Secrets: The Truth is Slowly Revealed - 9. Chapter 9 S1

Chapter 9 – Orientation

As soon as we woke up the following morning, we got dressed and went out for to get a bite to eat. After that, we made our way over to the building listed in our letter as to where Freshman Orientation was going to be held. When we signed in, we were handed a packet that contained several items, and this included a name tag we were to wear, a student handbook, and another map of the campus. There was also an academic catalog that listed all of the course offerings for each department.

We were then assigned to a room in one of the residence halls and given a temporary roommate for the night. What they did was to pair us up with the next person in line, as long as we were the same sex and didn’t come from the same town or high school. Fortunately, it meant that Devin and I were assigned to be roommates, since our paperwork listed different hometowns and high schools, since his family had moved away from Jamesville.

Once we had those items and been assigned as roommates, we were instructed to go over and get in one of the lines to be photographed for our student IDs. As soon as that had been taken care of, we were allowed to roam around briefly and get acquainted with some of the other freshmen.

Since the orientation sessions were offered at several different times during the late summer, there was roughly a fifth of the incoming freshman class in attendance, but that was still over a thousand people. For that reason, I quickly got tired of saying, “Hi, I’m Michael MacPherson and I’m from Jamesville, Colorado. It’s nice to meet you.”

I was surprised by how many of the other students I met that were from out of state or even another country. I was under the impression that the majority of students would be from Colorado, although I suppose in the end that might still be true. It’s just that since I’d only met a limited number of this year’s freshman class, those I met from out of state or were foreign students probably only accounted for a small percentage of the total freshman class. It still seemed like a lot to me, though.

Eventually, we were directed to go to one of the large lecture halls for the welcoming remarks and informational session. As soon as everyone was seated, we were greeted by the President of the University, and then he introduced the various Deans or Assistant Deans from the different departments. After we were introduced to the dean representing our majors, a stream of other speakers came to the podium to tell us about various aspects of student life.

During this time, we were informed about general school policies, including the honor code, and we were made aware of some safety rules. Following that, we were told about various campus amenities and given information about the different residence halls. Once that had been taken care of, we were advised that we’d be receiving our room assignments for the first semester in an email.

After all of this had been completed, the representatives from various clubs and other organizations paraded up to the podium next. Each one gave us a brief account of what their group did or stood for, and then they invited us to sign up, if we were interested. This included remarks about the campus newspaper, the campus radio station, the American Sign Language Club, and various political groups, as well as opportunities to participate in intercollegiate and intramural sports.

Once they’d given their pitches, we were greeted by a representative from the Panhellenic Recruitment Management Team, and he gave us a brief introduction to Greek Life on campus. In other words, he told us about sorority and fraternity life on campus. This included a brief explanation about Pledge Week, and then the representatives from each of the sororities and fraternities gave us more information about their particular organization. This included the types of recruits they were looking for and hoped we would consider signing up, if we met their requirements.

“Now that you know a little about what is expected of you and the opportunities you’ll have here as CSU students, it’s time for you to be given a brief tour of the campus. There are multiple buses lined up outside and you can get on any of the buses, as long as there are still seats available. An upperclassman will go with you and narrate the tour to familiarize you with the various buildings and other facilities on campus. When the tour ends, your bus will drop you off at an area where an outdoor luncheon buffet is being set up for you to enjoy.”

As we were making our way to one of the buses, Devin made a comment. “Only half of that stuff was interesting, while the rest was boring and nothing I cared about.”

“Yeah, it was pretty much the same for me, but this tour should be informative. Even though we drove around the campus yesterday, this time we’ll have someone telling us about what we’re seeing, so it should help.”

“Yes, so we’ll need to pay attention.”

We picked up a lot on this tour, but it would have been better if we’d known which residence hall we’d be in this fall so we could have paid more attention to that particular location. It was obvious there was a wide array of designs in the residence halls, which ranged from two, three, four, and five story buildings, as well as the high-rise buildings that had up to a dozen stories.

