Fan Fiction |
by Suki Chan
“My room number is 205. Yours is 408.” Wilson looked at the keys.
“We are two floors apart. Well, when we applied for dormitory, we filled out very different preferences. You asked for a quiet and organized roommate while I was looking for a person who can tolerate noise and messier place. Obviously they had to arrange different rooms for the two of us and we can’t stay together.” Alex said.
“Of course you need to find such a person, because you do create a lot of noise and mess.” Wilson teased, “But don’t worry. I’m sure you can get along with your roommate.”
“Alright, let’s go back to our own room and settle down. I couldn’t sleep well on the plane and sure need a good rest now.” Alex looked tired. “I’ll see you at the cafeteria tonight. Dinner at 7pm sounds good?”
“Sure. See you then.” Wilson said. They parted at the elevator.
Wilson walked into his room. It was a little room which he would share with another roommate. He looked around and found it quite good. Each person would have his own bed, a desk, a book shelf, and a small closet. “At least this is much better than my old crapy rented room in Hong Kong.” He thought.
Alex walked into his room. “This place is about the same size as my private bathroom at home.” He thought.
************************************
“How’s your roommate?” Wilson asked Alex. They were having dinner together at the school cafeteria.
“I met him already but didn’t chat for long. I was too tired and fell asleep right away. When I woke up, he wasn’t around. He must have gone out for dinner. How about yours?” Alex was curious.
“I found out from the person next door that my roommate is still staying at his relative’s place and won’t check-in until a couple weeks later.” Wilson scooped some more rice into his mouth.
“I see.” Alex stared at his dish, “They call this Chinese food. Their look and taste are both disgusting.”
“We can’t expect too much, Alex. At least there’s rice and imitated-Chinese meats and veggies. It’s much better than meat pies and mash potatoes already.” Wilson was satisfied with any food that could fill him up.
Alex curled his lips, “I guess we don’t have much choice then. What are you going to do tomorrow? I need to go to the bank, open an account and do some other stuffs. I think you need to go the bank too, right?”
“Yes.” This is routine for every international student arriving here, though to Wilson, he really did not have much to put into the bank at this point.
“And then what you going to do next?” Alex asked.
“I went to the student employment resource center this afternoon and jotted down some part-time job postings. I will go out and check on each one of them tomorrow.” Wilson sighed, “You know how important it is for me to have these jobs.”
Alex understood, “How many places are you planning to go for?”
“As many as possible. Depending on how much I can get paid for each job, I’m thinking of finding at least two part-time jobs for now.” Wilson did his calculations almost everyday.
“Tomorrow I will go with you then.” Alex suggested.
Wilson hesitated, “Alex you don’t have to accompany me. You go ahead and play around to have some fun before school starts next week.”
“Wilson, you can’t be a loner all the times.” Alex looked at his friend, “You really have to learn open up yourself. Sometimes, you just have to let other people help you.”
Wilson had been hearing this criticism on him from Alex for the last five years. Maybe now that he was in Sydney, it would be a good starting point to change. He smiled, “Ok, then thanks Alex.”
***********************************
It had been one week since they arrived to Sydney. Today was the first day of the new school year. It was also the Orientation Day for student residences, and each one had its own celebrations. The co-ed dormitory where Wilson and Alex were staying held a party to ‘welcome’ the newbies.
As in the past years, all the newbies had to go through many ‘games’, in which they were really the targets for fun to the senior students. After a series of IQ tests and harsh exercises, the new boys were both mentally and physically exhausted. Finally, it was time for the last and ultimate game.
“Now all the new boys line up in a straight line, facing us…here…right!” The house captain instructed and shoved the tired young boys around.
“Now what do they want to do to us?” Wilson stood beside Alex, whispering to him.
“We all line up in a row facing them. I feel like we are a whole bunch of death prisoners, ready to be shot.” Alex was so drained. He tucked out his tongue and rolled up his eyes to show a ‘dead look’.
The house captain and some other guys stood in front of them, all smiling mischievously, each with one hand hiding behind at their backs. “Ready?” As soon as the captain called, all the guys raised up their guns – water guns towards the new boys.
“Fire!” The captain ordered and the older guys began to shoot water towards the new boys. It was a shock at first when the water went to their faces. But after a short while, the newbies were adjusted and even felt cool, after all the physical work on such a hot summer day. They started laughing too and enjoyed the fun.
As they assumed the game was near an end, suddenly someone dashed by and splashed a bulk of water towards the newbies.
“Whoa!” The newbies screamed. They raised their feet and ran away promptly.
They puffed out and realized they only got a little wet. They turned back and looked. There was one slow person who did not escape on time and got completely wet, from head to toe. All the people in hall gave a guffaw.
“Wilson! You…” Alex tapped his soggy head and felt sorry for him. But at the same time, it was too funny and he finally bursted out his laughs too.
Wilson shook his head, trying to fling the water on his face away. Intuitively, he looked over to the crowd for the ‘slayer’. From the dripping water rolling down his eyes, he saw an Asian girl with short hair, in casual red t-shirt and blue jeans. She threw down a big empty bucket and jumped up and clapped her hands like a little girl. She giggled with her friends with pure joy and excitement.
Obviously, this extra water splash was not in the original plan of the seniors. It was a surprise done by this naughty girl. Nevertheless, everyone, probably except Wilson, had a really good time with the games especially after this add-on item.
Alex grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Wilson’s head. “Are you ok? Haha, you were so slow…bit retarded…” He still had a big smile on his face.
The party was over and people had been leaving for refreshments, chats or other errands. Wilson scanned around and did not see the girl anymore. “She must be one of the newbies here. What a girl!” He mumbled to himself.