Chapter 1
Where to begin. It started when I was just accepted into an amazing boarding school. My older brother was already a student there and the way he talked about it, it was the best school ever. I decided I should apply to the school as well but, I never truly imagined that id be accepted. Here we are though. I am a few steps away from my future. This is an unreal feeling. Maybe its best if I don't go in. What if this is a huge mistake. Those were the thoughts I had as I stared at the gateway leading into the school. Even though I was standing at the entry way, I couldn't seem to push myself to go in.
It was as though time had froze and all I could do was stand in awe and shock. Usually I don't get this way. I felt as though everyone was watching me to see if id make the right or wrong choice. Either way, I knew what I wanted to do but I didn't have the courage. Something inside me was waiting for a sign I guess. That's when she appeared. She came by dragging a suitcase that looked like it was to heavy for her. I shook my nerves away and kindly asked if she needed help. "Thank you." She replied. "I had drug this thing for what felt like miles and no one offered to help me."
She reached out her hand, "My name is Ashley. Nice to meet you." I reached out and shook her hand. "My name is um, uh, what was it? Oh yeah. Ryan. Pleasure to meet you Ashley." I had a tough time remembering my name? Wow, that's a first. "Are you okay?" She asked as she slowly released my hand. I shook my head a few time and gave myself a small slap across the face. "Yeah. I'm okay. I'm new here and my nerves have gotten to me." I explained as I lowered my hand to reassume my grip in the suitcase. "Oh My God!" She said all excitedly. "Im new here as well. I was so nervous that i wouldn't meet a new student today."
She quickly threw her arms around me in a hug. Unsure as to why she did this, I just stood there and did nothing. "You know Ryan," She began, "When someone gives you a hug, you got to hug them back. Its common courtesy." Trying to look less like an idiot, I said, "I'm sorry but my hands were full or I would've hugged you back." She glanced down and seen only one hand was full. She looked back up at me and just shrugged. We both just stood there awkwardly for a minute before either of us decided to speak.
"So," I started to say to break the silence, "What dorm you gonna be in?" Curious as to how far we would be from each other, I had to ask. It may have looked odd from a certain view but I was holding her luggage and did offer to help her with the suitcase. "I'm in Mason Hall, room 313. What about you?" She asked. For some unknown reason, I was happy. Maybe it was because we could finally start walking or maybe because she lived one building over from me. "I am in Jackson. Room 200. Single dorm." I don't know why I said single. She didn't ask that and yet, there it goes.
From my brain to my lips with no filter to prevent it. We talked about her hometown and mine as we headed to her dorm. We had some stuff in common. We both love the same sports, We jam out to the same music, We even read the same genre of books and even love the same writers. It was awesome to have so much in common with her. Like her, I feared it would be tough to find a friend this early on. My fear was justified because I had no roommate. Hers was just a state of mind because she said she was overly friendly. As we laughed and shared more stories, We arrived at her room.
Surprisingly, There was a woman standing at her door banging on it. "Alexa! Let me in!" This mystery woman yelled, "I'm done with your games. Open up! I have people looking at me as though I'm crazy." She turned around and she walked towards us. "I'm sorry for yelling." she explained, "See, I have a key to my room but my roommate kicked me out before I could get it." Me and Ashley looked at each other and laughed. She did not appear to laugh as we did. Instead, she just looked at us as if we were two crazy kids. In her defense, we were two crazy kids.
As Ashley and myself started to calm down, we politely explained to her who we were. Ashley explained that she was new here and was also her new roommate. I explained how I offered to help her with her luggage. While we were discussing who we were, the roommate who had locked the door, appeared behind the mystery woman. "There. It's unlocked now. Happy Maya?" Alexa asked as she stared us up and down. "Who are you two" Nodding at Myself and Ashley. Before we had a chance to answer, Maya spoke up. "Alexa, This is Ashley. Our new roommate." Ashley seemed to be a little nervous now, after being introduced. "The guy is Ryan. He was kind enough to ask Ashley if she needed any help."