“I don’t think I want to be in one of the high-rises,” I told Devin.

“Why not?”

“The more floors there are in a building means more people and more noise. I prefer to be able to study so I can get good grades. After all, you said we’ll need to graduate Magna Cum Laude or higher, so we won’t have room to mess up.”

“Ah, good point.”

After completing the tour, the buses dropped us off at the area where we’d be having lunch. We could see there were multiple tables set up with food and drinks on them, so we began making our way toward them. We were about ten yards away from one of the tables with food on it when someone pushed his way between us and knocked us off to the side.

“Get out of the way, runts and let a hungry man through to fill his plate.”

When we looked up, we spotted a husky looking guy about 6’ 2” tall (188 cm) as he made his way to one of the food tables. He was obviously the person who’d just knocked us out of the way.

“Runts? We aren’t the smallest students here,” I quipped. “There are some girls and other guys shorter than us. I mean, you’re 5’7” (170 cm) and I’m 5’11” (180 cm), so what the hell was he talking about?”

“It probably has something to do with the fact that we’re both slender, as well as shorter than him.”

“Yeah, but that was just rude.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t the only thing we saw that guy do.

After we made our way around the various tables and filled our plates, we also grabbed a drink before we sat down to eat. We also made sure to keep an eye on the guy who’d been so uncouth, and that’s when we noticed what else he was doing. At different times he was being verbally abusive to other timid looking freshman, but that wasn’t all. We also saw him approach different girls so he could talk to them, even if it meant he had to interrupt the other guy or girl that she was speaking with at the time.

“Damn, he’s obnoxiously rude and someone should teach him a lesson,” I stated.

“Yeah, he probably ruled the roost wherever he came from and he apparently thinks he can do whatever he wants here as well. He’ll soon realize it isn’t going to work that way here, though, because I know just the guy who will put him in his place.”

I glanced over at Devin and he had a devilish grin on his face. “And who might that be?”

“Oh, I’m referring to a friend of mine who shows up whenever he’s needed. I’m talking about Mr. Hyde and I’ll have to ask him to look for that asshole later and show him what it’s like being on the receiving end.”

“What are you planning now?” I asked, mildly concerned.

“I’ll tell you about it later, because Mr. Hyde will need your help as well. But for now, it’s time to eat.”

“Uhhh, are you sure about this? That guy’s a pretty big dude.”

“Yes, he is, but he’s not nearly as big or strong as Mr. Hyde.”

“Is Mr. Hyde the guy from the diner?”

“Oh, no! That was just one of the personas I use to handle minor problems. Mr. Hyde is much larger and I have special clothes that I brought with me that are way bigger than the clothes I wore when I transitioned into that guy at the diner. Think of Mr. Hyde as Andre the Giant. You know the guy who played Fezzik in The Princess Bride, only Mr. Hyde is better looking.”

“Damn, that guy was humongous.”

“I know, and that rude creep will know about him pretty soon as well.”

Realizing how Devin becomes when he’s intent on doing something, as well as being familiar with nearly every inch of his body, I’m amazed that he can transform into something so much bigger and more muscular than himself. I say this because at some point he’ll also have to take the form of a baby so he can secure a new identity for the next phase of his life, but that’s a consideration for later.

In the end, the buffet the college offered turned out to be adequate, although nothing spectacular, but it filled us up for the afternoon session. When we finished eating, we tossed the disposable plates, plastic utensils, and napkins in the trash and our drink containers in a recycling barrel before chatting with some of the other freshmen. We avoided Mr. Rude, though, since we planned to introduce ourselves to him later, although not nearly as nicely as we were doing with our other classmates.

As we were finishing up, one of the administrators requested our attention so he could make an announcement. “When you’re ready, we want those of you who have already chosen your majors to meet with the members of that department. At the same time, we want those of you who haven’t committed to a major to meet with me and a few others in the following lecture hall.”

He then told us where each group was to go.

