Twenty-two-year-old John Cena stood at the departure terminal, with his suitcase in his hand and a forced smile on his face while he said goodbye to his parents. What had seemed like a good idea to assert his freedom was starting to seem more like a really rash decision. John junior had signed up for what was advertised as a "semester at sea". Taking place on board a refitted cruise liner, it combined world travel and exposure to foreign lands with normal schooling.

"Remember son, if you need anything, you know where to find us." John senior looked around the crowded lounge. "Just not in here."

A camera crew rushed past, intently following six students. People parted instantly to allow them to pass, but this only added to the confusion.

"What the hell?" John's mother seldom used strong language, even words like hell, unless she was under a lot of stress and seeing her son off like this was definitely stressful. The stress was increasing rapidly and one of the camera people bumping into her was no help at all.

"Easy Carol. I'm sure there's some reason for it." Cena senior looked around, but the crew was already swallowed up in the sea of students.

The ship's horn sounded.

"Better go son. You don't want to miss your boat." John's mom pecked her son on the cheek, holding back her tears at the upcoming separation.

"Take care of yourself and we'll see you at Christmas." John senior held his own emotions back, except for a nervous gulp.

A quick hug to both of them and John junior quickly joined the group preparing to board. If he had stayed any longer, the butterflies in his stomach were going to cause more problems than just missing the first part of his junior year at college.

Rather than go up on deck to wave goodbye, John sought out his room. He knew that if he even thought he saw his parents waving to him, he was not going to remain on the ship for long.

"Four-sixteen... four-sixteen... four-sixteen." He muttered over and over again. Since this was supposed to be an educational environment, and not spring break in Panama City beach, the ship's accommodations were divided into what the brochure called "male and female dormitories". Two to a room, just like it would have been had John been in college on dry land.

"Here we are."

Two beds, two desks, two closets, and that was pretty much it. It was furnished only slightly more than photos John had seen of the rooms in steerage on the Titanic. (And no, there was no in-room plumbing, either.)

"Home sweet home." John sighed, tossing his two suitcases on the bed. The other side of the room was still vacant. No surprise there. John correctly assumed that everyone else was still above decks waving to the crowds.

John sighed again. Looking around the room, he already felt a twinge of homesickness and the ship hadn't even pulled away from the dock. Seconds later, any chance of backing out was gone when he heard three short blasts from the ship's horn: the equivalent of the 'all ashore that's going ashore' cries of early days. This meant that anyone who wasn't sailing should be either off the ship or close to it and if you weren't on, you probably weren't getting on. Moments later, a deep rumbling came from the bowels of the ship as the huge engines started up.

"And we're off." John whispered, thankful that he still had some time to compose himself before his bunkmate arrived. Maybe he'd get really lucky and not have to share a room, but that was very unlikely considering that John only got his space because enough people backed out before the cutoff.

Hoping that maybe doing something like unpacking would ease his nerves, John opened the suitcase closest to him... and almost broke into tears on the spot. Atop his neatly-folded jean shorts was a brief note in his mother's handwriting. "A little something to remind you of home" and it was attached to Gary; the stuffed giraffe he'd had since he was three years old.

"Awww., mom..." John smiled. There had been a reason he had decided not to pack Gary.

The sound of the doorknob turning quickly sent Cena into panic mode as he tried to find a suitable hiding place for Gary. The only thing handy was the pillow and underneath it Gary went. A 22-year-old with a stuffed animal did not make real good first impressions.

"Thanks for your help, steward." The sound of money changing hands reached Cena's ears seconds before he saw his roommate for the first time. A little shorter than John, short dark hair which matched his dark eyes. What got Cena's attention wasn't his appearance, but the four large suitcases he brought with him. This guy did not seem to know the meaning of travel light.

"This sure ain't the Queen Mary." He mumbled "I wonder if I can upgrade..." He stopped in mid-thought when he noticed Cena. "I guess you beat me to it."

