f clumsy affection and reluctant goodbyes. There was no point in making myself known yet. I didn't want to break the te

eath a pile of suitcases and

her voice high-pitched and fi

mixed with an awkward excitement, as though she ha

y farewell; it was the over-the-top kind where parents treat their kid like a fragile china doll, and the kid, in turn, didn't really know how to handle it. The gi

" came the voice of the dad, calm but authoritative. It sounded like he was trying

way from the emotional scene, his eyes darting to the boy every now and then as though he might suddenly burst into tears

tle longer, to remind him that he was still her baby. But she didn't. Instead, she just hugged him tighter, so tig

voice cracking slightly at the end, which only made it worse. I could

d of well-meaning parents and siblings shuffled out, and

at floppy hair and those big glasses, the kind that practically swallowed his face. It made him look like someone who would spend more time reading about aliens than actually talking to people

himself as small as possible. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. I mean, I wasn't exactly the best guy to offe

nt it to be. He jumped at the sound, his head snapping up, eyes wide, a

ing. I could practically see the gears turning in

ds weren't quite forming right. "Hi, I'm, uh, sorry abou

ommates," I said, trying to lighten the mood. I knew I could come off as a bit of an ass, but

voice barely above a whisp

nd of sacred object he was afraid might break. He hesitated before sitting down

ack, throwing my arm over my eyes. "I'm going to

around like maybe he was supposed to foll

cared about being productive. "Nah, not today. We have two day

like the type to have a mental checklist for everything in his life. I wasn't sure how much of that I could stand. People

ecision. The sound of zippers and the faint thud of books hitting the desk seemed oddly

Not that I wasn't interested in meeting my new roommate, but there was something about the whole process that felt... pointless, you know? We were both here now, and that was all that mattered. There wasn't a ru

sure how to set them up. He was definitely the type who probably felt like everything had to be in its exact place for him to feel comfortable. I

of it," I said, not expecting much of a

ough his voice sounded more like h

be a challenge, no doubt about it. But I wasn't in any hurry to change