Chapter Text
"Okay, so, where are we, even?" Teresa asked. She made that weird sideways scrunched up face she always did when she was tired and annoyed.
"Oak Street. The college is that way," I said, pointing.
"Yeah, okay. We're never going to find a house, are we?" She sighed, hands on hips.
"Let's walk around campus. Maybe we'll run into someone who knows of a place."
We'd been looking for a place to rent for three days, spending valuable money on hotel rooms. I was tired, Teresa was tired, and all the houses were taken or not what we needed. At this point we might have to settle for something inadequate.
We met a group of six or seven students as we made our way to the college, and I stopped them.
"Excuse us, we're new and we're looking for a house or apartments to rent. Do you guys know of anything?"
Most of them shook their heads and moved on, but a strawberry blonde girl gave us an appraising once-over. She frowned.
"I'll mention you to the Keepers. If they think they'll consider you, someone will find you soon."
And then she was gone.
"The hell was that supposed to mean? Who are the Keepers?" I asked.
"How would I know? Sounds like a damn cult to me."
We kept going. Outside the main building we met another group of students. When asked the same question as the other group, none of them had any suggestions we hadn't already tried. Except for a mousy haired guy with a southern accent, who mentioned the Keepers.
The same thing happened with the next group, and we stopped asking.
"What's with these Keeper people?" I asked, frustratedly flopping onto a bench. Teresa sat beside me, shaking her head.
We sat there for a few minutes, until a rather althletic Asian guy who was jogging down the path stopped in front of us. He looked at us skeptically.
"You the shanks looking for a house?" he asked, not even breathing hard.
"Uh, yeah, that's us," I said, standing up.
"I'm Minho," he said, sticking a hand out.
"Thomas. This is my cousin Teresa." He had a very firm grip.
"Nice to meet you. Freshmen, I take it?" At my nod he continued. "Well, Sonya, Aris, and Ben all mentioned you, so here are the applications. Someone will be around to get them from you tomorrow."
He fished around in his backpack and pulled out two sheets of paper. No, two copies of something that had been typed out. It was several pages long and stapled together. He handed one to each of us.
"Answer the questions honestly. You'll hear from us in maybe two or three days after we get them back. These things take time, you know." "Why can't we just find you?" I asked. He laughed. "You don't find Glade House, it finds you. See you shanks around."
We gaped after him as he jogged away.
"What the actual hell?"
"I don't know, Tom. I just don't."
I didn't even glance the thing over before I got to the hotel, wanting to be in some sort of safe place. This whole day had been just too weird.
Glade House Application
Name:
Age:
Year at School:
Okay, this seemed normal enough.
Major:
Interests in School:
Extra-curricular Activites?
Job, if any:
Living at Glade House
Could you afford $300 a month, plus housekeeping, etc. with all utilites paid?
Are you willing to help out with housework and maintainance?
Are you willing to put up with housemates, all following the same rules?
Are you willing to have a roomate?
On this scale, how well can you cook?
I will poison you: _ I'm really good at making burned up goo:_ I can cook simple stuff: _ I am a good cook: _ You heard of Gordon Ramsey? I taught him to cook: _
I snickered.
Can you do laundry with conventional machines?
Can you wash dishes?
Housekeeping skills?
I can sweep: _ I can do basic housework: _ I'm a clean freak and will work nonstop if you get me started: _
Gardening?
What's that: _ I can water plants: _ I'm an okay gardener: _ I have a neon green thumb: _
General maintainance?
Uh, no: _ Like changing lightbulbs: _ Yeah, I'd say I'm pretty good at fixing things: _ I could build a house right now: _
Personal Information
Please note that we do not discriminate. We have a wide diversity at Glade House. This information simply helps us not to accidentally offend someone or make assumptions.
