Emmett’s POV

I scanned the battlefield of the attic, there were a few strategically placed boxes that could be used to provide cover and with the light that shown through the windows, there were shadows that one could use to sneak up on their opponent.

My opponent was my evil nemesis, Death Bringer Tuesday, my twin brother. He had light blond hair and green eyes, and for the purposes of our battle he opted to wear his eye patch and black cape, which covered his small frame.

Before we began our life or death battle, I had tried to convince him to paint his face like the Joker from batman, so I could dress up in my Batman suit. Tuesday had whined though saying that only girls wore make up and then pointed out that it was actually his Batman suit and he wanted to wear the cape.

I on the other hand was Mega man and my disguise when I interacted with normal people was Emmett Kedfeller the ordinary nine-year-old boy who was in boy scouts and excelled at sports. I had slightly darker brown hair and the same green eyes as my brother, I was also the older twin by three minutes, a fact that I never let Tuesday forget. For today I wore my blue jeans with a red shirt and a white pillowcase tied around my neck.

In the far corner of the attic my opponent waited in his fort, which was created out of boxes that were stacked high and a blanket tossed over the top. Tuesday had even decorated his fort with some of the house decorations that we use for Halloween, making his fort seem fit as a evil fortress. There was a small opening just big enough to for me to see my twin brother staring back at me with a huge grin on his face; he slowly dragged his thumb across his neck and the pointed at me. I laughed as I caulked my air dart gun in a very intimidating manner.

My own fort was built of the same material as Tuesday’s but I had the amazing idea of reinforcing mine with a random ironing board across the front so I could duck down behind it, I also had the luxury of emergency exit on the back side of my fort that I had yet to tell my brother about.

I examined the combat area that separated us and quickly started formulating a plan, if I could create a distraction and then sneak out of the back exist I could stealthily find a closer spot where I could open fire.

I peaked out of my fort to search for a suitable distraction, I could throw a bomb at Death Bringer’s fort but I reasoned that I only had two more tennis balls and I would need those if I wanted to lay siege to him.

A board to my left creaked softly and I jerked my head to examine what had caused it only to find Tuesday looking at me with a grin before letting loose a battle cry.

-

My eyes slowly open as I snap out of past memories. I once again remind myself that today is the first day of my life and decide immediately that in this life, at least for today, I will leave the past where it belongs.

It is August 16th, and as I said, this is first day of the rest of my life, again. Debbie and Robert had thought it would be appropriate to give me the speech this morning, I got the same speech on my first day of high school, something about building the foundation for my future and how I better not screw it up because of drugs or some girl.

I tilt my head back to look at my dorm, it is a tall building that looks ancient, which makes me cringe, I really hate old things- they are just to unpredictable. They sky is even painted a ominous gray for this momentous occasion. I roll my eyes at my thoughts as I pick up a box that is filled to the brim with… stuff from my open trunk and slowly move towards the building after struggling slightly to close my dammed trunk.

My room is on the far side of the first floor, so thankfully I wouldn’t have to lug my belongings too far. Unfortunately, should the building collapse, I would be among the first to go... wonderful.

I walk through the front door that is propped open with bricks and look down the hallway, it's hectic and loud; people are going in and out of their rooms moving large boxes, while some were chatting in the middle of the hallway making it difficult for people to get by.

Music screams in my ears as I walk through the chaos, being careful not to trip on one of the random boxes or suitcases that are cluttered along the edges of the hallway. I take that back… this is not a hallway it’s an obstacle course.

After what seemed to be a difficult and hazardous journey I finally arrive at room 134. I open the unlocked door and heave a defeated sigh, I was hoping to get here before my roommate so I could unpack and be out of the way when he arrived. I walk into the entrance and immediately see a tall man facing away from the door with broad shoulders and bright blond messy hair. The man in question is wearing a forest green short sleeve shirt and a pair of dark faded jeans that hang loosely on his frame. My new roommate is unpacking and lip sinking to the song ‘born to be wild’ which is blasting in the background.

