Dorm Room Shenanigans

“Man! Hell of a first day, huh fellas?” The always upbeat Alex asked as he, Drew, and Mason headed back to the dormitory from the academic building. Mason gave him a questioning look to see if he was being sarcastic, even though that’s not Alex’s style. Mason would likely have described the day as much less pleasant than his pal and was pretty thankful it was over. On the other hand, Drew seemed to be in a daze. Alex continued to go on about his classes and seeing some friends for the first time since last year. Mason noticed that Drew seemed to be lacking the usual pep in his step, so he dropped back a bit to check in with his friend.

“Hey man, everything good?”

*Earlier that day*

Drew couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for the fiasco that took place in the hall. The guilt ate him up as he walked to his next class. His thoughts consumed him as he sulked with his head down. That was until a door opened to his side, and a small hand grabbed his wrist firmly and yanked him into a dark room. Before he had a chance to fight off his surprise attacker, he felt a pair of soft female lips push into his.

A flood of different thoughts and emotions hit the guy as he tried to catch his brain up with what the hell was happening. It didn’t take long for Drew to recognize the taste of the vanilla lip balm from his current *attacker*. He broke the feverish kiss and felt around the dark wall until finding the light switch, which he quickly flipped on. His eyes took a second to adjust to both the bright lights and the grinning brunette girl standing before him.

“As if sneaking around wasn’t going to be hard enough already, and then you started a school civil war with Hazel Hightower on the first day? Not your smoothest move, Andrew.”

The amused girl still looked at him with a slight grin but seemed slightly put off when the guy didn’t look as thrilled about seeing her.

“To think, I put in all this time to pick out this totally unique 1-of-1 schoolgirl outfit and found the one janitor closet that is possibly 2 square feet larger than the rest… I feel like my efforts are going underappreciated here, Andrew.” Addison McCreery finally stepped forward out of the shadows and tried to read the guy’s face properly.

Drew, on his end, was trying to keep from freaking out. Having nerves of steel is something of a calling card for Drew on the field and usually with pretty girls, but this moment is proving to be the exception. With all current circumstances aside, he was happy to see Addison standing before him.

Drew is the star athlete, part-time model, etc., etc., etc. Addison is president of the science club and has been aspiring to become a pathologist since she was 6. Let’s say that the two don’t have much in common, including VERY different social groups. None of that seemed to matter when they realized their parents belonged to the same country club. At the beginning of the summer, they avoided each other like the plague. Soon after, it turned into glancing looks or overdramatic hiding from each other until enough was enough, and Drew decided to break the ice. It’s hard to say which teen was more shocked, as they soon realized how much they enjoyed spending time with each other. The fact that they had little in common certainly didn’t change as they got to know each other better. They were almost comically opposite of each other. But Drew soon realized how much he appreciated her dry, dark sense of humor and how effortlessly brilliant she could be. Addison really enjoyed meeting the “man behind the mask” and learning who the real Andrew Murphy is, Something that she suspects he doesn’t know for himself. It didn’t take long before getting to know each other turned into… getting to know each other. Let’s say that very few spots at the club remain sacred, with a few being far too close to getting caught. Sure, the rush of it all certainly added some flair, but the two seemed to get lost in it all. They both knew they were on borrowed time and as the summer came closer to the end, they’d have to come to terms with it all before returning to their so-called real lives. So Drew did what any bold and honest young man would do… He panicked and left a day early without saying goodbye.

The tall teen tensed as he remembered the cowardly choice he made and looked up at her once more to figure out if this was some sort of payback or ass-ripping coming. He even tried to lighten the mood with a small joke.

“So is this where it happens? Unsuspecting smart girl with a candle stick in the janitor’s closet? Not my first choice, I must say.”

A small, crooked smile formed on her sweet and freckled face. Addison was a cute girl in a more nontraditional way. Her hair was often frizzy, and she wasn’t especially keen on wearing much makeup on her freckle-covered face. She could be described as an average build but did have surprisingly large breasts that she did little to show off or highlight with her clothing choices. In most settings, she’d have enough guys checking her out, but with the pedigree of girls attending Eagle Crest Academy and the girls usually seen hanging off of Drew, she doesn’t exactly stand out. Something that she’s both aware of and not exactly bothered by either.

“I mean, I guess we can use a candle stick, but I don’t recall you ever needing any help before.” Her grin turned a bit mischievous as she leaned closer to his chest. “Speaking of the candle stick, It’s been too long since I’ve seen yours. It didn’t even say goodbye to me… It just vanished in the night. Sure knows how to make a girl feel cheap, you know?”

Here it comes. He readied himself for whatever she hurled at him next but was equally frightened when nothing followed, and he noticed her standing patiently, waiting for some sort of explanation.

“Look, Addison, I don’t have a good reason for that.”

“Clearly.” The girl couldn’t help but quip in before nodding and letting him finish his train of thought.

“It kind of sounds stupid to say out loud, but I guess having any sort of closure meant just that. That it was over. It is something that we never exactly defined or planned on in the first place. Ending something that is unofficial just seemed kind of silly.”

“Wait…” Addison finally interjected as her face turned and her bottom lip started to quiver. “What do you mean end it? I figured you didn’t break it off because you didn’t want to either and that we could start openly dating. But now… Did this summer mean nothing to you?” The hurt girl said as her head dropped and she started rubbing her eyes.

Drew panicked and braced his hands on both of her petite shoulders. Before he could come up with the exact words, the hurt girl’s sob turned into a giggle.

