p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Alright…alright, I can do this.." I gave myself a small pep talk as I walked up the stairs to the second floor of my dorm building. It was nicknamed Glitter for some odd reason, perhaps it had multiple meanings in english? /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Room number 226…" I muttered to myself, staring at the text scribbled onto my room key. I could faintly hear something on the other side of the door, but it was muffled just enough that I couldn't make it out. My fingers wobbled ever so slightly as I pressed the key into the lock, but oddly enough, it was unlocked. Pushing the door open, I quickly noted a pile of my belongings that I'd had to ship here stacked on one bed, and on the other….well…..let's just say I'd wished I hadn't opened the door. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" All I saw was a tangled mess of skin and bedsheets sprawled across one of the twin beds, clothing littering the floor. Breathless moans left a blue-haired- or it may have been the other person. I couldn't really be sure - before he was silenced with…Well let's just say his mouth was busy doing….other things. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Caught like a deer in headlights and paralyzed by confusion from what was happening before my eyes, I took a step back. Questions left my mouth, though I can't quite recall what they were; probably to see if I was in the right room. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"My eyes automatically locked with the darker haired of the two boys, my cheeks flushing as he stared back at me. Shock and embarrassment were painted across his face as I backed out of the room and into the hall, closing the door silently as I went. As if someone else was controlling me, I quickly walked down the hall and into the elevator, pressing the first floor button./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "I-is this a normal thing here?" A few panicked tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as the elevator opened, revealing a seemingly silent lobby type area. Unlike most colleges, the entire campus was connected by an intricate series of passageways, making getting to class less of a workout and more of a labyrinth. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Two boys named Virus and Trip had given me a tour when I'd first arrived, so I had a general idea of where my classes and the cafeteria were, but all I wanted was a place to hide. I'd never imagined they'd be doing something like that. And at school nonetheless! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" As my thoughts ran like a dog without a leash, my feet lead me towards a cafe I'd spotted not too far away. It was nine o'clock at night but it felt like midday to me due to my jetlag. As I stepped through the single glass door separating the cafe from the hall, I was instantly hit with the scents of coffee and tea, my eyes opening a little wider. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Without really processing anything, I ordered a hot chocolate and sat down at an empty booth, glancing around the room. It was mostly empty except for a table of girls chatting and scribbling in notebooks, a redheaded girl scribbling furiously in a notebook, and a blonde boy with a dark blue and green hat on fiddling with what appeared to be a disassembled laptop. I sipped on my drink and pulled a notepad out of my coat pocket, deciding to distract myself by looking at the boy across the room. He was glaring angrily at the device, maybe it was difficult to repair? Or was he building it? In my distraction, I'd failed to notice the table of girls, their eyes tracing over me in a nearly predatory fashion./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Before I could process what happened, the girls swarmed around me, five or six of them it appeared. There was a look similar to that of concern dancing in their eyes, however I was still wary and rather disliked the feeling of being cornered inside a booth by complete strangers./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "So.." one of them began, "We haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" My mouth was dry, I glanced to the boy again, and his glare was now directed right at me, burning into my soul. Tears gathered in my eyes on their own accord as the event that had occurred just before resurfaced in my mind./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Y-yes I-i'm new to uh, this country. M-my name is Clear" I blushed a bit, I must've had some kind of crazy accent from the way they were looking at me. The girls quickly introduced themselves, though I wasn't really listening./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Well, I just meant to the school but really, the country? Are you a foreign exchange?" She was talking rather quickly..a little too quickly in fact./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Yes I, I'm here from Iceland." My voice was nearly a whisper, my face buried in my scarf. One of the other girls gasped before speaking./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Isn't it like, a freezer there?!" My head cocked to the side./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "A…..freezer? No, Iceland is a country, not an appliance." The girls started giggling, though I couldn't quite understand why. "What's so funny?" More tears gathered in my eyes, a few spilling over. "D-did I say s-something wrong?" Their laughter instantly cut short./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "No, no don't cry Clear-!" One of the girls hugged me, another reaching a bit...lower. I jolted in surprise, suddenly feeling incredibly claustrophobic./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Ah, ah I uh- d-don't think that's something you should be.." My face flushed red as I pulled them off of me, standing from the booth. My eyes once again met briefly with the boy fixing the computer before I bolted back towards Glitter. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've only been here for three hours and already…" I was conflicted between going up to my dorm and possibly walking in onem that/em again and staying here, where those girls could possibly find me and do those things grandpa told me I was forbidden to do until marriage. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "I'll have to go to my dorm sometime.." The voice in my head reasoned, leading me into the elevator once again. Before I had time to conceive a plan I was back in front of room number 226, my hand shaking. Thankfully I couldn't hear anything this time, and there was no light coming from under the door, so I could only assume my roommate was asleep./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Slowly unlocking and pushing open the door, the darkness caused my shadow to drag to the opposing wall as I glanced around. There was a bit more order in the room, and I could only see one form on the bed. That had to mean one of the people from before left. The only question was, which one was my roommate?