In My Art

Song- I Feel Better by Novo Amor …/… I always wake up by 6 am. Even if I go back to sleep after five minutes of tossing, turning, and squinting to see pop-up notifications on my phone, I have to wake up by that time. I woke up by 6 am, but this day wasn’t going to be just like every other day in my life, filled with boring high school experiences. I had left that phase behind. It was going to be the start of a new dawn; College! My only brother, Carl, my older cousin, Dan, my parents, and I sat around the dining table to eat breakfast before we made our way to Tottle Square College. I remember last night, Tim and I had the most tiring discussion ever. He didn’t want to leave me, but he knew about TS girls and he was scared I’d become one of them and ultimately, break his heart. Throughout the conversation, all I could think about was that he said I had the potential to be a TS college girl. I mean, what more do I need to add to my i********: bio? The need to cut off friends from the previous phases of my life wasn’t pressing, so I didn’t do it. My long-distance best friend, Samantha, face-timed me from her college in California. The support was cute. With all my boxes in the car and everybody set, we made our way out of the small town I had stayed in all my life. …/… “Yes, Tim. We'll talk when I get to TS….Yeah, I love you too”. I sigh when the call ended. “Isn’t this the hundredth time he’s calling you today?” Dan asks, causing me to sigh again. “I think you should’ve ended things with him last night because his fear is eventually going to ruin your relationship and you guys may not be able to stay friends anymore like you’ve always wanted”. Dan is undeniably smart when it comes to relationship stuff, so much so that it’s no surprise he’s the counselor for the biggest high school in New Sights Town. What shocks most people is the fact that he actually studied psychology in college and he’s just twenty-three years old. “Yeah, I’ll probably talk to him about the whole thing when I get settled in school”. “Good!” I look back to see my parents and Carl asleep, a disturbing trait I’m glad I never got from them, or maybe I’m actually adopted and Carl is their real son, because what is it with them and falling asleep on road trips? “Hey, you want me to take over?” I looked at Dan, hoping he’d let me drive for a while so he could rest. “Nah, I’m good”. “But you really look tired,” I pressed on. Driving really helps me think about my life and at that point, I just wanted to think. I couldn’t map out my direction and I really needed to do that. I looked over at Dan again and said, “Please”. He sighs, “Just for a while, a very short while”. He pulls over at the next gas station and we switch sides after filling the car up. Throughout the ride, he watches me like a hawk, but I catch him yawning occasionally. “You know, you can sleep if you want to”. ‘I don’t want to sleep, I’m just a bit tired”. “And you’re a terrible liar”. No sooner than later, I see him dozing off and then, all at once, completely asleep, but my dad wakes up in no time to resume watching me. We make small talk for a while and then, when Dan wakes up, we switch sides again. …/… “Oh look! Everything is just as it is online. The trees looked fake but they are so real. I just know I’m going to love it here,” I said to Dan. I watched him smile at me, then Carl shouted, “It’s so big”. “Yes, it is, Carl, and guess what? This is my school now”. I left the car hurriedly, rushing to the admin office so I could register and get the keys to my room. Using the map that was handed to me at the gate, I found the admin building in no time. “Hi, Ma’am”. “Hi,” I responded, surprised that she addressed me so formally. “I’m Charlotte Collins from New Sights Town. Uhm, my major is English Literature and my minor is Humanities”. I watched her check the desktop in front of her, clicking away on the keyboard. “Oh yes, Charlotte. Welcome to Tottle Square College. Your dorm is Queens, Aesthetic Suite 10, and your roommates are already waiting for you. They arrived much earlier”. “I’m sorry, did you say roommates? I thought it was just a minimum of two people in a room”. “No, ma’am. You are going to be four in that room and you are the third person to arrive”. “Oh alright then, thank you”. I’m about to leave when she says, “Also, I thought you might want to know that first years in English Literature are gathering in the Love Garden to tour the school soon. You could join them, so finding classes on Monday wouldn’t be a hard task for you”. “Okay then. Thank you”. On my way to meet my parents, I wondered what a fine lady like herself was doing working there. She looked like she could be the secretary to a very rich CEO of maybe the biggest company in the continent. I guess they were supposed to look as such. …/… “Hi, I’m Charlotte, your new roommate”. The girl in front of me stood with very full natural hair and a genuine smile etched on her face. I couldn’t help but smile at her. “Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Jane”. Jane took my hand luggage out of my hand and I could tell we were going to be good friends. Someone peers from behind Jane and asks, “Hi, are you mentally insane?” “Uhm, no, I’m not. Sorry, I guess,” I replied, taken aback. “I’m just messing with you,” she said, and that made me relieved. “The name’s ID”. She reads the confusion on my face and further explains, “No, not eed. It’s I and D, so ID”. “Oh! It’s an abbreviation”. “Yeah, it stands for something”. “Well, nice to meet you ID, I’m Charlotte”. I walked back and forth from the car to my room a couple of times before I could successfully carry all of my luggage to my room. “We are so going to miss you, dearest,” my mum says. I hug her and soon enough, it becomes a family hug, with Dan too. “I’ll miss you guys too”. They enter the car and I wave them goodbye, wiping a stray tear from my left eye. Can’t say I’m surprised, that’s the eye that always betrays me. …/… “Hi, are you majoring in English Literature?” a girl asked me. “Yes, I am. Is this the gathering for the tour?” She nods and introduces herself to me as the Social Director of the department. I joined the rest of the crowd, listening to a random man go on and on about the history of the Literature department in the school. Suddenly, a young man is introduced to us all as the class governor and he is called on to collect our cell phone numbers so we’d be officially added to the English Literature group for the first years. He has to be the finest boy I have laid eyes on, but then again, I am not wearing my glasses, so I can’t tell. I do not know if the sun was hitting his face at the perfect angle, but his face was truly glowing. I couldn’t stop staring at him till it got to my turn to give him my number. I made sure to register all the details of his voice in my head. I would’ve done the same for his face but I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. He was sculpted well, I’d give him credit for that. I could see his biceps trying to escape that perfectly worn polo shirt. Trying to concentrate throughout the tour became a chore because I caught myself stealing glances at his side profile, not once, not twice. …/… “You guys, my class governor is handsome!” I slam the door as I say that and sigh dreamily. “She comes in and this is the first thing she says, how cute!” “He really is cute,” I added. “What’s his name?” Jane asks. “He has to be the finest boy here,” I emphasize. “Then, tell us his name,” ID says. “It’s Bryan!” I say. They look at themselves and say, “Bryan!?”