Vᴀɴᴅᴇʀʙɪʟᴛ Aᴄᴀᴅᴇᴍʏ Fᴏʀ Tʜᴇ Eʟɪᴛᴇ © discussion

orion's side:

alec’s side:

Phoenix's Side

Phoenix was sore as he walked into his dorm room. He had spent a good forty-five minutes fighting a bag full of sand and his hands hurt like hell. He knew that the smart thing would be to sit down and rest, to cool off, but he was begging to play some drums. He sat down at the set in his dorm, noticing no one was nearby, and began playing a groove from a rock song he had heard on the radio a few days prior. After he was done, he would switch over to playing it on guitar.

From Orion's bed a pillow came flying through the air, slamming against the wall maybe a foot away from Phoenix's head. Out from underneath the covers came a very hungover very goblin-esque Orion. He pushed a hand through disheveled hair, glaring daggers at his roomie. "Would you keep that banging down? Some of us wish to sleep without it sounding like our drummer boy has just gotten news that the enemy is right over the hill." Sure, that comparison was a bit of a stretch, but Orion wasn't quite thinking straight.

Phoenix dropped his sticks, disturbed by the flying pillow. He shook his head in disappointment. Orion had always been that way.

"You're in school to...do whatever you do," Phoenix said, "and I'm here to play music. But I hear you, buddy."

He pulled his phone out from his pocket and moved over to Orion's bed. He brought up his volume and hit play, plasting the loudest metal song he could find. He wasn't even that big of a metal fan.

"I came here to study and write a series of essays on how-" he was then rudely interrupted by the music. Fantastic. The music was an assault against his head; it seemed to make his already horrible headache worse. After entertaining the thought of skinning his roommate alive for a moment, he decided that, fine, he would just play this game. Pulling his journal off the side table, Orion started to flip through the notes from last night. He read through them for a moment before yelling over the music, "Do you perhaps know what 'only through the bleeding chairs and the intertwining of innocent souls we may converse with our own mortality' might mean?"

Phoenix shut off the music and looked at Orion blankly. He wasn't at Vanderbilt to read poetry or complex literature. He was there to play music. "Sounds like metal lyrics to me. But a bit too wordy." He hated reading complex stuff. He preferred simplicity. Whatever his roommate was doing wasn't simple.

"I didn't ask you what you thought of it, I asked you what you thought it meant." Now that the music was off he could finally think. He couldn't help but feel almost like he won. Take pride in the little victories. "It doesn't matter, anyway, it's simply some mescaline induced gibberish." God, the after effects sucked. Psychedelics weren't fun in the morning.

Phoenix thought to himself for a second. Orion being high wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, but he had never tried psychedelics for himself. Phoenix was a simple guy when it came to the drugs and alcohol side of things. He would participate with others but he would never do it for fun on his own. "Where do you even get peyote?"

Orion raised an eyebrow. Phoenix wasn't too into heavy drugs as far as he knew, and to suddenly be asked about peyote was odd. "Why, exactly? No offense, of course, but I doubt that you would be doing it for the same reasons as I do." As much as him and Phoenix fought, he wasn't the kind of guy to just simply let people walk into that shit. Orion knew better than anyone how bad trips could get, and he wouldn't wish that upon anyone. Well, actually, he would wish it upon Nancy Pelosi, but that was just because she was incredibly ignorant and never wished to make herself less so. People who don't work on being less of an utter fool deserved the worst in his eyes.

Phoenix shrugged. He didn't actually want to do drugs. "It's just that we're on this campus," he said, trying to change the subject, "I was just wondering the logistics of that. What're you doing today?" It was a terrible transition and he knew it, but the last thing he wanted to do was talk about mescaline with Orion. As for what he had planned - Phoenix just wanted to relax and practice. Maybe he would try his luck at the cafe for a date or something.

