Brimson Boys State  I arrive at Brimson for a week of Boys State. My mom is with me, dropping me off. We're in an old gymnasium with hardwood floors. Many people are there. I see some guys I recognize from my last stay at Boys State, and shake their hands. One of them may be named Eduardo. My classmate Monique Thorble is in the crowd, as well as a person who looks like my old classmate Mira Nader. Something happens, and people hurry to their rooms. I have just arrived, and so I go to get a packet and a homeroom assignment from a man and woman sitting at a table. I receive a foil helium balloon with a picture of the Wiley Coyote pressed up against one side, and another balloon. I tie the other balloon down, by accident, but when I leave it is cut and I take it. People exit the gymnasium. I kiss my mom goodbye and tell her I'll see her on Saturday. I'm not looking forward to this week, but I know it will pass. It's kind of a chore. I walk up stairs in a stairwell, and outside there is a group of kids, lined up, stepping in unison. They're in a courtyard between several old brown buildings. There are several inches of snow on the ground. The stepping they're doing seems to be almost a Nazi-like ritual. I'm going to room Jackson 2G. I stop on a floor and look in a bathroom, thinking it is the room, but it's not, and there are a lot of rowdy guys in the bathroom. It's very loud and crowded. I walk on and see a little number on the wall for my room. I enter. It is a stairway going up. I realize it goes to a quad room. I'm not excited about living with three other guys. I get to the top of the stairs, and see the room is a large single room: an attic. There are four beds. One bed seems to be neat and unoccupied, in the corner. I think it is mine. Three guys are sitting on a couch. I walk up to them and say halfheartedly that I guess I'm the fourth roommate. I shake their hands and we introduce ourselves. A man named Oldie is on the left, Orange is in the middle, and ____ (I forget) is on the right. The room is filthy, and their stuff is everywhere. There is a bed in a different corner, with their stuff piled on top of it, which is mine. I know there will be no privacy. I guess I'll have to put up with this for a week. They all smoke marijuana. I find a joint of marijuana on my bed. One of the guys says they cornered a mouse. I ask if he killed it, thinking to myself: what good is it to just corner a mouse? This is a Brimson dorm room, and it has hardwood floors, like Wonkers Hall.