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" I wasn't really tired so I closed the door and stepped over my boxes of clothing and supplies, stacking them up next to my bed until there was only one. "Might as well try and unpack.." I muttered, a small sigh leaving my lips./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941; min-height: 16px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Alright…alright, I can do this.." I gave myself a small pep talk as I walked up the stairs to the second floor of my dorm building. It was nicknamed Glitter for some odd reason, perhaps it had multiple meanings in english? /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Room number 226…" I muttered to myself, staring at the text scribbled onto my room key. I could faintly hear something on the other side of the door, but it was muffled just enough that I couldn't make it out. My fingers wobbled ever so slightly as I pressed the key into the lock, but oddly enough, it was unlocked. Pushing the door open, I quickly noted a pile of my belongings that I'd had to ship here stacked on one bed, and on the other….well…..let's just say I'd wished I hadn't opened the door. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" All I saw was a tangled mess of skin and bedsheets sprawled across one of the twin beds, clothing littering the floor. Breathless moans left a blue-haired- or it may have been the other person. I couldn't really be sure - before he was silenced with…Well let's just say his mouth was busy doing….other things. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Caught like a deer in headlights and paralyzed by confusion from what was happening before my eyes, I took a step back. Questions left my mouth, though I can't quite recall what they were; probably to see if I was in the right room. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"My eyes automatically locked with the darker haired of the two boys, my cheeks flushing as he stared back at me. Shock and embarrassment were painted across his face as I backed out of the room and into the hall, closing the door silently as I went. As if someone else was controlling me, I quickly walked down the hall and into the elevator, pressing the first floor button./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "I-is this a normal thing here?" A few panicked tears gathered in the corners of my eyes as the elevator opened, revealing a seemingly silent lobby type area. Unlike most colleges, the entire campus was connected by an intricate series of passageways, making getting to class less of a workout and more of a labyrinth. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Two boys named Virus and Trip had given me a tour when I'd first arrived, so I had a general idea of where my classes and the cafeteria were, but all I wanted was a place to hide. I'd never imagined they'd be doing something like that. And at school nonetheless! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" As my thoughts ran like a dog without a leash, my feet lead me towards a cafe I'd spotted not too far away. It was nine o'clock at night but it felt like midday to me due to my jetlag. As I stepped through the single glass door separating the cafe from the hall, I was instantly hit with the scents of coffee and tea, my eyes opening a little wider. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Without really processing anything, I ordered a hot chocolate and sat down at an empty booth, glancing around the room. It was mostly empty except for a table of girls chatting and scribbling in notebooks, a redheaded girl scribbling furiously in a notebook, and a blonde boy with a dark blue and green hat on fiddling with what appeared to be a disassembled laptop. I sipped on my drink and pulled a notepad out of my coat pocket, deciding to distract myself by looking at the boy across the room. He was glaring angrily at the device, maybe it was difficult to repair? Or was he building it? In my distraction, I'd failed to notice the table of girls, their eyes tracing over me in a nearly predatory fashion./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Before I could process what happened, the girls swarmed around me, five or six of them it appeared. There was a look similar to that of concern dancing in their eyes, however I was still wary and rather disliked the feeling of being cornered inside a booth by complete strangers./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "So.." one of them began, "We haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" My mouth was dry, I glanced to the boy again, and his glare was now directed right at me, burning into my soul. Tears gathered in my eyes on their own accord as the event that had occurred just before resurfaced in my mind./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Y-yes I-i'm new to uh, this country. M-my name is Clear" I blushed a bit, I must've had some kind of crazy accent from the way they were looking at me. The girls quickly introduced themselves, though I wasn't really listening./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Well, I just meant to the school but really, the country? Are you a foreign exchange?" She was talking rather quickly..a little too quickly in fact./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Yes I, I'm here from Iceland." My voice was nearly a whisper, my face buried in my scarf. One of the other girls gasped before speaking./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Isn't it like, a freezer there?!" My head cocked to the side./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "A…..freezer? No, Iceland is a country, not an appliance." The girls started giggling, though I couldn't quite understand why. "What's so funny?" More tears gathered in my eyes, a few spilling over. "D-did I say s-something wrong?" Their laughter instantly cut short./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "No, no don't cry Clear-!" One of the girls hugged me, another reaching a bit...lower. I jolted in surprise, suddenly feeling incredibly claustrophobic./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "Ah, ah I uh- d-don't think that's something you should be.." My face flushed red as I pulled them off of me, standing from the booth. My eyes once again met briefly with the boy fixing the computer before I bolted back towards Glitter. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;""I've only been here for three hours and already…" I was conflicted between going up to my dorm and possibly walking in onem that/em again and staying here, where those girls could possibly find me and do those things grandpa told me I was forbidden to do until marriage. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" "I'll have to go to my dorm sometime.." The voice in my head reasoned, leading me into the elevator once again. Before I had time to conceive a plan I was back in front of room number 226, my hand shaking. Thankfully I couldn't hear anything this time, and there was no light coming from under the door, so I could only assume my roommate was asleep./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" Slowly unlocking and pushing open the door, the darkness caused my shadow to drag to the opposing wall as I glanced around. There was a bit more order in the room, and I could only see one form on the bed. That had to mean one of the people from before left. The only question was, which one was my roommate?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" I wasn't really tired so I closed the door and stepped over my boxes of clothing and supplies, stacking them up next to my bed until there was only one. "Might as well try and unpack.." I muttered, a small sigh leaving my lips./span/p
p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; color: #2e1941; min-height: 16px;" /p