"Pleasure to meet you." I said as I held out my hand. I'm not one for hugs from a stranger usually. As we continued to talk in the hallway, we were constantly in some other students way. A few minutes had past when the conversation was dying down. "Well, You appear to be where you need to be at Ashley." I stated as I reached down for my own bag. "It was a pleasure to meet you all and I truly hope we can hang out during the year." As I said the final words, I turned to walk away. Suddenly, arms wrapped around my waist. "Goodbye, Ryan." The mysterious voice said.
As I turned around to see who had hugged me, it was too late. The dorm room door was shut and I couldn't see who had hugged me. Based on the voice, I figured it was Ashley. She did hug me when we first met so, I wouldn't be surprised. I shrugged it off as I made my way to the building across the street. Jackson Hall. Finally here. I slowly walked into the building. Having done been in Mason Hall, I figured it would be the same. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I walked it, You could tell it was a guys hall. The noise, the mess, everything, it screamed GUYS ONLY.
Making my way down the hall, I kept seeing the door designs. Each one was unique. As if it was personally designed by the occupants of the room behind them. I cam up to my door. Solid light brown door, brass knob, brass numbers and letters that spelled out ROOM 200. I go to turn the knob when I was stopped. This big dude had grabbed my arm as I stretched out towards the door. "What's your name kid?" The deep voice asked of me. Shakily, I replied, "Ryan, Sir." Assuming it was an older gentleman and not some freakishly deep voice teen.
He could hear the crackle in my voice when I replied. I guess he found the humor in it. He let go of my arm so he could grab his stomach with both hands as he hunched over laughing hard. His laughter didn't truly match his voice fully. When speaking, he had a low base sound. Although, when he laughs, its a higher pitch. Still low, but you wouldn't be able to tell it was the same guy who had spoken just a few seconds before. When he let go of my arm, I spun around quickly to see who he was. He was a tall guy, dirty blonde hair, and he was built like an amateur weightlifter.
Looking at him was like looking at a young Chuck Norris, but with a little more muscle. After a few seconds, he slowly quit laughing and decided to introduce himself. With his hand stretched out, he said, "Hey bro. I'm your dorm advisor. The names Eric." I shook his hand. His grip was intense, but I could tell he was not using any pressure. Surprisingly, he seemed to be a real likeable guy. After I introduced myself, he explained to me that it was very odd I was getting a single room. "Normally, The single dorms are reserved for seniors. If you know what I mean." He told me, as he punched my arm and gave a small laugh.
Slowly, I turned the knob and walked into my room. Eric grabbed my bag and threw it on the bed as I looked around. To me, the room appeared big enough for two beds. Curious as to why, I decided to ask him. According to Eric, the room I'm in used to be a double. He figures once the school lost a few hundred students four years ago, the school decided to turn some dorms into singles. Again, not knowing why, I asked if there was a reason to why hundreds of kids left the school. Assuming the worst, I was relieved to hear that the kids that left, only did so once the school entry fee was raised.
In my mind, was figuring it would be because of a death or murder. I was fortunate enough to hear that was not the case. However, this still leaves me with one question I did not think I'd ask. "Eric," I started to ask, "Say I was to get into a relationship. Would it be against the school rules to invite the woman I would be dating, to come live with me? or would we still have to be in different buildings?" I could tell he was shocked to hear that question. "Woah bro. That's some next level thinking. I'm not sure bro. Let me ask the Dean and then I will let you know." Smiling, he left my room.
Finally, alone at last. I grabbed my bag off the bed, opened it up and came to a shocking realization. I had the wrong bag. Frantically, I searched the pockets on the bag to see if I could find any identification as to whose bag I had in my possession. In the last pocket, was a necklace. A small golden heart locket. The front of the heart was smooth with a mirror-like finish. The back was similar. It had the same finish, but had initials etched into it. "M.S. What does that stand for?" I asked myself as I stood there staring at it. I decided to open it to hopefully see who it belonged to.
