew Thomas would have to be careful, being shy was a flaw that most of the older and more arrogant guys never forgave.

They found this out after finding that anyone they said hey to, Thomas would look away and brush his hair back.  Finally, when he did this again after they said hey to Wendy,

John finally decided to ask, "Dude, are you shy?"  Thomas blushed and nodded.  John eyed Phoebus and they nodded to each other.  John pulled Thomas into a side hug and rubbed his side, "Okay, we're gonna have to take the warm-up process a little slower than normal."  Phoebus nodded and glanced at his watch, "Dude, I'm about to be brilliant! It's about time for dinner, why don't we take Thomas to that new Domino's across the street and then to Dairy Queen for milkshakes? My treat?"  John looked over at Thomas and gave him a smile, "Whatta ya say, man?"  Thomas nodded, "Sure."

Soon, they were out in John's car with loud music playing sipping milkshakes.  Thomas couldn't believe this was already happening to him.  He was currently in the backseat leaning forward as John asked him, "This happen to you everyday?"  Thomas smiled and shook his head, "Not really."  Phoebus patted him on the back when he saw his smile, "Well, look at that, man, you're smiling!  Big improvement!"  

When they got back, John turned to the back, "Dude, you've been awful quiet what's-" he stopped short when he saw Thomas asleep.  John nudged Phoebus and pointed to Thomas. They couldn't help letting loose a few "Awwww"s, it looked so cute. John took out his phone and took a picture, "It'll last longer." he told Phoebus. John headed to the back and gave Thomas a gentle shake, "Thomas, we're back."  Thomas opened his eyes, stretched, and yawned, "Gosh, how long was I asleep?"  Phoebus looked at the clock on his radio, "About three hours maybe."

Right when they finished getting ready for bed, Phoebus checked the time again, "Dudes, it's late.  Let's hit the hay."  Thomas yawned and rubbed his eyes, "Definitely."  Just then, his cell phone rang.  Thomas took it from his pocket and looked at the screen, "Hang on, I gotta take this."  Phoebus and John didn't need Thomas saying, "Hey, Mom."  to know it was his family.  Patiently, they watched him talk, though the entirety of how much he was missed came when Thomas said, "Oh, sweetie, I miss you, too."  Just the way he said it, they could tell his sister was crying.  When he hung up, John and Phoebus gave him sympathetic looks, "She miss you that much? Your sister?"  Thomas nodded and sighed, "Yea, she's really never known a day without me."  Phoebus put his arm around Thomas and patted his back, "It'll all be good, buddy.  It'll probably take a few days and you'll be completely warmed up."  Thomas smiled and blushed, already it seemed like they knew him so well.