“What am I going to do?” I asked Devin. “You don’t have it too bad, because your majors are in the same general location, but mine are a little farther apart.”

“Just choose one and go there. I’m sure either place will be able to help you out.”

I decided to go to the Mathematics building, since it was the major I’d listed on the paperwork I’d sent back to the college. When I arrived at that location, there were tables set up outside of the lecture hall and each table covered a specific section of the alphabet, depending on our last names, so I got in line. When it was my turn, I was asked my name and then the person on the other side of the table fumbled through a cardboard file box until she came to a large envelope with my name listed on it.

After she handed it to me, I took the envelope and entered the lecture hall. As soon as I sat down, I opened the envelope to see what it contained. Inside I found the log-in information that I’d need in order to sign into the school’s Wi-Fi, as well as the name of my faculty advisor and a suggested list of courses I should enroll in.

As soon as everyone had his or her packet and was seated, we waited to see what was going to happen next. Before long, the head of the Mathematics department entered the room and welcomed us.

“I’m pleased to see that such a large number of the freshman class has chosen mathematics as their major. Of course, you probably all have different reasons for choosing this major, and even though it won’t be easy, I’m certain you will be greatly rewarded for committing to it in the long run.”

He then introduced each of the professors in the mathematics department and told us which courses they taught. We were also told which of those courses we’d be required to take and which ones were electives, and then he gave each professor a chance to address the group. After they’d told us about their particular subject or subjects, they also answered any questions we had about our major, as well as any other questions we had about the information in the packet we’d just received.

During this time, I zeroed in on the professor who would also be my faculty advisor, because we’d been told that we would be meeting with our advisors the following day. My faculty advisor was Dr. Lerner and he seemed like a nice guy, as well as being quite handsome. I’m sure I’ll enjoy my meeting with him, and I’ll even consider taking every course he teaches.

This session lasted for quite a while, and when it broke up we were told that we could go to the residence hall and meet up with the person we’d be sharing the room with for the evening. The guys were going to be staying at Westfall Hall and the girls at Durward Hall, both of which are towers, or high-rises. We were also informed that we’d find a pillow, sheets, blankets, a towel, and a washcloth stacked neatly on our bed.

This immediately made me think of Devin, and that’s when I realized we hadn’t made any arrangement to meet up again once these sessions ended. He might be done already, or he may not finish up for another half hour, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to do? After thinking it over, I decided to walk to the residence hall and catch up with him there. We could then go to the dining hall together for supper, since everyone would be eating at the same dining hall this evening.

As I was walking to the residence hall, I heard someone yell my name.

“Hey, Mac, wait up!”

I recognized Devin’s voice, so I turned around and saw him jogging in my direction. When he caught up, he spoke.

“Our meeting didn’t last as long as yours, so when I realized your meeting was taking longer I decided to run an errand.”

“What kind of errand?”

“I’ll tell you about it later, because we have to hurry.”

I was slightly annoyed that he wouldn’t just say what he’d done. He’s been keeping secrets from me since we were little, but he should know by now that he can trust me. He’s told me all about his family and how they became skinwalkers, so haven’t I proven myself yet and that I’m able to keep a secret? I still couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just tell me, but I walked with him to the residence hall. As soon as we arrived there, we made our way to the room we’d been assigned to and entered. After looking around, Devin spoke.

“Do you want the bunk in the clouds or the one on the floor?”

Although they were basically the same, they weren’t exactly what you’d think of as typical bunk beds. The upper bunk had a desk beneath it, instead of a lower bunk, and the other bunk was on the floor on the opposite side of the room. The desk for that bunk was at the foot of the bed, but other than the height of the bed, they were basically the same.

“I’m not afraid of heights so I’ll take this one,” I replied.

“That’s fine with me, but you’ll probably be sharing my bed later.”

“That will be a tight squeeze, with both of us in your bed.”

“That’s why there’s a wall on one side, so I can slide over and not have to worry about falling out.”

“Ok, if you say so.”

