[centre] [h3][color=f7941d]~Graham Turner~[/color][/h3] WHAT THE FUCK?! Graham was staring at the girl in the wheelchair by the VeePee. He had overhead her...was that speaking? Whatever it was, it sent chills down the guy’s spine. Not cool, hombre. He had seen enough movies. That was devilspeak. Next, her head would spin around, then she’d be crawling around on all fours, spewing obscenities and piss at all unfortunate enough to cross her path. The only answer was to… Wait. Congratulations, Graham. That is hands down the most stupid thing you’ve ever thought. And rather cruel. Just die already, alright? He saw a guy approaching the woman and asking her a question. Didn’t get his roomies, eh? An elbow touched his shoulder, putting wait on it. … God. DAMN. IT!!! Did he look like a fucking stool to these people? AM I AN ARMREST, SIRE?!! Graham turned his head to the perpetrator, ready to unleash his HELLISH SCORN UPON THE HEATHEN! BURN, NONBELIEVER, BUR- Oh. Scorpio. Graham blinked. [color=gold]“Graham, my friend, you are one strange character."[/color] Well...yeah. And the sky was blue, and grass was green, and the search for the legendary brown noise was about as noble a quest as one could undertake. What else was new? Oh shit, that might have been funny. He might still be able to say i- Nope. The time had passed. He could still say it, but too much time had passed. Be quick or be quiet. A slow retort was just pathetic. But shit, he had to say something now. While he was thinking, he completely missed Nina calling his name. Like a regular asshat. [color=f7941d]“Scorp, buddy, we’ve gotta go in. Our very livelihood is at stake. Our place in this school’s pecking order could very well be determined by the awesomeness of our room. Aim high. The higher the floor, the better. The longer we wait, the lower we are, and I AIN’T BEIN’ A WHIPPIN’ BOY, NO ‘MO’!”[/color] Well, he wasn’t wrong. People had already started moving to the doors. And he could see the crowd fanning out, students desperate to find an avenue to charge. Tall students at that. And Graham would be damned before letting a Tall take a room that was rightfully HIS. They’d have to pry the key from his [b][i][color=blue]COLD, DEAD HANDS.[/color][/i][/b] Huh. Maybe Scorpio was right. Err, more right than what Graham had given him credit for. [color=f7941d]“We might not make it back alive. If I die, remember me not as the handsome, cunning, handsome, talented, HANDSOME stud of a man that I am, but as...no, wait, that’s it. ONWARDS TO VICTORY!”[/color] And with that, and without waiting for the lad to respond, the mousey man made haste weaving in and out of the human cork plugging up the door. Already it seemed that it might be too late. The doorway was practically a solid wall of students. There was no way around. There was no way below. So Graham went above. He took off in a sprint, then leaped at the farthest person in the mess. He landed on the guy’s back, the dude obviously disturbed and confused. Then Graham climbed. He scrambled up to the guy’s shoulders, then continued on quickly, using the shoulders as stepping stones. He got to the doorframe and silently thanked the Great Generous Guy and/or Gal Galloping the Galaxy that this was one of the TALL doorways. He had to crouch a bit, but he managed to squeeze under the top of the frame and then lept to the clear, empty hall on the otherside. He was panting insanely hard. What the hell had come over him. That wasn’t like him. He wouldn’t...he couldn’t...oh gawd he couldn’t breathe...where...was...that...inhaler… Graham reached into his pocket and fumbled a bit before pulling out a small red inhaler. He pulled it to his mouth, took a drag, and embraced the opening pathway to his lungs. Sweet, sweet oxygen. Oh, baby. Graham, now not likely to suffocate, looked at the door. The people were squeezing through. Any second now, they’d be through. Wait. He made it through that? He made it...over that? FUCKING. BAD. ASS. Wait, not enough time to gloat. They’d be through… FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK FUCK! Graham turned and sprinted down the hall, ignoring the doors around him. He wasn’t about this basic bottom floor bullshit. Having people live above him? Nuh-uh. Not anymore. HE’D BE ON TOP THIS TIME! He saw a door with a blue sign above it, depicting a stick man climbing some stairs. Perfect. Graham burst through the door, and began climbing. Second floor… Third floor… Holy fuck...too...many...stairs...can’t...keep...goi… Nope. Fourth floor wasn’t happening. Or...BULLSHIT, HE’D GONE TOO FAR TO QUIT NOW. He made it halfway up before he stumbled and fell to his knees. He didn’t have enough breath to continue running up the stairs. The boy cursed his younger self for wasting his time indoors, playing vidja games. Selfish prick. Graham put one hand in front of the other and pulled. He crawled to the fourth floor. He pushed open the door and slunk through. Already he could hear people beating the staircase. He couldn’t just lose it in the final stretch, could he? Graham used the rest of his energy to push himself up, back to his feet. He shuffled over to the first door on the right. He opened the door and… OCCUPIED?!! WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, WORLD?! THIS WASN’T FUCKING FAIR!!! Graham growled some unintelligible curse and continued on to the next door. Second door. Good door. Strong door. He opened it and… DOUBLE FUCKITY FUCK! PLEASE. THIS WASN’T RIGHT!!! He groaned again and continued on, leaving the door wide open on the guy and gal necking on the floor in the dorm room. Cheating smugheads… Please...please let the third time be the charm… Please...Graham reached out and touched the knob. He turned it and pushed it… why.why.why.justlemmehavethisoneplease.why. There was a fat dude sitting in there, smiling widely, lounging on a bed. He cheated. They all cheated. Graham was sure he was the first...and even if not, why take these rooms? WHAT HAD HE DONE TO DESERVE THIS, UNIVERSE?!! He came to the last door before the bathrooms. Sure there were more rooms on the other side, but...but Graham didn’t think he could make it. Others had already flooded the hall. It was game over. You blew it, Graham. You ble- Wait. Is thi… The door to room four swung open and it laid empty. A few beds. A kick ass window with a kick ass view of the yard he had been standing in just moments before. This was it. This had to be it. This was perfect. YES. FUCKING. YES. Graham crossed to one of the beds, the one on the left side of the room, and collapsed onto it. Laughing. He was practically hysterical. He lifted his head and and gave the last shout his voice could possibly handle. [color=f7941d]“I DID IT, SCORPIO! I FUCKIN’ DID IT!”[/color] Success. Freedom. AMERICA. He was on top. Maybe not the toppest but… Ah, fuck it. [color=f7941d]"MADE IT, MA! TOP O’ THE WORLD!"[/color] [/centre]