Page 10 of True Blue

Mom

The movers are all set with your dorm. We’re so proud of you!! Let us know if you need anything.

I quickly texted back a thanks and let Grandpa know I was all set. He texted back a similar message to Mom’s.

The elevator door opens, and we step out. I lead the way to suite 815, turning left down the hall and walking a couple of feet, finding my dorm basically right next to the elevator. A pile of furniture lines the side of the hall next to my suite’s door, a couple of chairs and side tables stacked on top of each other in a way to try to leave room for people to pass by.

“It’s not that big of a deal, Gwen,” a bored voice drifts through the open door as I stop dead in the entryway of the suite. The voice belongs to a caramel-haired guy, leaning against the wall across from the door. His smooth, golden skin stretches over angular cheekbones and a straight edge jawline. Darkbrown strands with red and gold highlights stick out around his head and over his ears, giving him a bit of a frazzled, just woke up look. Rich mahogany eyes flick over to the three of us, stuck in the doorway since I froze when I saw him. His arms stay loosely folded over his torso, the curve of his biceps on display under the sleeves of his loud yellow cutoff tee shirt. It shows off his flat midriff, more olive skin on display. The elastic band of his athletic shorts grip his hips, and I drag my eyes back up to his, startling when I realize I’m caught checking him out. The corner of his lips twitch as our eyes lock across the room, before he examines Mira and April, poking their heads in around me.

Heart pounding, I step out of the way, entering the suite and looking around. A soft leather couch takes up the living room area, L-shaped and completely different from the two green cloth couches that were the center of the common room in Mira’s dorm. A black barrel chair finishes the set, framing a dark wood center table with random décor pieces and two remotes on top. Matching side tables sat on either side of the setup, potted plants taking up a quarter of the surfaces. A large TV hangs, mounted on the wall opposite the couch and my switch and Xbox sit in a new shelving unit underneath it, probably already hooked up and ready to go. The room looks completely different from the provided set up Mira has in the dorm two floors below mine and I don’t need to look at the pictures adorning the bookshelf to know my parents are the reason for the upgrades. Still, their smiling faces bracket mine in each photo, the collection a tradition we have in each new country I visit them in.

Amongst the furniture stands Gwen, Mira’s new RA who we met this morning, and a man wearing dark framed glasses, but resembling both Gwen and the guy across from us in different ways. Gwen’s hair is a less grey version of the black on the older man’s head, but his skin tone is an almost exact match, save forsome light wrinkles dusting the corners of his eyes and forehead, for the guy I’m assuming is Axel Clifford. My new roommate.

Gwen gestures around, saying, “It’s like six building violations, Axel. And where did all the furniture go?” before noticing the three of us and quickly lowering her hands, eyes wide and cheeks reddening.

“Hello,” the man beside her says, stepping toward us, eyes locked on April next to me. “I’m Jack, Axel’s father. And this is my daughter, Gwen.” April steps forward to take his hand when he offers it, smiling up at him. I can see Axel in my periphery, feel his eyes rove over me, and I stand totally still until I feel them slide away. With a glance, I see him check out Mira in a similar fashion.

“I’m April Adams,” April says, letting go of Jack’s hand and sliding her arm over Mira’s shoulders. “This is my daughter Amiria and her best friend Bentley.” She nods over to me, and I put my hands in my pockets, keeping my eyes on Jack and Gwen even though I feel Axel looking at me again like an itch under my skin.

“Mira is one of my freshmen, Dad.” Gwen steps forward, her giant smile from when we first met back in place. “I met her and Bentley this morning. I didn’t realize you were Axel’s roommate.” She looks at me and I smile before glancing over at my new roommate again. He unfolds an arm and gives a curt wave before tucking it back in against his chest. A smirk paints his lips, but the direction goes toward Mira, and I take a small step forward, standing between them. The move surprises me for a moment, unsure if I actually did it to protect her or just to get his attention back on me.

Ignoring the moment, I ask Gwen, “Are you my RA too?” already knowing she isn’t but needing to refocus on the other people in the room. My pulse is racing, and I can feel sweat start to slick my palms. I’ve never been shy about my sexuality, havingdated men and women, but I tend to be more cautious with guys I'm attracted to. I’ll wait till they show their hand first before I do anything. No need to make my new roommate uncomfortable if he’s not into guys or just me in general. I've also never been this struck by someone and now I just have to casually live with him.

