You see, puking is sort of a hobby for me. Ate too much and don’t want to deal with calories? Puke. Nervous as fuck? Puke. Want to feel a little better for no particular reason? Puke. It’s my favorite thing in the world, although it sucks so bad. But that’s just life. Almost everything is good and bad. Puking isjust like that, although the doctors disagree. They say it’s just my fucked up head that thinks like that.
Now I hold it together and walk into my new home. Ethan follows me in, still quiet, and the bunks are all taken except for one lower bed, on the left wall. My new home.
The guy in the top left bunk doesn’t move or even glance at me when I walk in. He has black hair, longer than mine, lots of tattoos, and a scowl even meaner than Ethan’s. His whole vibe screams, ‘Don't come near, don’t talk to me, don’t even look my way.’ I’ve met plenty of those types on the streets, and if he’s anything like he looks, better to steer clear.
The guy on the lower bunk, though, stands up and flashes a huge grin at me. He has blond hair buzzed on the sides, and a big Batman tattoo under his ear, on his neck. Also, he has a little hole in his ear, probably from a gauge back in the day. Brown eyes and a big smile. He isn't as big or beefy as Ethan, but he’s definitely fit. He’s also fucking hot, which makes me wonder if I’m damn lucky or just crazy needy.
“Take care of him,” Griff says, smiling as he closes the door behind him.
"Hey, you must be the new guy they said was coming," the blond guy says, all friendly, and I still think it’s so weird that nobody has screamed at me or kicked me in the face yet. "I’m Jack."
"Hi! Liam," I say, not sure if I should act all broody like top bunk guy and Ethan or just be myself. Never been great at pretending, especially since I’m gonna live with these dudes. So, I just shrug. It is what it is. I’ll be the clown I usually am.
Ethan walks over to the single bed under the window. The other bunk on the opposite wall has just the top bed occupied. The guy from there also climbs down and waves at me, with another friendly smile. He has small eyes that slant up at thecorners, straight black hair, and round glasses, Asian heritage if I had to guess. He’s about my height, which doesn't make him the tallest guy around, at five foot eight.
"Hey," he says. "I’m Harry."
"Liam. This my bed?" I ask, pointing to the lower bunk, and Harry nods.
"Top bunks are basically VIP seats in this place. Miles up there is royalty. Obviously, I'm not quite there yet," Jack jokes. Miles ignores us, pretending no one ever addressed him. But I don't mind it, I figure I’ll probably get along with that blond guy, and no one has been too aggressive or too much of a giant prick, so I'm counting my wins.
“Except for our boss here, of course,” Harry chimes in sarcastically, throwing a hand towards Ethan. "He’s got the single bed. It doesn't shake, and it's softer than your mom's ass."
Ethan just grunts and rolls his eyes. "If you guys had half the stuff to deal with that I do, maybe you'd earn this bed too," he shoots back. I’m not too sure I like Ethan, despite how fucking hot he is. What’s his deal? Does he really think he’s our boss or something? Iknowhe’s a ‘leader’ or something, but still.
"So, what do we do now?" I ask, flopping down on my new bed. It’s super hard, but oh, well. Jack settles back on his bed beside mine, and Harry climbs back to the top bunk above mine.
"Nothing," Jack says. "Now it’sQuiet Time," he adds, doing air quotes. "Every day, we get locked in here for three hours to just do nothing. I mean, it's very convenient to give the staff a break. But, also, the official excuse is that we gotta meditate and think about how to do better in life, or some shit like that."
"Now it’s sounding even more like jail," I say. Jack laughs.
"You get used to it," he tells me. "Most of us just nap. It’s right after lunch anyway. Could be worse. Just jerk off if you're toobored. We don't care."
"And what if you gotta pee?" I ask. Jack and Harry crack up.
"You hold it. Or, if you're desperate, find a bottle and go in that. Or if Ethan is feeling super generous, maybe he’ll escort us," Harry says, poking fun at Ethan again.
"No way," Ethan snaps back. "I always tell you guys to go beforehand. Not my job to sort you out."
What a jerk.Part of me wants to mess with him, just say I'll piss my pants and make it everyone's problem. But I let it go. Too exhausted to call him out on not doing his job.
I kick off my shoes, settle into bed, ready for that nap, and just then, the bag of weed falls out onto the floor.
"Shoot, totally forgot about that," I say. I reach for it, but Jack is quicker.
"Is that what I think it is?" he asks with a huge mischievous look on his face, his eyes glinting. I laugh.
"Oops. My ADHD must've forgotten to flag it. If you want, I’m down to share, but you guys gotta hook me up with your contact here so I can get more."
Jack cracks up, but Ethan storms over. I swear to God, one second, he’s lying down, and the next he’s towering over us, angry as fuck. He yanks the bag from Jack's hand and stares at me like I’m the devil incarnate. His green eyes are blazing now.
"You broughtweedinto my room?" he roars, holding the bag up in front of me.
"Hey, hey, hey, chill. Just give it back, man," I say, my heart racing, probably because I have a thing for getting scolded by hot, bear-sized guys. But Ethan isn't finding any humor in it; he looks genuinely pissed.
“Are you fucking stupid or what?”
"Come on, man. It's just weed. I bet there's tons of it around here, and it’s not like I was gonna smoke it in front of the guards. Chill out," I try to calm him down. Everybody else is quiet as fuck now, like they all fear him or something.
