Alex Armstrong: Awakening (3 page)

“It’s cool,” Alex said. “So who do I talk to in here?”

“Besides me?”

Alex laughed. “You know what I mean. Where do I get the course catalog?”

“That lady behind the desk. Melissa is her name.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then. I may hang around here a little longer, meet some more people, maybe meet a few of the girls. I’ve definitely seen some talent. I’ll look for you at dinner.”

Alex made eye contact with as many students as possible as he crossed the room. They looked normal enough; no one was wearing a cape or covered in pig’s blood. He didn’t see any lightsabers, either. But there was one student who caught his eye. A brunette. Petite. She would have looked right at home on a cheerleading squad. He wondered if he’d ever have the confidence to talk to a girl like that, or if his mind would just go blank like it always did. Who was he kidding? Of course it would go blank. What he needed was a girl like that to approach
him
. Too bad the chances of that happening were slim to—

“Ooof!”

Alex walked right into the table. Black coffee spilled out of a purple mug. “Sorry!”

The lady giggled. “You’re fine. No problem.” She grabbed some napkins from the floor and blotted the liquid. “And don’t worry. She didn’t notice.”

“Ma’am?” Alex blushed.

“You heard me,” she said, a little smirk on her face. She started thumbing through a folder. “Ah! There it is.” She placed some paperwork on the desk and offered her hand. “Mr. Alex Armstrong, welcome to Pal Tech. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Alex glanced at her nameplate and took her hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss…”

“Melissa. Call me Melissa. Anything that starts with a Miss or a Mrs. makes me feel old.”

“Sorry. Habit.”

“That’s okay. So you come from…‌let me see…‌Jacksonville. Oh, I love that area—especially the beach. Little cooler up here.”

“Yes ma’am. I mean,
yeah
. Yeah, it is.”

“And the ride up? I trust everything went smoothly?”

“Yeah, the car was sweet. I didn’t have to do anything.”

“Oh, they’re beautiful, I know.” She paused and looked up at Alex. “You have very pretty eyes.”

Alex felt his cheeks grow hot and he looked down at the table. When he finally looked up again Melissa was still smiling. He put her age at forty and thought that twenty years ago she would have held her own with that cheerleader.

“That’s twice I’ve made you blush. I always loved doing that. Good to know I’ve still got it. Okay, moving on.” Melissa picked up the stack of papers and clicked them a few times on the table. “You are here because you need to register. The first thing I’ll have you do is sign these papers.”

She handed him a stack about a quarter-inch thick, and if the first page was any indication, it was all legalese. “You want me to read this?”

“That’s your choice. I just need you to sign all the yellow boxes.”

“I can handle that.” Alex signed his name with a blue pen still wet with spots of coffee.

“Thank you. Next up: do you have your tablet handy?”

Alex handed over his tablet and watched as Melissa inserted a memory stick.

“I’m giving you the registration packet, the course catalog, the dining room menu—basically everything you need to know about Pal will be in here.” She pulled out the memory stick and laid the tablet flat on the table. “Let’s start with the campus map.” She hovered her finger over the northeast corner, highlighting the Student Center. “We’re here. Directly to our south is the Dining Hall. You can see it if you step onto the patio. And the dorms,” she moved her finger to the southeast corner of campus, “are right here. We have four dormitories. The freshmen will be here, in Hope Hall. It’s the one with the blue doors.”

“All of us?”

“
All
of you? Honey, there are only sixty freshmen; it’s the smallest class in school history. So yes, Hope Hall is big enough for all of you. In fact, you will all be in singles this year. You’re in room H107.”

“No roommates?”

“No roommates. And I recognize that look in your eye, so I should mention that Pal Tech has strict rules regarding visiting hours for members of the opposite sex.”

“I’ll stay out of trouble.”

“With those blue eyes, I seriously doubt that. By the way, your pretty friend over there…‌she’s looked this way three times now.”

Alex lowered his head and grinned.

“There you go again!” Melissa stood and handed him his tablet. “That’s all I’ve got for you today, Alex.”

He shook her hand and turned to leave.

“Oh! I almost forgot,” Melissa said. “Dinner will be served at 7:30 in the Dining Hall. All freshmen have to be there.”

