New Beginnings

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. The evening light caused them to glow deep shades of orange, brown and yellow that danced like auburn embers stirred by a refreshing breeze. The small college town of Autumn was just starting to be busy as the new school year's students flocked to the dorms. A hustle and bustle of new beginnings could be seen in the eyes and excited footsteps of fancy new outfits soon to be forgotten as the winter chill would set in. 

I pulled my meager belongings out of my little old car, and walked on the way to my new dorm. I had been late on submitting my apartment application, and had not met my roommate yet. The parking space was luckily close to the apartment, and the sidewalk glittered orange in the golden light. As I walked towards the tall, nondescript building, the leaves had a satisfying crunch under my feet, such that I made it a game to find as many leaves as I could with my feet. They were quite interesting, you know, with all sorts of shapes and sizes and shades of orange and brown, and each made a different sound when stepped on, adding to the cacophony of students hugging parents and saying their last tearful goodbyes. For many of us staying in these humble halls, it would be the first time that we had really spent a long period of time away from home. 

I turned and started up an outdoor staircase to the second floor. 2B was the door, I tried it, and it held sure, so I used my new key card to undo the lock. The door was much heavier than I had anticipated, and inside was an immediate shock of color and brightness: my roommate was decorating with pumpkins, scarecrows, and cut out leaves of all shapes and colors and sizes. To the right of the doorway was a classic bar, and over it I could see into our simple kitchen. There was a sink full of dishes to be done, followed by a stove covered in grime by the corner. The fridge was covered in plastic magnetic letters that had been used to spell the words "I love you" at least ten times, followed by the names of various people. In the far right corner there was a simple round table with nothing on it but a small basket with a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables in it, just asking to be eaten. 

To my left, there was an open living space, with two desks on the opposite wall and a cheap foldable white table in the middle. There were at least five metal chairs around the table, in a state of disarray. The corner desk was bare, but the near one was buried in semesters of papers and syllabi and glue and glitter and googly eyes and popsicle sticks and fuzz and fluff and pens and pencils and more than anything else, pictures. Pictures of girls and boys, men and women, old and young, families of fifty and singletons in solitude, pictures of penguins and peregrines and puddles and porcupines. They were simply scattered about, some in tatters and pieces to be cut and paste onto construction paper to be hung as observers on a stranger’s wall. 

“Hello?” I questioned.

He jumped, and turned to face me. “Hello! Sorry about the mess!? Welcome! What’s your name?” Confused excitement beamed from his exuberant face. He was a short guy with an Italian build, curly black hair, and a chubby, roundish face with an average build. He had a sky blue plaid shirt on, with a white button-down top, which he left open in the middle. He had khaki pants, with a simple leather belt. 

“Jonathan. You?”

“Joseph. The room is in the back, you can put your stuff in the room, and then we could go get some hot chocolate?” He said.

“Sure!” I said. I Proceeded to put my stuff in the back room—back and to the left was a room, with two simple beds. Joseph’s was unkempt, with white sheets strewn about. My bed was empty. I rolled my luggage onto the floor next to the bed, and turned back around.

“It’s not much, and it’s a bit of a mess, but I like it!” Joseph said. “Now let’s go!”

We walked outside and down the way. The air was just as golden and magical. I could hear a group of students singing in the distance. As we walked down the sidewalk, we turned onto a main street. There were tall, strong, and gilden-leafed trees on both sides of the road, and down the middle. There were a few blocks of library, bookstore, cafe, park, and general student life. There was a large auditorium a block down and across the street. The dark reddish bricks were topped with green roofing and trusses, and led to a huge stadium. People were strewn across the entire plaza, and were laughing, dancing, hugging, and meeting. A few were sitting on the mahogany benches, some simply reading books and nodding their heads to the beautiful music. 

“Whoever those singers are, I sure am glad for them.” I said.

“I know. They are beautiful. It’s the school’s acapella group, I think they are singing over by the auditorium.” Joseph replied wistfully.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The coffee shop across from the library just released a promotional line of autumnal drinks. The pumpkin spice hot chocolate is delicious.”

We walked towards the library. I didn’t know anyone here, so while Joseph was greeting people and waving and smiling, I just followed along, participating marginally in the interactions that we had, reasoning that I could choose my close friends later. 

We crossed into the shop. We stepped through the door. I liked the smell of spice and chocolate, so I walked up to the counter and ordered their new special. It sounded simple enough, a pumpkin spice drink with an extra glaze of caramel on top. I sat down in the far corner with my friend. The tables were rounded, the chairs simple, tall, and black. We sat down, and I sipped my drink. It was simply delicious, and the warm current of chocolaty goodness felt like the gleaming sunlight from outside, or like the music that wafted through the air. 

“This is good.” Joseph said, and we proceeded to meaningless chatter and introduction.

Then, the door to the shop opened, and a girl walked in. She had medium long sandy blond hair with a slight reddish hue, which snaked in curled curves around her beautiful rounded face. She had green eyes, warm and welcoming. She had a cute, chubby build, and I particularly liked her gray shirt with a modest v-neck and long sleeves for the cooling weather. She had simple jeans which led down to black boots, which stroke a balance between winter wear and western style. She was rather short. She walked by the counter and sat down at the next table over. She pulled out her phone, staring listlessly and scrolling and scrolling and typing and scrolling. Our conversation lowered.

“Who is that? Do you know her?” I asked.

“No, I do not. She looks kinda cute, though.” He replied quietly. 

“She is. Should I talk to her?” 

“Maybe. Not yet. She might be waiting for someone.”