He didn't trust that. Orion was positive that the staff knew about what he did; when all of his essays circled around how drugs affected the mind with some philosophy sprinkled in it wasn't that hard to guess. But, I mean, it still would be a bit dangerous if Phoenix snitched. "This is what I came here to do, if you're planning on telling someone I doubt that it would do much." Dropping it at that, Orion turned half of his attention to his journal. "I have to look through my notes and see if I wrote down anything competent."

Phoenix nodded. "What class?" He doubted it was any class he had. Orion was on a very different path academically from him. Phoenix wasn't ashamed of it, but he didn't try to constantly bring it up either. Orion was an interesting roommate to have.

"Philosophy." Honestly, that and a few of his ap lit classes were the only ones he went to anymore. "We have to write an essay on our opinions of god and religion itself. I just decided to do what Huxley did and open up the doors of perception for a while to see if I could understand the topic a bit better." After flopping through a couple pages with some worrying notes and scribbles, Orion seemed to come across something he found interesting. "Here, see: 'The idea of a god is bullshit, yet human beings would much rather go to nothing at all in a comfortable lie than the hard truth. We see this in everyone and it is known to be fact by many, including myself, but that leaves the question: why is there divine energy (it is impossible for me to explain it as anything else) coming through every day items as simple as the pen I'm using to write this?'" At that, Orion laughed. It was something so rare to hear that it even caught him off guard. Clearing his throat, he closed the journal. "Jesus fuck I was slammed."

Phoenix let out a laugh. "Let me get out my notes and read them for you. We're dealing with some complex stuff, too." He ran to grab a small sheet of paper from his bedside table. He tried hard not to laugh at his own joke. "C major seventh. B flat seventh. A flat minor seventh. E flat seventh. This jazz final...damn, it's gonna be tough." He sat on the end of Orion's bed, not at all afraid of the fact he imposed upon his roommates space. "We have a new roommate. I think I might have met him today."

Orion pulled his legs in to give him a bit of room, leaning an elbow on the crook of his knee and resting his chin in his palm. This was how he hid the smile that was slowly creeping onto his face from Phoenix's shitty joke. At the news of a new roommate he sat up a bit straighter. He was not excited, to say the least. He already hated his one roommate half of the time, how in the name of hell would he deal with another? "Hm. What was he like?"

Phoenix thought back on the conversation he'd had and shrugged. "Green," Phoenix commented. "Way too excited to be here. He's a track star or something." The kid had been chipper, clearly a star athlete and a good person. Phoenix liked him. The guy wasn't the crowd he would typically hang out with but he was alright. Phoenix could see a potential friend on the nice guy with a passion for track. Phoenix jumped up from Orion's bed and began walking around the room.

"Uggghhhh." Orion was really not for having some kinda sports kid in his room; ESPECIALLY not one who was excited as all hell to simply be there. Laying back fown, he picked up a remaining pillow and stuck it over his face as if to smother himself right then and there. From underneath the pillow, he continued 2 groan. Drama queen.

Phoenix understood why Orion was upset, but it wasn't the end of the world. "He's not that bad. He won't snitch on you or anything...unless I tell him too. I think we're already the best if friends." Perhaps that wasn't true, but he loved playing with Orion.

Orion thought about throwing another pillow at him, but this was his last one and he would honestly rather die than get up. Besides, then he would have nothing to kill himself with before the new kid came to say hello. Slightly muffled from under the pillow, Orion said, "Do you think he's gullible enough to believe me if I tell him we used to have another roommate who died and now the room is haunted or something?"

Phoenix shook his head. "Nope. I told the guy that our old roommate moved out." He wanted to laugh at Orion's comment. The guy truly loved peace and quiet, which was what made Phoenix a terrible roommate. He was just too lazy to go to a practice space. Vanderbilt had state of the art musical facilities, but Phoenix never felt like going across campus to use a drum kit set up differently from his own.

(( can/should alec pop in ? ))

((It's a yes from me. @rose boy?))

"It will be me, then. Ill be the student that killed himself in this dorm and comes back to haunt you and this new boy." He slid the pillow off of his face, continuing. "Ill make sure to frame you in my suicide note, Phoenix; there's no one else that I would give that honor. Well, I suppose I could frame the gremlin as well....." He sighed dramatically. "Two birds with one stone, fantastic."

