HOME, s w e e t HOME. [ dorm buddies ]

[Chadrick Casri]

He was finally here. The oh so wonderful Crescent Hill University. It wasn't that the ride here was literally long; he came from the southwest corner of Ohio to Brooklyn, New York. It was just that his father had insisted on coming, so that he could visit with his brother, and the whole way here he was complaining about the fact that Chad was leaving again and he'd be lonely. He didn't understand that man. He could work couldn't he? He didn't have to stay home while Chad was here. The man would just never get over himself. Every time he went somewhere, his father complained about being lonely. It didn't matter though, because half the time Chad was visiting his mother and step father, or he was out at a party. He didn't like spending time with his father because he felt as if he was being downgraded with everything he said. If Jeremy didn't like something he said, then he would just remember it and bring it up later in an argument. Chad could swear up and down that his dad just waited for a fight to break out so he had a reason to try and beat him up. The man had problems, and say this small statement just barley scratched the surface.

He walked down one of the many paths that lead through campus. He'd lent his dad his truck for a few hours while he got unpacked and situated. He'd only found it safe to do such a thing because the man was sober. Now, if he was lying about going to see his brother then Chad was going to be in trouble. His dark blue eyes scanned the familiar looking campus with a smile on his face. This would be the start of his third year here, and he liked this place. It wasn't a bad college and there were some friendly people around here. He liked living in New York, maybe not this part exactly, but it wasn't a bad place to maybe live once he gets through his years of school. Being a coroner took a lot of school, but this is what caught his interest and he was going to stick with it. He wasn't really following in his father's footsteps as his mother had suggested, because that was a sickening idea. His father was a raging alcoholic that was totally against the world if they didn't agree with his ideas. Chad hoped he would not turn out to be like that when he was his father's age...

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He got to the dorm that was once again a co-ed building. He knew so many people that would give their right hand to be in his dorm. It amused him because of that, and the fact that he didn't really care. He saw it better then being in the single sex dorms. He felt so weird around other guys. What if they noticed something strange about him? What if they found out and didn’t like him? He shook the thoughts from his head as he came upon the door that was his. A big 100 was not able to be missed and he pulled out his key, and after setting his suit cases down, pushed it into the door. He turned it easily and could hear the clockwork of the locks as the key triggered different parts and undid the strong force of the lock. He pushed open the door with his shoulder as he picked up the key again.

He closed the door behind him and looked around the room. It was very quiet in here. Either meaning that no one had been assigned here, or they were just all sleeping because it was still kind of early. His eyes scanned the area around him as he carried his bags with him and looked around. He hoped this floor had an outside balcony like others did. His first two years here he'd spent much time just outside the window. Whether it was cold or hot. He could just sit outside for hours and draw or write or do homework. It was always calming for him to either sit on a roof or on the ledge of a rail. At his house back home he always climbed out the window and set himself up against the house, and leg his legs hang off the edge of the small roof. Many times his mother had worried about him falling off, and it took her years to get used to the fact that he did that all the time. finally she found a little bit more confidence in him, but still made sure that there was a soft garden below so just incase he were to fall off that he'd at least land in the soft top soil. That was Christine for yeah.

He wandered in a bit further and set his bags beside a closet as he observed his new home away from home. He wondered about who his roommates would be. If he'd meet any interesting people. His first year he'd been in the same dorm with the weirdest girl he could ask for. She worshipped the devil and had tried several times to try and summon spirits, but it had been an agreement among everyone in the dorm that they didn't want her doing that so they all made sure she didn't. It had probably been the strangest freshman year he could have had. He didn't know who he'd be with and he kind of hoped that the same girl wasn't still going to college here. It would be really strange if she remembered him. He had no problem remembering her for he always could remember faces. He was never any good at names though. When he thought about it, he felt bad for he could remember reading an article somewhere about the human brain and why it forgets names so quickly. It had said that unless a person associates with you quite often then you will forget their names because they are not important enough to remember.

