Andy started to unpack his belongings. It only took five minutes. He didn't have that much stuff. He looked around the room. Two beds, two desks, and two closets. That was it. Andy shrugged. He'd been in worse. The other bed had clothes scattered all over it. His roommate was probably messy. None of his business.
Andy sat at the desk and pulled out a notebook. He wrote down some thoughts of the place he was staying, how to counter the braggart and suck up if (when) they retaliated, and how to escape if necessary.
Suddenly, the door burst open and a young man about the same age as Andy bolted inside and slammed the door behind him. He was tall, skinny, and had blond hair. He saw Andy and grinned. "Hey, roomy. Don't tell anyone I'm here." He dropped down and slid under the bed.
The next moment, the door slammed open again and the braggart barged into the room. He looked at Andy with rage in his eyes. "Where is he, girly?" he fumed.
Andy looked around and said, "Who? We're the only ones here, but I guess you barely count as a person."
"I saw him run in here," he said. He loomed over Andy. "Tell me where he is or I'll-"
Andy stood up. "You'll what? Punch me? That worked well for you last time." Andy took a step forward and the braggart flinched back. "Oh, I see. You really wanted me to break your arm before, but you were too embarrassed in front of your friends, so you came here in private." Andy nodded as if it all made sense.
The braggart took a step back. "Tell your stupid roommate to give me my stuff back." He retreated back to the hallway, and Andy closed the door behind him. Too easy.
"Nicely done, my friend," his roommate said, coming out from the bed. He held out his hand to shake. "M'name's Zach."
Andy shook it. "Andy. I just dislike him more than you. Don't push your problems onto me."
Zach laughed easily. "Sorry, sorry. When I see something valuable, it somehow ends up in my hands." He held up his wrist to show a watch. "That's how I ended up here. People just can't appreciate their own stuff."
Andy sat back down at the desk and started writing again. "Cool story, don't take my stuff. Not that I have anything valuable."
Zach stared at him for a moment before saying, "You're a bit ambidextrous, aren't you?"
Andy sighed. "I believe you meant androgynous. I get that a lot."
"I guess you do a bit, but that's not what I meant," Zach said. "Ambidextrous, able to use both left and right hands. You were writing with a different hand when I first came in, and your stances when the guy came in shifted so it was unclear what your dominant side was."
Andy turned and stared at him for a moment at the unexpected conversation. "You're pretty observant."
"It's my one redeeming quality," Zach grinned. "I like you. I think we'll get along."
A grin tugged at Andy's mouth. "Your not bad yourself."
A voice called from the hallway, "Boys! Everyone, come to the mess hall for orientation."
"Shall we go see how they're going to correct us?" Andy said.
