The Freshman No One Dared Room With Chapter 1

On move-in day at my new university, I was buzzing with excitement. I had hauled a bunch of homemade baked goods all the way from my hometown, totally ready to win over my new roommates.

But the moment I finished my awkward little introduction, the vibe shifted. Before I could even unpack, these three guys literally shoved me back out into the hallway, their faces twisted in pure disgust. They made it aggressively clear they were not sharing a room with me.

The situation escalated straight to the Resident Director. Mr. Harrison looked completely stressed out by the whole ordeal, but he scrambled to find me an empty bed in another freshman dorm.

Except, history repeated itself. I had barely dragged my suitcase to the new door when the guys inside blocked the entrance.

They did not just refuse to let me in. They flat out declared they would rather drop out of college than breathe the same air as me.

I was losing my mind trying to figure out why. Had someone been spreading rumors about me?

But I had literally never crossed anyone in my life. I scoured the freshman Discord servers, the campus subreddit, and the anonymous confession pages. There was absolutely zero mention of my name.

I tried chatting up other guys in my classes. At first, they would talk to me normally. But the second I casually mentioned needing a roommate, their expressions would freeze, and they would immediately find an excuse to walk away.

And the worst part? Not a single person was willing to look me in the eye and tell me what I was doing wrong.

* * *

"Mr. Harrison, we absolutely refuse to live with him."

"Yeah, if you force us to take him, I'm literally packing my bags right now."

"Guys, come on..."

Mr. Harrison sighed, realizing his attempts to mediate were completely useless. He shot me a helpless look.

"Look, guys, I'm really sorry to ask, but could you just tell me why?" I reached out, gently grabbing one of the guy's sleeves in pure desperation. "I'm super chill, I swear. I stayed in dorms during high school. I am not the type to cause drama."

He just glared at me and violently shook off my hand.

"There is no 'why.' We just aren't rooming with you. End of story."

I stared at my heavy suitcase, feeling a wave of exhaustion crash over me. I leaned against the doorframe, fighting back tears.

I had always been a quiet, introverted guy. I did not have a massive friend group, but I never made enemies either. I just could not understand why arriving in a brand new city, at a brand new school, surrounded by total strangers, felt like a punishment.

Everyone was treating me like I was radioactive.

"I am so sorry, Arthur. I just can't find a single room willing to take you right now," Mr. Harrison said softly, giving my shoulder a sympathetic pat. "We don't have any single dorms available. How about you stay at a cheap motel off campus for a few days? I will keep trying to shuffle some room assignments."

He offered a weak smile. "Don't stress too much. People probably just got the wrong idea about you. Once they get to know you, it'll all blow over."

That sparked a thought. Did someone say something about me?

Mr. Harrison's words triggered a frantic search. I pulled out my phone and scrolled endlessly through every class group chat, the campus forums, and social media pages.

I scrolled until my thumb cramped. Nothing. Not a single post about me.

Besides, I was the only kid from my small town high school to get accepted here. There was literally nobody on this campus who even knew my past.

While I was sitting in an empty lecture hall, totally lost in my own head, someone called my name.

"Arthur! No way, we have the same class?"

I looked up and recognized Noah. He was the very first person I met on campus.

On my way to orientation, he had suffered a severe blood sugar drop and nearly passed out on the sidewalk. I was the one who caught him, ran to a vending machine, and shoved a sports drink and a granola bar into his hands. I had to rush off to move my stuff before we could even swap numbers, so seeing him here felt like a miracle.

"Noah! Man, does your room have an empty bed? Can I please be your roommate?"

I grabbed his arm, clinging to him like he was a life raft.