Stargazing

Chapter 1

Chip walked towards the large building. His heavy suitcase weighed in his left hand as he dragged it along the ground. His laptop bag was slung over his shoulder. God, I'm so fucking tired. I just wanna find my dorm room and sleep. The thought of a comfortable bed acting as his primary driving force, he quickened his pace and pushed open the door.

The entrance was clean and sleek. The white tile of the floor was the whitest thing Chip had ever seen; he squinted as to defend his eyes from the overwhelming brightness (he's a little dramatic, though he'd never admit it). The walls were the typical brick walls that you would see in any school. To Chip's right was a bulletin board with "Welcome Scholars!" written in extravagant gold font. Under the welcome message were two filing folders stapled to the board to make pocket... things, both filled to the brim with thick stacks of paper. Beside the bulletin board was a glass wall with a glass door to open it. Presumably the front office.

Chip turned to be faced with a large desk black desk with two humans sitting behind it. One of them was typing away on a computer while the other was answering a phone call.

"Oh, hello, dear, can I help you?" asked the woman, typing on the keyboard. Her voice was sweet, like honey. It made Chip feel a tiny bit more at ease.

"Oh, I'm just trying to find the dorms. Can I get, like, a map of campus or something?" Chip asked, hope coating his every word like week-old strawberries dipped into a chocolate fountain with the intent of salvaging the taste. Please tell me there are maps of campus and maps of the dorm building, please, please, please-

"Right on the bulletin board over there, hun. One of them is maps of the dorm campus and the other one is maps of the actual school."

"Oh, thanks." Chip walked up, and took a copy of each map, being met with a sense of triumph, and relief.

"There should be some people who know the building walking around, by the way. If you get lost, just try to find someone in a white button-up and blue blazer and they'll show you how to get to where you need to." She gave him a kind smile and nodded at him.

"Alright. Thank you." smiled Chip softly, walking away and towards the dorm building.

After getting confused a few times (though it was probably a generous amount more than a few times), Chip finally made it to his dorm room. He took the key to his dorm from his pocket and unlocked the door. He opened it, stepping on the light brown hardwood floors to see a small living room area with a white couch and a medium-sized tv on a dark grey tv stand. In front of the couch stood a small grey coffee table with nothing but a tv remote on it. Two large windows were stretching from floor to ceiling, welcoming early morning sunshine into the room.

Right behind the living room was a small kitchen. It had all the necessities a kitchen should have; a stove, a microwave, a fridge, and an oven. The usual. The counters were grey and the cabinets were white just like the eye-blinding walls. He reached up and opened one of the cabinets to see cups and mugs in them. Damn, they even gave us dishes. No wonder these dorms would've been so expensive. That scholarship really helped me out.

He closed the cabinet and started walking down the hall to the bedrooms. They were right beside each other. Chip picked the one closest to the kitchen. He opened the door. Same white walls and light brown hardwood floors. There was a desk to his right and two other doors at the end of the right side of the room. Across from the desk was a twin-sized bed, a grey bedside table next to it, and right above the bed was a large window.

Chip spent the next half hour unpacking his clothes and putting them into his new closet, with painful monotony. When everything was away, he kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto his bed, letting out a content sigh. He turned over onto his back, staring blankly at the ceiling.