Dusk.

What a time to be awake. I’m so much more of a night owl than a morning bird. Yet all my classes are during the morning. Fuck me, right?

Once I escaped from being looked at and got back to my dorm room. I had enough time to get cleaned up and plop into my bed before my very hyperactive roommate burst in screaming about a fire in the quad. Like no shit Sherlock. I was there. Of course, I couldn’t say that. I couldn’t even get a hi in with how fast the kid was talking.

I say kid but he’s still like a year older than me. Or two. I’m not sure. All I know is that he’s older than me. Wish he’d use that to get me some beer, but he’s that good Christian kid who went to private Christian school his entire life. I think it was even a local one. Can’t say why his parents let him live in the dorms, cause he’s def a titty baby if I ever met one. He’s small, like five five, five four, or something. I don’t know. And I swear, if the kid stood sideways, he’d disappear from my view. Add in his thick glasses, that I tried on as a joke and couldn’t see a thing through, and his super curly brown hair he’d be your textbook nerd from the eighties.

“Sam, take you chill pill,” I finally say overtop him. I swear he’s mouth moves faster than his feet. Like he has three sentences coming out at the same time.

“Sorry, just that is so crazy. Like a real fire and everything. I’ve only ever seen that on TV. Like last Christmas, on the Hallmark channel, there was a fire in the girl’s Christmas bakery, and the guy came in and was all like, ‘Surprise I’m the local firefighter.’”

“‘And let me spray you with my hose now.’ Or at least that’s the Pornhub ending.” I’m only joking, but I know that that’s how to get the dude to shut up long enough for me to actually speak. “I saw the fire Dude. I was in the quad when it happened. My guess they’ll find that it was the pot heads that started it.”

“That’s what they get. It’s sin and all.”

It was so hard for me not to roll my eyes at the kid. Like how sheltered do you have to be to think that pot is an ultimate sin. I was definitely not gonna tell him that I smoked a little once in a while, or that I drank a lot at parties. If he knew that and everything else it would probably cause his head to explode, or, if that didn’t happen, he’d try pulling me to his Sunday service, or just try and get a new roommate. It’s how I got him as a roommate. He walked into to his roommate jerking off and had a panic attack. I’m sure you can imagine how hard it was for me. I’ve been his roommate for two months and I’m gonna go crazy. Hopefully, next semester I can get a different roommate.

“So, is that all we’re gonna talk about? Cause if so, I’m just gonna go. I got a couple tests coming up I need to study for.”

“But you don’t have your books out. Where even is your bag?”

Busted. God can this kid be observant.

“Yeah I’m gonna have to get them replaced.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I left them in the library as I escaped. They’re probably burnt up as much as everything else in there.”

“No, I heard it was the ceiling that burnt the most. A lot of stuff just got smoke damage.”

“I can’t get that lucky.”

“Did they check you out? Are you okay?”

“Dude I’m fine.”

Him looking up at me with his big chocolate brown eyes was very weird. Like I don’t need another mother or anything. Although at least he was asking if I was okay instead of saying they were gonna kick my ass. But that’s only when Mom is in her attack moods, which happens maybe once a month if she had forgotten to take her meds earlier that week.

Although he does get in personal space a lot. Like right now. Like maybe a foot away from my bed as he’s just staring down at me trying to study me.

“Dude back up. You’re all up in my bubble.”

Sam quickly backed up mumbling to himself. Definitely an odd kid.

“You know if they’re letting anyone in?”

“I don’t know. Maybe try tomorrow?”

I grumble before I lay back down in my bed. I could see that he sat down on his bed looking at me. I catch him watching me a lot. I don’t know if he’s gay or just socially oblivious, and I don’t want to insult him by asking, so I just let him watch. Don’t bother me none really. It’s not like I do anything in front of him. I don’t even want to imagine what my mother would do if I got kicked out of my dorm room. Nineteen and still treated as if I’m a kid. Although she’s always been like that since my father left.

As I ignore the stare, I pull out my phone and start scrolling through my Instagram. A DM popped up from a friend I had made here.

Party over at the house, you in?

Like I know it’s the weekend, but I just survived a fire. Although a few shots might make me feel better. I quickly said that I was down but wouldn’t stay long. Only response was the thumbs up emoji. Sounds like our usually party night conversations on the DMs.