[Soren Capers]

Soren finally arrived at her dorm, her bags in tow. She'd told her mother to stay at home - Brooklyn wasn't that far - and she'd taken the train to get here. Sure, people had looked at her strangely, but not in concern. Nope, she didn't get a seat until she was in Manhattan. And that was only because she beat some Chinese man who was rushing for the same seat as her, although she'd been standing on the pole in front of it the entire ride. She had a huge suitcase that was about as tall as her waist (if not higher) with her, but nobody cared and nobody asked her if she wanted or needed a seat. Not that Soren actually minded. She had never believed New Yorkers to be kind.

Like they said: after living here, everywhere else is paradise.

But like her mother, Soren couldn't imagine actually leaving the city. That would be like committing suicide to her. Sure, she'd explore the States a little (she was incredibly afraid of leaving the United States; she didn't believe she was cultured enough), but she couldn't live anywhere else. That'd seriously be torture.

So while she was strolling down the hall, her suitcase rolling behind her and her overly large shoulder bag (full mostly of art materials), Soren pondered all this. Upon sighting the bold 100 near the door, Soren rested her suitcase against the wall and dug in her hoodie pockets for her dorm key, which she'd just gotten. She was glad she'd applied for a co-ed dorm this year; last year, she'd been in the all girls dorm and she met the strangest chick ever.

Also a freshman, that girl had tried to get Soren to pledge for sorority after sorority even though Soren had never said more than a word to her. It was strange. Soren had figured that girl to be either way too hyper and chipper in the morning, or on some serious caffeine diet. She actually wouldn't be surprised if it was both.

Soren finally felt the cold, gold key in her fingers and that brushed all thoughts of the strange, pledging girl from her mind. Whipping out the key, she opened the door and held it open with her back. Maneuvering so she could reach for her suitcase, Soren grabbed the handle and pushed against the door with her back, coming into the dorm. She paused to pull her key out of the lock and parked her suitcase near the doorway, hoping she hadn't caused too much of a ruckus. Putting her key back in her pocket, Soren closed the door and turned around, somewhat surprised not to see anyone in the first room. Shrugging, she looked for an open bedroom, which wasn't hard to find.

She grabbed her suitcase again and lugged it into the room, placing it on its back on the floor. It was easy-open access from there. Soren placed her shoulder bag on top of the suitcase and looked around her new room. It was new, bare and ready for her to redecorate. And redecorate she would - all in good time. Right now was crash on the sofa in the common room in front of the TV time. She never understood why the college put televisions in the dorms. It was mucho distracting. Rolling her eyes, Soren decided not to question the powers that be, especially if they gave her free cable.

Then again, the people who come to this school must be loaded, Soren thought with a twinge of jealousy. When her mother saw how much the tuition cost even with Soren's scholarship, she almost had a heart attack. But Soren convinced her that a mere $3,000 was a small price to pay for an amazing education.

[Chadrick Casri]

Chad’s wandering was interrupted as he heard another enter the dorm. They had a rolling suitcase and quickly disappeared into a room where he or she would be staying for this academic year. Chad's deep blue eyes wondered about this new person and debated if he should go introduce himself or not, after all his roommates in this dorm would probably be seen quite often so he shouldn't be a stranger. Maybe the person wasn't in a good mood and he'd get his head bitten off... Either way, that thought didn't really faze him, for the curiosity to meet the other lured him closer. He eased his thin figure around a corner and saw the door was left open. Couldn't be horrible... could it? He hoped not. Carefully Chad stood in the door way to a see a girl in the room, setting a smaller bag onto of a pretty large suit case. He'd brought several smaller ones. Probably made things a lot easier to have one big suit case that rolled instead of carrying three smaller ones. His pale features held a small smile as for a moment he drew a blank on what to say.

Chad was standing in the doorway, dressed in his long sleeved button up shirt. It was fitted for his body and hugged him snuggly. It was unbuttoned at the very top button, just because he was free of his father so he didn't have to look so professional. He'd had a tie on earlier but stuffed that in his pocket. A black jacket hung over his shoulders and was left unbuttoned as well so it just hung down instead of shaping to his body like the shirt did. Casual black pants completed the suit that his step father had bought for him; along with some nice shoes that he hated wearing. Jeremy had wanted him too look nice for his arrival and his father had too. He didn't get what was up with the men in his family and why they couldn't just deal with the way he usually dressed. Jeremy had insisted on taking him out shopping and he's got a few more nice shirts that match this suit and a few more pants. He's got many different ties and another pair of shoes. Jeremy had practically tried to change his whole wardrobe. One suitcase was full of things for his suit. In the others were outfits that he would usually wear. The ones that didn't make him look as though he had money falling out of his pockets. Jeremy was a fine lawyer and hadn't had a problem buying the suits, but he wished the man hadn't. They were Chad's style and he hated to look like something he wasn't.

