So you mean to say Aiden has no home?" Jay asked, still unable to grasp the information.
" That's what the records say," Noah said softly.
" Aiden said there's no one, " Rob says, " Does that mean his parents are no more?"
" No wonder he felt uncomfortable speaking about it," Jay remarked.
" We still don't know. Don't jump to conclusions," Noah said. He recalled Aiden's reaction during lunch when Rob asked him about his family. He could see the pain in Aiden's eyes and the way he was trying to avoid talking about it. Now he had the urge to know Aiden even more. He wanted to know why he was so aloof and what ailed him so much. He wanted to hold him and say everything would be fine.
Then one of the Professors caught them loitering around the campus. " What are you students doing here? Should you not be in your classes?"
" We are on our way to the classes, Sir," Jay muttered in a hurry.
" You better," the Professor warned and left.
" We have skipped too many classes for a day. Let's go now, " Rob suggested.
" But I want to talk to Mrs. Carson about my dorm room," Noah whined.
" We will talk to her tomorrow."
" But..."
" Don't you think you should discuss with your parents first?" Jay asked.
Noah was suddenly quiet. After a few seconds, he said, " You are right. I will talk to them today."
Jay nodded and said, " Now, let's get to our classes."
At home, as soon as Noah's parents were back from work, he approached them. " I need to talk to you."
" What is it?" Noah's Mom asked.
" I think Nora was right. It's high time I shift to the dorm," Noah said reluctantly. " I am already 19 and..."
" Wait a minute, Bro," Nora interrupted. " I was just kidding; you don't have to take it so seriously."
" No, when I thought about it, I realized I should learn to experience the outside world."
Noah's Mom looked at him, struggling with lame excuses. " Spit it out."
Noah was surprised. " W-What do you mean?"
" Tell me the actual reason you want to shift to a dorm."
Noah was silently fidgeting in his spot, and his mother insisted, " Tell me, Noah."
" I love a guy, and I want to stay with him," Noah said in a hurry, and everyone looked at him with their mouths open.
Suddenly, Noah's Dad burst into laughter. "What the heck are you talking about? In the morning, you said that you didn't want to leave us, and now you say you have fallen in love? Did you fall in love in one day?"
" No, not a day, a minute... no second...no... All it took was a single glance," Noah said nonchalantly.
If they were surprised before, now they were literally shocked. " A glance...? Noah's dad asked again just to make sure he heard right.
" Yes, Dad. A glance."
" Can you be more specific?" Noah's Mom said.
Noah nodded and said, " In the morning, when I was on my way to the class, I collided with a guy who looked like an angel who descended from heaven. His eyes were as blue as the sky. His voice was so sweet..." and again Noah was lost in Aiden's thoughts and couldn't stop himself.
When Noah's Mom Amelia saw the look in his eyes when he spoke about the boy, she was sure that Noah was indeed in love. She glanced at her husband Daryl, who gave her a knowing smirk because when he was young and had fallen in love with Amelia, he was acting the same way Noah was behaving now.
Nora felt her brother was being too dramatic. " Mom asked you to be specific. Not sooooo specific."
Noah glared at Nora and whispered in her ear. " Do you rather I tell them about your boyfriend?"
Nora was flustered and said, " I -I didn't mean it like that."
" So, what do you want to do now?" Amelia asked Noah.
" Aiden stays in a dorm..." Noah started, and Amelia interrupted him. " Aiden...? The guy you love?"
" Yes," Noah said and continued. " Aiden stays in the dorm and is Jay's roommate. So I thought I should stay with him so that I can get close to him."
Amelia didn't reply and looked at Noah with a blank face. Noah got worried that his parents would disapprove of his plans. Do they think I am lying? How do I convince them that I am serious about Aiden?
Seeing Noah getting distressed, his mother couldn't hold herself anymore and chuckled. " Don't look so anxious. We trust you."
" Mom..." Noah signed in relief and hugged her.
" So this boy Aiden.. when do we get to meet him?" Amelia asked.
" First, let me get close to him," Noah said thoughtfully.
" You didn't tell him yet?" Nora asked.
"It's not so easy to confess your love," Daryl remarked. " It took me forever to propose your Mom."
Noah looked interested. " How did you do it?"
"Come on, boy, let's have a man-to-man talk. I will give you some tips," Daryl winked at Noah and dragged him away.
The next day, Noah, Rob, and Jay were standing at the dormitory in front of Mrs. Carson. Jay was still sulking about leaving his 'good roommate,' but Noah was determined.
" So now you want to shift to a dorm?"Mrs. Carson asked, raising her eyebrow.
" Yes, pretty lady," Noah said.
" The other day, you said you want to stay with your family."
" Yes, though I thought it's high time I learned to be independent."