“I’ve already sent save the dates to my grandparents!” Addison was now fully hamming it up with the back of her hand pressed against her forehead as if she were performing in a Broadway play. She looked back at Drew from the side of her eye to see his less-than-amused expression. “I can’t keep it together when your face looks like you’re about to have an aneurysm. God, you are easy, Andy.” Addison said before laughing even harder. Drew took his hands off of her shoulders and took a slight step back as he realized he had just been played by the always-clever girl. He was so taken aback that he barely caught the hated nickname she gave him when she really wanted to annoy him.

“You’re an ass, Addie.”

“Takes one to know one, and I’m pretty sure that makes you of the dumb variety for falling for that so easily. I don’t have to be socially competent to know that the school’s number one jock and the president of the science club wouldn’t be accepted with open arms. Plus, that kind of defeats my plan of staying under the radar for one more year before going off to college and being able to finally flourish with peers who care more about silly sports and high school cliques. No offense, of course.”

“Yeah… No offense, sure.” Drew said with untrusting, squinted eyes.

“Even this little **** is pretty stupid of me after seeing how your sweetheart stepped down off her broomstick and all but threatened to deport the new exchange student.”

“Ex-sweetheart. Wait, not even sweetheart, just ex! I don’t think Hazel can be described by that word. So much for thinking that being back at school meant I was finally rid of your ball-busting.”

“Yeah, it’s unlikely that day will ever come. After all the progress we were making this summer, I’m not letting you devolve back to the airheaded jock I stumbled across this past June.” Both teens let out a small smile as they looked at each other and remembered just how easy their banter and conversations were. The fact of how incompatible they are was part of what drew them together. “Well, I survived all three years of high school so far without making it in the gossip column. I’d prefer not to break my streak on the first day at this new school, so we better both get going. Don’t be a stranger, but no grand gestures or public confessions of love for me in public. You’re bad for my image.” Addison tacked on with a wide grin, and Drew returned. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and shooed him out of the door first before waiting a couple of minutes for the coast to be clear.

Drew shook the earlier surprise interaction out of his head as he couldn’t help but grin while thinking of her teasing. As if his situation wasn’t complicated enough before having his secret whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-it with Addison. He focused on the conversation that Alex and Mason were currently having. Well, mostly Alex appeared to be having with himself as Mason offered a few inputs here and there. The three guys walked into the old dorm that they get to call home for the next 8 months. Drew was so preoccupied with his own thoughts that it just dawned on him that they were missing their particularly loud-mouthed companion.

“Do I want to know why Scotty is gracing us with the absence of his presence?” Drew joked lightly. Mason’s head dropped as he shook it slowly, and Alex lit up in laughter as he filled Drew in on Scotty’s ‘bold’ pickup lines to a particularly young-looking teacher. Drew could only roll his eyes and wish that it didn’t fit way too in line with who Scotty is. “Well, it sounds like an impressive start to his all-time detention record.”

“I’m pretty sure he broke that mid-way through sophomore year.” Mason joked dryly.

The dorm was particularly rowdy with many of their old friends and some potentially new ones. First, they passed an open door where they spotted a few guys that would be nearly impossible to forget.

Theo Campbell, the resident tech nerd, was furiously coding away as Billy Harper was rambling over his shoulder about something. Billy sees the three guys and lights up. “Sup Fellas! Theo is minutes away from bypassing the firewall and cracking the code on the teacher’s only high-speed Wi-Fi. We’ll have 4k porn ready to stream in no time!” the rosy-cheeked, pudgy boy exclaimed with a bit too much excitement and openness about his love of adult films. He planted a slap on Theo’s scrawny shoulder. Theo tensed and looked back with a look that made it clear he didn’t exactly volunteer for this particular task. They were also shocked to see the always jovial Dolph Sanders sitting slumped on the floor instead of bouncing around like usual. The giant of a teen was an imposing figure and one of the top wrestlers at Eagle Crest alongside Mason. What he lacked in intelligence, he clearly made up in height and muscle. He might appear frightening, but in reality, he was as threatening as a teddy bear unless someone crossed his friends. But in the present time, it was very unlike the guy to see him so down.

“What’s with the big guy?” Alex asked the others, actually a bit concerned. Billy only somewhat paid attention to the question, never once taking his eyes off the blazing-fast code that Theo was typing away.

“Homesick or something or another. Mumbling about missing his pet squirrel? Or was it a bunny?”

“Dude!” Theo turned to Billy in a flash, now lowering his voice to a near whisper. “I told you not to mention Moose.” Dolph sighed as he heard them mention his pet’s name. He grabbed his cell phone and rushed into the hall to call home and check on his beloved pal, who was banned from school property after the local bunny population skyrocketed sophomore year. Dolph refuses to see the connection.

Mason and the others were even more confused and decided it was a good time to keep moving. They next came across two guys arguing, which is a pretty common scene for them. Niall O’Hara and Lippy Zuccaro were always into it about something, and it certainly didn’t help that they were rooming together once again. Niall is a pretty serious guy who pours his focus into his academics and mainly his obsession with lacrosse, where he really excelled. Lippy, on the other hand, couldn’t be more different. A constantly scheming guy who’s always looking to pull the next grand prank. Something that’s built an intense rivalry with Scotty as the two constantly try to one-up each other. Lippy has been on his final warning for about his last five warnings. Scotty swears that he’s since been trying to frame him for his latest schemes, but the others just figure that he’s paranoid. Mason would rather not deal with their drama and slides past them on the way to his and Drew’s dorm. His two friends quickly followed and shut the door behind them to finally escape the chaos. Mason and Drew sit on their respective beds while Alex plops down on the beanbag in the corner.

Even with the door shut, they still hear constant shouting and the walls shaking in the old building from whatever chaos the other guys are causing. “Welcome back to the shit show.” Drew chuckled. “I bet the girls don’t have to deal with anything like this.” He continued as the three guys wondered just what does go on over in the brand-new female dorm…