Each year that I have been an R.A., there has been one man on my floor that just didn’t fit in well. The stereotype was always the same: he was a nerd. They were always so similar it was scary. Always computer people, always math or science majors, always studying when everyone else was playing. The stereotype never deviated. And always, once per quarter, I made the extra effort to attempt to bring them into the mainstream of dorm and campus life with a personal visit to their room.
My nerd of the year this year was no exception. His name was Chris something or other, a polish name I think, and he lived alone in a room at the dead end of the hall. I hardly ever saw him in public, and only occasionally saw him at the dining hall or in the bathroom. I had never heard him speak, and found out from the guys that lived on his end of the hall that he always had his door shut and never made a sound.
Four weeks into the quarter, I decided that enough was enough, and it was time for the quarterly RA visit. I closed my door and locked it, and headed off down the hall. I stopped several times to poke my head into doorways and say hello, and was met with casual greetings at each stop. Finally arriving at my destination, I stood for a minute, collecting my thoughts. I took a deep breath and knocked tentatively at the door.
No response.
I knocked again, this time a little louder. I heard a chair slide on the floor and then I heard footsteps approaching the door. The door opened slightly and Chris stuck his head out. “Yes?” he asked, somewhat shyly.
“Hi, Chris. I’m Andrew, the Resident Assistant for this floor. I apologize for not having done this sooner, but I came to introduce myself and see how you are doing. Can I come in for a minute?”
“I don’t see why not,” he said. He pushed the door all the way open and let me pass, quickly closing it behind us. He motioned for me to sit down on the bed and I did so, taking in the room with a wide sweep of my eyes. It’s always the same, you know. Totally neat, everything in its place, carefully selected science fiction and astronomy posters mounted impeccably on the walls, no dust or trash in sight, and the bed– you could have easily bounced a brick off it was so neatly made!
We sat in silence for a few moments and I got my first really good look at him. He wasn’t bad, actually. Kind of scrawny but in an academic sort of way. He wasn’t the typical polyester nerd, though– he was dressed rather preppily in an Izod shirt and Duckheads. And though he did wear glasses, they were not those plastic black things that make you afraid to touch him– they were designer frames and they suited his fair face quite nicely.
He had brown hair, every hair in place, of course, and tried very hard to hide the fact that he had an interesting mound in his lap.
I looked at him and said…
