i navigated through campus freely, never bumping into anyone. it was like parting the red sea, but i felt invisible. i felt like no one knew my name. i felt the murmurs were those of curiosity and not gossip. i was wrong.
that day i went back to my dorm and sat on my side of the room with my laptop, as usual. but, that was short lived because of a small ding that radiated from my phone. i picked up the little device and squinted at the screen, reaching for my glasses as i did so.
mum: come home today. we miss you.
currently, i am attending massachusetts instution of technology, and i couldn't be happier. i slid my thumb across the bottom of the illuminated surface and let my thumb hover over the imessage app. i reluctantly hit it, typing away my response.
me: ok
mom: i'm serious. you're not spending your birthday in college again.
me: it's a nine-hour drive, mum.
mom: family is worth it, right?
i started on the phone screen. why was i contemplating this? i shouldn't be. the family is more important than studying.
me: i'll be there by saturday.
mom: see you then! xoxo
i sighed and tossed my phone onto my bed and my laptop with it. i should be studying. college is important. more important than anything else. i have to finish what i've started.
i picked up my black l.l. bean backpack from the floor and dug around for my world economics things to study. all on my mind was studying, nothing else.
some call me a workaholic. i barely leave my dorm unless its class, and in that case in always in a hurry. i'm always first to class, but my professors barely know my name. hell, my ap physics professor didn't know i attended until he was calling names and he didn't recognize mine.
sometimes i think i'm like graffiti. not in the way that i'm beautiful, because i'm not, but in the sense that i think i'm invisible. i once saw a man with a few spray cans working away on the side of a police station. it was like he thought he was invisible. in the next few minutes, i saw him get yelled at. he dropped the cans and sprinted away, the cops didn't even bother chasing him.
it was like the man thought no one could see him but in reality, everyone knew him. the notorious man, peter. all i know is his name, but i like it that way.
back to reality, i start to pile some casual outfits into a suitcase along with toiletries. i figured i'd start driving now since i wasted the rest of the day into friday, which it was. 23:17 the clock next to my bed read. 11 at night and what am i doing? sneaking off campus.
luckily i schedule most of my classes around my birthday, so i have no classes for the next week or so.
i got off campus and out to my car, which was still technically on campus, but i could easily get away. i was 18, after all.
i drove out without a care after showing my id, then i was off. i immediately got onto the highway, going towards the next exit to colombus.
only 8 hours and 52 minutes to go.
~~
A/N: who knew i'd ever start a Josh Dun fanfic huh isnt that strange. this is an au btw
