The sudden sound of the driver-side car door opening was what woke Avery, who had been more or less curled up in her booster seat, which she unfortunately needed due to her diminutive stature. After a taking a moment to wake up a little more, she released the seat belt, opened the door, and hopped to the ground. “Enjoy the ride, kiddo?” her dad said from the back of the vehicle, a navy blue Honda Civic, as she stretched her body. She merely nodded in response, unable to speak as a yawn took over. Her dad just chuckled to himself and finished pulling her luggage from the trunk of the vehicle.
Most people would probably not assume that Mr. Richard Thompson was Avery’s dad on first glance. With his curly, dark blonde hair and rugged, angular facial features, there was virtually no resemblance between them, the only exception being that they shared the same sky blue eyes. But, it was clear that they were related in some way to anyone that observed them for more than a few seconds, as Mr. Thompson obviously cared for Avery like a father would a daughter.
The cool end-of-summer breeze rustling the trees, whose leaves had just begun to change color, made Avery wish briefly that she hadn't packed away her purple jacket already as they took their time walking to the girls' dormitory. Classes weren't going to start until the next day, and there were relatively few people about at that moment, so there was no reason to rush. Despite the fact that the two of them were taking their time walking towards the girls' dormitory, they arrived in what seemed like no time, stepping through the elegant doors and into the lobby.
It was clear from the pale pink walls that the lobby of the dormitory wasn't meant to feel like the lobby of a business. Most of the furnishings in the room were potted plants, usually sporting purple or yellow flowers, and a couple of paintings on the walls. In fact, most of the chairs in the room were foldable, and had probably been set out just for check-in day. Considering that no one was currently there except for them, a lady on the phone behind a medium-sized wooden desk at the back of the room, and a couple of girls who were setting up signs to welcome the new students, Avery and her dad didn't have to worry about the chairs at all, simply walking up to the desk and waiting to catch the woman's attention so that Avery could get checked in.
After a few moments, the woman was able to get off the phone, turning to greet Mr. Thompson with a smile, unable to see Avery over the desk. “How can I help you, sir?” she asked, brushing a strand of dark brown hair over her ear.
“Actually, I'm here to check-in my daughter, Avery Thompson,” he replied, lifting one of Avery's bags over the counter so that the receptionist could see. Predicting the woman to ask for an id, Avery had already pulled out her student card, which she had received on orientation day the previous month, and laid it on the counter.
“Oh, okay then,” the woman said, sounding a bit thrown-off. “Let me just run the number through, and... here it is. Room Two-oh-three.” With that, she opened a drawer and withdrew the key for the dorm room, which was similar in appearance to a credit card, handing them to Mr. Thompson and pointing towards the stairs that would lead them to the dorms.
“Thanks,” he said, though the woman was unable to respond verbally because the phone was ringing again. Though she knew that she probably should have, Avery refrained from saying thank you to the receptionist as they left in the direction she had indicated. It wasn't as if the woman had actually dealt with her, however, so she didn't bother over-thinking it too much.
Rather than take the stairs up to the second floor carrying most of the luggage, Mr. Thompson stopped at the elevator and pressed the button to call it down, grateful that no one was occupying the thing at the moment. That was one of the nice things about being early to a place, he supposed. The elevator dropped them off on the second floor right across from room 214, with 213 on the left and 215 on the right. So, following the order, the two turned left, keeping an eye out for 203 as they walked.
It didn't take them long to find it, and, after a couple of attempts to get the mechanism to read the card key, they were inside. The room itself seemed rather spacious, though that was a common feeling for Avery, with one door on the left, leading to the bedroom, and one door, leading to the bathroom, on the right about halfway into the room. The very front of the room appeared to be set up like a little foyer, with a coat rack and shoe rack. Immediately beyond that was a living room type area judging from the forty-two inch television on a stand close to the bedroom door and a sofa opposite that. At the very back of the room was a kitchenette, with a sink, microwave oven, and refrigerator.
The floor of the dorm room was carpeted with soft black carpeting, probably chosen to help conceal any stains, which matched the lilac-colored walls just fine. The interior of the bedroom was pretty much the same, and it contained two twin-sized beds with space underneath them for storage. There were also two dressers on opposite ends of the room and a nightstand beside each bed. A small desk for working on schoolwork also sat next to each nightstand.
Once they had dropped off her luggage, with Avery promising that she would have everything unpacked by the end of the night, Avery went to go investigate the bathroom, which, not suprisingly, failed to keep the same interior design as the bedroom or the main area of the dorm itself, replacing the black carpet with dark blue tiles and the lilac walls with white walls. Inside, there was one toilet next to a sink with a mirror above it and a cabinet beneath, and a tub/shower with a floral-print shower curtain.
Her investigation complete, Avery returned to the main area, a smile of excitement on her face. Though she had been apprehensive about attending college, the luxury of the facilities helped soothe that anxiety, if only because it made the dorms seem like a great place to live. “Don't you think that you should get your stuff packed away now so you don't have to do it later?” her dad asked, stopping her before she could plop down onto the couch. “I'll let you know if your roommate arrives, so don't worry about it.” Before she could offer a protest to that suggestion, he had ushered her into her room to pack her stuff away, which she did, if not happily.
Avery grabbed her changing supplies and went about changing into a fresh Pull-up before she actually went about putting her stuff away, starting with her changing supplies, the smell of baby powder clinging to her as she worked. Her mind wasn't really on unpacking her stuff, though. Instead, it was focused on what her roommate would be like and how hard it would be to keep her abilities a secret from her. It had been hard enough keeping it a secret from her dad. How would she manage keeping it a secret from someone her age living with her?