I reached into my pocket for my room keys. These were probably the tightest pants in my closet so that turned from a normal trivial activity to a battle and a half. I finally got them out but dropped them as I forced my hand free. As I was reaching down to pick them up, my neighbor came out of his room and was dressed rather oddly. He was wearing a costume clearly. He noticed me admiring his craft and approached.
“Hey dude, I’m Kyle, are you new here because I haven’t seen you around before?”, he asked.
He hit the nail on the head with that one.
“Yeah, I’m new. I’m Carlos by the way. You look fancy. Any plans for tonight?”
“Well, actually I was heading out to this party on the other side of the campus, you want to tag along. The social atmosphere could do you some good considering you’re new.”
“Uhm, I wasn’t really planning on doing anythingtonight but I guess it wouldn’t kill me to go.”
“Alright bro, trust me you’ll have fun, we all do in the end.”
Kyle and I caught a cab across campus to “The Wildfire”, which is the residence for all the Art students. When we arrived, the first thing I noticed was the incredible amount of people at this place. I had never been to anything like this. It wasn’t really my scene. We went in and he seemingly dissapeared into a small mosh pit not far from myself. I was now alone. Thank God everyone else was drunk or high. They barely noticed someone as quiet as me, so I just wondered around taking in the real spirit of the art at the place. Before long, I had been walking around for a good 20 minutes. I thought about calling it a night and going home but then I noticed her curly brown hair through a crowd of drunken souls. As if time slowed down in that moment. I looked at her and she seemed to be as sober as I am. I walked up to her and she didn’t seem to be surprised to see me.
“Rose, I didn’t expect to find you here.”
“This really isn't my thing. I’d rather be at home reading or something but I promised my best friend I’d come with her. Now I don’t even know where she is. I guess I’m kind of the fool for that one.”, she said.
“No, no. Not at all. You’re far from a fool. If anything you’re an amazing friend for coming with her. She may not be here right now but at least you’re not the only sober person anymore.”
“Well that’s a good thing I guess, I’m sorry for shutting you out earlier by the way. I wasn’t really myself. I’ve been going through some stuff.”
“I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we get out of this crowded place, maybe the balcony?”, I asked.
“Yeah sure.”, she replied.
Rose and I moved through the almost impenetrable crowd of frat boys and girls towards the balcony area, which was actually really empty. There were a few chairs laying around so we grabbed two and sat by the railing. The whole night I hadn’t seen a single artistic thing despite being in the art residence. The view from the balcony was exactly that though. Stunning looking out at the mountain range in the distance.
“So, how exactly did a quiet guy like you find himself in a place like this?”, she asked.
“Well, long story short. I came with my neighbor but he ditched me right at the start.”, I replied.
“Doesn’t sound like much of a neighbor to me."
“We only met about half an hour ago, so forgive me for blindly trusting a frat boy.”
“I’m not judging, I mean you did rescue me from my impending demise at this place, I’m not really sure how much longer I would have lasted.”, she replied.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, uhm…”
I was suddenly interrupted by a blonde girl with a bottle in her left hand and what looked like an empty cup in her right hand.
“Rose! You’re missing out on so much party stuff!”
She turned for a second and looked at me like I was some kindof riddle.
“Who’s this Rose! You didn’t tell me you had a special man in your life. You don’t tell me anything anymore. I’m going to get more happy juice!”
Rose looked a little embarrassed and I couldn’t help but giggle a little at the situation.
“That’s Melinda, she’s my best friend and my roommate", she said.
“That’s an interesting first impression, maybe she knows my neighbor."
“Haha, I doubt. I should probably take her home before she finds more happy juice, thanks for tonight though. Campus Café, tomorrow morning, don’t be late Carlos.”
“I’ll be there, Goodnight”
In that moment I was probably holding myself together because of the adrenaline rush. When I had a chance to relax a little I realized I had just held an entire conversation with the girl I’d been geeking about the entire day.
Another win. That was enough for one night. So I called a cab and headed back to my place. I needed some sleep. After all, I wouldn’t want to risk being late for breakfast with Rose.
YOU ARE READING
IF ROSES BLED INK
Teen Fiction"Insert Synopsis", Imagine if I actually told you about the story before you read it.
