Chapter 4- Blend In or Stand Out

Mitchum's Point Of View;

The next day I got up way earlier than usual. I checked my phone and saw that the time was 5:20 am. It must have been the excitement of being at college cause that's something that hardly ever happens. I could try to go back to sleep but I felt restless as I tossed and turned. Nope, I was awake and there was nothing I could do about that. I did feel hungry so I got out of my bed. If I had bet that Presley would still be asleep I would have lost. When I came out of my room I heard him talking to someone. As I made my way to the living room I saw that he was laying on the couch and his back was turned toward me. When I got there he was no longer talking but now listening to them. He just responded mostly with hums but it sounded like he was muffling a sobbing noise. It could be an early morning sinus problem but with all the sleepovers we've had I never heard I don't think I've ever really paid attention before.

But I didn't bother him at the moment and I remained quiet as I went to the kitchen. I poured myself some milk to have with my cereal. I guess it's a good thing that he got his sleeping schedule under control because I remember the days I had to give him a wake-up phone call throughout high school. Otherwise, he wouldn't have shown up at all. It's amazing how he kept up with all the schoolwork and never attended a full week of school. His grades were good enough to make up for his lack of attendance so no one ever really called him out on it.

I stayed in the kitchen by the counter to eat my cereal. Then I heard Presley say to the person on the other line with his voice slightly breaking, "I-I understand, I was going to go on the weekend but I can- (sniff) meet with you instead. So it will just be us?"

I could see him from where I was and I saw him wipe away tears. So he was crying over a phone call this early? What was going on? As I came back into the living part where he was I heard him say, "Well thanks for telling me, I'll be there." Then he slumped down on the couch and didn't say anything.

"What's wrong? Was it bad news? Is it about your dad? Is he ok?" I asked.

He turned immediately to me and said almost stuttering in surprise, "I-I didn't know you were out here."

I replied after slurping down the milk and said, "Just got up and saw you on the phone so I stayed quiet. I didn't mean to eavesdrop but -" He got up from the couch as I was talking and started going towards his room. I must have overstepped my boundaries in listening.

"My dad's fine. Not everything is about him," he still answered my previous question walking away.

That was a strange response but he had already shut the door to his room. I know he's a private person and I didn't want to push him into talking about something that he didn't want to. If he didn't want me to hear it then fine but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't concerned about what could have affected him to the point of tears. Maybe he might want to talk about it later on when he's ready. Well, I guess I might as well get ready to go out anyway. If I get to my classes earlier it would mean more time to get to know the other students. I went back to my room to complete my morning routine. As for clothes, I wore my best black hoodie shirt with white long sleeves and dark jeans. I wanted to wear something that would make me blend in a little more with the crowd here. From how I saw the other students dress I was pretty sure that this was it.

My guess was that the sleeves were needed because there was no telling how cold the classrooms were. So I had to prepare for that just in case. My almost jet-black hair that I had styled with waves and a low fade complimented my dark brown complexion. I went back out to the living room to put on my black high-top sneakers. I pulled the shoelaces through the shoes so that I could leave it untied without the fear of tripping over them. It was just college so there was no need to really dress up for it.

However, Presley didn't think the same as me. When he came out of his room he looked like he was going to a job interview. He wore a white formal dress shirt where the sleeves reached his elbow and dark pants. It was semiformal, almost like a shirt but no tie occasion. My dad would dress the same way no matter where he went. I think if he saw how what I was wearing now he'd demand that I change. And so the neverending feud of my parents telling me what I should and shouldn't wear began. But not today. As I finished putting on my sneakers and started to leave out the door I heard Presley call me back saying, "Mitchum we have to talk. It's important, well at least to me."

I sort of cringed when I heard him say that. I thought he was going to tell me off for listening to his phone call this morning. Well if there was one thing facing off with my parents taught me is that you can't run from an issue but only postpone it. And right now I was willing to postpone it until hopefully, he forgets. I turned around and saw him coming towards the door.

"Can't it wait till later?" I asked then he stopped and pointed down to what looked like a shoe rack. It was white and had three shelf-like thin racks that ran horizontally. It rested upon the wall near the door.

"I didn't want to say anything yesterday because we were unpacking and I got the help of those other students to bring my stuff in here. But I mopped afterward and well I want to ask, do you think you could leave the shoes you go out with there before you come in?" Ok, that wasn't what I was expecting him to bring up but I knew that this was a habit of Presley's already.

He did it wherever he went. Even when he visited my home he wouldn't walk in with shoes. It was fine because for me it could be either or. It wasn't something I thought about much but we did share a living space now. Things would have to change a bit and there was no harm in it. "Sure, I'll try to remember to do that. So do you want to leave and get to our classes?"

He shook his head and said, "It's still early and I don't want to just be sitting there with nothing to do until the professor shows up."

"OK, well suit yourself." Then I closed the door and started down the hallway stairs.

I guess Presley would leave when he was ready. Very soon I was out of the building. Since it is the first day in a new environment I admit that the pictures I took of the maps and schedule would come in handy. It was going to be a busy first day for me. So seeing the shortest routes to take would save a lot of time. I'll get to meet my professors and a lot of other new students so getting there a little earlier to settle in would be an advantage. I took the route passing by what is supposed to be the small garden-like area separating the seniors' block from the juniors. It was a much wider path than it appeared on the map. Instead of just having a few benches spread out, it had a house.