((im down!!))

((Can Alec go next?))

Alec bounded into the room, slamming the door behind him. “Oh- Phoenix?” He asked, his face lighting up. “It’s so neat you’re my roomate!” Peeling off his sweaty running shirt, Alec fell onto his bed before realizing Orion. “Oh, you must be Orion! I’m Alec!” He explained, sitting on Orion’s bed uninvited and shaking his hand. Alec was so happy that he already knew one of his room mates, and that his side of the room had plenty of sunlight for his plants.

"Hey Alec!" Phoenix greeted happily, knowing that Orion was probably dying. That made Phoenix like the new kid even more. He walked back toward Orion's bed and smiled at his roommate, appreciating every moment of the guy's agony. "Orion, this is the new roommate I was talking about." He could barely hold in his laughter.

Suddenly Orion's headache came back full force. He was scowling as he wiped the hand that had touched alec onto the blanket on top of him. "Pleasure." His voice dripped with malice; he had known this kid for maybe 3 seconds and already understood three things: he was loud, he was cheerful, and he was going to be a bitch to deal with whenever he was hungover. "Now, if you don't mind, get off my bed."

Alec, startled by Orion’s attitude, hopped off. “Whoops! Sorry!” He apologized, getting on top of his bed to water his copious amount of plants. He made a confused face at Phoenix and tossed his shoes into a corner of his closet. “What’s your house?” He asked Orion as he watered his plants,”I’m Ace, but I also play a little violin for fun.”

Phoenix couldn’t contain his laughter any longer. He stopped himself after a couple of seconds, but he had already made an audible noise. He looked back at Orion, beckoning his roommate to answer the question. “What is your house, Orion?”

The second that Alec's back was turned Orion gave Phoenix a big ol middle finger. He was probably loving this. Putting it away before Alec saw, he answered, "Spade." This entire interaction was more proof that god was bullshit; if they truly did exist then they would have enough mercy in their heart to strike him down right then and there.

“Spade, that means art and literature right?” Alec asked as he watered his snake plant. He was still bouncing on his toes a bit, and didn’t see the heated exchange going on behind him. Turning to Phoenix, he asked,” Do you practice your music in the dorm? I mean, as long you don’t play before 5AM I’ll be fine.” Alec woke up everyday at 5AM to drink a large cup of coffee and go on his morning five mile run, one mile swim, and an hour of strengh training before classes began.

“I definitely won’t be practicing before five,” Phoenix replied. He couldn’t imagine being up that early. “But I sometimes practice if no one’s around.” Or when Orion was sleeping, but that was another matter.

Orion snorted. "Bullshit. Our resident little drummer boy loves to play while I'm sick and trying to sleep." He rolled his eyes, he wasn't going to let Phoenix lie to the kid and make him seem like a nicer person than he was. "And yes, I'm here to write essays on both philosophy and the way that drugs affect the human mind."

Alec raised an eyebrow at Orion. “I don’t think you’re sick, just hungover.” He commented. Alec may have been nice, but a self inflicted hangover was nothing he had sympathy for. “Drugs make you high, the end. No need for experimentation Nietzsche— especially in the dorms.” Okay, so maybe Alec was a little condescending about the use of drugs and alcohol, but he was an athlete! “I’m sure your music is awesome, I’d like to hear it sometime.” Alec told Phoenix, hopping off his bed to pull on a clean shirt. “Have you ever thought about violin and drums together? It’d be interesting for sure.”

(( rose boy; do you want to provide an image for orion’s side of the room? ))

((yeah i will when i get home from school!!!))

Phoenix thought about it for a minute. He had always adored the classic rock trio: drums, bass and guitar, but throwing a violin into the mic could be pretty cool. He ignored Orion’s obvious irritation and Alec’s comments on drugs. Phoenix may not have been heavily reliant on drugs, but he didn’t mind a pick-me/up from time to time. “That would be badass.”

