The Boy in Bunk 13

From the viewpoint in the passenger seat of my father’s 2015 Subaru all I could make out was the sky and a slow approaching building in the horizon. Darkness blanketed the surrounding trees and shrubs. There had to be billions of stars out tonight. They spread from one horizon to another displaying intricate patterns and geometries. I wish I could be out there; wish I could reach my hands up and pluck away a star all for myself. Alas, life would be too simple if I could do that. There was quiet screech, a shifting of gears, and the Subaru came to a halt. Immediately after my dad opened his door and hopped out of the driver’s seat.

Turning myself around so that I could get a better view of the back seat, I looked around for my tattered black and brown leather blended backpack that was given to me by my grandfather when I was twelve. Six years, almost to the day, that’s how long I’ve had it. It took me a moment to find it because of how dark it was, but I was glad when my eyes came resting upon it. A small smile spread across my lips. I had fond memories with grandpa, he taught me almost everything I know and then some. I hope he will miss me as much as I will miss him. Gathering up all my courage, I took one last look around the Sub, reached my arm between the two front seats, grabbed at my backpack and left the Sub.

I was equally parts scared and excited. Long Horn University was a well-known privately-owned school where both my father, mother, and two of my grandparents had gone when they where my age. I was excited for the opportunities I would have, the friends I would make but I feared over the whole I would have in my life not being with my family. I was also afraid of the $20,000 that had appeared in my backpack early this morning. I had no idea where it came from. All I had was a simple letter.

“When you arrive, look under the mattress of bed 13. You should see a small zipper on one of the corners. Reaching inside you should see a little black notebook; it will look worn. The notebook is now yours. Guard it well”

The proper word to use might be terrified. I didn’t tell anyone of the money, not my parents, my best friend Luke, not even the one person I trusted above everyone else, my grandfather. Instead, I left the note and the money at the bottom of the bag. I would have to figure out what to do with it once I got moved in and had a chance to look under bed 13.

I took one long breath and made my way away from the car. Looking up I saw my dad standing at the entrance, waiting for me. He was 6 feet tall and fit. He believed the key to a long life was a healthy life, which is quite true. Dad and I worked out almost daily. Looking more closely you could see a small scar on his lower jaw from a surgery he had when he was my age. He was clean shaven, had short brown hair and bright green eyes. As far as similarities go, dad and I where spitting images of each other, the only difference was that my eyes where blue.

Dad gestured at me with a kind smile, then nodded towards the doors. He didn’t need to speak for me to know what he was wondering. Would the doors be unlocked? We had given a notice that I wouldn’t be here until very late, it was a 15 hour drive to get here. I gave him a knowing look back and strode past him, giving the door a try. Not surprising, it opened. What was surprising was the well-lit foyer filled with parents and their kids, soon-to-be students. I gave my dad a curious look, he shrugged back. I guess they were reluctant to leave.

“Let me go see what’s going on,” said my dad in a cheerful voice.

“Ohh, I will also find out where your mother brought your other bags”. My mom had to go in a work trip a few days ago and would be driving close to Long Horn. She decided she would drop my stuff off then, that way she could get a good idea of where I would be staying since she wasn’t able to come with today.

I slowly make my way over to a small grouping of (what I assume to be) students. There where three guys and girl. All four of them were wearing new Long Horn sweatshirts. They also all looked really annoyed. Trying to be as casual as possible, I ask, “So, is something wrong?”

The guys completely ignore me, but the girl looks up and gives a smile. She was short, but by the way that she looked at me, you wouldn’t be able to tell. I swear, bravado and confidence shown off her like the sun. In a surprisingly quiet voice she replied, “We were told that there where a few who wouldn’t be here till late tonight or tomorrow. To answer your question, yes, something is wrong. Or, should I say, weird? I don’t know.” She took a slight pause as if she were trying to plan out precisely what to say. “Somebody, I don’t know who, thought it would be a good idea to surprise one of the lady’s units with a stink bomb. This was earlier this afternoon. Thankfully, we had yet to put any of our stuff away, but the school thought it would be a good idea if we did everything else on the move-in day schedule before moving in. Hence, why we are here.”