Even though the senior's block was in sight, I couldn't tell what the junior's block looked like. The large gates surrounded what was supposed to be the garden here. It made it hard to tell exactly what the purpose of it was. But as I came out from the side path and could see the front of it the gate was a little lower. The top part of the large building had the crest of the school. It was a golden crown-like symbol with three white cursive letters that were the initials of the school. But the gates were closed so you couldn't see the rest of it. But it had to be once part of the school. The gates looked relatively new but I didn't have any more time to stick around and look at an old building, so I continued going on.

As I approached my classroom I took a deep breath. I was going to put my best foot forward and try to start a couple of conversations with others. I pushed against the door but it didn't open. I pushed again but it still remained unwilling to budge. Then I noticed a keypad at the side of the door. These weren't here when Presley and I came on tour. So do I need a code to open a classroom now? Or would I have to knock to get someone's attention to open it from the inside?

I tried a couple of times more before hearing a timid soft voice from behind me say, "You need your student ID to get into the classrooms here." I turned around and followed the sound of the voice and dropped my head lower to see a small girl with large round framed glasses. She looked like she could pass for twelve and her black hair was wavy but in pigtails to match. She had a lightly tanned complexion and wore pink overalls with a white T-shirt. Before I could ask anything she walked by the door and tiptoed to swipe her ID on the keypad. The keypad had a screen and her name was written on it. It was Tamar Sebro. Then I heard the door unlock and the name faded off the screen. She opened it and said, It's only to use to get in the classroom but you can come out without it.

"Um, thanks so you have classes here too?" I asked her as I walked in.

She adjusted her glasses and answered, "I wouldn't have gotten in if I didn't." Then she turned and went to the back of the class. I guess there wasn't an age limit to get in here.

Pushing that thought aside I checked my phone again and saw that the time was now 7:15 am. Mostly everyone I tried to talk to was friendly. That eased the anxiety I felt in the class. But I noticed the girl who let me in the class earlier stayed quiet and away from everyone else. That reminded me of how Presley is sometimes. I hope he was trying to at least reach out to others. I went near an empty desk and saw that it had the same keypad built into it. But I soon focused elsewhere as I observed the classroom. It was similar to a lecture hall where each seat had a computer on the desk also.

The seats were positioned with the back being the highest and the front the lowest with the professor's table just far enough where all the students could see. It didn't have a marker board but a monitor was in place. I decided to sit in an empty seat near the slide-in clear glass window. The majority of natural light came from that window. I wonder why the class didn't have its own over-the-head built-in lights like normal classrooms. I could see the other classrooms from there and some other students on campus that were passing through.

I was glad that I got to class early for once. Where I chose to sit two of my classmates in particular came over and started a conversation with me this time. I learned that their names were Lucas and James and both spoke with accents. But I couldn't identify where they were from so I would have to work that question into the conversation. Lucas was as tall as me and he had a very fair complexion so his eyes were somewhat dark blue eyes stood out more. James was possibly a couple of inches taller than both of us and his complexion though slightly tanner had light green eyes. I wouldn't consider myself short if I were standing next to him the difference would be seen.

As the conversation moved to how our trip was in moving here Lucas revealed that he originally came from Austria. He studied Chemistry there for a while until he finally got accepted here. When James turn to share came he told us that he was from Germany where he studied Chemical Engineering. I'd always wanted to visit both places but to meet people from there was just as cool. They were willing to share what it was like and the differences moving here. I was kind of nervous about moving here and it was within my state. But they moved from their entire home country and were willing to adjust to an entirely different culture. That was brave and they both could speak English very well.

That settled it. I was going to have to master a second language before I graduate from here. Even if it is just Spanish. The professor then walked into the class and a hush filled the classroom. Some students started to go towards their seats as he started giving introductions to the class. That was new, my high school class was never this cooperative. He introduced himself as Professor Bruce Jair and then welcomed us to our homeroom class. He wasn't your stereotypical aged professor. He looked like he was at least in his mid-twenties if so much. He had a light complexion and he had a lot of freckles across his face. His hair was gelled down and he was dressed in a full brown formal suit. His glasses were thick and the white frame was squared. Then he adjusted them and started telling us something similar to what Tamar had said about the Student ID cards at the door. Then he took out his laptop and the monitor came on. The window I sat near to, suddenly became blurred and you couldn't see through it anymore.

Then it began to radiate light as well as the surrounding walls and ceilings. It wasn't overbearing or harsh as it was mimic the natural light. The difference now was all the class was now properly lit. The part of the wall that had the monitor remained dimmer than the others. I saw on it that the monitor has an Excel sheet with our names on it. Then he pointed to the student down in front and told them to swipe their ID on the keypad on the desk. When she did we saw on the monitor that her name got a tick by it. So the IDs are also used for roll calls within the class. Then the rest of the class started doing the same and he was able to see each person's name and the time they logged in. My ID was in my room so I raised my hand and told him.

Then he responded, "Well while you don't want to make this a habit if you should forget to bring your pass I can use mine to mark you as present."

Wow, I guess this was one of the new improvements they said they were making also. After that class, Lucas, James, and I compared schedules and saw that we all had a class before lunch together. I thought about going back to the apartment to get mine but it seemed like such a long walk. I only have two more classes for the rest of the morning so I think I could survive without it for the rest of the day.