Gwen shakes her head with a tiny giggle. “No, you have Sean. He was here earlier. I just came to see Axel and Dad before he left.” She glances around at the living room setup again, the corners of her mouth falling a bit. “Did you do all this?”

I recoil a bit, knowing my parents mean well, but how it looks to other people when they do things like this. “No, my parents sent people. I can text them to figure out where the other furniture went.” I turn to Axel, rubbing the back of my neck to keep myself grounded. “Sorry, they somehow managed to be overly hands on while not actually being here.”

Axel shrugs, grinning. The view of his beaming smile nearly bowls me over. “It’s fine with me. I couldn’t bring my plants down with me so thank your parents for all these new ones.” He glances at a couple on the table near him with a smile. “Gwen’s just a bit of a goody two shoes.” He looks to his sister, another smirk at play.

“Axel,” Jack says sternly to him.

Gwen shoots him a glare before turning back to us. “That’d be great. I’m sure Sean will want to know so their disappearance doesn’t fall back on him.”

I nod, not wanting to get anyone in trouble, but Axel responds to her before I can say so. “I doubt he cares. Didn’t seem like it earlier.” His eyes meet mine as he pushes off the wall. “I took the left bedroom; hope you don’t mind.”

I shake my head, not trusting my voice at the moment and grab Mira’s hand. I tug her toward the door of the right bedroom, the excitement from down in the parking lot back in full force. Turning the knob, I lead us into my new room,grinning as I meet a complete replica of my bedroom back home. Posters from my favorite bands line the walls above the queen-sized bed taking up half the room and clearly a replacement of the standard twin Mira has downstairs. It’s covered in a black comforter and several red and blue plush pillows. A soft checkered rug lays beneath it, covering the center of the floor. My shoes sink into the shag as we move further into the room.

“Oh my god, they’re monsters,” Mira teases.

I try for a look of disdain, but the warm feeling in my chest forces the grin on my lips to remain. “They’re insane, that’s for sure,” I say. Sometimes having Hollywood stars for parents isn’t the worst. We may not be all together as often as I wish, but they tend to overcompensate for that in extravagant ways.

Mira bumps my shoulder. “You love it though,” she whispers, eyes sparkling when she looks up at me. I shrug, glancing around again before we walk back out into the living room. Axel now sits, sprawled out on the barrel chair and swiveling on it lightly with one foot on the floor. He watches his dad and April as April laughs at something Jack says. Gwen stands over Axel, quietly saying something down to him before they all turn toward us.

“Everything in place?” April asks. I nod, waving her to come see my room.

She touches Jack’s arm as she walks toward us, and my eyebrows shoot up, peeking over at Mira and seeing her notice the same thing with a frown. April follows me back into my room and I try to ignore the fact that she’s missing her wedding rings as I show her around.

“This looks amazing, Bentley. Heather and Michael outdid themselves.” She smiles at me, eyes showing the sincerity of her words. I can hear the others talking in the living room, but the sound is muffled standing next to the window beside my bed.

The view from this floor shows the entire campus, a continuous road looping around the walled off stone edge withfour entrances marked by iron gateways running perpendicular to each other. The gravel walking paths weave throughout the different cropping’s of more brick and ivy-covered buildings and open grassy areas. Trees frame the roads, branches arching over in some places and dotting the campus in greenery. New mixes with old as the modern science building and domed athletic center sit off on the east side of campus, covered in shiny windows and clean cream walls. The East Tower dorm spire looms straight on in the distance, identical to this one and marking the other side of campus.

And dead in the center sits the looming cathedral that started it all. Campus was supposedly built around it after the church sold the building to the founders of Imperium Coast who modeled the rest of campus around the Gothic style. Spires and blue-grey brick mark every part of the building, with intricate marble carvings and heavy stone stairs. The cathedral was gutted, repurposed into the library, which Grandpa always told me felt like a sacred space when he went here.

April pats my shoulder as we look outside and I wrap an arm around her shoulders, squeezing lightly. “Thank you,” I say quietly, remembering all the times she was there when my parents couldn’t be.

She beams up at me, arm squeezing me back around my waist. “Of course, sweetie.”

We stand together for a couple more moments before I let go of her shoulders and offer her my elbow. She drops her arm from around me, linking it with mine and we turn around. Walking back into the living room, we find tension in the air as Axel now stands, closer to Mira than before, but Gwen stands in front of him, seemingly between Axel and Mira.

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