“Sounds good; I’m hungry already. Will you be there?”

“Why, yes,” Melissa said. It seemed to catch her off guard.

“Then I’ll see you tonight. Thanks for your help, Melissa.” He glanced at the cheerleader one more time on the way out. She had brown eyes.

4 - Hope and Eva

4

Hope and Eva

Alex considered grabbing a hoodie, but the only one that matched was tucked away at the bottom of his biggest suitcase, so he didn’t bother. He locked the doors and made his way across the tiny parking lot. He climbed a few stone steps and pulled open the heavy blue door and stepped into Hope Hall’s foyer.

Front and center was the staircase leading up to the girls’ hall. An enormous pink bow sat atop each bannister. Alex couldn’t see the door above but he did smell a trace of perfume and if he really focused he could hear them talking and laughing. A part of him wanted to walk up there and peek inside their hallway, if only to see how the other half lived. He started toward the stairs but caught himself and turned left in an awkward pirouette. “Later,” he said. He walked across the hardwood floor and pushed open the door marked H101-H108.

It was as if he entered a war zone. Explosions and gunfire rattled off the walls. Alex recognized the game immediately. He stood outside H102 and watched. The kid wore a shirt at least two sizes too small, its fabric stretched taut across the rolls of his back as he leaned forward with his shoulders hunched and eyes up, totally absorbed in his game. Another burst of gunfire and the kid broke into a wheezy laugh. “Stupid noob!”

Alex shook his head and continued down the hall to H107. There was a dry-erase board beside his door. Someone had written with a steady hand:

Alex reached into his back pocket and grabbed his keycard and waved it in front of the lock. A tiny
beep
, a green dot, and a
click
. He pushed open the door and smiled. It had everything he’d been promised. The dresser and closet and a sink were on his left. The desk and black leather chair to his right. On the far wall was his bed. And just inside the door on the right was his monitor, all eighty inches of it. He tossed his backpack into the chair and flopped down on the bed.

Alex reached up and opened his blinds. His room faced east, overlooking the valley beyond the edge of campus. He stared for a while and then moved his backpack to the bed and sat on the chair and adjusted its height. He synced his phone and his tablet to the monitor and turned on ESPN. Some player he’d never heard of had just hit a home run. He turned it off and propped open his door and went back into the hallway.

“Perfect timing. You think you can give me a hand?”

“Yeah, just a sec.” Alex pulled open the door marked H109-H140 and flattened against the wall.

“Thanks, bro.” The kid carried a laundry basket full of shoes and towels, a handle of liquor hidden at the bottom.

“Sounds like you’re living on the fun side,” Alex called.

The kid turned around and walked backward. He had to yell. “Yeah, except for all this country crap.”

Alex nodded. Country. Hip-hop. Classic rock. He even heard some electronica. The hallway was a musical stew. Every now and then a curse word or a bout of laughter punctuated the soundtrack. Guys walked in and out of different rooms and there were even a few girls. Three of them caught an eyeful when a kid ran out of the bathroom buck naked, hooting and hollering with his arms flailing in the air. Two of the girls covered their eyes and shrieked; the other pointed and laughed.

“I’m not ready for that,” Alex said. He stepped away and let the door settle into place. He stayed there for a minute, enjoying the silence. When he recovered, he took one more look at his room and made for the parking lot.

After a few trips to and from the car, Alex decided to meet his first hallmate. He stuck his head into H102. The kid sat at his desk, huddled over his laptop. “Did you win?” Alex said.

“Of course. Those other kids were pathetic.” He never looked up from his laptop.

“They were just new,” Alex said. “When I get paired with people like that I usually just run around with my pistol and knife. Makes it a little more fair.”

The kid swiveled and leaned against the chair back, every plastic joint creaking in protest. “I like to run up the score.” He looked Alex up and down and turned back to his laptop.

“My name’s Alex, by the way.”

“I’m Philip.”

Alex moved forward to shake his hand, but Philip never looked up and so Alex just stood there beside his desk. Philip smelled like Doritos. “What are you reading?”

“I’m looking at red dot sights for my rifle. I have a scope now, but it’s really just for long-range shooting. I’d use the red dot for combat.”

