"Thanks a bunch!" I say shoving two twenties into his hand and grinning at him. The taxi driver just grunts and scratches his baldhead.
"Alright kid, you're change is 10 bucks." He digs around in his car for the change, but the energy itching my legs gets the better of me, "You keep it! You were an awesome taxi driver!" I flash him another grin, and this time, he returns it. I hop out of the backseat and trail my luggage behind me; a bright orange duffle slung around my shoulder. I deeply inhale the crisp air trying to rid the smell of taxi from my sinuses. That smell of sweat being desperately masked with air fresheners. I inhale again; it smells like the beginning of fall, crisp air and the faint whiff of cinnamon. I stare at the large, open, gates that lead to massive, luxurious, well-manicured lawns. Impressive trees line the path. Their leaves tipped with the colors bright oranges and reds of fall. Students lay in clumps on the grass talking and laughing. Others are lugging suitcases on the stone paths, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. Yale University. I finally made it. I head on in, trying to hide a massive grin.
"Naruto!"
A perky, feminine voice calls out my name. I recognize the voice immediately, my one and only friend Sakura-chan. I turn toward the familiar sound and grin when I see her. She's not alone though; she's with bushy brow, Lee. In the last few years of high school they got together and honestly, I'm happy for them. I used to have an obsession with her, but when she got with Lee, I finally got over her. Lee got into Yale and to celebrate the two of them took a road trip; the final destination of their excursion was Yale.
"Sakura! Bushy-brow!"
I gesture for them to walk beside me and they quicken their pace to catch up. I stand still waiting for them, fighting the urge to ditch the two. I just want to explore and they just want to do gross couple stuff. I stifle a sigh as they catch up. Don't get me wrong, I like Sakura and bushy-brow. They were the only ones nice to me in high school, even though we never actually hung out. But still, right now Ikura is the only one I want to talk to and he's all the way back in Colorado.
"Hey Naruto! Were going to check out the cafeteria, want to come with?" Sakura says cheerily. The cafeteria? Are you serious? Of all things... I scratch the back of my neck, "You guys go on ahead. I'm going to check out my room."
"I've already seen my room." Lee said smiling and giving me thumbs up, looking absolutely ridiculous. I realize he didn't have any luggage with him; Lee must've already unpacked. I nod, "Cool. Well, see you guys around." I smile, but it was fake one. I don't think they'd even bother to meet up with me later.
"Well Sakura will be leaving tomorrow at 3:30 so let's meet up before that!"
"Yeah! Of course, see yah later." Lee smiles, but Sakura frowns in a disappointed manner. She knows when I'm lying, and Sakura knows I won't be there to see her off. I hope she see's the apology in my eyes as I spin on my heel and head off to my dorm.
Room 221. Room 221. Room 221. Room 221 Baker Street. No, Just room 221, I don't live in England. I'm so jittery with the excitement, an all expense paid scholarship to fucking Yale. Now I can prove to everyone my skills, my knowledge. To be a famous writer, that's my dream!
I stop 220. I look to the left and the golden plaque on the white door says 221. Hands trembling in excitement I turn the knob and push. I inhale sharply; the room that greets me first is some kind of common room or something. It has grand white walls, two large windows with wispy, translucent curtains; there was even a fireplace on the east wall. I noticed an emerald green couch with a plush white chair sitting beside it and smiled. Rich people crap. Look how clean this couch is! No gum and spilled soy sauce on it! There isn't a single cent in between the couch cushions! I look around to see what else there is to explore. There's a door to my left and an open one to the far right. The doors open? Maybe my roommate's here, this day couldn't possibly get any more awesome! I navigate my way around the furniture and found myself in the bedroom. I didn't really examine the surroundings for I was too focused on the raven-haired boy who must've been my roommate. I can only see half his face because his mouth and chin are buried in a silver-blue scarf. The boy is slouched down in what Iruka would call the 'coach crease' position. (A position I get into a lot.) Knees up, shoulder hunched and computer leaning against the legs. Somehow this boy managed to pull off this position in the weirdest way. His eyes locked on mine blankly and I couldn't help but feel startled, his eyes were a rich, black, color. Something abnormal and strange, and I couldn't look away they were so fascinating.