Our conversation diverged as we talked about our backgrounds, our families, our college plans (which we both knew were bound to change), our hopes of one day being independent, having families, and just living and loving life. We talked about music. It turns out that we were both wannabe musicians, singing, playing some guitar, he played the piano. He mentioned that the school had a large apple orchard, and that traditionally, new students would go apple picking the day they arrive, just as the night falls. The orchards were well lit, music would be playing, and students could mingle and dance in the nearby plaza. He joked about it being a stereotypical romantic outing for the student body, I joked about asking the random girl to go with me.

The door opened, and another girl walked in. She was tall and slim, with short, pixie-cut black hair. She had a button down shirt with the top button undone, and wore a black leather jacket over it. She had jeans as well, and wore similar black boots to the first girl. I didn’t notice anything particularly appealing about her face or build, but her wardrobe was nice. She wore darker makeup than the other girl. She had a noticeable, but small black jewel in one of her ears. I didn’t find her very attractive. As she entered, the first girl stood up, and walked to the counter, and they both bought the same drinks Joseph and I had bought. They sat down, and started talking. The second girl was talking intentionally louder so we could hear.

“Have those two guys talked to you yet?” The dark-haired girl asked.

“No, although they did lower their conversation when I sat down.” Blond replied.

“Well, I’ve got you covered.” The dark-haired girl said. She stood up, and walked over to our table. “Hello! I’m Raven,” she said, “This is my good friend Liz. We are brand new to this school, and Liz needs more guy friends. Were the two of you planning on going to the apple picking tonight? Would you be willing to accompany us?”

“Bold. I like it.” Joseph said. “We’d love to!” He turned to me, expectantly.

I was conflicted inside, as I hardly knew any of these people, but I managed a smile. “Sure.” I said. 

“Sweet!” Raven exclaimed. “See, Liz! I told you it was simple. You aren’t doomed to eternal solitude.”

We began to converse. I didn’t participate much at first, but I opened up, as we conversed for the following twenty minutes or so. Liz was charming and cute, If a little self-conscious. Raven was a fully adjusted adult—she understood who she was, the responsibilities she needed to fill, and had confidence in her ability to fulfil them. It was honestly a little intimidating to talk to her, as I didn’t feel confident about any of those things myself, I hardly felt confident in my ability to live away from home, let alone properly manage my finances and productivity, and exude such great self-confidence. Raven was a great conversational partner, though, listening closely to what I had to say and asking key opening questions that did not feel like prying, and she eased through my barriers until before I knew it I felt comfortable talking to her.

Night fell, so we walked outside. The street was aglow with well-placed streetlights and also with conversation. We followed the music down to the orchard of trees, there was an outdoor arena behind the auditorium in which I could see a small group of singers making a joyful noise—acapella arrangements of popular songs arranged to highlight the individual singers’ voices. It was beautiful to listen to, and hum along to.

Somewhere along the way, I lost track of Liz and Joseph, but that was ok.

“So. What do you like to do?” I asked Raven, unenthusiastically.

“I love music, and I write online.” She answered brightly. “You?”

“I enjoy singing and playing guitar. I also like to read. What do you write about?”

“Anything, really. I write fiction, mostly. Lots of fantasy, some of it better than others. I also write about my opinion on current events. Sometimes I just write little poems about life. I also like to explore new places in nature. Mountains, caves, forests, cold running rivers; a gentle breeze in the air. Sometimes I’ll go somewhere far away just to sit and meditate.” She said. After a brief pause in the conversation, she picked an apple from a nearby tree and offered it to me. “Tell me. Why is a raven like a writing desk?” She said.

I laughed, taking the apple. “That’s a really good question.” I said. “Who knows?” I smiled wryly.

“Do you like to go on adventures?” She asked.

“Yes?” I said.

“Would you like to go on one with me?” 

I paused for a moment, taking a bite out of the apple. The music swelled the noise of a cheesy love song as I took in the night air. The leaves were a different kind of magical from before, but they still glowed in the glittering starlight. The moon was big and round and blue. I’ve never been asked out before, I thought, But she seems really fun to talk to. Let’s see where it goes, I could use a little more adventure in my life. The apple was very delicious.

“Sure.” I said. “Where to?”

“Out into the sky,” she said, “we could just grow some wings and fly south for the winter.”

I laughed, more genuinely this time. “I don’t think the birds have college to attend,” I said, “but I would be enchanted to fly with you.”

“Well then, keep up!” She said, lifting her arms, as if she was flying.

With that, we flew around the orchard, pretending, and found Liz and Joseph talking to each other, seated on a bench looking out across a small lake. Joseph tossed a stone in, and it skipped a couple of times. 

“How are the two of you doing?” Raven asked.

“Absolutely wonderful. We should definitely go on a date again.” Joseph beamed.

“It was a lot more fun than I had thought it would be.” Liz said.

“Let’s exchange numbers and get back together next week!” Raven said. 

She proceeded to ask me for my number, and had Liz send Joseph a text message.

“Thank you so much!” Joseph said.

“It was wonderful.” I said, wistfully.

We parted ways, and went back to our dorms. I unpacked my things and I put my sheets on my bed, they were a deep blue. I now had even more to look forward to in this next semester. Raven was a lot more interesting than I had first thought. I’m glad I gave her a chance. Most people are more attractive and beautiful once you give them a chance. 

“What are you thinking about?” Joseph asked.

“Just how nice it was to meet Raven and Liz.” I said.

“Liz was so tender and fun! Once she opened up, we could hardly stop laughing!” He said. “I like her. We sorta got split, how was hanging out with Raven?”

“Really good. She surprised me, I appreciated her communication skills.” 

“She was very bold.” He remarked.

“Bold in a good way. Bold in a good way.” I said. I had finished making my bed, and was completely exhausted. “I can’t wait to go out with her again. It will be a wonderful adventure.”

“It will be a wonderful adventure.” He repeated.

“Anyways, I’m tired. Good night!”

“Good night.”