"I guess." John answered

Throwing his suitcases haphazardly into a corner, he plopped down on his bed and tested the mattress, staring at the ceiling for endless seconds. "I wonder if they'll let us paint?"

"Huh?"

"Y'know, paint? Some nice fluorescent pinks and greens... maybe lighten the place up a bit."

"I don't think that's allowed." John stated

"Probably not." Swinging his legs over the side, he regarded John thoughtfully. "I'm Tom Hardy, by the way."

"John Cena." John shook Tom's offered hand.

"Now that we're all buddy-buddy, I don't know else to say this, so I'm going to be blunt... your giraffe is showing."

"My what?" Cena immediately looked down at his groin, thinking that giraffe meant something else.

"Your giraffe." Tom repeated, pointing his thumb to the head of John's bed. Cena immediately turned deep red and tried to cover it up.

Tom scratched the back of his head. It looked like he was trying to hold back laughter. "Dude, by all rights I should rib the fuck out of you, but a hypocrite I am not."

Before Cena could decipher what Tom meant, the other man scrambled off the bed, grabbing one of the smaller bags of the four he'd packed. "I got a lizard."

John wasn't sure what to think until he saw Tom's lizard. Short and purple, with big white eyes, it made John feel a little less homesick and a lot less awkward. Still, and to what he hoped wasn't his totally doofusness, he reached for the giraffe in question and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Bit homesick already, eh?" Tom set his own cuddle toy on the pillow, then started his unpacking. John watched, curiosity toward how Tom was going to get everything stored away overriding his politeness about not staring.

"A bit." John finally admitted. "This is gonna be my first time away from my family for this long."

"Don't sweat it, man. You'll have forgotten all about them by the time we hit Costa Rica in two weeks. Between school, and the sights, you'll be too busy." Tom took out several button-down shirts and hung them in the closet. "You need much closet space?"

"Nah." John thought about his own wardrobe. "Just leave me a hanger or two."

"Not a problem... like your accent, though. Somewhere in New England?" Tom quickly emptied suitcase one and moved on.

"Yeah. West Newbury, Mass." John answered

"Never heard of it." Tom answered "Small town?"

"About 4500. It's about 35 miles from Boston." John replied "You?"

"I wish I could say the same. I got kicked out of the house at 16 and moved to L.A." Tom shrugged "I belong to the city."

"Wow..." John gasped

"My parents were really fuckin' primitive. They didn't approve of my friends, hated the one serious relationship I was involved in, and told me that I wasn't applying myself. I stood up to them and got the boot. Went to UCLA for two years, then decided that I needed more freedom, so I tried this for a term and really enjoyed it." Tom replied "But I'm sure that's more than you wanted to know."

"How many times have you done this?"

"This will be my fourth time." Tom answered "I'll be 'graduating' at the end of this semester. Seriously, dude, you're gonna enjoy this. Trust me."

John answered "I'm just a little bit nervous, that's all, but I do."

"In that case, you should also trust me when I tell ya that if you're not gonna unpack right now, we should probably head to the orientation in the main dining salon. It's mandatory for all the noobs." Tom pocketed his keys.

"I know, dude. Don't worry about me."

Tom chuckled "Of all the roommates I've had, you're the first one I think could beat me in a fight, so I ain't worryin' about ya. But your gonna get paired up with someone, sorta like a buddy system. Usually it's people in a lot of the same classes, but I always think it helps to have a friend who knows the routines."

"You volunteering to be my friend?" John asked, deliberately sounding corny.

Tom burst into laughter. "Dude, you and I are gonna get along great. Let's hit orientation, then I can show you around the ship if you want." He playfully tagged John on the shoulder on his way out the door.

John followed, realizing that Tom was right. His homesickness was gone and he was, for the first time in a long time, looking forward to the future.

Words from Riky:

I know where this is going, but I'm just not sure how I'm going to get there. Hopefully this does not turn into the Titanic and sink before it gets anywhere.

Gary the Giraffe appears thanks to Megan... you rock!