Devin walked along the stone path, trying not to
trip while he was staring at the amazing campus
for Stonewood University. He pulled his eyes
away from the seniors playing frisbee with a ball of
fire to look at his map.
He was in the Corneal McCrown Hall in suite 150,
room 153. Devin had looked at the dorm online to
see what he could expect. Unfortunately, there
weren't any pictures; but it had said that each
student got their own room attached to a living
room, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom with a
shower, two sinks, and a seperate toilet. There
were four rooms to a suite, so he would have
three other roommates.
It was a good thing he had chosen that particular
time to look at his map, because he had just
passed Corneal McCrown Hall. Turning around,
he started to head back to the hall. He ran his
hand through his short, dirty blonde hair and
noticed a group of juniors snickering at him, but
decided it was best to ignore them. He made it
back to the hall and went inside.
Standing just inside the door in a little lobby area,
was another freshman. He was struggling with his
multiple bags, and Devin decided to see if he
needed assistance.
"Need some help there?" he asked and went
closer.
The other boy was kind of scrawny. He was thin
and lanky, but average height. His hair was longer
and light brown. He wasn't dorky, but he certainly
wasn't a jock either.
Devin, on the other hand, had played football
since elementary school, and had been the
captain and quarterback of his varsity team. He
looked like any other jock, but he didn't act like
them. He cared about others and loved to help.
"That would be great," the other boy replied while
setting his bags down to shake Devin's hand, "I'm
Tim. Didn't think to find my room before I brought
my stuff. Obviously you were smarter than me?"
"Devin, and not quite," he replied and pulled his
drawstring bag off of his back. "I brought all my
stuff too."
"What?" Tim asked, "That's all you brought?"
"Well, my dad went to Stonewood, and he showed
me a spell that let's a container hold 1000 times its
space. So I fit all that," he pointed at the many
bags, "Into this."
"Wow, wish one of my parents had gone here," he
complained, "I'm the first in my family to have
magic, so I'm pretty much lost."
"Don't worry," Devin told him, "My dad insisted on
living a normal life, so I'm as new to this as you.
He only did this because he didn't want to have to
shove everything in our tiny car. So what suite are
you in?" he asked, picking up some bags.
"Uh...150," Tim answered.
"Well then, I guess we're roomies."
"Really? Well then let's see what it's like," he said
and grabbed the remaining bags.
The suite was at the end of the hall. The door was
already open, so the two went in. The doors were
numbered 151, 152, 153, and 154. The living room
had a couch, two chairs, two lamps and end
tables, a TV stand, and a small but tall table with
four chairs around it.
Devin took the bags to the first room where Tim
was at, then went to 153. It was a fair-sized room
right across from the bathroom with an inset
dresser and coat rack, a single bed, and a
computer stand next to a large window that looked
out on the yard where the seniors were still
playing with the fire ball. He set his bag on the
bed, and went to see if Tim needed any more
help.
As he walked out the door, he heard the door from
the far end of the hall, next to the closet, open and
close. He turned to see another freshman with jet-
black hair walk towards him. The boy was tall and
slim with a certain air about him, like he was very
smart and well-aware of it.
"Good morning," he greeted, "I suppose you are
my roommate?"
"Yep, my name's Devin," he said, extending his
hand.
"I am called Sigma," he replied and shook hands,
"Well met."
Devin let him pass and go into the bathroom. He
wasn't sure what to think of Sigma, but he was
definitely different.
Walking back to Tim's room, he heard him
struggling with something else. He knocked, was
allowed to come in, and found Tim fighting with a
lock on his luggage. Then, the key broke. Half
came out, the other half stayed in. There was no
way to get the key out without a pair of pliers or
something.
"Just great!" Tim yelled. "You know Devin, I
wouldn't blame you if you wanted to change
dorms. I have such bad luck, we'll probably all be
dead before the year's out."
"Come on, it can't be that bad."
