Single post in Sleight of Heart -- [COMPLETED]

Inhaling deeply, I close my eyes and relax. The music echoes off the walls of our dorm and Bowen’s, just beyond our parking lot. I can almost count the number of people moving about inside the lobby and the front patio. A couple of them are harder to sense because they’re practically motionless, including the guy sitting on the bench near me. “You meditatin’?” he asks, breaking my concentration. My eyes open. After a second, I answer, “Something like that.” The guy removes something from his mouth before puffing out a thick cloud of smoke that drifts skyward. “Need a smoke? Might help.” “No thanks,” I quickly respond. “I don’t smoke.” The guy shrugs and returns the thing to his mouth. I assume it’s a cigarette, but all I can make out is the lit end of it. The guy is partially concealed by the shadow of a high shrub near the wall of the building, and the light above the lobby entrance was out. An eerie sensation comes over me, but I tell myself this is what I should expect. There are many different types of people in the world. Being in this place will expose me to a few of them, so I need to get used to the differences and stop feeling uneasy around new faces… including those I can’t really see. Might as well make the best out of the night and head back inside until my roommate and his company return to the lobby. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll manage to meet some generous soul willing to drop sixty-five cents for a jumbo honey bun. Pfft… Yeah, right. I can’t help but smirk. Still, I turn to head back inside, and the guy sitting on the bench stands as if on cue. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out an ID card and swipes it through the reader before I even reach the door handle. “Thanks,” I say with a nod that avoids looking him in the face and inhaling the remnants of his smoke. “No problem,” he responds, already heading back to the bench. It’s just the first day. There’ll be plenty of chances to meet him properly later when my mind is a bit more settled. The rest of the night trudges on slowly, mainly because my stomach fusses at me nearly the entire time. Fortunately, the music was loud enough to keep that disagreement between me and my gut. I end up talking to a handful of people whose names I manage to stick to faces. Niantha, Sylvester, Brooke, Takanosuke, Cahal… a couple interesting, a couple not so much. But I’m starting to learn that first impressions don’t really amount to much. If I start to pay attention to the faces as the days pass, then I’ll decide if I want to interact with them more than a passing “hello.” Unfortunately, the face I wait for doesn’t make an appearance after nearly an hour. A second hour works its way by and still no Darryl. My patience runs dry, and I march upstairs. When I reach our floor, I immediately notice the music has stopped. I hope that’s a good sign, but then, why hadn’t he come back down? I reach into my pocket for the room’s key as I near the door. To stay cautious, I slink up to the door and lean in again. Fortunately, no moaning, but after a few seconds, I don’t hear any type of sound from the other side. I can deal with them being asleep, but to make absolutely sure, I wait just a few seconds more. Still nothing. Steeling myself, I quietly slip the key into the lock and give it a near silent turn. I give the knob the same treatment and slowly push the door inward.