His deep blue eyes found her face and the smile shaped his full lips, letting his cheeks cave in a little bit to form the small dimples in his face. "Hey, I heard you come in..."

[/color] he said, wondering if this was her first year or if she'd been on campus before. He had kind of stayed to himself after having the run in with his strange roommate his freshman year, so there were a lot of people here that he didn't know because he'd kept himself away from the spotlight. He didn't like being the spotlight, but it was rather boring here without many friends. This year would definitely have to be a new start because he wasn't going to spend another year here buried in books. He understood he'd have to still make room for studying, but it wasn't going to be his life. "I'm Chad." he spoke calmly, tones sounding pleasant and friendly. They contrasted the attitude of his suit, which Jeremy had said to be strong, powerful and intelligent. Jeremy always said suits made a man look dashing and that it was the best look for a man like him. Chad had shrugged it off, because he didn't want to look strong and powerful. Intelligent yes, he wanted to look and be mentally strong, but a suit wasn't his style.



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[Soren Capers]

The familiar jolting shock of surprise went up Soren's spine and her hazel eyes widened as she turned around to face a guy, who was without a doubt, one of her roommates. Almost subconsciously placing a hand over her chest, Soren took a deep breath, licked her lips and nodded in acknowledgment. Blinking repeatedly, a moment passed before she thought to say anything.

"Hi Chad," she replied softly, toying with the dull gold zipper on her hoodie. This one was one of her favorites - a dark, blood red with white X's everywhere. The pockets were large, but separated by the zipper. She could still fit her entire hands in them though, so she was very much satisfied. Underneath, she had a bright, plain orange t-shirt with a low cut neckline and plain denim jeans that were slightly faded at the knees, but also showing signs of wear. It was easy to say that Soren didn't care about how she looked, which wasn't entirely true. She spent at least five minutes going through her incredible collection of hoodies before she could choose which one to wear. Seeing as she wore one every day, it didn't matter what she chose to wear underneath. Underneath her hoodie was where fashionable Soren didn't exist.

Looking away from Chad's face, Soren stared at the hardwood floor, her thoughts drifting to how she could get it to look shinier, or if it was always like that. She looked up at the light on the ceiling - which was actually a ceiling fan - and thought about how much it reminded her of the light in her small kitchen back home. That led to thoughts about her mother, which led to thoughts about her father, which just kept going and going until Soren averted her gaze again and stared at the chipping nail polish on her fingers. She realized she was beginning to obsess about it, but that didn't really matter. She needed a new varnish job, and she was going to make sure it wasn't in black.

Finally, Soren had to look at Chad again and she forced herself to give a small smile, which admittedly wasn't that hard. Soren did smile a lot, but mostly to herself. It was odd, smiling at another person in greeting. What was she going to do next? Give him a handshake?

"I'm...Soren," she mumbled, her voice considerably quieter. She hoped he could hear her; she didn't want him asking her to repeat anything. People always asked her to repeat her words. She was glad her mother didn't - it was one thing she couldn't stand. She'd rather just pretend she'd heard somebody rather than have them repeat their sentences.

But then, there was that line between Soren and normal people.

[Chadrick Casri]

"Sorry." he said with a small smile as he watched her hand rise to her chest and she blinked rapidly for a few moments before saying hello. "Didn't mean to startle you..." his lyrics sounded calm as he leaned in the doorway of the room, long arms crossed over his chest. He'd just been wandering about when he'd heard her come in so he had decided that he'd introduce himself to his roommate. He hadn't meant to nearly cause a heart mummer for the girl. His dark eyes drifted over her clothes for a minute, taking in the sight of what she wore. The girl looked a lot better and a lot more comfortable then he was. Jeans a hoodie were a preferred outfit for Chad for that's who he was. They were comfortable, and easy to relax in. Chad worked hard at what he hoped to achieve, but when he wasn't working he was a bum and loved to just chill out and enjoy the day as it rolled on by. He shook his head slightly, ridding the dark brown locks from his eyes.

