When he had returned the night before, Joseph discovered that a new construction paper star had been stuck to the door with Scotch tape displaying the name Tristan Stillman. Until that moment, he had not realized that he never extended the courtesy of asking his roommate what his name was. Now he knew. Tristan.
Upon entering the room, he had discovered that Tristan was tucked snuggly beneath his covers. Joseph would have liked to apologize for what had happened earlier, but it was past midnight and he knew that the matter was not worth disturbing the slumber of his new roommate.
Joseph could not help but momentarily study the sleeping form of Tristan. His face peeked out from above the blanket as his head rested on his right arm. The dark hair that normally hid his face was fanned out across the pillow now, exposing his slightly down turned nose and upturned chin. As though feeling Joseph’s eyes studying him, Tristan seemed to wince a little as he turned around to face the wall.
What the hell is the matter with you!
Shaking himself from his trance, Joseph berated himself for being a creep as he crawled into bed. He took one more glance at the back of Tristan as it rose and fell displaying a serene pattern of breathing before turning towards the wall as well. Sleep swiftly invaded his world.
Upon waking, Joseph discovered that the bed on the other side of the room which was so recently occupied was now empty. Light was pouring in through the solitary window. Already realizing how late in the day it was just by the height of the sun in the sky, Joseph dreaded looking at the digital clock he had placed on the night stand next to him. Two in the afternoon.
Shit.
Joseph dragged himself from bed and down the hall where he purchased a Pop Tart from the vending machine. As he nibbled it, he wondered what had happened to his roommate. Why wasn’t Tristan there?
Upon waking, Joseph had noticed how vacant Tristan’s side of the room was. He wondered if he was already done moving in or if he was planning on bringing more junk to fill the empty space. Tristan had brought no television, or radio, or even a clock. There were no DVDs sharing shelf space next to his text books. The walls looked bare in contrast to Joseph’s side of the room. His bed was covered with a white comforter. His desk was home to only a few school supplies and an ancient looking computer. There was nothing superfluous lying about. Only the bare essentials speckled Tristan’s half of the dorm room making Joseph’s side seem almost gaudy.
For the rest of the afternoon, Joseph played Solitaire on his computer instead of doing his homework. Snacking on popcorn and cola, Joseph hardly moved from his seat until seven in the evening when he decided that it was time to hit the shower if he was going to make it to the party on time.
Lathering his body with soap, Joseph let the stream of warm water from the shower head rinse over him as he allowed his mind to go blank. He felt sorry for anyone who attended a university with community showers. How could anyone deal with the lack of privacy? This bathroom, though unbelievably small was his own, he felt. Well, his and Tristan’s, but seeing that his roommate had hardly found it necessary to move in let alone stay very long, Joseph considered this space his own.
After bathing, Joseph spent a moment in front of the mirror that caused his image to fade out at the edges in the foggy glass. He discovered that his shoulders that had once been so round and weak had somehow become stronger and prouder as of late. His stomach no longer jutted out to expose an embarrassing soft spot. Overall, he realized that somewhere in life, he had finally grown and was beginning to break free from the shell of awkwardness that had haunted him since childhood. He was becoming more masculine. For the first time in his life, he liked was he saw in his reflection.
With a towel wrapped around his waist, Joseph stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. After drying off, he slipped into a pair of boxers and began exploring his closet for something to wear. He was not sure if he should try to be himself and wear his favorite Ian Kurtis t-shirt, or if he would be better off disguising who he really was inside, by dressing himself up in a polo to match the clothes that everyone else was wearing.
As he was just about to hang up the t-shirt that had been voted too…him, the door flew open and Tristan came storming into the room. His face was flushed and his hair was wild as though he had just been gripping at chunks of it. Tristan’s eyes immediately met Joseph’s, causing him to become frozen to the spot. Glaring at him from the eyes that were once so sweet and pathetic was a look of utter hatred.
“Why don’t you put on some clothes so the faggot doesn’t get a hard-on?”
With those words, Tristan tore his gaze from Joseph and threw himself onto his bed. After directing his hate filled stare at the ceiling for a while, Tristan turned his back on the room and faced the wall, sighing heavily before relaxing his muscles.
Joseph gawked at the back of Tristan that displayed an entirely different pattern of breathing now. There’s no way that what his friends had said could have possibly upset this guy as much as it seemed to. Joseph hadn’t even done anything! This wasn’t fair.
Speeding up his motions so as to get out of there as fast as possible, Joseph slammed his tee shirt back onto the rack of clothes, quickly slipped into some jeans and his polo shirt and walked out of the room carrying his shoes. As he laced them up in the hall, his anger at Tristan suddenly seemed ridiculous. Tristan had every right to be a little miffed if he wanted to. Although Joseph hadn’t said anything bad about him himself, he didn’t exactly stick up for the poor guy either. He decided to make it a point to apologize later.
“Yo! Joey!”
Joseph turned his head to see Trent walking down the hall towards him.
“You’re ready early huh? My boy’s excited to go out and tie one on. That’s what I like to see!”
Trent grabbed Joseph and herded him away in a headlock as he began singing, “B, double E, double R, U, N, Beer Run!”
To be continued...
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