"Fucking hell," Tyler swore as they finally slotted the last stubborn pieces of the bed together. The standard dorm setup was two lofted beds with a desk and dresser under each and two armoires nearer to the door. However, the boys had decided that bunking the beds gave a little more privacy, and since Max had brought a TV and gaming console to college, Tyler's lower bunk could serve as a makeshift couch while the TV sat on the two dressers on the opposite wall. Tyler had also decided to donate his top dresser drawer to food storage. That, in tandem with his mini-fridge and Max's microwave provided them with a very, very tiny kitchen area. The rest of the furniture was given much less thought, but the boys found spots where each desk and armoire fit well enough and left them there.

Tyler cracked his wrist a few times and plopped himself down on his new mattress—if it could even be called that. "They sure don't make this place very homey," he said.

Max hummed in agreement, pushing aside the blinds to peer cynically out at their view of a dumpster. He was a business major now, and out of morbid curiosity, he had decided to do the math on how much they'd be paying to stay in the dorms. It turned out that he alone was paying near equal monthly rent to his older brother, who was living in a single bedroom luxury apartment in the heart of downtown Minneapolis. Add in Tyler's contribution and they were effectively paying double an upscale apartment's rent to live in a cramped, single room with another human being and a community bathroom in the middle of nowhere for seven months. He was less than pleased with the information, but unfortunately he had several scholarships that depended on him staying in the dorms for at least two years, so he was trapped in the sham against his will. The only plus side was that the cost also covered his meal plan with the dining halls and utilities, but even that did not wholly justify the difference.

"We're here to learn, not be comfortable," he said.

"Speaking of," Tyler rolled over to peer at the boy. "What was your major again?"

"Engineering Management," Max replied. 

"Shit, you'll probably be my manager one day," Tyler said. "I'm going for Electrical Engineering. What do your classes look like?"

Max shrugged, "To my understanding, it's half engineering classes and half business classes. I've got to learn the basics of a wide variety of engineering disciplines so I can intelligently lead teams of different engineers. At the same time I need to understand the business side of organizations so that I can effectively communicate the needs of my engineers to business professionals and vice versa."

"Damn," Tyler said, "You really put some thought into this. I just like wind turbines."

"That's valid too, I guess," Max said, walking over to one of the desks and pulling out a chair. "We'll probably have some overlapping classes this semester though. They like to keep the Freshmen together for the basics."

"All I can remember off the top of my head is Fundamentals of Engineering, Physics, and Calculus. Oh and Circuits."

"I took Calculus I and II as dual enrollment courses through my local community college, so I'm skipping to a two track Linear Algebra and Differential Equations course," Max scratched his chin has he thought. "I'm definitely in Fundamentals though. I think my others are all business related. Economics and shit."

"Damn," Tyler said again. "I know who I'm coming to for math tutoring."

"Please don't," Max cringed. "I may have done well at the time but I have no idea how to do anything but derivatives now."

"That's still more than I know," Tyler laughed.

Max smiled softly and shook his head, his eyes wandering down to the desk as the conversation lulled. He pulled one of the drawers out and spotted the event sheet that had been left on the desk when he moved in. He pulled it out and quickly scanned for the current date. When he found it, he said, "Hey. Looks like there's going to be a comedy show at the Rozsa Center tonight. Want to go? It's free with student ID."

"Hell yeah," Tyler said. He was determined to start doing things and meeting people. Orientation week would be jam packed with events and activities to help the new students mingle and he was planning to take full advantage of that. Once classes started things would settle into a routine, so despite it not being his most natural state, he would have to put on his extrovert pants and make some friends.

It wasn't long after that when Tyler's parents arrived with food. They'd apparently also done a little grocery shopping for their son, not that Tyler was complaining. 

They stayed a little longer before saying their goodbyes, and just like that, they were gone. Tyler was on his own now. A true college student. And he was excited.

-----
A/N

HOW WAS YOUR WEEK EVERYBODY? I MOVED MY WHOLE HECKING APARTMENT AND STILL MANAGED TO WRITE THIS UPDATE BY THE SKIN OF MY TEETH. (I'm so sore).

It's not as long as I would have hoped, but it'll have to do.

Anyway, what's your favorite color? 

Mine's purple.

Happy Wednesday,
-Mora Montgomery