He couldn't help but smile as how strangely awkward this whole thing was. Her eyes were moving from spot to spot in the room, and then she started to pick at her nail polish while he just leaned in the doorway. He'd hoped it wouldn't have been strange, but it just seemed like she didn't have much to say, other then responding to him by saying hello. His eyes fell to his hands and he lazily started to pick at the thumb nail on his right hand. He always picked at that nail for some odd reason. The rest of his fingernails looked ok, but he just had a habit and an annoying one about picking at the nail on his thumb. He didn't bite his nails because that annoyed him. His mother had always chewed on hair nails and then she'd complain that she'd chewed them too short and that it hurt. Well duh! He couldn’t stand when people whined about something they caused... So he stuck to picking, and it didn't hurt.

Soren was lucky that it was quiet between their two figures as they stood on opposite sides of the room. If it would have been louder he wouldn't have heard her. Her tones were very quiet, a lot softer then his and he'd spoke very evenly and quietly because the place around them was so quiet. There wasn't much of any kind of sound and it was if you spoke too loudly something might break. You had to be as quiet as a church mouse or something would go wrong... That was completely untrue, but it was one of Chad’s little OCD things. When it was really quiet it got under his skin. Quietness was something he didn't do well with, unless he was taking a test then quietness was good. He studied with music on, he sang to his music, he was loud at a party, he was talkative during a movie... this guy just couldn't keep himself quiet unless it was really quiet around him. "It's a pleasure to meet you Soren." Chad spoke easily, testing the name out on his tongue to make sure he didn't say it wrong. He liked the sound of her name, it was nice. It was much better then say... a name like Chadrick. Who names their kid that? Oh... his mother and father. One other thing that annoyed him what when people butchered the pronunciations of things. His last name for example, Casri. Everyone said the name with a strong I sound instead of and E sound.

With the need to keep a conversation going, Chad resorted to asking questions. He personally hated when someone asked him a lot of questions, but sometimes it was the only way to try and find the way out of an awkward conversation. This was definitely one of those times where he needed out. He figured if he asked a question he could probably find a way to see if she needed to unpack or something so he could do the same. Casual conversation made it easier for the subject to change to perhaps doing something so it didn't sound so rude. Instead of saying 'Well, I'm just gonna go unpack now,' and leave, you could be talking and say something like 'Oh my, look at the time, we've been chatting for sometime now. I have a class to get to in a half hour and I should finish unpacking. I'll talk to you a little later.' Yeah, that was saying the same thing, but Chad thought one sounded nicer. "Have you lived in New York for a while, or did you move here from somewhere? I came up from Ohio."

[Soren Capers]

"Oh," Soren mumbled in a kind of quiet surprise. She didn't know many people who lived outside New York, never mind the Tri-State Area. But Ohio? She'd never know anyone who'd lived in Ohio - though she knew it wasn't very far from New York at all. This was slightly interesting to her; Soren wanted to know how it was living there.

"Was it...nice?" She asked, stumbling a little on her words. Despite her sometimes eloquent prose, Soren wasn't the most articulate speaker. If she had to read aloud her poetry, she would just about wither and die - or pretend like she hadn't written anything. One time a teacher of hers had pressured her into reading a poem because he thought this one was "extraordinarily great - better than some of your best!" Soren was flattered, but not flattered enough to gain momentary confidence, and as usual, she stumbled through the words that she herself had written, and was so quiet that people kept giggling and asking her to speak louder and "what was that?" Soren knew they were getting pure enjoyment out of it, because everyone kept whispering excitedly to the people next to them and then they'd stare at her and giggle and laugh. Soren knew they were making fun of her and it made her feel like crying, but she stumbled through the rest of the poem and when it was over, she claimed she felt sick and left for the nurse's office.

Needless to say, Soren never read aloud her poetry again.

"I...I've lived in New York my whole life, yeah..." Soren answered, frowning a little as she averted her gaze again, opting to stare and play with the handle of her suitcase. This conversation was already somewhat trying on her. But Soren was going to have to try and struggle if she was planning on making any friends.

