[©Lynnifer Ice - November 16, 2022]
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"Can I see your paperwork, please?" He politely asked me.
"Uhm... Sure. Here," I handed him my paperwork, just as confused.
He looked surprised as he read it over. Then, he handed it back to me, "Everything seems to be in order." Why does everyone look at me weird whenever this building comes up? He pointed to a black box on the right side of the door, "This a scanner for Student IDs. It allows you to come and go from the dorm building you were assigned. The same goes for your appointed room. Go ahead and try scanning your card on the second door." He stepped aside while holding the first door open for me. I stepped inside with my bags in tow and proceeded to swipe my card over the black box. When the little light turned green, and a clicking noise was heard, he looked amazed that it had worked, "Well, I'll be dammed... It actually worked. Go on ahead then and get settled in. There is an elevator down the right hall on the left if you don't feel like climbing three flights of stairs."
I stared at him for a moment before opening the door, and as I walked through it, I threw him a thank you. I walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. As I waited for it, a couple guys passed by me and looked at me as if they had seen a ghost. Why is everyone acting so strange? Just as the elevator arrived and opened the doors, I heard a familiar voice call out to me from behind.
"Hey, hold that door, Alex!"
I stepped inside the elevator and momentarily blocked the door until Blake got in too. "Hi, again," I smiled, genuinely happy to see a familiar face.
"Hello, Miss Alex. Fancy meeting you here," he laughed joyfully.
I laughed too, finding his humor actually funny. Then, I addressed something that was bothering me, "Blake, you don't have to call me Miss. Just call me Alex."
"Very well. If that is what the lady wishes, then her wish is my command.~"
I tried to hold in a laugh when he bowed like a prince but miserably failed to hold my laughter in. "For the love of Italy, you are so weird! I love it, though. Weird is so much better than being normal. "
He visibly blushed as he stood back up straight, "I love the sound of your laughter. It's contagious and beautiful at the same time. You mentioned Italy. Is that where you're from?"
I grinned, "Yes, it is. To be more specific, I am from Naples."
"Oh, wow! That's really cool," he exclaimed in a nerdy way.
The elevator dinged as it stopped and opened the doors. I almost frowned, wanting more time with my new friend. We both got off, and instead of just leaving me, he patiently waited by my side while I looked down both sides of the hallway.
"Need help finding your room," he politely offered.
"Yes, please...," I awkwardly smiled.
He chuckled before motioning his hand to the left. "Right this way, Alex."
I followed him like a puppy until we got to our rooms. Before we went to use our ID cards on the doors, I decided to ask him something. "Hey, Blake? Would you mind getting dinner with me later? I don't really know my way around yet."
"I'd love to. I'll pick you up around 5?"
"Sounds perfect!" I grinned, although not whole-heartedly. Blake seemed like a nice respectful guy, but I felt that I should still keep my guard up. As I was always told… If things seem too good to be true, it probably is.
"I'll see you at 5 then." He nodded, adding a subtle wink before turning back to his dorm door.
Then we turned around to face our doors. Blake entered his room first, and when I heard the door close, I swiped my card on a small silver box just above the door handle. When the light turned green, I turned the knob and opened the door. When I walked in, I did not see a soul. The first area I walked in was a small kitchen area that was connected to an open area. In that area were a couch, a coffee table, a plant in the right corner by the window, and a tall lamp in the opposite window. Then, a small TV was located across from the couch on a table that was not much taller than the coffee table. I walked further in and saw two halls. Down the right was a closed door. Down the left was an open door. I carried my bags down to the open door. There were two beds, two desks, and two dressers in the room. Both sets were on opposite sides of the room. In addition, between the beds, in the center of the wall, was a single closet. We're sharing a closet? Where is the bathroom, though? Is it the door that was closed down the other hall?
"Do I only have one dormmate?" I asked out loud. Right after that, though, I heard the other door open, and footsteps travel down the hall to this one. However, I flinched when I listened to the voice belonging to the person coming toward the room, yet stopped in their tracks.
"A female? Are you lost or something?"
I spun around on my heel so quickly that I almost lost my balance. My heart was pounding as I stared at the abnormally tall man before me. He tilted his head to the side, his jet-black hair falling slightly over his left eye, before he continued forward and came into the room. All the while, he never took his eyes off of me. I backed away to the open bed as he closed the door behind him. My mind went blank. I silently watched him as he walked to his side of the room and sat down on his bed. He was watching me like a hawk as I also sat down on my bed. I slowly calmed my breathing, and we both sat in silence for what seemed like forever. As I processed everything in my mind, I couldn't conclude why I was sharing a dorm room with a man and a bedroom at that! I felt anger slowly building up inside of me, to the point of boiling. That's when I lost my temper as I stood up from my bed.
"Wait, this has to be a joke... I'm expected to share a dorm room with a man?! I was supposed to room with other women!" I screeched while holding the sides of my head.
"A man?" The male eyed me up and down, leaning slightly forward with his elbows relaxing on his knees, "Did you think I was human?"
I looked at him as if he were crazy, and also noticing that his dark gray t-shirt clung to the muscles hiding beneath it, "Of course, you're human. Things like vampires, werewolves, demons, fairies, and such don't exist. So, what else could you be other than a human being?! Don't be preposterous!"
"Last I checked, demons exist," he crossed his arms across his chest.
I snorted as I crossed my arms in disbelief, "What? You expect me to believe that? Yeah, right... Are you trying to tell me that you're like a demon or something?"
"LIKE a demon? No, no... I AM a demon, and my name is Xinith," he lowered his voice as he crossed the room toward me.
Not wanting him to get closer, I stepped back and to the side until my back was against the door, "That is utter bullshit. Now back up, you creep!"
"No," he said in a much lower tone, "not until you believe me. You want proof? Then say that magic word you humans like to use so much to find us."
One of my hands reached into my back pocket, where I kept a small emergency pepper spray bottle. He noticed my hand and gripped my wrist tightly, enough that he overpowered me and pinned not just one but both of my wrists overtop my head. I winced at the pressure on my wrists; it hurt.
"You shouldn't have done that, little one," he growled, his face nearing mine.
The room suddenly felt like it was closing in on me. My heart was racing, and it felt like it was in a pinball machine, causing physical pain in my chest. My lungs felt like they were drowning, and my eyesight kept fading in and out. I immediately tried thrashing myself around but to no avail. I was having a panic attack, and he was the cause of it.
- End of Chapter Two -