Alex leaned in closer and looked at the screen. “Wait, you’re talking about
real
guns?”

Philip let out a heavy sigh. “Yes.”

“What kind of combat are you talking about? You planning something?”

“I plan on shooting bad guys.” Philip turned back to Alex. “You oughtta read ahead in the course catalog. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

“I will. Wouldn’t make much difference to me, though; I’ve never shot a gun. Guess I need to practice.”

Philip sized him up again. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” He turned back to his laptop.

“Well on that note…‌Philip, I’m gonna get back to unpacking. Nice talking to you.”

“See ya, Al.”

Alex popped the trunk and grabbed the rest of the coats. With his other hand, he scooped up the hats along the back window. He tossed the coats on the bed and put the hats on the dresser and turned around to make one last trip to the car. He stepped in the hallway just in time to see a kid walk through the door carrying an orange surfboard. Alex pressed against the wall so the kid could pass.

“You’re good, you’re good. I’m just going right here.” The kid stopped at H105 and shouldered the door.

“Looks like we’re neighbors,” Alex said.

“Cool. I’m Nate.”

“I’m Alex.”

Nate motioned for Alex to follow. “Check this out, man. Hopefully I measured it right.” He carried the surfboard to the back wall. Nails were already in place so all he needed to do was set the board on top. When he was sure it was just right, he backed away and cocked his head and stared. “How’s it look?”

“I like it. A lot. Makes my room look too plain,” Alex said. The surfboard hung at a diagonal on the back wall and in the negative space above was a poster of Bruce Lee. Below was a stylized photograph of a beach at sunset. “Did you take that picture?”

“Nah, my mom did. She’s into all that stuff. You surf?”

Alex shook his head. “No, I’m terrible. We live by the beach, though. You a competitive surfer?”

“Yeah, but just local stuff. In and around San Diego.”

“San Diego…‌they didn’t actually send a car all the way over there, did they?”

“Nah, they flew me into Raleigh and picked me up from there. I got in a few hours ago. Have a seat, man.”

Alex sat in the desk chair and Nate plopped down on the bed. “That thing’s not big enough for you. Your feet are gonna be hanging off the end,” Alex said.

“I’m used to it,” Nate said. He was tall and wiry with high, sharp cheekbones.

Alex looked around the room. Sneakers of every color stood toe down along the floorboard. Books were stacked on the windowsill and on the desk and on top of the dresser.

“What do you think about this place?” Nate said.

“I’m amazed at how many shoes you’ve got. And everything’s so neat.”

Nate laughed. “Nah, man, I meant the campus as a whole. Pal Tech.”

“Oh, I gotcha. It’s amazing. Like something from a movie.”

“Yeah, I feel ya there. I kept thinking there was gonna be a Frodo sighting.”

“Exactly! You like Tolkien?”

Nate nodded. “I read it when I was younger. Actually tried to reread it not too long ago, but I had trouble getting into it. It’s like, now that I’m reading more adult books, I get bored if there’s not a bunch of sex and violence.
Game of Thrones
ruined me.”

Alex’s eyes lit up. “We had free HBO one weekend and my dad didn’t know it. They were playing
Game of Thrones
reruns. There was this blonde girl; hers were the first boobs I ever saw.”

Nate started laughing. “Awesome. Did she end up riding dragons?”

“Oh, I don’t remember. It’s not like I was focused on anything else.”

“No doubt,” Nate said. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. They went a stretch without saying anything.

“What do you think about this whole telekinesis thing?” Alex said.

Nate opened his eyes and pursed his lips, thinking. “I don’t know. Nervous, I guess.”

Alex nodded.

“Did you see the course catalog? Like, all of it?” Nate said.

“Not yet.”

Nate scooted off the bed and grabbed his tablet and sat on the desk so that he and Alex could look at the screen. “See this one?”

“Hostile Environments, Level 1,” Alex said. “Interesting.”

“You could say that.”

“What’s a Greyjean?” Alex said.

Nate looked back down at the screen and shrugged. “Hell if I know. But now you see why I’m nervous?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “No use worrying about it now, though. Besides, it’s probably for seniors. Maybe even like a history class. You know, studying famous hostage situations from back in the day. Might even be an elective.”