Everything Is Just Fine

Chapter 1

This isn't how I was supposed to start the new chapter of my life. I'm not supposed to be standing in the middle of my new dorm hall confused and alone. Benji is supposed to be by my side. My parents are supposed to be here, crying about how I'm a man now. Shit, my nana couldn't even get the time off to escort me to move into my new dorm.

This isn't how this shit was supposed to go down, but here I am. Confused, alone, pissed off, and sad.

God, I'm so fucking sad.

My new place of residence, Jupiter Hall, is the newest building on campus. It was donated by former Westbrook star student, and Pittsburgh's resident Bruce Wayne, Marcos Jupiter. I still don't believe that is his last name, but the magazines and tabloids swear it is, and what the hell do I know.

Jupiter Hall is a modern marvel, a building of glass and steel that doesn't fit in with the ivy covered brick and columns that adorn the rest of the campus. The style of the dorm is minimalist, sleek.

Or as I like to call all this modern, minimalist shit: Sterile.

I hear a buzzing on my right. I turn, pulling my headphones from my ears. The sounds of Coldplay fade, and a person' voice intrudes.

"--Westbrook?" the girl says. Her skin is light brown, her hair curly and pulled back into a ponytail. She's wearing retro cat-eye glasses, ripped jeans and a tee with Twisted Sister on the front.

"I'm sorry?"

She smiles patiently. "What brings you to Westbrook?"

How do I tell her? How do I tell this complete stranger that I was supposed to come to this particular college with my boyfriend, but he abandoned me for Oregon? How do I tell her that I had everything, and now I have nothing. How do I tell her that it has been my dream to come to WU since I was a kid, but now it seemed so much more important than some whim and wish of an eight-year-old?

"My parents went here," I say.

She smiles. "A legacy. Cool."

I roll my eyes. "I don't know about that. My parents weren't exactly the type of people that their professors would remember. They listened to eighties rock and smoked pot in their dorm while barely scraping by."

The girl's smile grows bigger. "Sounds like my kind of people."

I return her smile. "I'm Jesse."

"Amy." She replies, "From Plainsburg."

"No way! Me too! Don't tell me you went to Ford."

Amy's mouth stretches even wider. "Blue and green, baby."

I make a mocking disgusted face. "Our sworn enemies."

"You're a Lincoln lion!" She hits my arm.

"Cut me and I bleed Yellow and black." My joke causes me to cringe, and I tug on the sleeves of my hoodie. I always wear long sleeves. It doesn't matter if it's a hundred degrees or negative three. Long sleeves are a security blanket, a necessity to hide my scars.

Amy doesn't notice my sudden discomfort.

"Move, nerds." A gruff voice says from behind me.

Behind me is a solid wall of muscle and boxes labeled AMY'S SHIT.

"Don't mind my brother. Too much testosterone has shrunk his brain cells."

Amy's brother balances the boxes to flip her off as he heads to the elevator. As I watch him go, my gaze catches on a bulletin board with all the clubs and announcements happening around campus. A large poster for the photography club catches my eye, and I make a mental note to check that out before heading up to find my room.