Renegade

The saga begins

I will never understand college dorms. They have all this money for amenities and luxury accommodations and yet the bathroom is so small, it looks like a repurposed broom closet. This was quite apparent as I set down more stuff before heading back to the care to move in more of my belongings. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from my freshman year, but I was certainly intrigued to turn the page and begin the next chapter of my life. “You nervous?” my dad asked me on the drive to campus, “A little.” I responded as I watched the cars whizz by, “I’m just a bit apprehensive about sharing a room with a total stranger”

“Well, I’m sure he’ll be a nice guy and I know you’ll be successful”

“Thanks,” I responded though I wasn’t quite sure exactly how much of that I actually believed. We arrived on campus before my roommate and began colonizing my half of the dorm room with my personal effects. It wasn’t until after I had settled in and my folks had headed back home that my roommate finally arrived. I was reading a book when the doorknob began to jiggle and he entered the room.

He acknowledged my presence before setting his stuff down and coming over to shake my hand, “I’m Beck” he sad with a firm grip, “Nice to meet you” I replied, “I’m Ryan”

“Sorry i’m a little late” he said as he begun unpacking, “I had to stop and pick up my student ID”

“No problem.” He offered a chance to get acquainted with one another after he finished packing and I accepted. When he finished settling in, we got to talking about everything under the sun. Despite me planting my flag on the top bunk, he somehow talked me to sleeping closer to the floor. He comes from a small town in rural Arkansas but is very tech-savvy. He chose this university to get away from the monotony of suburbia.

It also turned out we had quite a few things in common. We both love to get lost in the world of video games and we both have a particular affinity for quesadillas. He mentioned he had one sister and one brother which was in stark contrast to my only child status. Some things never change.

We talked all throughout the day, becoming so engrossed in conversation that we hadn’t even realized it had gotten dark until around a quarter to eight. “You know, if we hoof it,” I told him, “We can still make it to the dining hall before it closes”

“Lead the way.” Anywhere else, the sight of two young adults running at top speed through the streets would indubitably look harebrained and bizarre, but on a college campus, it was just par for the course. That’s exactly why no one even so much as did a double take as we sprinted through campus in an inane effort to beat the clock. We arrived completely out of breath just five minutes before closing time.

The woman behind the cash register took one look at us and said, “Let me guess. You lost track of time and made a dash to get here before we closed?” We nodded due to still being out of breath. She reassured us that this sort of thing happens all the time and told us we could grab some food so long as we took it to go. We consented as she swiped our cards and handed us the take-out containers.

Serendipity smiled down on us as we just happened to be dining there on one of the few nights of the year that they serve corn dogs. They had quite a few left and wanted to gave them all to us so they didn’t have to throw them out. We were more than happy to oblige. Bringing it all back to the dorm, we ended up collapsing of exhaustion in a pile of food and we were content in that state.

A barrage of light particles woke me up the next morning as I rolled over to the check the time. It didn’t take me long to realize I’d have to hoof it to make it my first class on time. Fortunately, the corn dogs had yet to become stale so they could substitute for breakfast. I gathered my belongings and bolted out the door.