Mrs. Carson nodded in agreement and said, " But there's a problem."
What?" Noah asked worriedly.
" It's too late now. I am not sure if there's any room available."
" Can you please recheck for my sake?" Noah asked, giving her his million-dollar smile, which never failed to impress.
" Yes, Dear." Mrs. Carson smiled back and checked on her computer. " Well.., You are lucky. There's a spot in room 301."
"But I want room number 205," Noah pouts.
Mrs. Carson checked again. " That room is already full. Oh... it's your room," she said, looking at Jay.
" I will take that room, and Jay will shift to room 301," Noah said casually.
" Who's in room 301?" Jay asked, still sulking.
"It's a guy named Shawn. He's a final-year student. For the past three years, none of his roommates managed to stay with him for more than a month. They come to me begging for a room change."
" Why?" Jay asked and looked at Noah accusingly.
" Nothing much. Unheigenic and things like that," Mrs. Carson shrugs. " I don't think he's so bad."
" Yeah, they all must be overreacting," Noah said to Jay trying to convince him.
" Can we check the room?" Jay asked reluctantly.
" Sure!! If he is in the room now, you can check it."
They all thank Mrs. Carson and go towards the third floor. Once they reached room 301, they were forced to cover their ears as the music coming out of the room was very loud. Noah knocked on the door, but there was no response. He knocked again but still nothing.
After a few moments, the loud music stopped, and the door burst open. In front of them stood a guy around 6'2" tall with a muscular physique holding a bag on his back.
" I know this guy; he is on the basketball team," Rob whispered to Noah and Jay.
" Yes?" Shawn asked.
" Can we check the room? We were planning to shift here,' Noah said.
" Which one of you?"
Noah was about to answer, but Shawn just shrugged him off. " Never mind. I am leaving; you can do... whatever." He moved past them and left.
Jay was surprised. " Is he not scared we would rob his things?"
" Forget it, let's see the damn room," Rob said and entered inside, followed by Noah and Jay.
As soon as they entered the room, they had to cover their nose this time because of the stinking smell. Clothes were scattered all over the room, and plates and dishes were left around. They could even spot open beer bottles and coke cans piled on the floor.
" There's no way I'm staying here," Jay spat.
" Won't you help me get my love?" Noah asked with puppy eyes.
" Don't start with your emotional blackmail again, " Jay sneered.
" Dude, I think he is right," Rob interrupted. " This place does not look fit for living."
" I will talk to Shawn. Request him to keep it clean."
" And why would he listen to you?" Jay questioned.
Noah was thinking about what he could do to convince Shawn when he heard someone calling him. " Hey, Noah."
He looked around and saw a girl waving at him through the balcony on the next building, which was the girl's dormitory. He went to the room balcony and smiled at her. " Hi, Mia."
" What are you doing here?" Mia asked.
" Just checking the room."
" Are you shifting to the dorms?" Mia asked.
Noah nodded, and Mia smiled. " That's cool. Anyways tell Nora I won't be able to take her class tomorrow; instead, I will take an extra class on Saturday."
" Okay. I will inform her."
" I need to leave now. See you around, " Mia said and went back to her room.
" Who's that?" Rob asked eagerly.
" She's Nora's Zumba teacher."
" No doubt Shawn want's to stay in this room," Rob remarked.
" What do you mean?" Noah asked, surprised.
" Look what I found inside Shawn's book."
Rob showed them a picture of Mia. In the photo, they could see the words written 'Shawn loves Mia' with hearts all over it in red ink.
" That's so cheesy," Jay remarked.
" I think it's cute," Noah said with a smile. Now that he was in love, he felt everything related to love was beautiful. He could totally imagine himself doing the same with Aiden's picture. " But Mia never said anything about having a boyfriend."
"Maybe Shawn never told her. Though he is a jock, he is very soft at heart. I have seen he is very shy around girls," Rob remarked.
" So the girl he loves stays in the room opposite to his. Damn, he's lucky," Jay stated.
"Not yet. Shawn's written here; he has tried to speak to Mia many times, but he's scared even to approach her," Rob said, reading the contents of Shawn's Diary.
" Why are you reading his personal Diary? That's bad manners," Noah chastized.
" Dude, I am doing it for you."
" What? Me?"
" Yes. Don't you think Shawn would do anything you say if you help him get his love?" Rob asked, smirking at Noah.
Noah seemed to have understood what his friend was implying. " So you mean to say..."
" Exactly. If you want your love to bloom, first you have to help these love birds," Rob said, pointing at the picture.
" How can I force anybody to love?" Noah asked, exasperated.
" You don't have to force anyone, but at least you can see what Mia feels about it. Judging by the way she noticed you here so soon, I think she always keeps an eye on this room."
" Let's see if that's true," Noah smirked.