Gender:
Race:
Nationality:
Sexuality:
Please note that if you are uncomfortable sharing this information, you may skip this question. However, we DO NOT discriminate and you will be welcome in Glade House no matter what your sexuality is. If you wish this information to remain private, simply say so and the Keepers won't share it. Your secrets are safe with us.
Thank goodness. I was closeted. Well, sort of. Depends on how you look at my past. I came out in high school and decided not to try that again in college. Now I didn't have to lie. But would they simply figure it out by my skipping it? I sighed in frustration. Who were the damn Keepers?! Could I really trust them?
I read through the rest of the application. It asked for a brief family history, description of my life at high school, and some other questions about my past. I bit my lip. This wasn't really stuff I wanted to share. Then there was the section about hobbies and musical abilities, etc. The section about mental issues, addictions, etc. I thought it best to put down that I had frequent nightmares, if we did fill them out.
Someone knocked on my door. "Tom, it's me."
I let her in.
"What do you think of this application? Are you going to fill it out?"
"I don't think we have much choice unless we want one of those ghetto looking houses on Oak Street."
"It seems awful shady."
"I dunno. Some of the information is a bit weird, but since we would have housemates, maybe roomates, I'm not sure, that they want to make sure you're a decent person. I mean, I'd be selective about roomates, too. I think I'm going to fill it out."
"I guess I will, too."
We filled them out together.
"Are you going to tell them you're gay?"
I groaned. "I don't know. You're the only one who knows, now. If you don't count my parents."
"Who are the reason you're paying your own way through college."
"Exactly. Some of this stuff isn't stuff I want to share, but supposedly these Keeper people keep your secrets. Maybe that's why they're called Keepers..."
"Hm. Interesting theory. They say they're an indiscriminating community, so I think you should tell them, and ask them not to share it until we see what it's like."
I nodded and finished the application, wincing as I set the pen down. There was a lot of information in there that I didn't want a whole lot of people knowing about.
We turned in early.
The next morning the mousy haired guy took the applications from us and said someone would find us in a couple days.
We spent those days looking at the other houses again. Most of the problem was that for some strange reason, the neighborhoods around the college were not very good neighborhoods. We saw the Glade House kids we'd met a few times.
Finally, Asian guy jogged up to us one evening. "Congratulations, shanks. You've been accepted. I'll help you with your luggage."
We went back to our hotel and he helped us carry some of our stuff to a huge stone house I'd thought was part of the college. Some kids were taking care of the grounds, including the strawberry blonde. She waved to us.
"This is Glade House. Newt or Alby will explain stuff to you, I'm just here to help you move. I'm Minho, by the way."
It took several trips and I wondered about the lack of a car to haul stuff. It sure would make things easier. I also wondered about Newt and Alby. Who were they?
We took the last of our stuff into the lobby. The place was huge. It was like some BBC Drama mansion. Wow.
A dark-skinned boy with short cropped hair approached us. "I'm Alby. I'd give you the tour, but I've got to settle Chuck in upstairs. Find Newt and Harriet, would you, Minho? I thought they were helping the Track-Hoes out back."
Minho nodded and promptly disappeared.
"So, weird situation, I know. Newt will explain everything to you," he spoke directly to me. "And Harriet will explain everything to you. Just wait here, they'll be here in a few."
And he disappeared. Teresa and I shared a look.
"Hi, I'm Newt," an English accented voice from behind me stated. Teresa smirked at me before I turned around to have my breath taken away. How did this angel find himself here? Surely he should be playing the harp and floating on a cloud or something.
"Um, yeah, hi. I'm Thomas." I shook his offered hand, melting inside as the little smile on his perfect face grew.
"Nice to meet ya, Greenie. You're rooming with me, so let's get your stuff upstairs."
What? Rooming with him?!?!?!!? I wouldn't make it two weeks without falling in love, I was sure of it. I sent Teresa a helpless glance as I picked up some of my stuff. She simply smirked and waggled her eyebrows.
I followed him upstairs, definitely not watching his ass the entire time.