“I do, and now I just have to pack a few special items in one of those plastic bags and then I’ll leave it where I can get to it quickly and change into before we deal with Mr. Big Shot.”

“I thought you were calling him Mr. Rude.”

“That too, and either name will do fine.”

After Devin packed those items in one of the large plastic shopping bags that he’d brought from home, we made both beds before we headed over to the dining hall for supper. That place reminded me of the high school cafeteria to some extent, although it was much larger and there were more choices on the menu. When we finished eating, we followed the other students over to another location, because that’s where tonight’s social gathering was being held. Before we went inside, however, Devin led me around the outside of the building until he found a place to leave the plastic bag. As soon as that had been taken care of, we returned to the entrance of the building, went inside, and then we started looking around.

There were balloons and streamers hanging from the ceiling and going from wall-to-wall, and we also noticed the school had recruited a DJ to provide the entertainment. We eventually decided the DJ was there as a way to encourage the guys to go over and introduce themselves to the girls and possibly ask them to dance or merely chat as they got to know one another. Someone, most likely one of the administrators, must have thought this was a good idea, but this is college, not a middle or high school gathering.

After we spotted Mr. Big Shot, a.k.a. Mr. Rude, Devin handed me an uninflated balloon that looked as if it had just come out of a new package.

“Where did you get this?”

“I swung by this location earlier, while I was waiting for your meeting to break up, and I slipped it into my pocket before they had a chance to blow it up. Take it and go over to the restroom so you can fill it with water.”

“What for?”

“You’re going to use it to get Mr. Big Shot’s attention.”

“Whoa, wait a second. Are you trying to get me killed? What do you have planned?”

“When you fill it, go outside and I’ll meet you there to wait for him to come out of the building. I just want to make sure he doesn’t leave before then. As soon as you come outside to join me, I’ll go change so I’m ready to deal with Mr. Big Shot.”

“I take it that’s why you put those really large clothes in the plastic bag and then left them out there?”

“Yeah, it’s so my other clothes won’t get ripped when I transition into Mr. Hyde. After I change, I’ll stash my regular clothes in the plastic bag until we’re done, and then we’ll wait for Mr. Rude to come outside. When he does, I want you to yell and get his attention first, and then I want you to throw the water balloon at him. After it hits him, I want you to run around the corner of the building over there and I’ll be waiting to intercept Mr. Rude when he chases you.”

“What if he doesn’t chase me?”

“Oh, he will. He won’t be able to let a challenge like that slide.”

After I filled the balloon with water, we went outside and waited near the corner I was to run around later. After about a half an hour, we saw Mr. Big Shot exit the building and he was with a girl.

“Oh, this is perfect,” Devin said when he saw him. “Go get him, champ.”

I walked in our target’s direction, and when I got close enough I yelled to get his attention. “Hey, asshole, remember me?”

At the same time I threw the water balloon in his direction. He didn’t spot me right away since there were others milling about, and the water in the balloon must have been heavier than I’d assumed. I’d aimed it at his head, but it ended up hitting him in the chest instead and drenched him with water.

He only spotted me at the last moment and didn’t have time to avoid contact with the balloon, and once it hit him he swore and then began to chase me as I turned to run. As I rounded the corner of the building, I had to maneuver to avoid Devin, but our friend wasn’t so lucky and ran smack into him.

Devin’s new body was very impressive, because he stood about 6’ 10” tall (208 cm) and it put Arnold Schwarzenegger’s physique from when he played Conan the Barbarian to shame. The guy fell backward when he collided with Devin and looked up in awe and disbelief. However, before Mr. Rude had time to get up, Devin bent over, put his hands in the guy’s armpits, and lifted him off the ground like he was picking up a toddler. The guy’s feet were a good six inches (15 cm) above the ground as Devin looked him in the eye as he spoke.

“I hear you like to bully people that are smaller than you and push them around. Since you’re smaller than me, I think I’ll do the same thing to you.”

