Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Note: This is an ongoing solo that starts when Alex first arrives at the school and continues intermittently through his weeks/months at the school leading up to his visit back home))




Alex opened the door to his new 'home', suitcase in hand as he pushed his way into the chill air. The room itself was quite bare. A desk with a chair, a bed that he'd probably never use, a closet that was probably too big for what little he had, a bookshelf, already filled with books..all things his family had helped move in before his official arrival. He'd put off leaving home for as long as possible, not sure how he would feel once away from the horde and not entirely looking forward to the experience.

But he was here, he had made it, and so far...he was feeling not too bad.

He tossed the suitcase up onto the bed first, unlatching it and flipping back the top to reveal an incredibly small collection of clothing, a lap top, some books, and a plastic bag that he carefully removed and opened to reveal his collection of ties that he had brought with him. A small smile graced his features as he looked for a place to put them. He eyed the closet, thinking he could probably just hang them in there for now until he got more suitable something to hang them on. A tie rack perhaps? He'd have to see what the local shops or the Maul nearby had to sell.

He shuffled over to slide open the closet door, only to reveal a surprise sitting within. A tie rack, with a tag attached to it. The familiar scrawl of his moms hand beckoned him to lift the tag and read the words. "Dear Alex, I wanted to surprise you and thought you could use this. Call it a housewarming gift of sorts. Miss you already. Mum."

The zomboil swallowed back a lump in his throat as he let the tag fall, and grabbed a hold of the wooden rack to carry it out of the closet and situate it in an appropriate area. He then, very mechanically, began to hang his ties, one by one, unfolding each carefully before placing it on the rack. Once finished he stood back to admire his collection, before turning back towards the suitcase and making his way over to it to remove the rest of the contents.

His lap top went on the desk, the books into whatever space was still left on the bookshelf. The clothes, they went into the closet (he threw the pants and socks on the floor but hung up the shirts, at least.)

All in all the process maybe took him twenty minutes before he was finished.

His pets, which were still back home, would have to wait a little longer to join him at the school. His mom had assured him she would send somebody along with them by the next day, anyways. Probably his dad, she had said. That would be nice...

Thinking of his family made him fish his brand new eyephone out of his pocket, and he looked at it for a time, still so shiny and new, just like his new life here. He began tapping at the screen, and raised the small device to his ear.

There was a pause as he waited for somebody to answer on the other end, and then a small smile.

"Mom? Ya, I made it ok. Got everything unpacked." He lifted up a hand to run fingers through his mop of hair as he waited, then spoke again "Naw, I have't even gone to the office to get my schedule yet, just wanted to call and let you know I was here. I probably won't bother til morning now. When do you think dad is bringing...oh ok, I'll maybe wait for them first then, before I figure out my classes." he frowned then, "No mom, it's not a big deal, I'm here a couple days early anyways, remember? You wanted me to get settled in and make sure I was comfortable. Anyways, stop talking! I want to thank you for the tie rack." A smile then, and a chuckle "Well if you'd let me get a word in edgewise I might have been nicer about it." He teased, his smile almost splitting his face now at whatever his mom was saying to him on the other side, but then he shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Yes mom, I'll make sure I get something to eat." He could go hunting around the dorm, right? He sure hoped so, since he had no idea where there might be a place to eat, and he wasn't feeling particularly adventurous at the moment. "Ok, mom" and then "..mom?" and finally "..MOM!" he practically shouted in exasperation. "I'm going now, ok? Say hi to the rest of the family for me. Ya ya, I know. Bye." He pulled the phone away from his ear, the smile on his face fading a little around the edges as the hallow feeling in his chest creeped back in.

You'll be ok, it'll just take some getting used to, is all. You can always go back for a visit whenever you want. He told himself, before dropping the phone back inside his pocket and shuffling over to sit in front of his laptop with another sigh.

Alex had spent the entire day, lying in bed. He had no intentions of getting out of his bed, no matter how many times he heard his phone buzzing on his desk. Just..nope, not today. Today was for not moving, not breathing, not thinking. Never thinking. If he thought about anything, it would eventually lead to the way it felt to be trapped beneath a net that had sapped away his Fear. It would be about how it felt to actually be tired, for his eyes to close and for his mind to be taken over by sleep for the first time in his unlife. It would be about the fire that seared the flesh from his bones, the agonizing pain of burning to death, the feeling of dissipating for the first time into Fear particles..

He would not think about any of that, and so, he chose not to think at all. He chose to not do anything.

His phone continued to buzz. He continued to ignore it.

"No mom, the school hasn't been shut down, I told you." He sighed, as he paced the floor of his room, kicking pieces of garbage around. It seemed like they had been having this conversation for the last hour. How many times did he have to explain it to her?

"No, I said they were going to shut the school down, but then we all did a bunch of tests and passed and now everything is fine. Are you just hearing what you want to hear?" He was gesturing wildly with one hand, which was fairly ridiculous since it wasn't like anybody but his pets could see it anyways, and they were hidden under the trash that littered his dorm room floor.

"Yes, yes exactly! Finally you understand!" He shook his head, reaching up to run fingers through his hair before letting his arm drop back down to his side again. "The school is still open, I don't need you to send anybody to bring me home. I'll be coming home in a couple of months to visit anyways, you know that."

He shambled over to his bedside, then flopped down on the edge, sprawling his long legs out in front of him while he listened to whatever was happening on the other end of the line. "Oh really? Well that's good. Nah, I don't need you to send me anymore more money, mom. I still have plenty." His eyes drifted up towards the ceiling as he listened. "Ya, I think I've made a couple more friends...well, one for sure, and I tried out for the school play to help me meet some more people as well. What's that? Oh, uh, it's called the cracker of the nuts. Ya I know, it's dumb, but I wanted to get myself involved. Mom..please stop laughing at me. No I don't know what part I got yet, I don't even know if I've gotten a part...Ok, seriously, you're still laughing and that's really not doing much for my self esteem you know." He made his voice sound flat and unimpressed, but he was still smiling when he said it.

Now she was asking him about this new friend he had made. "Uh well, he's a weremantis...ya, those exist mom. Are you trying to be funny or are you being serious right now? Ok good, you had me worried for a second." He frowned, though it was good to hear his mom joking around so much for once rather then trying to convince him to move back home. She must have been getting used to him being gone, or was just having a really good day. "Uh, he just needed help in the library, and we talked a bit, seemed like a nice guy. Pft, it totally counts as a new friend, don't even tell me it doesn't. Ok mom, I'm gonna go now. Yep...yep...no! I told you I don't need anymore money! Ok, bye..BYE MOM!" He rolled his eyes and threw the phone onto one of the pillows on the bed, then flopped back himself, hands behind his head and legs still sprawled out to the floor.