Roommates, Part 1- Welcome

“Do you need any help with that?”
John shook his head. He could manage the luggage perfectly by himself.
“No, really, it’s no problem,” the dog insisted. He seemed genuinely concerned.
John turned away from him and tried to push the elevator button with his elbow, but this only caused him to lose his balance. The two large bags he was carrying on his arms dropped loudly to the ground. With a sigh, he opened his mouth and let go of the third bag, which he had been holding up by the strap with his teeth. It thumped to the ground next to the other bags.
“Okay,” he said, defeated, “it looks like I might need some help after all.”
“Here,” the dog walked past him and pressed the up button, then lifted one of John’s bags.
“Thanks,” John muttered. He fidgeted awkwardly with the seams on his dark jeans for a second, then picked up the other two bags.
The elevator arrived, and the two stepped inside.
“I’m Udolph, by the way,” the dog smiled a toothy grin.
“John.” They shook hands.
John took a quick look at Udolph. He’d met Furs before, but never really got to know one too closely. Udolph’s fur was scraggly and Apricot colored, and he seemed to hold himself with a measure of pride, despite his apparently relaxed demeanor. John recognized his breed as a mix between a Pomeranian and a German Shepard, and he thought he could distinguish a bit of French and German traces on the dog’s accent. This combined with his outgoing demeanor made him seem kind and friendly, perhaps even attractive. He wore dark grey Denim Jeans, a bright orange collarless T-shirt, and a nice black leather jacket. He was barefoot. John could tell he might enjoy being friends with the pup, if he had a chance to spend more time with him.
“Which floor are you going to?” Udolph asked John, a furred finger by the elevator’s control panel.
“What’s that?” John had been buried in his own thoughts.
“Which floor?”
“Oh,” John blushed slightly, “third.”
“Really?” Udolph’s face lit up, “I’m on third floor! Which room are you in?” He pushed the third-floor button, and the elevator took off.
“Three ten,” John said, a little taken aback.
“That’s my room!” Udolph jumped up and down, his tail wagging, “you must be one of the roommates!”
“Well, I can honestly say I’m glad to be sharing a dorm with you, Udolph,” John smiled.
“Great!” Udolph said as the door parted and they stepped into the third floor. “I can’t wait to introduce you to the others!”
“Is everyone already here?” John followed him down the hall. He’d hate to be the last one to arrive.
“I think we’re still missing a couple people.”
“There’s supposed to be six of us right?” John asked.
“That’s what it said on the welcome sheet!” Udolph smiled, “isn’t this awesome?”
“Are you a freshman here?”
“Yup, this is my first year!” he said brightly.
“Same here,” John admitted with a smile.
They had walked down a broad hallway lined with robust wooden doors, each marked with a small number and a list of the students to be moving in.
“Here we are!” Udolph said and opened the door before John could take a look at the list. “Come on in!”
John lifted his bags past the open door and into the dorm. He took a quick look around; the place wasn’t exactly a deluxe living establishment, but it would do fine. There seemed to be enough space for the six roommates that were supposed to be moving in. John noticed a dining table and chairs, a small kitchen, three bedrooms, and a small living room complete with couches and a flat-screen TV. A girl sat at one of the couches. She seemed mostly humanoid, except for a pair of feline ears and tail that matched the deep blue of her hair. A red ribbon fit nicely on her head and complimented her hair color. John reasoned that she could be part-fur, or a perhaps a Neko, which tended to be very rare.
“Hey, Ashley!” Udolph said, excited, “new roommate! This is John!”
Ashley bolted to her feet. “Oh, hey John!” she said brightly as she shook his hand, “nice to meet you! I’m Ashley, welcome to the dorm!”
John nodded, surprised at how friendly she was being. “Yeah, nice to meet you Ashley!” He noticed Ashley’s powerful green eyes, which locked into his.
“About time we got ourselves a human,” she laughed, “I was starting to think this dorm was furs-only.”
John blushed. “And here I thought this dorm was males-only. Are there more anthropomorphic humanoids here?” He was trying to be polite. He’d heard the word “fur” used insultingly before.
“No need to be so formal about it!” Ashley put an arm around John’s shoulder. “We’re all furs here! Just take it easy!” She rubbed a hand over John’s scraggly black hair. “What is this stuff, anyway? If that’s not fur, I’m not sure what is. Chris should be unpacking, by the way, he’s a Neera. We’ll introduce you.”
A mouse-boy. John had never seen one up close before.
“He’s cool,” Udolph smiled, “you’ll like him.”
“If he’s anything like the two of you, I don’t doubt it,” John grinned.
“Hey, Chris!” Udolph called into a hallway. John assumed that’s where the rooms were laid out. “Get out here! There’s another roommate!”
A small mouseboy walked in through the doorway. He seemed to be just over five feet tall, but there was something about him that just made him look shorter, perhaps his posture or the way he carried himself. John noticed two large mouse ears resting on his head, covered in brown fur. He also saw a thin tail snaking side to side behind him, also covered in brown fur.
