This is a short story that depicts a typical night of being a Resident Assistant.
It is a dreary night. It has been raining since morning. The rain is as resilient as they are and shall last throughout the night. They go out despite the obstacles mother nature has provided. The reckless ones drive their cars. They know not what lies ahead.
I am the Watchmen of Wells. The Silent Surveyor. The Restless RA. I keep the hall safe for them. There are two types: the Calm Ones and the the Night Owls. The Troublemakers who by day are no different than you or I, but at night they drink their potions that transform them. The effects are not all alike, though. The side effects differ greatly from one to the other.
I hide in plain sight. In my sanctuary, the office, is where I wait. Hidden from them, though I can easily sense their arrival. The hour is late, or early depending, and their return is imminent. I hear them now. Perhaps if they knew my location they would make greater haste to their quarters, but no. They stumble through the halls, tearing down anything within their reach. The destroy all with no reservation. As I wait the lightning strikes, thunder crashes, and somewhere a baby cries.
Their sounds rumble through the halls louder than the thunder outside. Above me it sounds as if a stampede of wild buffalo has been released in my Hall. Maybe it has. Doors slam as they return to their lairs. The other Watchmen are awaken. It is time.
I swiftly move through the halls as Calm Ones emerge, awoken from the sounds of the Loud Ones. Identifying the location of the future Incident Report I gain my footing. The smell of alcohol floods the hall accompanied by the sound of their laughter and the Devil's music. I steady myself and knock. I can hear bottles clink and them speak.
"LOL WHO IS IT???"
"IDK!!!!1 LET'S FIND OUT! HAHAHA!"
There is a pause as they peer out of the peephole in the door. I feel their eyes upon me and sense their fear rising. They see their fate.
"OMG! IT'S AN RA!!" they shout. They try to whisper but their potions prevent their voices from softening. "Quick hide it!"
I knock again. There is no answer. Again for a third time, still no answer. As I announce that I am keying in, the door opens to a slight crack. The smell of alcohol becomes so intense I am forced to a slight cough. It is a male, clearly not the voices I heard while the door was closed.
"Wut up man? What you need from me?" He slurs.
"Hello. May I enter the room, please?"
"Nah man, you can't do that."
"Why not?" I hear movement in the room. It sounds as if they are transferring to the joint room. As I start to wonder where my fellow Watchmen are, I see from the corner of my eye another Protector. I motion to the suite mate's door. They understand.
"Sir," I tell him as I sense his fear rising. The potions make them weak and their wit slow. "You are in violation of the noise policy and your room smells of alcohol. Now will you please open the door?"
"Sure but there's no alcohol here."
He opens the door as I walk in. Almost immediately I see various bottles of their late night spirits. My how he has spent some money for his night of mayhem. I instruct him that he needs to pour out all of the remaining alcohol as he argues, telling me the various prices for the concoctions. It means nothing though, and after a few minutes of fidgeting he pours out the remaining fluids. I look around.
There are cups and torn fliers everywhere. Signs of their wreckage is abundant. That's when I notice the missing accomplices. Where did they slip off to? How could they escape my gaze? The Loud One finishes disposing of the toxins and carries the remains back to my sanctuary. As we step outside another Guardian is waiting with another male and two females. All are heavily intoxicated.
"These two were sneaking out of the suite mate's room," the Protector informs me.
We go back to my haven and I take their names and places of residency preparing for the report I must file. They leave and my companion returns to his fortress. I am alone again, soaking in the solitude. As I write, another bolt of lightning finds it's way from the heavens to the earth, bringing with it the loud roar of thunder and innumerable drops of rain. All is quiet as I continue my watch over the Hall. May the people of Wells find rest and refuge knowing that I am on guard. The People's Protector. The Valiant Vigilante. I am the Watchmen of Wells.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Biography From A Study Room
So this is my first blog, written in the study room of the library at my college when I should be working on my schoolwork. Of course, you cannot be a college student without studying the fine art of procrastination, so consider this my lesson for today.
The study room I'm in is a claustrophobic one, filled with a table and my friend Jenn. We're swapping notes and reviewing history when we're not checking facebook. Mom if you're reading this, we are doing work so please don't worry. The walls are sound proof, I'm assuming, because when our friends stop by we are quite louder than what I imagine our librarians would desire, yet nobody complains. This week is the week before finals week. The library is crammed with students of all majors learning all the information they didn't fit in over the school year. Next week I'm sure it will be worse. As for me, I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. For once I am not overbooked with school, fraternity, and work.
Since this is the start of my blog, and I'm sure it will sail to legendary heights and I will soon become famous, I feel that I owe my readers a short biography about myself. I'm a baller. Though I think this is sufficient information, Jenn is telling me that I should elaborate a little more. I'm in college, I'm a Fraternity Man, and I'm a Resident Assistant, and these are where most if not all of my stories will come from.
