It was the last day of summer and Tyler was spending it with his windows rolled down and his radio turned up. He'd been on the road for hours, but now he was so close to his new college campus that he could practically taste the freedom in the air. Trees whizzed by in a blur and with every twist in the road, he found himself leaning forward, eager to catch his first glimpse of campus: a distant ski hill that would poke through the trees at one of the next corners. He hadn't seen it since his college tour more than a year ago, but now that he'd been accepted, he felt a thrill at knowing it was his ski hill and his campus.

It was the end of August, so there was no snow yet, but even the green hill was easy to spot as he finally rounded the bend that gave him a view that cut straight over the Portage Canal. He let out a howl of excitement, sticking his left fist high out of his window so that his parents in the car behind him could share in his excitement. He heard his father honk lightly and he pressed his palm into the center of his steering wheel for a few excited bursts of his own.

This was it.

The first day of the rest of his life.

No parents.

Just him, calling all the shots.

It was invigorating.

It was still another fifteen minutes before they really arrived to campus, and the backup of cars was a clear indication that it was move-in weekend for the new students. Even the wait, however, couldn't dampen his mood.

According to an email he'd gotten days earlier, his first stop would be the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts: a large, jagged theater building where he would pick up his welcome packet and next instructions. Luckily, it was the very first building as he came into campus, so before he knew it, he and his folks were finding the first available parking spots and hopping out of their cars. 

"We made it!" he declared, stretching his stiff limbs out as his mother and father approached from where they had parked a few rows away.

"A miracle!" his father responded.

"So is this where we're supposed to be?" his mother, ever the practical one, inquired.

"I think so," he said, briefly second guessing himself, but feeling more assured after a brief glance around showed other families ambling toward the entrance of the theater.

"Well, this is your deal," his father gestured at him. "Lead the way."

Tyler followed the other new students toward the building, his heart beating fast as he pushed his way through two sets of glass doors and into a crowded, chaotic lobby.

"Welcome to Michigan Tech!" a woman greeted him out of nowhere. Tyler spouted a few syllables about his assigned dorm before he found himself standing in the parking lot again with a thick folder of information in his arms and a dazed look in his eyes. The woman's instructions were a blur, but he was pretty sure he knew what to do next.

"So, what's the plan?" his dad asked.

Tyler plopped his folder onto the hood of his car and opened it to the campus map the nice lady had scribbled on for him.

"We're here," he announced, pointing to the lower right corner of the paper. "And that there is my dorm."

It was basically across the street, so as he pointed to the paper with one hand, he shielded his eyes against the sun with the other to peer at the edge of the large, ugly brick building that would be his new home. It sat at a higher elevation than he stood now, since campus was built on fairly steep terrain leading down to the canal. It was a long building too, so he couldn't see it in its entirety.

Looking back down at the map, he recited to his parents that the loading area was around the back of the building, but that he would need to pick his keys up at the front first. 

That spurred them into action. 

Getting his keys was as simple as telling the student working at the reception desk his name and flashing the shiny new student ID that had arrived to him in the mail weeks ago. Then, he found himself waiting again in a long line of cars, humming softly to his radio as he crept forward every minute or so. 

It was going surprisingly fast, in his opinion, and he found out why when he got to the front of the line. All of the school's jocks had been hired to help the students move in. He barely had time to utter his room number before his and his parents' cars were swarmed by athletes and emptied in seconds. Tyler and his folks had to practically run to keep up with the boys with comparably pathetic armfuls of Tyler's possessions.

"Oh my god, it looks like an insane asylum," his dad commented from behind him as they were led down a long, narrow, poorly lit hallway with stark white paint over concrete bricks. Tyler agreed, but did his best not to let the soul crushing atmosphere ruin his optimism. 

The jocks were accumulating at a particular section of the hallway, and Tyler fumbled with his new key as they arrived at his room. It took an embarrassing few too many seconds for him get the door open. 

There was a blonde boy already inside—his new roommate—and Tyler, along with the rest of his unexpected move-in party, easily identified the empty side of the room as the dumping ground for their armloads of things.

"Hi," Tyler stuck out his hand to his roommate, out of breath as he tried to stay out of the way of the jocks filtering in and out of his room, "I'm Tyler."

"Max," his roommate accepted the handshake with an easy smile.

By then, Tyler's parents had nudged themselves in and introduced themselves to the boy as well.

"Do you have more to carry up? I can help," Max offered.

Tyler shook his head, "Not really. Those jocks are making quick work of things."

"Oh, yeah. They had me unloaded in like two minutes flat yesterday."

"They've got to be quick with a queue that long," Tyler's dad laughed.

"For sure," Max acknowledged.

Speaking of, the last jock deposited the last bag and hightailed it back to the loading area for his next task, leaving behind an eerie calmness in his wake. That is, until Tyler realized they still had to move their cars.

"Sorry about the mess," he told Max. "I'll sort it out when I get back."

"Actually," his dad interjected, "why don't you give me your keys. We can move the cars and pick up some lunch while you get settled."

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. We'll eat out and bring you boys something back. Our treat. How does that sound?" Tyler's father looked expectantly at Max, trying to interpret the stranger's interest in the offer. 

Max shrugged, "I'm a college student now. Can't pass up the offer of free food."

"Great," the man beamed. "Any requests?"

"I hear the pasties up here are to die for."

"Mm," Tyler's mother seemed to approve of the suggestion, nodding her head as she reminisced, "I haven't had a pasty in years. Traditional beef okay for you or do you have another kind in mind?"

"Beef is fine. I'm not picky," Max said. "Though I would request extra ketchup packets."

"Perfect," she clapped. "Let's not keep the line waiting then. Good luck organizing your new shoebox."

Tyler tossed his car keys to his dad, and as the pair left, they pulled the door closed behind them.

-----

A/N

Welcome back, my dudes! Writer's block has been kicking my ass for a while, but hopefully a simple story like this will help me get back in the swing of things. I've been struggling with which of my stories to develop (out of hundreds of ideas) but landed on this one because I just finished my college experience at Michigan Technological University and can use my recent memories to guide this story without much need for research.

Anyway, let's get to know each other. I post fun questions at the end of every chapter!

If you are in, have been in, or plan to be in college, what is/was/will be your discipline?

I have a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Management, a Bachelor of Science in Scientific and Technical Communication, and an Associate of General Studies.

Thanks for reading,
-Mora Montgomery

P.S. Shoutout to HoneynButter_ whose comment on Dark Waters Rising inspired the title and concept for this book.