"No, but I need to vent somehow," he said with a
slight grin. "How am I going to get this lock out?"
"Allow me," came a voice from the open door.
It was Sigma. He walked over and kneeled by the
luggage. He put his hand to the lock...and claws
came out of his thumb and index finger. He used
the claws as pliers to pull the broken key from the
hole, then used one to open the lock.
"There you are," he said, retracting his claws,
"That should be it."
"How did you do that?" Tim asked.
"I am a dragon of the Sendrii Clan. We are skilled
shapeshifters. All I did was turn my fingernails
back into their original form."
"You're a dragon?" Devin asked.
"Indeed," he said as if it were obvious, "I thought it
was more apparent. Clearly most humans do not
know the identifying features of a dragon. You see,
dragons only have hair on the top of their head, no
matter what form they are in. You didn't notice that
I lacked eyebrows?"
"Not until you mentioned it," Devin replied, "But
your hair does cover that area."
"I suppose I should shorten my hair, then," he said
and it became immediately cropped to a smaller
length.
Now that it could be seen, his lack of eyebrows
was more apparent. But it still wasn't too
noticeable.
Before Devin could reply, the suite's door opened
again. All three turned to see their final roommate.
He was lithe and muscular, with a clear runner's
build. He wore athletic shorts and a muscle shirt
that clung to his defined pecs and abs. He had
very short dark brown hair and a ruggedly
handsome face.
"Oh," he said when he saw the group, "I didn't
know we were having a meeting."
"We're not," Sigma said and walked out.
"What's his problem?" the new guy asked.
"Nothing, Sigma's just...himself," Devin tried to
explain.
"Ah, not the social type."
"You could say that. I'm Devin."
"Tim," he added, standing up.
"Fenrir," the new boy introduced himself. "But just
call me Fang. So I guess you guys are my
roommates?"
Affirming this, the two boys stepped into the living
room so they could meet their last roommate.
"Well, then, I guess we should get to know each
other. Hey Siggy! Quit sulking and join the party!"
"I will not be addressed like that!" he said, coming
out of his room nonetheless.
"Dragon?" Fang asked to which Sigma nodded,
"Figures. Alright, let's play 'Know Your
Roommates'! The game where you find out who
the hell you're spending the next year with! Our
first contestant: Devin! Why don't you tell the
viewers at home a little about yourself?"
Devin could help chuckling at the ecstatic way
Fang acted. At least, he thought, I won't be bored
this year.
"Alright," he said, playing along, "I'm Devin
Walker. I'm here for a degree in transformation.
My interests are magic and football, and I hate
rainy days."
"I'm Tim Stevenson. I'm majoring in conjuration. I
like reading and art, and I dislike arrogant people."
"I'm Fenrir Tracker, but everyone calls me Fang.
I'm majoring in lycanthropy, I love track and cross
country, and I hate kill-joys."
"You're a werewolf?!" Tim seemed scared.
"Calm down," Fang assured him, "I have control
over it. I'm a a werewolf by lineage, not by
infection. I'm what you might call a real werewolf. I
can change whenever I want and have full control
over it."
"Oh, okay..."
"Alright, Siggy, your turn!"
"Cease calling me that name!" Sigma yelled, "I'm
the son of Caltho, leader of the Sendrii Clan, and I
will not be ridiculed by some...mutt!"
"Yeah, yeah, fly boy just introduce yourself."
"Come on you two," Devin tried to diffuse the
tension, "Let's be friends now, I don't want to hear
you two arguing all year. Sigma, will you introduce
yourself?"
"Very well," he said, calming down. "I am Sigma of
the Sendrii Clan. I am studying draconology and
interspecific relations. I enjoy scholarly
conversation and I despise rabble-rousers."
Great, Devin thought, I'm going to have to listen to
these two argue all year.
After a few hours of unpacking and determining
spaces, the four roommates were ready to explore
the campus.