Dreamgore Apathy

„Love you honey“

These were the last words I heard from my parents before moving to XXXX . I never thought that I would miss my parents so much, having someone to guide and help me through my life. But then again, I think that it’s a common experience for young adults moving away for university. Many in my position initially think their new won freedom will just be an upside with no downside but soon enough they realize that not everything is rosy just because they feel like an “official adult” now. Managing, housekeeping, university, work, and your social life can be extremely challenging. Thankfully I’m on a scholarship so that I have more time to manage everything else. This extra time is also necessary for me to explore the city, ’cause a flyer isn’t the best way to learn about your new home.

It was dusk as I was arriving in the most normal looking dorm room, my new home. There was a bed, a bedside table, and a wooden wardrobe, that looks older than the dorm itself. This whole building could’ve been built around it. I leave all my luggage beside my new bed and leave immediately to explore the city and see for myself what’s up with the nightlife, the flyer was so proud about.

The cities main plaza was about 5 minutes walking distance from my dorm but still I couldn’t hear anything from the main entrance of the building. Maybe there wasn’t a nightlife in this city after all. Wouldn’t be the first time the flyer lied to me. I mean it also promised a modern university and by the looks of it, even the dorm rooms haven’t reached our millennia yet.

But as I got closer to the plaza, I started seeing flashing neon lights illuminating the night, even brighter than the stars in tonight’s clear night sky. It felt like I got transported into a whole new world just by heading down the street. After following the main street for about 5 minutes I headed to the right as the flyer instructed and saw it: A clear round plaza, with chairs and tables scattered across the whole circle. Looking closer, it seemed that those tables and chairs belong to the cafés and restaurants surrounding this place in a semi-circle facing the street I came from. There was a, from what it looks like, spanish restaurant called “Torreros” right in the centre of the semi-circle, giving of “main attraction vibes”. On the left side of it was a convenience store simply called “Con24”. Given its name and the fact that it’s still open I deducted, that it’s 24/7 convenience store. On the right of the Torreros was a café/bar called “Wonderpull”. It had a punk-esque vibe. Its whole entrance and most of its chairs and tables were covered in stickers of some underground bands or political groups. It seemed pretty packed at this time of night so I decided to just go to Torreros as it seemed to have a place directly at the bar open. As I walked in, the uncanny decor, trying to imitate the spanish tourist attractions, overstimulated my brain as it was hanging of the walls, from the ceiling and on the doors to the restrooms. To avoid getting uncomfortable, I sat down at the aforementioned seat at the bar, where a guy in his 40s is welcoming me from behind the counter.

“¡Hola! Welcome to Torreros, I haven’t seen your face here, and I’m good with faces. Are you new here?”

“Yeah, I am. Just moved into the dorm to study here.”, I answered.

“Of course you are, so are like 90% of the people you see around here at the plaza. This city is overrun by you guys, especially at night. But as long as you order some tapas from old Vallejo, I am more than okay with that, HAHAHA!”, his beard danced around his chin as he wholeheartedly laughs for what feels like a minute.

I ordered some tapas and a spanish beer a haven’t heard of before and tried to inspect the restaurant a bit closer as I was eating. It looked like it had some sort of billiard club on a second floor right above the bar. Even there, every spot on the wall has been plastered with spanish memorabilia: Pictures of spanish sport stars, I think I saw on tv some time, traditional clothes of different regions in Spain and some what seems like personal pictures of Vallejo and his family in Spain. He catches my gaze and happily explains:

“That was when I was with my wife and my two little hijas in Valencia last summer. I wanted the little ones to meet their grandparents now that they’re old enough to travel without any issues HAHAHA!”

The girls in the picture seem to be around four and six years old.

“Mi madre, she is very ill. I wanted her to at least meet her grandchildren, before you know.”, Vallejo adds, looking understandably sad.

“Anyways mi amigo, here a shot of my own liquor for us. Don’t worry, it’s on the house. ¡Salud!”

I downed the green coloured liquor with Vallejo and tried to keep my cool as the alcohol burned down my throat.

After that I paid my bill and left the Torreros. Before heading back to the dorm, I decided to visit the Con24 to stock up some rations. As I walk into the neon orange themed store, I saw an older gentleman and a woman in her 40s also stocking up on some things. I got some instant ramen and tv dinners as I haven’t bought kitchen utensils yet to cook myself an actual meal.

As I headed to the register, I noticed how clinically the store looked. Aisle on aisle neatly organized, squeaky white floors matching the white walls. If it wasn’t for the orange neon lights, I would think I’m in a weird clinic. The store was also a little bit bigger than the Torreros but only had one floor. When I finally reached the register, a bulky looking guy who looks around my age scanned my items and started commenting on them like a professional nutritionist:

“Hey man, you look like you take care of yourself but those tv dinners? Those aren’t good for you.”

“Yeah, I know”, I replied.

“I am new here and don’t have anything to cook with yet, so I have to hold out with tv dinners and ramen for now”, I continued.

“Haha, I feel you man. I would also totally do that If I wasn’t such a geek about bodybuilding. I’m also new here. What do you study? I guess you came here to study at the university like almost everyone else in this town?”, he answered warmly.

“I study XXX . I know it’s a bit of a cliché but hey I like it.”, I answered

“No way man! I also study XXX . That means we’re gonna be course mates”, he almost shouted.

He then proposed to exchange phone numbers to stay connected and after that I left back to the dorm.

As soon as I got back into the dorm, I threw myself into bed, trying to sleep and not even a minute later I drifted away…