"Jeff…wake up…Jeff….Jeff…"
Jeff squirmed in his sleep, finally opening his eyes as he turned over his in his bed. He was shocked to find Nick's dark pupils staring back at him. He instinctively moved away from the other boy, backing up against the wall, pulling the blankets along with him.
Nick jumped up next to him, sitting on his knees and staring intently at his roommate.
"Up for the paint war Jeffrey m'dear?" he announced all of a sudden.
Jeff tried to remember what had happened. Nick had left the room, and then…had he fallen asleep? What time was it? 9:48pm. Paint war. Paint war. Paint war?
Jeff shook his head.
"Come on! It'll be fun… everyone's organised it for you. Consider it your welcome to Dalton!"
He remained silent
"But…you don't have to do it if you don't want to" , Nick added as an afterthought.
Jeff sat there silently, struggling to answer .He really didn't want to play. He really didn't.
Is it rude to say no? After they've organised it for me? Of course it is. Of course it bloody well is. Just do it, just say yes!
"I can't…" he whispered quietly.
"Why not?", Nick's tone wasn't demanding or angry, it was actually quite sincere. Jeff wasn't use to being spoken to in such a manner.
"I just…."
"Just ?"
"Can't"
Nick looked disappointed, but finally relented, jumping off the bed and heading toward the door.
"Maybe another time then?"
Jeff didn't have time to answer before Nick closed the door shut and ran off down the corridor. He sat up further in his bed, shivering and pulled the blankets tighter around himself. His stomach grumbled loudly. He had almost forgotten that he hadn't eaten in a day and a half. Lying back down uncomfortably he spotted something in the corner of his eye. Beside his bed lay one of Nick's shampoo bottles. A large J was painted on the front and he reached his hand out curiously.
Nick burst into Ben and Thad's room to find the two boys, plus Josh, sitting on the floor twisting the lids onto their bottles.
"Where's Jeff?"
"Not coming."
"What!?", Josh jumped up angrily, "the only reason I went through with this plan was because you said we needed to 'welcome him' or some ridiculous shit like that."
"Shut up Josh, everyone's going to have fun anyway so stop complaining."
A chorus of "fun sponge" and "fun sucker" erupted from the other three boys and Josh rolled his eyes furiously and sat down again.
Nick picked up one of the bottles, spinning it around in his hand.
"What's the time?"
"Almost ten"
"Alright men… let's go", Nick said in a far too serious tone, mocking probably every war movie he and his friends had ever watched.
The four boys burst out laughing before stepping out into the hallway, entering the battlefield. Nick took off to the left with Thad, while Ben and Josh moved off in the opposite direction.
Jeff lay in his bed, the shampoo bottle in his hand. He felt ridiculous and a little confused as his fingers traced the purple J, smiling too himself. His thoughts were occasionally interrupted by the muffled footsteps and repressed cries as the school outside buzzed.
They were an hour in. Nick had lost Thad a while ago. He didn't mind. He was better alone. They had taken out most of the Blue Team, covering them in purple liquid, and forcing them back to their rooms before they finally admitted defeat. Nick had barely any marks on him. His shoulder was red from when Thad had stupidly lead him into an ambush, but it was only minimal. He grinned, they were going to win. He heard a cry from a room downstairs. It was Callum from….the red team? Yes. Fantastic. Their main problem at this stage was the Green team. He hadn't seen any of them all night and began to wonder where they were hiding.
Jeff turned over in his bed, wondering how on Earth the teachers remained oblivious to these night activities. The pain in his stomach was becoming unbearable. He was struck between leaving the room and heading toward the kitchen, but the fear of becoming involved in whatever game Nick had planned was too great.
It was at this point that he heard the voices. They were soft, but he was able to pick them up. Two or three boys were approaching the room. Jeff became paralysed with fear.
"Do you think we can get in?"
"Oh please…I've picked every lock in this school. Do you really think Nick is the only one in our whole school who can?"
"What if their ammo's not in here?"
"Then we'll check Ben and Thad's room."
"I dunno, isn't it a rule that we can't go into each other bases?"
The two boys were standing right outside the door. Jeff began to shake.
"Oh you want to talk rules? Remember last year when Nick - "
"But –"
"Do you!?"
"Fine, open it."
Jeff panicked and sat up. Should he pretend to be asleep, or hide or…
It was too late, he watched in terror as two boys entered the room.
"Who on Earth are you?" one of them exclaimed upon seeing Jeff.
"He's on purple!", the other one cried excitedly, spotting the bottle Jeff held in his hand.
Before Jeff could move, his entire face was sprayed with green paint. He felt it creep into every crevice of his face. It sort of felt like the slushies at McKinley, but the smell was intoxicating. The two boys promptly ran out of the room laughing and headed toward the Purple team.
Jeff spluttered, there was paint all over and inside his mouth, the metallic taste setting his teeth on edge. His couldn't open his eyes and they began to sting as he wiped the liquid off them.
He quickly got up and stumbled to the bathroom, struggling to find the sink with his eyes plastered shut. He finally managed to reach the tap and drowned his face in cold water. Coughing once more, he turned to face himself in the mirror. His eyes were red and swollen, his hair still party green. The boy shuddered and turned away refusing to face himself in the mirror again.
Jeff locked the bathroom door and slid down to sit on the floor. It was just a joke, he knew that. He repeated it to himself, but was still unable to stop the tears that rolled down his cheek. He tried to stop himself, but couldn't. He sat, on his first night at Dalton, sobbing in a locked bathroom.