I’m suddenly nervous so I stand in the doorway for a bit longer awkwardly hugging the box I had brought with me, hoping that he would notice me and begin the introductions, he doesn’t of course.

I examine the room, it’s pretty simple, two beds against opposite walls and two desks separating them with two full sized closets across from them. There are dresser drawers separating the closets and counter space above them. I’m standing in the entranceway, which has a bathroom to the right with a shower and toilet, and a mirror to the right with a sink and drawers on either side. All in all, this is one of the better dorm rooms I had seen on my vast tour of college dorms.

I walk farther into the room to see that my roommate’s stuff dominates most of the floor, both desks and his bed. I assume the empty bed is mine and set my box down on it.

I turn back towards my roommate who I judge to be roughly three inches taller than me at 6’2 and clear my throat… he doesn’t hear me so I walk closer to him, “Hi, what’s up,” I start awkwardly, my voice cracks slightly from under use and I cringe. Normally I don’t bother talking to people, they are all superficial assholes anyways, today though is the first day of the rest of my life so I might as well try something new. The blond turns around and looks down at me with deep blue eyes, a huge grin, and an overall rugged but perfectly manicured appearance. Wonderful, just in case I didn’t look average standing on my own, I can now give it a shot standing next to Mr. model.

“Oh! Hello there,” he says with a slight British accent that I can just barely pick up on, and of course he has a British accent I mean the image wouldn’t be complete without it, “you must be my new roomie, m’names Sam short for Samuel,” Sam sticks out his hand, which I take while I mutter my name in a soft voice that is barely audible over the stereo.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Bennett,” I narrow my eyes slightly and wondered if I should correct him, it would be awkward to say the least if my own roommate called me by the wrong name all year. However, before I am presented with the chance Sam goes back to unpacking so I decide to leave it for a while.

I heave another sigh before going back to my car to empty it of the rest of my belongings. I reason that this is definitely less awkward than organizing the box I had brought, especially with Sam singing in the background with his m’erry lit’le accent and bright as could be smile… but I’m not bitter I swear. I was just hoping for a quiet reclusive roommate that would know when to leave well enough alone, as it is I have a feeling that I’ll meet enough women who are not interested in me to last me a life time of self esteem issues.

Once outside, I notice the sky has darkened and right before I am able to pray for the rain to hold off until I finish, I feel a rain drop on my nose. At this point it almost seems poetic.

With the extra motivation of rain, I make quick work of unloading my car, which isn’t too difficult being that I only brought four small boxes, bedding, a microwave and my laptop. Despite this fact, however, I am thoroughly drenched by the time I crash on my bed.

“You look like you’ve been through the shits Bennett,” Sam starts with a devil-may-care smile gracing his lips. Sam had stood by and watched with an amused smile on his face the entire time I ran back and forth to my car and didn’t bother to offer help once. I look at him with a pointed stare and refrain from commenting… anything that I would contribute to this conversation would not be friendly and I have always been told that if you don’t have something nice to say, than you shouldn’t say anything at all.

I nod my head at Sam lightly before getting up and moving towards the bathroom. A hot shower sounded magical. I close the bathroom door behind me before I turn on the shower to warm up before I get in, the last thing I need is to swim around in more cold water. I can feel the heat coming from the water already, because yes, in modern day society it is common for college students to be boiled alive while trying to ride themselves of the move-in blues. I strip in record time and stick a timid hand in the shower jet before yanking it back from the scalding water. I’m surprised I was able to get into college with the amount of common sense I have, I reach in the tub and adjust the temperature.

When I finally step into the shower, I must say, it is as magical as I had hoped. Just like a bad hair day, my worries wash away. I can feel the muscles in my back releasing the tension that resulted from the first day of the rest of my life. As the steam from the shower chases away the chill of my bones, I daydream about what it would be like to be someone else. I envy the carefree moments I see everyday; the cheerful banter of friends, families and lovers or even a simple heartfelt smile. Not many people appreciate what comes so easy.