He arches his right eyebrow and smirks, "Hey." His voice is slightly muffled by the scarf but it sounds cool and confident. Say something! My brain screams in aggravation at my own stupidity. "Uh, h-hi." I want to slap myself; I'm not normally like this. I clear my throat and regain my composure, "Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, you're roommate." After a moment's pause he says, "Sasuke." It takes me a while to realize that was his name. I'm about to say something to break the silence when I realize he's not even paying me attention anymore. His fingers are whizzing over the keyboard like magic, eyes glued to the screen. Well, I guess that's that. I throw my orange duffel down at the foot of the bed that Sasuke hadn't claimed. The bed's had a blue sheet, a gray comforter, which was completed with fluffy, white pillows. There were two drawers by the foot of the beds and a desk facing a window separating the beds. A door on Sasuke's side was what I assumed to be the bathroom. I'm about to flop down on the bed when my phone buzzes in my back pocket. Then buzzes again and again I dig it out of my pocket and look at the caller ID. It read Ikura. I smile and click the, 'accept call' button.
"Hey Iruka!"
I notice Sasuke glance over at me, but I pretend not to notice. I can almost hear Iruka grinning, "You there yet? Or did you stop by too many bookstores to make it on time?" I roll my eyes while internally praying my roommate didn't here that. I can't have him thinking I'm a total nerd. I sit down on the bed and lean against the wall while saying, "Oh, I'm here alright; it's pretty awesome." I grin and I know he can sense me smiling.
"I never got the chance to go to a collage like that," His voice is wistful, but it perks up when he says, "Have you met your roommate yet?" Yeah. And he's right fucking here. Stop talking so loudly, but I don't say any of that I just say, "Yeah." When I don't say anything further on the topic he changes it, "Great. Tell me how the first day goes, ok?" I can't help but roll my eyes again, "Ok, mom," I joke. I let the corners of my mouth move into a small smile. He chuckles "Alright Naruto, talk to you later." The line beeps as he hangs up. I turn off my phone and slide it into my front pocket. Realizing I don't have anything to do I head into the door that I assumed was a bathroom. It was tile floors, a toilet, a built in shower, and a marble counter complete with sink and houseplant. I close and lock the door behind me, exhaling loudly. I study myself in the mirror and adjust my glasses. The ones that screams nerd! The least. There just round, rectangular, black rims. (Out of habit.) I rub my fax diamond stud, I got only one ear done when I was a teen, but now I'm insecure about it. My outfit, which at the time seemed fine, now looked way too dorky. A three quarter sleeve, navy blue collared shirt, sleeveless orange vest and a black and white checkered tie. At least my chocolate brown pants are somewhat decent. I run my finger through my blonde hair pulling at it out of anxiety. As a kid I never brushed it and my hair stood up in weird ways, but now that I brush it and add a smidge of hair gel it's flatter and falls over my forehead, almost covering my eyes. Don't get me wrong, it's still unruly and I could never get the back of my head to be smooth, but it's more professional. At least, that's what Iruka says. I sigh. I can't get myself to relax and my nerves are still on f*ck everything up mode. Whipping the sweat from my hands, I turn the knob and leave the bathroom. Upon my exit of the restroom Sasuke, who didn't even bother to tear his eyes from the screen, says, "Hey dope?" His voice goes higher like it's a question.
It takes me a while to realize that he's addressing me, "Yea?"
"What's your profession?" This is good, I tell myself. We can get to know each other.
"English." I reply, "And you?"
He grunts and stops' typing just for a moment then looks up at me with piercing black eyes. I gulp; this guy is kind of intimidating.
"What a coincidence, I major in English as well." I grin at him but he doesn't notice because he's back to typing. I shake my head, no longer up for conversation. So instead I pull out a novel I was currently reading, 'Clipped Wings.' It's about a boy who shoots a beautiful swan and is turned into that swan, living a life of constant misery. The kind of thing you wouldn't expect to be good but is.
Why do we pick the most alluring flowers? Shoot the most pure of animal? Most importantly why was I brought into a world where this is ok? Another gunshot rings through the air, I fight the instinct to fly away from the awful sound.