A/N: Oh my lanta…..Thank you to user DC2012 to pointing out the disgusting mistake I made in the original posting. HTML formatting probably really messed you guys up. Here we go again!
WELCOME FRESHMAN CLASS!
The banner hung in the doorway of Derek Venturi's new dorm building. The entire building smelled like fungus. But given that there were 150 teenage boys living in a confined space, Nora Venturi couldn't complain much as she exited the college housing. She had just said good-bye to her step son and her daughter and was meeting up with her husband at the car. George Venturi was already in the vehicle, fiddling with the radio, when his wife entered the car.
"Both kids are settled?" George asked.
"As settled as they're getting." Nora replied a little sadly as she pulled the seatbelt over her. "Did you talk to Derek about you know what?"
"Nora, men don't talk the way you girls gab on." George teased. "But yes. And he agreed."
"Wow. That was easy. I'm astonished." Nora said. The agreement pertained to a fairly difficult relationship that Derek shared with a young woman across campus. Two weeks ago, before even attending pre-registration, Derek had called his step-mother and father into his room while Casey was teaching a summer jazz and tap class for young kids. He was pale, sweaty, and looked sick.
"Sweetie, are you okay?" Nora cooed as she tried to press a palm to her distressed son's forehead. Derek pushed her off.
"Nora, I'm fine. Well. No. I'm not." He was pacing like a caged animal. "I can't do it. This is bullshit and I can't do it!" George sunk into a computer chair and Nora balanced on the edge of the unkempt bed.
"Language." George chided automatically. "Can't do what, Derek?"
"Go to university with her! She's everywhere at home and now she'll be everywhere there. I can't do it, man." Derek was sounding pathetic and foreign to himself. Like a whiny teen in an afterschool drama. He would have kicked his own ass if he could. Derek took a deep breath and steadied himself. Act like the man you are, Venturi. He scolded himself. He leaned against his dresser and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair. "Dad, remember that thing we talked about a year and a half ago?"
"Your crush on Casey? Yeah." George shrugged and crossed his arms.
"Really, dad? Really? In front of Nora?" Derek's voice was harsh and his was glaring at his bedroom guests.
"She's my wife. I tell her everything. Watch your tone."
"Well…when I was dating Amanda, I stopped caring about Casey. Like entirely. Except when she left her disgusting hairballs in the bathtub… but now Amanda is going to NYU and I feel like I'm back on Casey. Which is the last place I need to be and since you people won't let me sign up for online dating…" he trailed off, thinking about the Busty Singles in His Area.
"Look, Derek. Honestly, your dad and I expected this from the start." Nora's voice was calmer than Derek expected. He imagined more screaming about incest and familial betrayal and hours of required therapy. "When George and I began dating all those years ago we talked about you and Casey. The same age. Sharing a bathroom and a school and so much else. You were too old to see each other as siblings like Edwin and Lizzie, who were only eleven at the time. Fifteen is a very difficult time for boys and girls to live together. But you two were so different and so hostile…we didn't feel the need to address it."
"And you made this home hell for three and a half years." George chimed in.
"But now you both seemed to have cooled off." Nora continued smoothly. "You've matured into fine young adults. You are both going to university to get an education. I do believe that it is hormones talking and not genuine affection. You live in a cramped space with an attractive girl. When you get on campus you'll probably never see each other and you'll find someone new. So will she."
"Good god, I hope so." Derek groaned as the front door opened and Space Case announced her return.
The agreement that Derek and George had made that first day of college was that Derek would give Casey a good amount of space for the first semester. George made his hormone ridded son swear to focus his thoughts on hockey, other girls, and for god's sakes his studies. He shouldn't let his sex drive and the convenience of Casey being near-by ruin what little relationship he had with his step-sister. Derek nearly vomited when he heard his dad say sex drive but he agreed and told George that he was going to bust into a frat party that night. No guy would dream of a keener like Casey when half-drunk cheerleaders were easily supplied. George sighed at his son's idiocy but gave him a big hug before leaving to talk to his daughter on the other side of campus.
After Nora departed, Derek sat on his bed and looked around his dorm room. White brick walls. Fiberboard desk and dresser and closet, made to look like dark wood. His mattress was lumpy and plastic. But it was his first ounce of freedom in years. He could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted with whomever he wanted. A lot of the sorority chicks he saw when he was coming into campus looked homesick and easy enough to persuade after two wine coolers.
"Fuck yes." Derek said to himself at this thought. At that moment the thick wooden door burst open and a tall, athletic boy with curly ginger hair struggled into the room with a giant box and a microwave balanced dangerously on top.
"Yo, man! Give me a hand!" the boy demanded. Derek jumped up and grabbed the microwave from him. The guy put the box on the floor and took the microwave from Derek and put it on his bed. "Hey, I'm Robin."
"Derek." The roommates gave a hearty handshake. "What's in the box? A body?"