I consider my roommate bitterly for a moment and wonder if he had ever seen a sad day in his life, however before I can finish the thought I quickly dismiss my judgmental sentiments, who am I to judge someone else’s happiness. For all I know his cheery outlook on life could be a front to hide a horrible childhood in which he was abducted by aliens and experimented on. This is highly unlikely but again, I don’t know dick about my roommate so who am I to judge.

I turn off the shower before opening the shower curtain only to realize I didn’t bring a towel with me… wonderful. I look at my cloths with distaste; they look cold, wet and uninviting but I quickly remind myself that they are better than the alternative. I grimaced at the idea of the alternative, which consisted of either poking my head out to ask Sam for a towel or simply walking out in my birthday suit.

I look down at my cloths and decide to compromise, I pick up my boxers and slip them on with a slight shiver, I can feel my balls shrinking as the cold damp cloths makes contact with my nether regions.

I open the door and step out of the bathroom, I can hear Streetlight Manifesto playing in the background and I hmmm in approval as I move across the room towards the one of the boxes I brought, as I walk across the room I notice that Sam has finished unpacking and his stuff had been removed from my side of the room. I hear Sam shuffling in the background, but I decide to ignore him for now, I was wet, cold, exposed and … hungry. Once I had gather my cloths I debate on whether I should just drop my shorts or go back to the bathroom.

I quickly glance behind me to see Sam intently reading a book and decide that I would only make things weird if I change in the bathroom; I drop my wet boxers and race into a new pair before bothering to dry off with a towel. Once dry I pull on some new cloths and briefly run a towel through my hair to get some of the dampness out. I toss the towel on my bed once I’m done and turn towards Sam, I immediately see that he is starring right back at me and his happy-go-lucky grin is gone.

I open my mouth slightly as I rake my brain of what to say, I mean it really isn’t his fault that I’m such a temperamental baby. I can’t think of anything cleaver so I just mumble a simple ‘I’m sorry’ before looking at the floor, for some reason I can’t seem to meet his gaze. “I didn’t mean to act like a dick,” I continue hurriedly, I wonder if he actually understood me.

A moment of silence passes and I wonder if Sam heard at all. I glance up, his face is still blank but as I meet his eyes a smile graces his lips, “Well that’s alright Benny,” I cringe at the nickname that he gave me, but I let it pass once again, I didn’t want to ruin the temporarily restored peace.

I return the blonds smile before turning back to my bed; I let out yet another sigh as I reach for the box I had just been rummaging through and began to unpack.

The amount of stuff I had brought was really pathetic, I muse as I make my bed. I had only brought the bare necessities, cloths, bedding, food, school supplies and books, toiletries and one box of random stuff. Before I knew it everything except my ‘random’ box was unpacked. I slowly looked around my side of the room; it looked almost as empty as it had been before I unpacked minus the stack of empty boxes in the corner.

I casually cast a glance at the rest of the room so I could compare. Sam had already set up his desk with his laptop, his lamp and several pictures; he had also brought a bookcase from home that was filled with textbooks and random things. He had a dark blue comforter draped across his bed with a mountain of pillows that he had tucked behind him so he could read. At the foot of his bed were some rolled up posters that I assumed he was going to hang up later. At the end of his bed he had a small wooden chest that had a padded top so it could double as a chair and finally to top it off he had even brought a maroon area carpet and matching curtains. I don’t think I had that much stuff in my room at home.

I lie down on my bed and slide my eyes closed, Sam’s stuff seems to be multiplying, when I first stepped in the room I didn’t even noticed half of the stuff that now decorated his side. I finally conclude that he must have brought in the rest of it and added the finishing touches while I was in the shower because I’m generally very observant… maybe I was in the shower for longer than I thought.

I roll over onto my stomach and slowly drift to sleep, in the back of my mind I imagine how it would have been if I could have gone off to college with Tuesday, who knows, we could have even been roommates...