Unfortunately, the inside was not any help at all. Inside the locket, was two photos. A man and a woman. Older photos based on the look the photos. I sat on the couch looking at the locket for a few minutes. After blankly staring at it, with no other option, I walked over, Packed the bag back up, and proceeded to walk fast to Mason Hall. Going to Mason Hall, I started to panic a little. "Who has my bag? What did they see exactly? Did they even open it up yet?" So many things I was saying to myself. Finally at Mason Hall, I walked straight to the only place I could've misplaced my bag. Maya's dorm.
I started to knock on the door. I did not wait in between knocks like a anormal person. No, instead, I proceeded to consistently knock for as long as I needed to. A few moments went by when Alexa opened the door. "What?!" She screamed. I guess I wouldn't be to happy either if some stranger spent a minute straight knocking on my door without stopping. "Hey Alexa," I spoke quickly, "Is Maya in there?" As soon as I said that, Maya appeared from behind the door. "Hey Ryan. What's up? I didn't expect to see you again this quickly." She said as she looked me up and down. "I know. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't kind of important." Now she looked kind of worried.
"Don't worry. Its nothing bad." I stated as I handed her the bag. "Here you go. I think we swapped bags somehow when I was here earlier." Handing her the bag, our hands touched and I felt a shiver run down my spine. I quickly pulled my hand away and I asked her if she could get my bag for me. She looked around the room for the bag but, to our surprise, she couldn't find it. "Its not here, Ryan." She said nervously. "I thought for sure it would be here. Hang on." She looked under her bed and in the closet and yet, she still couldn't find it. As she was looking for it, Alexa turned to me.
"Ryan, where is the last place you saw your bag? Its clear the bag is not here. Could you have possibly taken both bags back to your room without realizing it?" Thinking on her question, it was possible. I did leave in a hurry but, not in such a rush to not realize I had two bags instead of one in my hand. Could I have been so distracted by Maya that, for a split moment, I did not realize I had two bags? Pondering on this, I asked them to please excuse me as I went back to my dorm to check. A moment later, I get to my room, and what do I find, my bag sitting on my bed.
"That's really strange. I could've sworn I didn't bring my bag with me. Something doesn't seem right with me today." I thought to myself as I started to walk back to the girls dormitory. Getting back there took what seem like forever. As I arrived at the ladies room, I could hear them talking. Against my better judgement, I slowly leaned my ear against the door to hear them. "Alexa, it does not make any sense. Why would he come to our room asking if I had his bag, if for a single moment, he thought his bag was in his room?" Maya asked in a confused tone.
It went quiet for a second and then I heard Alexa's reply. "Maybe Maya, he came here to see you again." Apparently Maya was taking drink because the next thing I hear is a loud spitting noise followed by a choking sound. "EXCUSE ME?!" She yelled so loud that my head banged against his door as I pulled away quickly. No sooner I get my bearings back and the door swung open. "Well, well, well. If it isn't little lover boy. What's the matter honey? Come back here to see your little girlfriend again?" Laughing as she says this, Alexa grabs her coat and tells Maya she will be back later and to have fun.
Standing there speechless, I rub the back of my head and apologize for wasting their time earlier by asking if my bag was here. I explained that I truly had no idea my bag was in my room and I had honestly thought I carried only one bag back to my dorm. While i was standing there, staring at my shoes and talking, I did not notice Maya edging closer and closer. When I looked up, i noticed she was now a few inches away from my face. Surprised by this, I quickly took a step back. When I did, she took a step forward. This went on for a few steps until i asked her what she is doing. She gave a slight giggle and then she did it.
She reached up, placed a hand on the back of my head, and kissed me. I felt her smooth lips and tasted her strawberry flavored lipstick. The taste was intoxicating and addictive. Before either of us could break the kiss on our own, we heard a woman behind me shout, "OH MY GOD!" Maya pulled back from the kiss, and her eyes went big when she seen who hollered. Judging by her face, It could only be one person.
