The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

True Colors

#Shandi

Shandi only saw his back. AK was wearing the same dark jeans and long sleeve black shirt from the night before. She turned around, fiddling with the ends of her hair that was starting to dread—she hadn't brushed or washed it in days.

The door swung open. Shandi quickly moved to the side, letting AK walk by. She tip-toed into Landon's office, careful not interrupt. His face looked heavy, like the meeting hadn't gone well and that he needed time to sort it out. But then he saw her and encouraged her to sit. She told Landon about the previous night: the rat, AK storming out and the roommates.

"Juggernaut moved out this morning," Landon informed Shandi. "Go ahead and document the incident and email it to me, cc Dean Petty and Drew." He rubbed his hands together, bothered. Dean Petty had disregarded his concerns about AK when he called earlier. "You did a good job handling the situation, thank you."

"No prob! You still want me to talk about the other incident at the staff meeting?" Shandi asked.

He nodded, angst in his brows. "And you should check in with Levi, he may know something about these alleged drug dealers in the hall."

#Landon

It was the night of the Corbin Hall weekly staff meeting. The meeting started at 10 p.m., relatively late—the curse of organizing a meeting time for ten very busy people. Once everyone got seated, Landon passed out True Colors, a personality assessment. Every year he did this with the staff, pumping up their egos, confirming their strengths and making their weaknesses look like jewels. He knew they'd get a kick out of the test and that it would help them as a team.

As he handed the form to Alana, he thought about their compatibility. He wondered what the test would reveal. His score had been the same since his first year as an RA: orange, with green a close second. After changing his life, the test reminded him that, at his core, he was the same person. Landon tried not to think about what that meant.

The staff sat in a circle and one by one announced their colors. Landon's heart did funny things when Alana announced her True Color results. She scored a blue—compassionate and harmonious, and the only true blue in the room. He felt weaker in areas that blues thrived in. All in all, blues brought out the good in him. Drew was a blue.

As Landon looked at Alana briefly, he wanted her friendship. Heck, he wanted more than that, but that would never happen. Landon could feel the frustration beating at his chest.

"Are you okay?" Owen asked.

Landon nodded, taking the assessment from Owen's hand. "We'll talk about this next week, using our strengths to build our team." He switched topics. "Owen, why don't you tell us about last night?"

"Oh, my presentation, Leadership and the Movies, y'all. It's awesomesauce!"

Landon's eyes narrowed. He was already irritated about his unrequited love life, and Owen's snarky attitude was making it worse.

Shandi jumped in. "Basically, a resident overdosed on mushrooms; they had to have been laced with something else... I've never seen anything like it."

"Not your typical home school showdown, huh?" Will said, nudging Shandi's shoulder with his own.

Shandi looked confused. "No. Anyway, the guy she bought the shrooms from is a resident in Corbin. So, yeah, just tell Landon if you hear anything."

"Please," Landon insisted. Also, ask your residents if they've heard of anyone selling drugs in the building."