Devin then flung the guy backward and I watched as Mr. Rude’s arms and legs began flailing about as he attempted to catch his balance. It was to no avail, though, and he landed on his backside with a thump, which left him partially dazed.

“I don’t want to hear of you doing anything like that again,” Devin said after walking over and standing above the guy again. “Be advised that I’m enrolled here at CSU as well and I’ll hear if anything like that happens again. If it does, then I’ll come looking for you, but next time I won’t be so nice or so gentle. Do I make myself clear?”

“Uhhh, ye…yeah, you do,” the guy stammered.

“Then get your ass out of here, runt, and go see if that girl is still waiting to hang out with a loser like you.”

After he took off, Devin and I continued walking until we reached the back of the building where Devin had stashed the plastic bag with his clothes. Once no one else could see what he was doing, Devin transitioned back into his normal body, took off the really large clothes, and put on the other clothes again. He then put the really large clothes in the plastic bag and carried it as we walked along the rear wall of the building, heading toward the far end.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about Mr. Tough Guy any longer, and I’m sure he’ll spread the word about this to others.”

“So, you’re giving him a new alias?”

“Yeah, I think it fits.”

“I hope you’re right and he doesn’t do anything like that again. I also hope he warns others about Mr. Hyde as well.”

Once we reached the other end of the building, we made our way back to the residence hall and headed up to the room we were staying in. After Devin put the plastic bag with the larger clothes in it away, we decided to get ready for bed, and this meant we had to go to the communal bathroom. We only wore our underwear and a pair of flip-flops as we made our way there and carried our towels and shaving kits with us.

When we arrived, we went inside and were in for a huge surprise, because the bathroom wasn’t what we expected. There were five regular toilet stalls and a handicap stall along the back wall and no urinals in sight. We also spotted four sinks directly across from the toilets, and located behind the sinks were five private showers stalls, instead of a large group shower.

“Maybe this is the girls’ bathroom,” I quickly reasoned.

“Possibly, but I think they might all be like this.”

“Damn, this sucks then!” I groused. “I was looking forward to taking long showers with the other guys while we were here.”

“I guess you’ll just have to settle for me.”

“You mean we’re going to shower together in the same shower stall? How do you think the other guys are going to react if they see us doing that?”

“Who cares? It’s none of their business. As far as they’re concerned, we’re just friends.”

“Maybe in here, but I hope we’re going to be more than that when we’re alone in our room.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that.”

”Ok, I hope not.”

After brushing our teeth and taking a shower, we wrapped our towels around our waists and carried everything else with us as we made our way back to the room. Once inside, we removed the towels and draped them over the desk chairs, and then I climbed up to the top bunk.

“Hey, what are you doing up there?” Devin asked.

“Oh, I’m just trying to make the bed appear as if it had been slept in. I figured it would look kind of weird if only one bed looked as if it had been used, since we supposedly just met.”

“Oh, yeah.”

After lying down on the top bunk for a couple of minutes and moving around, I covered myself with the top sheet and blanket before I climbed down again. As soon as I reached the floor, we both climbed into Devin’s bed.

“So, what do you have in mind?” Devin asked as we were laying side-by-side.

“I guess we should just suck each other off and I’ll take care of you first. Once I’m done, then you can do the same to me.”

I sucked Devin off and did the best job I could. He must have enjoyed it, because he had a satisfied grin on his face when I was done.

Now that I’d taken care of him, he did the same thing in return. Once we were both sated, he moved next to the wall and I backed into him so he could cuddle with me as we slept.

When we woke up the next morning, we got dressed, grabbed our backpacks, and went to the dining hall to get a bite to eat. As soon as we finished, we had to return to whichever building we’d finished up in the previous day. When I arrived there, I spotted a list that was attached to an easel and it contained the names of the various faculty advisors for the math department and listed a room number next to their name.

I then went to the appropriate room to meet with my advisor so he could speak with me individually. I was the second person in line to meet with him, and when it was my turn I took the seat across from him and sat down.