Huh, I thought. Makes sense, I guess. I nodded in thanks and turned away. At that moment, a voice echoed across the room drawing in everyone’s attention, “We thank you for your patience and would like to announce that you can now make your way to the dorms. Remember, you must wait for your unit and bed assignments before entering. It is random draw what unit and bed you will get, so please wait patiently while we get everything organized. It should only be another 5 minutes.”

It was only three minutes and then some of the staff started ushering people over and separating us into groups by gender. From there we made our way over to our respective dorms. My followed silently next to me, casually glancing around at some of the parents and other students. He wasn’t much of a talker, which I thought was alright since I wasn’t either. It took us a few minutes to get to the dorm, and then another ten after that to separate into our units. Then we patiently waited to receive out bed numbers. I strutted around, patiently waiting for my name to be called.

“Drake Amora, you are in bed thirteen!”

I froze in place. No way, it couldn’t be possible, it was random, that’s what they told us. My dad must have noticed something was wrong and gave me a slight shove to get me moving. I slowly made my way to the RA, the head of units 7 and 9. When all the others in my unit were gathered, our RA, Chuck, took us into our giant room. The beds were evenly spaced throughout the room, a nightstand on either side and a wardrobe at the end. Eight beds on each side, evens on the right, odds on the left. I found that funny, I had an odd numbered bed, and I was left-handed. That took a little chunk of my fear away. Making my way to bed, the seventh one on the left, I got there and noticed that at the back of the room was my luggage and a note with my name on it. So, I guess it is not as random as we where lead to believe. It was really late and everyone was exhausted, especially the parents whom most had to drive home still. Thankfully, my dad was going to stay with a friend who lived in the area. About an hour after we officially moved in, we all mad our way to our parents to say bye. There where many tears, but all in all it went well. We would be seeing again; it was only college. I gave my dad a hug and he left.

There was some talking and goofing around but for the most part everyone was in bed and asleep before long. I was an exception. I couldn’t sleep. I needed to know. Trying to be as quiet as I could, I grabbed my backpack, pulled out the $20,000 and laid it on my bed. It wasn’t a lot of money, not in the long run, but for a freshman in college, it could go a long way and make me very happy. Putting the money back in my backpack I got down on the floor and reached my hand underneath my mattress, feeling for a zipper in one of the corners. I found it almost immediately. Unzipping it, I slowly shoved my hand through the opening. I had to search around a little bit but I found it, or what I thought was it. It was a notebook! It was too dark to see any details, but I was sure that it would be a little warn and black. I grabbed my phone and the book and made my way to the bathroom.

Entering the bathroom, I pulled out the notebook. It was small, maybe six inches by three inches, black, and worn. Exactly like what I was told. I was hesitant to open it. I wasn’t a superstitious person, but I must admit that I was partially expecting a creature of nightmare to jump out at me when I open it. As careful as I could be, I opened the front cover of the notebook. The first page was blank. The next few were not. There was some weird scribbling and designs strewn about the page. Some of the pages had words written in a language that I couldn’t understand. Beads of sweat painted my hands and face. Was this some sort of demonic ritual? Some writing of a crazed cultist or psycho? My heart was racing. Every second felt like a minute, every minute was an hour. I was paralyzed with fear. I tried to move but couldn’t.

It took everything I had to go through the rest of the notebook, as I flipped the page, I saw something that I could read.

“Dear Drake,

I bet you are quaking in fear right now? Are you not? You must be petrified! Bet I had you going good huh! You have nothing to worry about. This notebook is not some weird book telling you how to summon demons or anything of that nature. It is just a prank by someone who loves you and wants to see you succeed. I have some pull at the school and had them assign you a specific bunk just for this. The money is a gift. A real true gift. Guess who I am by now? If not, remember that time that Aprils fools prank from three springs ago? I bet you know now! It is me, Grandpa Dante! Anyways, enjoy school, love you very much, don’t do drugs, and stay away from girls!

Love, your Hilarious Grandfather, Dante M Amore

P.S –

Your Grandmother wanted to just write a check, I thought this would be much more fun! Also, I’m going to turn your bedroom into a gym.