"At least my body won't suffer from a devastating injury due to my body burning out at the ripe age of 20," Orion grumbled, flipping over and covering his head with the blanket. This was going to be a very long year, to say the least. The second his roommates left to do.... whatever they did he would have to call Cass and give a very lengthy dramatic speech on how Vanderbilt was turning out to be exactly how he imagined. At least his sibling didn't torture him constantly.

Alec was a little miffed by Orion's statement. "I would be concerned with my body burning out if I consumed the same level of drugs as you." Alec retorted, before turning to talk to Phoenix. "Awesome! We should get together later this semester." Alec gushed. Alec was extremely concerned about his athletic career- he want to do track as long as possible, and then he would go do something else. But at the moment, his goals were all about track, and he had even signed up for some nutrition and health classes to make sure he stayed in tip-top condition.

"Sure," Phenix replied, a little in awe of how much confidence he seemed to have. Alec had initially come off as a nice guy, but he was clearly multi-faceted. His confidence in his retorts to Orion were bold, which Phoenix greatly admired. The guy was new and already making an impression. "Of course. What's going on during this part of the semester, though?"

"Prozac is more dangerous than what i take." Sure, he happened to mix both magic mushrooms and antidepressants (which never ended well for him to be completely honest) but the point was still made. His voice came out in a grumble, just audible enough for the two others in the room to hear him. He wasn't about to waste any more energy than he already had on these two chucklefucks.

'This semester?" Alec tried to think of the Vanderbilt happenings. "Not much I think. Oh, one of those popular girls is donating her clothes I think." Alec had heard two excited freshman girls talking about it in the hallway. "But that's not a real event. There is a soccer match soon though." He added, deciding to ignore Orion and his bad attitude. If Orion wanted to quibble, he could find someone else to do it with, but Alec wouldn't let him ruin his good mood.

Who would want their clothes? he thought to himself. They all dressed like what they were. Rich kids with money to spend. No one who actually needed donated clothes would want most of the stuff from their wardrobes. The people were probably grateful, nevertheless. "I've never been a huge soccer person," Phoenix chipped in. "I am not really into watching team sports as a whole, really." The idea of paying to watch his peers have fun playing games seemed stupid to him.

“Oh, I’m definitely going!” Alec told Phoenix, a little starry eyed over the prospect of his first Vanderbilt soccer game. “I mean, I’m in the Ace house, so I should support my fellow Ace students.” Alec was really terribly excited— he planned to have a sign and everything. Alec himself had a track meet later that month, but it seemed so far away compared to all the new and exciting things happening right now.

(( boost ))

Phoenix considered the prospect of a soccer game. A 90 minute wait for two or three goals. It seemed a bit drab. But a 90 minute conversation with a funny new roommate about the players' many failed attempts? That was something he could get behind. "If you're going to the game, I'd like to go too," Phoenix said.

((I don't know if it's my turn, but no one had added in a couple of days))

(( oh true!! i was waiting to see if rose boy wanted to post, but i’ll post ))

“Great!” Alec replied enthusiastically, hopping off his bed. He was excited to spend more time with people, integrating himself into the Vanderbilt social life. “Orion, are you going?” Alec knew Orion would rather... do anything really than attend, but it wouldn’t hurt. Perhaps by some miracle he would say yes. “I know you’re a goblin and all, but it would do you some good to see the sunlight.” Alec let out a small laugh.

"Don't call me that!" Came a familiar grumble from underneath the mountain of blankets Orion had buried himself under in hopes they would forget about him. His sister was The Goblin, not him. She was the delinquent, he was a man of science and being a bitch for no reason. God, perhaps he should go with these two idiots to the stupid sports.... thing. Despite what it seemed, Orion was lonely at best. Shaking that thought away, he dug himself back out to send a glare to his roommates. He had convinced himself that he was fine with his fate of dying utterly alone. "While the offer is appreciated, I'd rather not third wheel and be forced to watch you two flirt all night. Ive already had enough of that to last me a life time and I've been in the room with you 10 minutes."