“Let’s begin with you telling me what made you decide to be a math major,” Dr. Lerner stated.

“I’m actually a dual major. I’m going to major in Computer Science: Software Development and math.”

“That sounds like a very demanding program.”

“Not really. I’ve always done really well in math and knew it would help no matter what else I wanted to do later, but I decided on the dual major so I could get a job at the same place as my best friend.”

“What’s his major?”

“He’s taking a dual major as well, but his will be in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He wants to work for NASA.”

“Damn, you two seem to know what you want to do, so I hope you can keep up with the workload.”

“Oh, I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”

“Well, I’ll admit that I’ll have to do some research to see how the two majors are going to meld together.”

“That’s not necessary, because I’ve already done it.” I then pulled my laptop out of the backpack and showed him the Excel spreadsheet I’d worked out.”

“That’s very impressive. Would you mind if I printed out a copy of it so I can just double-check what you’ve done?”

“No, not at all.”

“I received your AP records and saw that you took AP algebra, trigonometry, and calculus in high school and earned an A in each one. It means you won’t be required to take the introductory courses in those subjects, and since you already know the other courses you need to sign up for, you’ll be able to register for your classes today. I suggest you do it as soon as possible, before those classes fill up.”

“Ok, I’ll be sure to do that.”

“But before you register for your classes, I’m going to send you over to speak with a financial aid advisor next, so you can make certain your billing information is taken care of.”

I thanked him and made my way over to speak with the financial aid representative.

“It appears as if both your scholarship and grant money has arrived, along with your student loan,” the representative explained. “We’ll use that money to cover as much of your tuition and room and board as we can, and then we’ll check to see how much more you still owe. Your parents will be billed to cover any shortages and they’ll have to take care of those charges before you’ll be allowed to attend classes. I believe we’ll also be able to set you up with a work-study position.”

“Uh, I’d rather not do that unless my parents still owe a lot, because I’ll be taking a dual major and will need as much time as possible to study. I want to be on the Dean’s list every semester because my friend and I believe that we’ll have to graduate at least Magna Cum Laude to get the jobs we want.”

“And why is that?”

“We assume we’ll have to compete with Ivy League graduates for those positions, so we’ll need to have impressive credentials in order to do that.”

“That’s very commendable and we can talk about this again later, after your parents get the bill for what is still owed.”

Once that had been dealt with, I was directed to go to the computer lab so I could register for my classes, since it was all done online. Luckily, I was one of the first freshmen in my majors to do it this session, and since the AP tests had allowed me to skip some of the basic courses, I got all of my first choices. After I finished up there, I went over and waited outside of the dining hall for Devin so we could have lunch together.

Before he showed up, though, the guy I’d hit with the water balloon walked by and he had a strange expression on his face when he saw me. It was a mixture of anger and fear, because he hated that I’d made him look like a fool in front of the girl he was with and wanted to get even. He was afraid to do that, however, because he was worried that Mr. Hyde would show up and come after him again. I watched as he glanced around briefly to see if Mr. Hyde was in the area, and even though he wasn’t able to spot his nemesis, he still picked up his pace and walked inside. A couple of minutes later, Devin showed up.

“Have you been waiting long?” he asked.

“Just long enough for last night’s victim to pass by.”

“Oh and how did that go?”

“He looked as if he wanted to tear me apart, but he was able to resist the urge. I assume it was because he didn’t want to have another run-in with Mr. Hyde.”

“Wise move on his part,” Devin replied with a grin, and then we went into the dining hall to eat.

“Did you get all the courses you wanted?” I asked in between bites.

“All but one, so I had to take an alternative. How did you do?”

“I arrived early and got all of my first choices.”

“Lucky you.”

“Did you also meet up with a person from financial aid?”

“Yeah, but it didn’t take very long, because I didn’t have much to do there.”

“Why not?”

“I’ll tell you later, either when we get to the dorm room or on the way back to your place.”

“Ok, just don’t forget to tell me how you avoided that.”

“I won’t.”