The dorm was around the same size as Asher's room at home. It was an easy transition to make. He even was able to avoid the need for a roommate, thank god. He set down his last box of things and turned to his parents. Ruth beamed at him, while Leo fussed with the order of the books on Asher's desk. Chava swatted their father away from the table, herding their parents together for Asher. She flashed him a thumbs up.
"You guys ready?" Asher asked, mostly watching his father. Leo sighed and dabbed the corner of his eye gently with the sleeve of his sweater. Asher laughed and squeezed himself between his parents, throwing an arm around each of them. "Come on, I'm just a short drive away. And I'll visit all the time." He glanced between Ruth and Leo, smiling like a salesman.
Ruth patted his cheek. "He'll be fine, Leo. Let's let him get settled in."
Leo wordlessly hugged his son, patting him firmly on the back a few times before following his wife out the door. Chava made a funny face at him, closing the door behind her on the way out.
Asher turned and looked around his room. It was pretty barren at the moment, but an hour or two of elbow grease could fix that. He rolled his sleeves up and dove into unpacking.
The fragile things were on the top of the box to keep them safe. Mostly framed photos of family and friends. His hand hesitated when he went to grab the final photo. It was him and a few friends at graduation. He had one arm around Goose's shoulders, the other around Cameron. He sighed, and set the photo face-down on his desk. He would deal with that one later.
The rest of the box was filled with random objects, mostly baseball-related. His extended family didn't know him very well, but they all knew he had played baseball for years, so that was all he ever got for Hanukkah or his birthday. Sometimes Asher worried there wasn't much else to him, that sports was all he was and all he would ever be.
Someone knocked on the door behind him, startling him out of his head. Ma probably left something here. He opened the door and was surprised to instead see a young man around his age. He smiled, and Asher noticed a small gap between his front teeth.
"Hey, sorry, I have the dorm across the hall. Do you have any extra thumbtacks? I ran out."
Asher stared for a second before responding. The young man was gorgeous, with high, angular features. He wore several gold earrings, and had short dreads bleached on the tips, shaved on the sides of his head. His appearance was creative and artistic, something Asher's had never been. He snapped back, remembering he had been asked a question. "Oh, yeah, uh, one second." He turned around and shoved an arm in a box, shuffling through random possessions until he felt his fist close around the box of thumbtacks. He poured a couple in his hand and gave the rest of the container to the young man. "I only needed a couple, you can have these."
He frowned at Asher. "Are you sure?"
He laughed and nodded. "I didn't bring much stuff, really. They'll be in better hands with you."
He took the box of tacks and smiled at Asher again. "Thanks." He paused for a second. "I'm Liam, by the way." He held out a hand.
Asher took his hand, making sure to not squeeze too hard. Liam was more lithe, and had very thin, delicate hands. "Asher," he grinned.
Liam glanced Asher up and down briefly, and smiled. "Nice to meet you, Asher. See you around?"
Asher nodded, smiling as Liam returned to his dorm across the hall. He was grateful to meet someone nice so early.
He finished unpacking the last box, finally satisfied with his work on the room. He glanced out the window, and past the fire escape, he could see the baseball field. His fingers twitched anxiously. He was eager to get on the field, to prove that he belonged here. The sooner he could play, the happier he would be. He just wanted to play.
