Sam's POV

I wandered down the girls dormitory's hallway in search of my assigned room. There were no handprints or scratch marks anywhere on the walls of the hallway. It was neat and reminded me of a hospital. The hallway had dark marble floors and white walls with glossy black doors that were numbered with silver digits that matched the globe-shaped handles.

I twisted the doorknob with caution and a slickly unpleasant smell of sweat hit me like a rock. I looked over to a girl with striking green eyes and pitch-black hair cut into a bob. The girl didn't look up at me and kept scrolling through her phone. She was quite muscularly built with her dirty hockey shoes covered in mud making a mess on her bedsheets.

"I'm Sam," I mumbled, already not getting a great feeling about my new roommate.

"Mmh," the girl breathed in a dead tone.

"Want to kill yourself as much as I do?" I asked emotionlessly.

"Depends on how much you want to," the girl replied with her eyes still drawn to her phone.

"We'll get along just fine," I let out with a sigh and started unpacking my suitcase.

Wolf's POV

After making my rounds around campus, capturing the sweet essence of where I'll be staying for the next four years, a wooden bench sat in placid liberty. The brown of the bench radiated warmth; it was soft, tranquil, and friendly. As I sat on the bench looking out onto the football field, I lit up a cigarette. I breathed in that grey smell, the stench of tar-infested lungs and my impending death bed. As I took each drag, there was something vile in my gaze, as if I had been perniciously drawn to that gory end to punish those who had induced my distress. The mother, who had herself been subjected to so much abuse throughout her life, and the father, whose mind had been muddled by physical punishment and neglect. True, I had been a drowning prisoner from infancy, but now that I was an adult, I loathed those who fought beneath my feet in their own Davy-Jones-locker chains instead of seeking fresh air and sunshine.

Ben wandered around, carrying a clean canvas under his arm with a burlap sack filled with art supplies.

"Hey, you're not supposed to smoke here, never mind the 'Devil's lettuce'," he whispered as he accompanied me on the bench.

I rolled my eyes at his childlike description of weed. "Who says?"

"That sign," Ben said with a raised eyebrow as he pointed over to a sigh, clearly written in red, 'NO SMOKING'.

"And why the fuck do you call it the 'Devil's lettuce'?" I frowned, killing my cigarette on the floor.

"It's like the Devil's tango, it's sin," Ben explained with a serious tone of voice.

For a brief moment, I just stared at him. I stared at his dim-witted hazel eyes.

"Shut the fuck up. And I don't know what's up your nose, but I'm smoking a cigarette, not weed," I said as I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

My eyes gazed across the field once again, noticing the girl.

Why am I intrigued by this person? Is it because of her peculiarities, her uneven ears- or her soft touch as she greeted a raven, that landed next to her on a wooden post?

"Looking at her?" Ben asked as he followed my gaze. "That's Sam, we were best friends back in the day," Ben added, continuing his longing stare towards her.

Sam. What requests has God heard from you?

"But she's just as heartless as you," Ben teased me.

I hate being teased.

Out of annoyance, I grabbed his collar again and pulled him towards me. "I'm not fucking heartless!"

The girl ran over, worried about what I am about to do to Ben. Her loosely braided hair swung from side to side as she ran with determination to stop what was about to presumably happen. I never intended on hitting Ben, I just need to send him some 'playful' warnings.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Sam called with a fierce look in her eye.

I let go of his collar and instantly stood up as I made my way back to my dorm room, briskly moving my feet, counting my steps faster than usual.

2, 4, 6, 8 - 2, 4, 6, 8

Though, before I reached the dormitory, I hid behind a wall, listening to their conversation.

"I thought you moved to London?" Ben asked, fiddling with his brown leather woven bracelet.

"London wasn't adequate for me," she said as she let out a breath, glaring off at me. "Who's that?"

"Wolf Drewitt, my roommate," he replied with a blank expression on his face.

A cold breeze sent shivers down their spines as her baby hairs blew behind her ears. Almost immediately she covered up her ears with her hair and excused herself from the conversation.

Reading was a means for me to get away from my thoughts. The Age of the Dragon was the only book I brought with me to the UK. The book had a simple earthy hued cover that was soothing to the eyes. It was soft to the touch after all these years, and the edges reminded me of a favourite teddy bear. The pages within looked as if they had been washed in golden beams, where the letters fell into place as though by the hand of an author- one who was used to the softer notes of beauty. I've read this book a million times and it still intrigued me as much as the first time I read it.

Over to my side, Ben painted what looked to be a silhouette of a stag, trusting his abilities with every brushstroke.

"Are you going to the welcoming party tonight?" Ben asked as he broke the silence between us.

I closed my book and turned to look at him. "What's that?"

"It's just a party held by one of the houses," he explained. "House Justine is holding it."

"House Justine? Doesn't everyone live in these dorms?" I asked rather confused with little to no knowledge of how this university works.

"Yeah, most of us live here, but only up until your third year. After that, you move into an assigned house," he went on.

"Oh, I didn't know that," I said as I shook my head and continued reading my book.

"Well, I'm going, if you'd like to join," Ben offered, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

I don't really like parties. It all seems very overwhelming to me. Shouting, drinking, loud music- it just isn't for me.

"I'm good," I murmured, looking over at my phone's screen lighting up, flashing a caller ID.

"Who is it?" Ben asked curiously.

"None of your business," I said as I glared at him.

I picked up my phone, vibrating in counts of three, and walked outside to take the call.

"Drewitt, speaking"
"Keep an eye out for Samantha Levine"

The phone went silent as the call ended.

Another job for another day.