“Chris, this is John,” Udolph said brightly, “John, meet Chris.”
John extended his hand. Chris looked at it hesitantly for a few seconds, before reaching up with his own hand and shaking it tentatively.
“Nice to meet you, Chris,” John smiled.
“Hello,” Chris grinned a little.
John nodded. He liked Chris. Something about him just made him feel like they would get along well.
“He’s a little shy,” Ashley said, “but we managed to get him to open up a bit earlier.”
“Hey, I get that,” John said. “This is a pretty big step, isn’t it? For all of us. Some of us are moving away from our parents for the first time, and we’re all meeting all kinds of new people. And… saying goodbye to others.”
Chris looked up at John for a minute, then his eyes drifted down to the ground. He nodded.
“Hey, relax,” Udolph grinned, putting a hand on Chris’ shoulder. "We're all friends here now.”
“Yeah,” Ashley agreed, “you can trust us!”
Chris smiled meekly. He was about to say something when a broad human stepped into the room. He had short-cropped yellow-white hair, a broad chin, a sarcastic smirk, and piercing blue eyes filled with passive-aggressive energy. He was wearing a polo shirt and jeans.
“This is 310, right?” he asked. He did a double-take and looked everyone over again. “Woah, is this the furry parade or something?” He smirked at himself.
Chris’ ears dropped, and Ashley’s claws seemed to extend just a fraction. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said coolly, “the furry parade.” She bit on each word. John’s eyes narrowed.
“Hey, just messing with ya,” the human grinned. “My name is Ezequiel, Zacarías Ezequiel Núñez De la Corte. But you can call me Bumper Jumper. Everyone does.”
Udolph stepped forward. “BJ!” he said brightly.
“Aha! I like it! Good one, little dog-man!” BJ gave Udolph a sideways high-five and a fist pump. Udolph’s tail wagged as he introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you, Udolph!” BJ grinned. He looked at the others. “And you are?”
Ashley was not amused. “I’m Ashley,” she said, arms crossed.
“Ashley,” BJ dipped his head slightly. “And you?” he asked Chris.
Chris said his name in a barely audible voice. His large ears still drooped visibly.
BJ pushed past Udolph and put his hand on Chris’ shoulder. “You gotta’ speak up, mouse-guy, I couldn’t hear you very well.” Chris only looked away.
“His name’s Chris,” John said, “and I’m John. John Newman.” He pulled BJ away for a handshake. Chris took this chance to slink back behind Ashley.
“John Newman,” BJ repeated the name as they shook hands. “Whelp, I’m gonna’ go unpack. It was cool meeting you all.” He pushed past them and went towards the hallway that led to the rooms.
“Actually,” Udolph said, “we thought it would be better if we waited for everyone so we could all decide together who gets…” He trailed off when he noticed BJ wasn’t listening. He sighed, but shrugged it off.
Ashley was incensed. Once BJ was out of earshot, she turned to the rest of the group with an angry snarl. “Who does he think he is!?”
“A human,” John said somberly, “and apparently the greatest thing in the world.”
“He seemed fine to me,” Udolph shrugged. “I think he was just trying to be funny.”
“Yeah,” Ashley said, “funny like a total jerk’s funny.”
“Listen,” John said to them, “This guy thinks he has some sort of advantage over you all because you’re… different. And beautiful,” he added. “Don’t let that bother you. He has no right to come in here and say those things to you, so don’t let it slide for a minute, you understand?”
“Don’t let what slide?” came a smooth, female voice from behind him. John turned and was dumbfounded.
Stepping through the door was easily the most beautiful girl John had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was reddish, shoulder-length and curly, her skin was like smooth silk or warm milk, and her eyes were bright green. She walked with a spring in her step, her hips evenly swaying right to left every time her legs came down. As he looked up again, John noticed her ears ended on a point. He was dumbfounded. He searched for something to say, but his mind came out blank.
“You’re Elven!” Udolph said brightly.
“Last time I checked, yes,” she nodded. Her voice was like a drill, burrowing its way into John’s chest while it left him with the sensation of just having been dipped in honey. “You’ll probably have a bit of trouble pronouncing my name, but you can call me Allara, if you want.”
John felt a chill rush straight up his spine. He could feel his shirt collar starting to brush against his lower jaw, his sleeves starting to lengthen around his arms, his belt beginning to loosen around his waist. Oh no, he thought to himself, not now! Not like this! “I… uhm… need to go unpack,” he said quickly. He picked up his bags and rushed off towards the rooms.
“Same here,” Chris said and followed him.
“Hold on!” Udolph called after them, but they both ignored it.
John had likely lost several inches by now. His shoes were starting to feel uncomfortable. He hoped they hadn’t noticed as he dashed into one of the three rooms and slammed the door behind him. He quickly registered a bunk bed, two desks, a set of double drawers, and a tiny closet. The walls were almost claustrophobically close together, but John knew that wouldn’t be an issue for much longer. He could feel himself getting lost inside his button shirt. He sighed, put the bags down next to the bed, and closed his eyes as his view was entirely obscured by a sea of fabric.