You may not believe it, but this chapter isn't about me.
You really believed that, didn't you? God, how gullible are you?
But for real though, I swear this chapter isn't about me.
I know everyone thinks I make everything about myself so here ya go, I'm not gonna talk about myself in this chapter.
Instead, I'm gonna talk about all the other people I see here every day.
But I need to go to the hall right now to make sure I don't miss anyone. I don't care, blame my bad memory for it.
So anyway, I walked over to the square hall past the weed garden. And no, it's not officially called weed garden. That just makes it sound like we're growing illegal drugs in a dorm garden. It's called that because there are only weeds growing in it. The gardener just sits beside the garden on this dusty old chair all day and looks at it. I don't get how can someone find a garden full of weeds that amusing but yea everyone's got their own reasons.
As I thought about the garden, I realized I'm at the hall entrance. I went in and took a seat in the last row like I always do. I saw Raphael giving out tokens of honor to new members. They always do this. Whenever someone gets admitted here, they give them a "survivor" token to make them feel loved or something I don't really know. But yea so when I was thrown in here, they gave me one too. You keep getting them after a time-specified milestone. I have the 3 weeks one. I kinda like it, mostly because it's blue and that's my favorite color.
But I'm not gonna tell you about the newbies, simply because I don't know them either.
So, I take a peek in the second row and the first person I see is Chris. He's been here for like a couple weeks now. We used to be friends till like a week ago and then he just stopped talking to me. Don't ask me why. I don't know either. People are strange, we have to live with it. On the other hand, I really don't mind it.
Then there's Alex of course, the only person here that revives my trust issues. I don't wanna talk about him, the guy is just a waste of my worthless time. I'd better waste it by telling you about Annie and Connor. They used to be in some emo cult before their guardians threw them in here. They don't seem to mind it much though, considering they still have each other. And to be honest, I don't even know if they're emo or not, I'm just speaking based on their goth-like appearance. Then you have Liam. Ever since I stepped inside this hall today, I've seen him change his seat about a dozen times. He's the annoying kid in movie halls basically. He looks like one too. He's short, about 5'4 I'd say. I'm kinda short too myself, being 5'7 and all but I'm just glad I'm not the shortest guy here. Despite everything, he's a bit famous. Because everyone thinks he's funny, including me. Seems fair I guess, with a personality like that. I liked him at first. Probably because he did a prank with Rafael. So yea I guess I like him better than everyone else. I guess the only other person I'd wanna talk about is Robin. He's like the guy everyone wants to be friends with. I don't even know why someone like him would have anxiety. He's 6'3, ripped, and has tons of girls simping for him. If I was half that blessed, I would've been the happiest guy on earth, not even kidding.
I kept noting it all down in my notebook so I could write it all in a better way when I get back to my dorm.
Anyways, Alex's speech is starting, I'll see you in a bit. I really need to enjoy this with my undivided attention.
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The hardest part about listening to Alex's speech is not dying from the cringe but actually holding in laughter. And the thing is, you can actually feel these people rolling their eyes at him. It's so intense, it kinda becomes the vibe of the room. Raphael is probably the only guy who likes Alex here, for obvious reasons.
Reason 1: Alex is never sad, quite literally. That makes Raphael's job as a counselor much easier.
Reason 2: Do you really need more reasons? C'mon, you get it already.
As Alex stepped down from the podium flashing that fake toothy grin, I put my pen inside my notebook and closed it. I got up early and started walking towards the dorms so I didn't have to talk to anyone.
Well, turns out that was a bad idea.
My dumb ass was in such a hurry I didn't notice the glossy-looking hallway tiles. I slipped. Real hard.
I landed on the floor with a loud thud and pain shot through my spine and all the way up to my head. I kept laying there, trying to process what just happened. Then, I tried to get up and put my hand on the ground and tried to push my body up.
And guess what happened?
I slipped again.
At this point, I had given up. As I laid on those semi-wet tiles I heard footsteps behind me. A hand appeared on my side and grabbed mine. Raphael looked at me and seemed to ask something. I couldn't hear him though, I was too distracted by the pain. I straightened my body and put my other hand on my back. It still hurt like hell.
Finally, I blinked a couple times and looked around.
Faces. That's what I saw. I panicked and tried to run back to the dorms but the pain in my back had decided otherwise for me. I stopped as the pain spread in my lower back again. I winced and started walking slowly back.
Raphael, watching me struggle, started to say "Toby I think you should consult the nurse before going back-"
"No need for that, I'm okay." I groaned and kept walking. I could feel all those eyes on me. Pitying me. Looking down on me.
I couldn't bear the thought of that, so I walked faster.
Once I turned the corner into the other corridor, I jogged towards my room. I didn't even care about the pain anymore. I just wanted to get back to my room and lay in my bed. And most of all, I wanted to process everything.
I feel like whenever something happens to me, I don't understand it while it's happening or even when it's over and I'm out of danger. I need to sit or lay down and think about it to completely analyze what had happened. And then, I keep thinking about it for hours on the end. Thinking of every possible outcome while staring at the ceiling is what I do. The leman term for it is overthinking.
The paralyzing pain shot up my back again and I slowed my pace.
As I trudged, I noticed Liam grinning and leaning on the corridor wall while holding a signboard that said: Caution: Wet Floor - WALK CAREFULLY
Finally, I opened the door to my room and burst inside. I grabbed the edge of my table leaned towards it. I stood there in an awkward pose and caught my breath. As soon as the throbbing pain subsided, I removed my hands and fell carefully onto my bed. Then, I just stared at the ceiling. For the next three hours.
Fuck this day. I hated it.