"A body would be lighter." Robin chuckled. "It's my gaming systems. PS3, Xbox, and my N64. Vintage. Girls have teddy bears. I have my Nintendo. And a shit ton of games for each system." He gently nudged the box with his toe. "Could you help me bring the rest of the stuff up?"
"Sure. Where are your parents?" Derek asked as he followed Robin back downstairs.
"Don't have a dad and mom had to work." Robin led Derek to a yellow cab. The driver was unloading boxes from the trunk and back seat. "Thanks, man." Robin said to the driver. He paid him, leaving a hefty tip, and the man got in his cab and left.
Half an hour later Robin was completely loaded into the dorm and had set up his TV and Xbox on Robin's desk. The boys were sitting in the desk chairs playing Grand Theft Auto 4 and Derek was effectively kicking his new roommate's ass.
"Beanbags." Robin exclaimed randomly.
"What the fuck man?" Derek asked, as he stabbed a virtual cop. Nora never let him play this game at home. She was always whining about how violent it was.
"We need beanbags. Betcha we can get some at the thrift shop next weekend."
"Sweet." Derek agreed.
Across campus, Casey wasn't having so much luck with her roommate. Jade had long black hair and wide green eyes. She hadn't said more than five words to Casey in the hour they had spent together. She must have been melting in her all black ensemble, Casey thought as she watched Jade shove her clothes in the dresser.
"So…do you want to go to the events registration this afternoon? I read in the brochure that we have a bunch of cool campus clubs." Casey offered.
"Nope. I don't really do clubs." Jade said shortly.
"Well, would you like to go get lunch in the café?" Casey asked. Jade turned toward her roommate and took it all in. Motivational posters. Purple fuzzy blanket. Cutsey teddy bear with a probably pathetic name. Hair up in a messy bun with a stylish headband that just screams I look like I don't care but I actually do. Yoga pants and the t-shirt from the dance studio this chick surely attended for all of her 18 years.
"Look, cheerleader. You seem really nice. But back off, okay? Go join a sorority and leave me alone, like you're going to anyways. Just because we share a jail cell doesn't make us besties. This isn't Orange is the New Black or Step Up or whatever you relate to."
"Oh…alright." Casey sighed and stood up from her bed. "I'll see you later, Jade." She grabbed her earbuds and phone and left the room thinking about going for a run. Before she could think about a running path her stomach rumbled so powerfully it probably registered on the Richter Scale. First, lunch. She thought to herself and headed to the campus café. It was a short walk and a nice day. There were people playing Frisbee on the quad and parents giving messy teary goodbyes. Casey took a breath of fresh air and felt like she finally belonged somewhere, even if her roommate wasn't what she had hoped. No one would call her a Keener or Klutzilla or Princess Spazz and no one knew she was related to-
"Derek!" upon hearing someone call her step-brother's name Casey inwardly groaned. She looked around for Derek and found him under a nearby tree as a blonde boy gave him a manly hug. There was a cute carrot top standing beside him…but if he was associating with Ventrui he was probably vapid, cruel, and lacking in nearly every personality trait.
"Hey, Sam!" Derek shouted to his best friend.
"Shit, I forgot he got in here too. Does high school ever end?" Casey whined quietly to herself. It wasn't that she hated Sam, just the opposite. Just…if Sam was here, a fresh start would be even more difficult. "Keep walking by. They'll ignore you."
And sure enough they did. Though Derek would know that glittery pink headband and holier-than-thou walking style anywhere. But he turned his back on her and talked to Sam, whom he hadn't seen since graduation. His family spent the summer in Europe, enjoying their last family vacation together. Derek was glad George and Nora didn't have any ideas that bad.
"Nah, man." Sam defended. "It really wasn't that bad. Totally nude beaches in Italy."
"Damn, all we did was go to Niagara Fall's that one time. Nobody gets naked near the falls." Robin laughed. "My sister complained the whole time and my brother wouldn't put down his ipad. What about you Derek? I have absolutely no idea who you are and yet we share a room. Let me know you won't kill me tonight."
"I have a really nerdy brother, Edwin and a pretty chill step-sister his age, Lizzie. And my sister Marti is really weird but she's only 7 so she'll grow out of it."
"What about-" Sam was beginning to ask why he left out Casey but Derek cut him off with a subtle shin kick. Derek was doing everything he could to make a new name for himself. And that included not admitting to sharing anything with Casey, he didn't want anyone to even think he knew her.
"Let's get something to eat before I slaughter Robin early and eat him." Derek offered.
"I'm a little gamey. You wouldn't get much more than muscle." Robin joked and the trio headed to the café with no more talk about families but a lot of talk about those nude beaches.
A fresh start. Just like everyone wanted.
A/N: I took an unexpected approach here. I always kind of assumed George and Nora would be accepting of Derek and Casey, or at least not be surprised. Sorry, if you don't enjoy my creative liberties or it seems OOC to you. Read. Respond. Review. Much Love, Little Crickett