My dorm was multi-sex, so my roommate could have been either male or female, and I really wasn’t keen on the idea of bunking with a guy. I took a breath, opened the door, and a wave of thumping music almost knocked me off balance.
Everyone inside had drinks in their hands, and was dancing extremely close to one another. Couples were kissing on the stairs, some on the furniture. Games were being held in the backyard, visible from where I stood.
“Hey,” a slurred voice said from behind me, “you must be Emma,” a girl approached me in nothing more than her underwear, her blonde hair swept back in a low ponytail.
“Yes,” I answered, smelling the alcohol on her breath. “That would be me,”
“Welcome-” she swung her arms in gesturing motions, “-to college!”
“Thank you,” I smiled at her, “could you show me where my room is please?”
“No!” She moaned, “stay and party with us a little,” she tried to grab my hand but I quickly stepped out of her way.
“Sorry, I’d rather not. I’m tired and I really would like to get to bed,” I insisted.
She clearly wasn’t a determined drunk, because she sighed and told me that my name would be written on my room’s door.
I thanked her and walked upstairs, side-stepping the couples who were kissing, and searching around for my door. Once I’d searched all the doors, and couldn’t find my name, I started to head back to Emma, looking one last time at all the doors, seeing my name scrawled across a piece of paper on the door right next to the stairs. I mentally slapped myself as I walked into my new room.
It was fairly spacious, fitting two single beds, two desks and two dressers. It had its own private bathroom, and two windows on the far wall. Plain white walls and carpets, with matching bed covers. I dumped everything onto the bed next to the window, and immediately started to unpack all of my clothes.
It took me a while, and when I was done I collapsed onto my bed, now in my pyjamas, and took calming breaths to relax myself.
I hadn’t seen another name on the door, so I presumed my roommate was someone who had already spent time here, and didn’t need to know where their room was. Which also meant their gender was still completely unknown to me.
The sound of the party seeped through the walls, making the dorm’s foundations shake. Surely someone would come and tell them to turn it down or to break the party up soon? It was late and I really needed to sleep.
My phone lay on the bedside table beside me, my earphones still attached, the screen occasionally turning on and off again with each notification or text message. It started ringing, and I ignored it. It would only be my parents calling to see if I arrived okay, but I would call them back in the morning.
“Are you gonna get that?” A voice asked from the other side of the room.
I sat up in alarm, looking at the guy who had just walked through the door. He was tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a square jawline. His shirt was tight around his muscles: he obviously kept fit. He was easily the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Are you gonna get that?” He repeated, snapping me out of my gaze.
“Uh- no. I’m not. It’s just my parents: I’ll call them back later,” I muttered, tearing my eyes away from his large biceps.