I would like to take the time to mention my fraternity. I hope those who are not familiar with Greek life or those who have had bad experiences with the Greek communities are not turned off by this immediately. Yes we party and throw down, but no we are not what you see on TV and movies. Believe it or not, we actually share brotherhood with one another on a deeper level than parties. Whenever I am troubled my brothers are the first people I turn to. My fraternity is the only one with a national philanthropy, which my chapter utilizes to help our community. Believe it or not, fraternities are not bad. I will admit that there are other fraternities on campus who do live out the stereotypes which unfortunately fall back onto us simply because we are Greek. As Alexander the Great said, "Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all."
As a Resident Assistant, or an RA, life is always a joy. Who wouldn't want to wake up at three in the morning to let a drunken resident into their room? Or bust someone for alcohol or pot? Or listen to residents complain about their roommate having sex while they're trying to sleep? I do get my own bathroom, though.
Which brings me to college. Ah, college. The time in every young person's life when responsibility takes a back seat to mayhem. When mistakes are encouraged, and maturity is mocked. Go out and spend every cent you have at the bar and pizza joints. It's ok, it's college! No really, it's ok to cut class because you have a hangover. Don't worry about that attendance policy, it won't matter when you really get sick. And sleep? That's so 2008. Real college students know that just a few hours of sleep is all one really needs, as long as you get that 12 hour pour nap during the weekend. Surely that can't be unhealthy.
In short, that's who makes up your friendly neighborhood Beast. Alas, it seems to be that time again, when I must leave the joy of procrastination and return to the world of schoolwork. This shall be my release though, when future days arrive. Instead of a journal, I will blog my way through difficulties and the tough decisions I have to make. This will be my outlet. Until then, I'm going to post another short story that I wrote a while back, so that this post will have some company at night.
-Beast
PS- I'm not sure if one uses a pen name when writing blogs, but I will. And Beast is my nickname, so Marvel please don't sue me.
The study room I'm in is a claustrophobic one, filled with a table and my friend Jenn. We're swapping notes and reviewing history when we're not checking facebook. Mom if you're reading this, we are doing work so please don't worry. The walls are sound proof, I'm assuming, because when our friends stop by we are quite louder than what I imagine our librarians would desire, yet nobody complains. This week is the week before finals week. The library is crammed with students of all majors learning all the information they didn't fit in over the school year. Next week I'm sure it will be worse. As for me, I am looking forward to a relaxing day tomorrow. For once I am not overbooked with school, fraternity, and work.
Since this is the start of my blog, and I'm sure it will sail to legendary heights and I will soon become famous, I feel that I owe my readers a short biography about myself. I'm a baller. Though I think this is sufficient information, Jenn is telling me that I should elaborate a little more. I'm in college, I'm a Fraternity Man, and I'm a Resident Assistant, and these are where most if not all of my stories will come from.
I would like to take the time to mention my fraternity. I hope those who are not familiar with Greek life or those who have had bad experiences with the Greek communities are not turned off by this immediately. Yes we party and throw down, but no we are not what you see on TV and movies. Believe it or not, we actually share brotherhood with one another on a deeper level than parties. Whenever I am troubled my brothers are the first people I turn to. My fraternity is the only one with a national philanthropy, which my chapter utilizes to help our community. Believe it or not, fraternities are not bad. I will admit that there are other fraternities on campus who do live out the stereotypes which unfortunately fall back onto us simply because we are Greek. As Alexander the Great said, "Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all."
As a Resident Assistant, or an RA, life is always a joy. Who wouldn't want to wake up at three in the morning to let a drunken resident into their room? Or bust someone for alcohol or pot? Or listen to residents complain about their roommate having sex while they're trying to sleep? I do get my own bathroom, though.
Which brings me to college. Ah, college. The time in every young person's life when responsibility takes a back seat to mayhem. When mistakes are encouraged, and maturity is mocked. Go out and spend every cent you have at the bar and pizza joints. It's ok, it's college! No really, it's ok to cut class because you have a hangover. Don't worry about that attendance policy, it won't matter when you really get sick. And sleep? That's so 2008. Real college students know that just a few hours of sleep is all one really needs, as long as you get that 12 hour pour nap during the weekend. Surely that can't be unhealthy.
In short, that's who makes up your friendly neighborhood Beast. Alas, it seems to be that time again, when I must leave the joy of procrastination and return to the world of schoolwork. This shall be my release though, when future days arrive. Instead of a journal, I will blog my way through difficulties and the tough decisions I have to make. This will be my outlet. Until then, I'm going to post another short story that I wrote a while back, so that this post will have some company at night.
-Beast
PS- I'm not sure if one uses a pen name when writing blogs, but I will. And Beast is my nickname, so Marvel please don't sue me.
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