10. ten
ten
EZRA
“You think that’s funny?” I asked, not being able to control myself as I rolled my eyes at Alfred.
The man deserved my utmost respect after everything he’d done for me and my family, but I couldn’t believe he was laughing at my expense.
The new girl didn’t like me very much, which didn’t sit well with me.
I wasn’t a bad person. I knew that about myself.
But when she stared me down, I had never felt more seen in my entire life until she set her eyes on me.
As I strolled back to my dorm, the male exchange student was humming to himself behind me, I remembered her sharp features.
Her piercing brown eyes captivated me, and her skin was… beautiful, but I was entranced by her complexion. I didn’t know girls from America looked like that. A lot of my friends talked down on their bland semblances, but she was different.
I pushed the thoughts of her out of my mind and focused on the issue at hand. My father forced me to have a roommate, and as much as I enjoyed the quietness of my rooms, perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad to have someone to keep me company.
My dad was the one responsible for funding the grants that brought the exchange students into the academy, but don’t be fooled by his good work.
It was just another one of his tactics so that the public could forget about why I arrived to school with new bruises and cuts all over my body. Although I’ve learned to hide them better and better through the years. I longed to push my father away from this school, which was my safe haven.
Which was why I was thankful for Alfred’s diligence, he’d always made sure to take care of me after a beating. After the hits had drawn blood.
He found me once, when I was twelve. I was incapable of pressing an antiseptic cotton swab on a gash on my back, and he’d entered my room to call me for dinner when he saw me struggling.
Ever since then, he’s made sure to keep close.
We’ve been inseparable. But it still didn’t stop me from being annoyed at his mocking smirk when that girl walked away from me.
“So, Davi, here is our room,” I said as I opened the door. My dry tone hurt even me, it wasn’t his fault I was being punished.
My father made me accept him as a roommate just to remind me that he was the one in control here. To indirectly tell me how my life was his and not my own.
His brown eyes were captivated by the chambers before us.
I remained silent, my lips in a line as he gasped.
As if he’d never seen something so wondrous before, but I didn’t think there was anything special about the room, other than the fact that it was the largest room on the campus.
Only because my father paid for it, and not because I had earned it.
“That’s your side, and this is mine.” I pointed.
His side of the room was left blank, while mine held dozens of imprints of my soul in it. Pictures, vinyls, books, candles, and my belongings were spread across my side.
“T-thank you,” he gulped out with a harsh accent. “You have no idea how excited I am to be here today.”
“Ah, I didn’t do much.”
“Your hospitality is enough. So, thank you. I was nervous to come from Brazil to Scotland. My accent is horrible, but everyone from the airport and on the tram was kind to me,” he said.
I didn’t really know what to say after that, so I just gave him a small nod.
“Get some sleep. I’ll help you unpack tomorrow,” I said.
“Thanks. Okay, well, goodnight then,” he said before unzipping his baggage, grabbing a few pieces of clothing out and heading into the bathroom.
I sighed. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad to have a roommate. Davi seemed like a good guy, and he probably wouldn't give me a headache. The only worry I had about getting a roommate was if they were a party animal like Zack.
Zack was already too much for me to handle, and I barely relieved myself of his mess. But Zack was my best friend, and whatever mess he was in, so was I. Unfortunately.