Roommate?

Chris didn't know what a messy room looked like. Whenever he left the house, before he returned, the maids had cleaned up whatever little mess he had made inside his room. So his prayer was that his roommate was not the messy type and was not the excessively neat type either. Because he still wasn't sure how he was supposed to clean and manage his space to save face. 

He didn't know much about his roommate aside from the fact that he was a local and a senior, and hadn't bothered about any of it, even when the lady he had been talking to about his dorm had asked if he was okay with her sharing his number with his roommate so they could 'catch up'. He was already a week late from resumption and probably would have asked his roommate some questions, but he hadn't particularly been interested in that until he received a message from a strange number one day,

 

UNKNOWN NUMBER: Good morning. Sorry for just reaching out now, but this is your roommate and I was wondering when you'd be coming to school since it's already been a week since resumption. I was wondering if you were okay?

 

That message had surely surprised him because one, they were both strangers, so why did his roommate care if he was okay or not? Two, why was he apologizing for just reaching out now? And three, why was he so nice? 

 

CHRIS: I'm good. I had to create a new bank account for the university's fund. I guess you already know I'm on a scholarship. It was quite a long process and everything, but I was able to conclude it yesterday, so I'll be arriving on Wednesday.

 

It took a whole day before a reply came. In fact, Chris had totally forgotten about it until he received a message just when he was about to go to bed. 

 

UNKNOWN NUMBER: Sorry I'm just texting now. It's cool you've been able to sort it out. I'll try to be around when you move in on Wednesday to help you settle in. By the way, I'm Sky.

 

Chris smiled faintly at the text. What was with him and being polite? Chris already imagined a nerdy guy with glasses and braces who was probably socially awkward and that was why he was this polite. If he had this kind of guy as a roommate, he guessed it would be quite easy to navigate around the school.  

Chris guessed he was the type to insist on helping him move even if he turned him down, so he didn't bother to play the "No, I'm fine. You don't have to help me move" card.

 

Chris: I'm Chris. Good night. 

 

Sky: I know your name. Good night too.

That message came about 2 hours later when Chris had already fallen asleep, so he got to see it the next morning. 

 

And that was as far as his conversation went with the roommate. Chris wondered what it was that he was always doing that made him seem busy. Was he always reading? Or doing some science project?

 

That would be cool too. Having a studious roommate to rub off his smartness on him was something he wouldn't mind.

 

By the time Chris arrived at the second floor of the school dormitory, he was panting like a dog. 

The dorm was quite big. A three-storey.

It was kind of empty, so he guessed most of them were in class since it was a school day. He met a few people who welcomed him, and some had looked guilty, saying they would have helped him if they were not late for class. Two actually offered to help him carry his things, but he had used the city boy's, "It's fine, thank you," to shoo them away, and now he was beginning to regret it, especially when he found out that the elevator was not working. Fortunately, he had an athlete's spirit, but considering how long he did anything he could consider athletic, it made him feel quite tired carrying two heavy bags and one big backpack. 

 

When he got to the room assigned to him, he checked his key tag again to be sure, and when he confirmed it was 062, he tried to stick his key inside the keyhole but was met with resistance since a key was at the other side and the door was unfortunately locked.

 

He knocked on the door when he heard voices inside, but even after 3 minutes, he got no response. It seemed like they were playing a video game inside and having fun while he stood out there trying to get their attention. Was that even allowed in dorms? He had read that part in the rule document that said those things were not allowed in the school dormitory. And now he really agreed. 

Frustrated, he banged on the door and it seemed to work because everything came to a halt inside and he could hear noises as if they were trying to cover up whatever they were doing. 

 

God, he really hoped his roommate was not the type with too many friends. The door flew open and he caught the flushed face of a boy quite shorter than him, with brown hair and deep brown eyes, trying to maintain a smile, but when the boy saw who was standing out there instead, he sighed in relief and placed a hand on his chest. He was probably not more than 19 and had quite a slender build, which was quite obvious in the tank top and shorts he was wearing. Chris could swear this guy had never played a single sport in his entire life. He didn't look bad. He had quite a pretty face that Chris would have probably admired if he hadn't already taken a celibacy vow and, most importantly, if he wasn't so pissed right now. 

 

"For a moment, I thought it was the dorm inspector." He said, looking inside the room at the other person there.

 

"It's not?" The person asked hopefully and came to peek at the person outside.

Chris got a view of the second person. He was taller than the first guy but a head shorter than Chris. From his build, he obviously played sports. His black hair was cut like some kind of military dude and his eyes were a lighter shade of brown. He wore a stud in his right earlobe, and his face wasn't bad either. Maybe guys from this side were naturally good looking? 

Of course, he knew they were from this side because of their accents. The big guy wore joggers and a tank top too. Weren't they cold? Or was he the only one?

 

The two guys looked at Chris, and after a few seconds of staring, the one standing by the door closest to Chris smiled. 

 

"You must be Chris?" He exclaimed.

 

Was this guy his roommate? Or was it the second guy behind? 

 

Either way, he was not impressed with whoever his roommate was out of the two of them, and they seemed to notice. 

 

"Idiot! Get out of the way and let him enter!"

The one behind scolded, and the guy at the front seemed to come to his senses and moved to the side. 

Chris glared at him before entering the room and glancing around. 

 

No way in hell he could live here!