....
After exiting the auditorium, Caden made his way to the East Wing. The place was large and one could easily get lost but luckily, there were maps on the walls to guide them. The East Wing was a bit far from the auditorium so Caden had to walk for about ten minutes.
On the way to the dorms, he noticed there were other facilities around. All were sealed shut with the help of an electronic lock that Caden couldn't quite identify. Everything here seemed to be very high tech.
He looked around and saw that some doors had their lock lights on green which meant they were open. Others were red, meaning the opposite. He wondered if his ID card could open these.
He kept on walking and after a while, he arrived at the dorm door. It was red. He put his ID card against the scanner and in a minute, the door was unlocked. It split into two as it let Caden walk in.
Caden went into the room. It was brightly lit meaning someone was inside. But he didn't expect that the so called dorm was actually a house. When he walked inside, he didn't immediately see the bedroom but instead saw a lounge.
The lounge was like a living room. It had a mini fridge, bean bags and other amazing stuff that made it feel a lot like home. The couches were long and well cushioned with blue neon lights glowing under them.
There were also various doors around which Caden guessed led to the bedrooms. On the top of the door, was written different bed numbers. One of them read, " B07-B08". He guessed that was his bedroom. But he had a roommate.
Walking up the small steps, he reached the door and put his ID on it. As usual, the scanner scanned it and his identity was affirmed. He entered the room and it was also brightly lit. It was also bigger than a usual dorm room.
It had two beds, both bunk beds and a round table with chairs. There was also a mini fridge and a shelf for any accessories you might need. Besides the beds were the bed numbers. It seemed like he got the top bunk.
He then noticed a big circular metallic box that had a similar lock to the door. Except in the place of an ID scanner was a fingerprint authorization pad. It looked similar to a suitcase. It seemed like his roommate was already here.
Looking around, Caden remembered he hadn't brought any stuff with him before he left. What was he supposed to do now? He groaned. " Great, just great" he muttered.
Just then, the door opened and a guy walked in. He had the skin color of human but Caden could tell from his elf like ears and glistening blue hair that he wasn't one. It seemed he was from another planet.
The guy had a fairly built physique, but was a bit on the lanky side. He had slender arms and well shaped jawlines that brought out his handsome side. He looked very handsome.
The boy seemed shocked to see Caden in the room. He then smiled while showing his fangs, thoughs short. He scratched his head nervously as he said, " Um, hi, I didn't know someone was in here. I didn't anyone would come in until after orientation".
Caden was about to reply when he saw the guy look surprised all of a sudden. He then said in an anxious tone, " Oh great Varuka! I am soooo sorry. Ahhh, stupid. Why couldn't I have been more considerate of you? This is why you don't have friends silly! Ahh! I'm so sorry, I really am".
The guy rushed to the bed where Caden was sitting. The suitcase was right beside Caden and the guy immediately took it off saying, " Sorry, I really didn't know this was making you uncomfortable. Ahhh, I should've been more considerate about your comfort. I am absolutely sorry. Gosh, it's my fault for being so messy, please forgive me".
" You know I didn't believe my sister's words of me being so inconsiderate of others. As a matter of fact, I just thought maybe all of them were just jealous ofme in a way. But no that I look at it, what do I have to be jealous about? Hehe". His eyes dimmed a little as he spoke. He looked at the floor, his eyes void of any light. It didn't seem like he was fond of his sister.
But the guy quickly put on a bright face again and smiled at Caden. But Caden could see through his facade that something was troubling him. He decided not to tell him that the suitcase wasn't bothering him as that would only make him feel more awkward.
Instead, he said, " You mentioned earlier that you don't have any friends? Why is that?" The boy smiled self mockingly as he explained, " You see, back on my home planet, I wasn't exactly a social person. I was outgoing, yeah. But that was about it. I don't know what I always did, but it made others not like me. It was oike they couldn't stand being around someone like me. It was very saddening for me. But overtime I got used to it".
" At least I thought I did. That was until I met him, Azra. He was the only and best friend I had ever made. He didn't seem to ever be bored of me or want to stay away from me. It was quite the opposite. He always wanted to hear more whenever I was talking or blabbering. As you must have already noticed, I have a habit of blabbering whenever I'm nervous or anxious. It's something that simply cannot be helped at this point ".
Caden noticed that the guy seemed calmer when he talked about Azra. It was like talking about his only friend was his solace and peace. But yet, the glimmer which Caden hoped to see wasn't there. It was just a calm lake in his eyes. No storm, neither of happiness or hatred.
The guy continued, " Azra and I had this connection. It was like we were long lost brothers who had just been reunited. I felt free when I was with him. And the best part, I didn't need to hold back, I didn't need to care. I didn't need to because he didn't care. He was my friend, my first ever friend".
But then, once again his eyes dimmed and his smile fell from his lips, " But of course not all good things last forever. That's what they say on your planet right?" Caden nodded and asked, " What do you mean by that? What happened?"
The guy smiles a little as he said, " He...he died. He died in war. I was shocked when I received the news and I refused to believe it. But there was nothing I could do. Azra was dead....and all that was left of him...was his ashes! Those damn bastards had killed him!" As he spoke, tears poured from his eyes. His face scrunched up in sadness and anger as he tried his best to wipe away his tears but all to no avail because more came rushing down.
Caden could sense how emotionally broken the guy was. He could tell he had been trying his best to keep up a brave front. He had been trying to not get broken. But now, he guessed he had reached his limit.
Caden patted the guy's shoulders comfortingly. The guy's body shook as he cried. He buried his face on Caden's knee like a child as he cried, tears and snut flowing down his face, some u to Caden's knee. But Caden didn't mind. The guy needed this.
After about a few more minutes of crying, the guy finally cleaned his face up as he looked at Caden grateful yet a bit embarrassed, especially since his tears and snut were now on Caden's knee.
" I'm really sorry about that. I just really hadn't talked about him in a while. It always takes me back, you know?" Caden nodded. He then saw the boy stand up. He opened his suitcase and handed Caden a set of new clothes, " Sorry about yours".
Caden smiled as if saying it was nothing. He then stood up to change but then stopped as he asked, " You know....um...??" The guy's mouth made an 'O' as he then said, " Zoren. Zoren Marlos".
Caden nodded as he then continued, " You know, Zoren, you aren't inconsiderate at all. And about the friend thing, I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to be friends with you. As a matter of fact, you should be the one saying you don't want to be friends with such people. No offense,but I think the people on your planet are quite judgemental. But that's what we have in common, we both come from very judgemental and hypocritical races".
" You're a good guy, Zoren and I bet that's what Azra saw. That's why he became your friend. He sounds like a good person-—" Caden couldn't finish as Zoren cut him off saying, " He was a great person. The best even. And I would give anything to bring him back, Anything ".
Caden smiled, he then said, " I'm Caden, Caden Wallis. And if you're okay with it, we can be friends from now on. It's not like I have any other person to talk to".
Zoren grinned. His grin was so wide that it reached his eyes. Others would have said it was creepy but Caden just thought it was a happy grin. He could tell how Zoren had been wanting to hear that. " Really? Oh my gosh, thank you so much, Caden! I promise not to let you down. I will be the greatest friend you have ever made".
Caden smiled as he shook his head. He waved his hand saying, " Don't make it sound like you're pledging your life to me before a war". But Zoren shook his head saying, " I am. I promise to remain a friend till the end. I won't ever leave you Caden, ever."
Caden simply smiled as he waved his hand. He didn't know what he just did but something inside him told him it was a good choice. But little did he know it was one of the best choices he would ever make.