Chapter 17
The day had finally ended, much to Nicolas's relief. He sighed as he sauntered through the halls, exhausted from today's imbeciles. He glanced to his left, admiring the orange glow that dispersed through the corridors from the windows, beaming with natural beauty and bliss. The winter sun had never looked so magical.
Ahead of him, he saw Azure conversating with Elise this second time again, much to Nicolas's distaste. He contemplated whether or not going over there would be the end of him or not, ultimately deciding against it and turning a sharp corner. He wasn't going to start talking to his sister when he wasn't in the wrong.
He began walking faster, getting as far away as possible from his twin. He desired to leave her far behind him like an upsetting moment in time.
He became even more swift when Zachary approached him at the corner, visibly struggling to catch up with him. Eventually he did, however, and launched his irksome queries about Nicolas's day, half of which he was a part of. Nicolas was determined to arrive at his dorm without getting belligerent, but that seems to have been a foolish mission to assume.
Zachary, not getting the message, continued to yap his ears off while constantly stumbling on his pursuit. Nicolas felt his fists subconsciously clenching. "Abbycat... Fall back," he quietly commanded. Zachary kept at, boiling Nicolas's blood to a higher degree every syllable that he uttered.
Nicolas was unimaginably relieved once he saw his dorm number, 520, from the corner of his eye, almost knocking into the wall cutting the corner into the entrance. He sprinted inside and hastily slammed the door in Zachary's face, deeply exhaling at the sounds of him banging on the door. He turned around, expecting to see his king-sized bed and executive desk right next to it, but instead being greeted by the sight of two boys.
"Hi," one said with a slight Indian accent. He had caramel skin, with black hair and spectacles that must have seen the future. He lifted from a bed that Nicolas hadn't seen there before, walking over and sticking his hand out. "My name is Ravi Kumar. Nice to meet you."
Nicolas shook his hand while observing the other boy who, to Nicolas's further ignorance, was on a bed on an opposite wall, also waving sheepishly at him.
"That is our other dorm mate, Patton Adelstein," said Ravi happily. The shy boy had an intricately patterned round hat sitting atop his head, with pale skin and smaller, more fitting prescription glasses. He carefully adjusted it. "Dorm mates? You mean I don't have this room to myself?" asked Nicolas disappointedly. "Of course not! What do you think these other beds are for?" Ravi replied, gesturing to the other beds. Nicolas fell silent.
Zachary was still loudly banging on the door, pleading to get in. Patton pointed, "I think you locked our fourth one out," he said in a sweet, soft and quiet voice. Nicolas's eyes widened, realizing what this statement meant. "No, no, no," he said, increasingly starting to shake his head, repeating "No" over and over again. Ravi reached behind him and seemed to have opened the door, as Nicolas, mostly unaware of his surroundings at the moment, heard it come open.
He turned to Zachary with haste, stumbling backwards from him in extreme befuddlement. "No! He cannot be my dorm mate!" He yelled, slamming his hand on the nearby wall in anger, making Zachary start. "What's wrong? Is Zachary ailing?" asked Patton innocently. Nicolas shot him a dark look.
"Well, let us introduce ourselves," said Ravi, clearing his throat. "I am Ravi Kumar, I moved from India to America with my family, where my father became one of the richest businessmen." He looked over to Patton, whom was messing with the blanket on his bed. He looked up to the others. "Oh, my turn? I am Patton Adelstein, and I am Jewish. This is my kippah," he added, pointing to his hat.
Zachary smiled at him. "We already know each other," he said, gesturing to Patton. "We've been friends since five!"
Nicolas quietly scoffed, secretly jealous over their lifelong friendship that extended from younger years. At that time, Nicolas hadn't even been social with any other children. He was always taught life secluded in a nice house, away from others and forbidden to go and play with outsiders. It was like a real-life Rapunzel, only Nicolas had short hair and was male.
Everyone turned their eyes to him now. He rolled his eyes. "Nicolas Everpane, Italian American," he said in one breath, walking over to his desk and not waiting for Zachary to introduce himself. He sat down and began searching through the drawers.
He gave a relieved sigh when he found that no one had mistaken his property for theirs. Ravi sat down on his bed, asking how everyone's day was. Patton just nodded, but Zachary began to tell everything that happened to him during his absence in class, which piqued Nicolas's interest.
"You won't believe it.. See my wrapped hands?" asked Zachary, slightly waving them in the air, "He made me stick them in ice cold water for an hour. It hurt so badly; I thought I would get frostbite!" he said exasperatedly.
Nicolas pondered. He knew he was right not to speak out against authority, but the prospect of these painful punishments made him realize just how trustworthy his intuition was.
End of Chapter
I'm sorry this was so long x3
Love ya'll,
nobodyimportant out—