Maybe I should just abandon the idea. Everyone knows it's impossible for me to make any friends at all, Soren thought sadly. But a small part of her honestly believed that was true.

[Chadrick Casri]

"It wasn't a bad place really. There isn't much scenery though. Out here in New York there are so many things to do and look at, it’s just amazing, while Ohio at some parts is actually quite rural and you have to drive for hours to get anywhere. Aside from that, the buckeyes aren't bad, and back home there is two of the only theme parks around. Kings Island and Cedar point, which are both great places if you’re not bothered by roller coasters." Chad spoke his words calmly, but they all came out with small pauses in between. A soft laugh escaped his vocals as he thought about how he must have sounded. Probably like he was babbling... A smile was held but his lips, showing his white teeth behind them. He listened as she said that she had lived in New York for her whole life. What a great place to live. It was a very attractive and large city to live in. There was so much to do and so much to see. He couldn't even begin to imagine the history that lies within this concrete world either. "What do you think about living here? I've only been here a few times really, just to visit some family and stuff... But I have gotten to look around and it seems great." The smile faded to look a bit more casual. Smiling was so easy for him to do. He smiled all the time and couldn't see how people could be depressed. It was so easy to smile, and it was hard to frown. When someone frowned they practically had to stretch their face and glue it in that position. Frowning was awkward and never looked right, but a smile fit in perfectly.

"If I'm bothering you let me know, I can talk forever... Don't want to keep you from anything..." Chad spoke quietly as he watched her eyes leave him again to look at her suitcase now. He didn't want to keep her from anything or make her feel strange about just randomly talking. He'd figured he would be friendly and meet someone he'd be here with but so far it hasn't been going too smoothly. He has been babbling the whole time practically, showing that he's a very happy and talkative person while her comments have been calm and are very short, simple thoughts. She was either very distracted or very shy around meeting people and he'd definitely brought that out in her by trying to just talk. Chad could talk for hours on end as long as it was something interesting. He could talk about Ohio for hours. There was the Crew Tower, the Flying Pig Marathon, which he’d, placed second in; there was of course Cedar Point and Kings Island. He could go on for ever.

[Soren Capers]

"Living in New York is...nice," Soren said, even though she knew that didn't come anywhere close to how she felt about her home state. When she said she couldn't imagine leaving it, she was telling the absolute, honest truth. New York wasn't just her home state. It was her home. She was born in the Bronx, she grew up in the Bronx, she was raised in the Bronx, and she planned on living there for the rest of her life. New York wasn't just the place of her roots. It was where she intended to grow her entire garden.

"It's a great place. If you're planning on staying long," Soren nodded, her voice raising with each word. She was beginning to warm up to Chad and he seemed like a genuinely nice person, so she was interested. Maybe she'd found her first friend here. "I mean, there's probably more stuff...and tourists...in Manhattan than anywhere else in the city, but...I don't know. I don't go to Manhattan that often." When she did however, she preferred the Upper West Side, Greenwich Village and Harlem, of course.

Soren glanced at her suitcase again. She really needed to unpack, but she enjoyed talking to Chad. He seemed to have a lot to say and unlike most people, he didn't seem to mind how quiet she was. Soren thought a while before answering. "Uh...you're not bothering me, but...I've just got to unpack. Um, sorry?"

Soren looked up at him again and gave him a crooked smile, a friendly one at that. "Uh, maybe we could...hang out later? I hear there's a party going on..." Soren glanced at her nails again, seriously wishing she had a bottle of nail polish remover. The black was just not cutting it for her. She flexed and wiggled her fingers a little, going between looking at her nails, to her suitcase and at Chad as she waited for his answer. Part of her expected him to say no and refuse the invitation profusely. She also figured he'd probably go to the party on his own. Soren wouldn't have been surprised if that's the way things turned out; she really wouldn't.

If that happened, actually, she'd probably care for a millisecond and then brush it off as another failed attempt. She'd already had so many, so she could just add this one as another notch on her belt. She wouldn't be devastated either. Disappointed, maybe. Sad that she'd failed again, maybe. But certainly not devastated or surprised.