Oh the Places You'll Sleep

At RIT, bedrooms tunnel under every building... if you're an easy sleeper and aren't too picky, and if you can get in. Of course, once you breach the barriers of the post-ten-o'clock lockdown, getting to the tunnels is easy. Finding safe harbor is not- at least not before 1am, before the 'corner' store closes.

If I stayed out late, and missed curfew, I never really spent much longer than an hour or so out in the freezing cold, watching for students to return to the dorm hall, so long as it wasn't too late; sometimes, I'd have to stay in the car. When they came, I'd have my bookbag over my shoulder and I brisked to the door to meet with them. "Hold the door!" And they usually complied. "Thanks, I didn't want to dig through this bag for my keys."

Some nights, I'd go straight to a dark and dusty crevice (a skinny little alley between the wall and staircase is a great choice- totally unnoticeable unless you're looking). Some nights, I'd get in with larger crowds into the corner store andsample the wares, collecting dinner and breakfast. Crowds are always better, because they're all looking at each other, and not at me. Some nights, I'd stay with him, and we already know how that goes, but at least I'd get a hot shower.

Actually, it's not too hard to get a shower. Just wait for students outside the key-accessed elevator, and "Hold the elevator, please!" Up to the 3rd floor, Computer Science House, for a quick one in the morning (or if I'm staying with him, I can take one at night. I much prefer night. Relaxes me). Or up to the 4th floor, Photo House, for minimal spotting, if I didn't want him to catch me around.

In the wall/stairs alley, I felt safest- well, not so much as safety goes, but mostly invisible. I could sleep easily knowing I'd most likely not be seen. My favourite place to sleep was further down the tunnels, under, or sometimes on, a big, huge, heating pipe. So warm. Sometimes, if I passed an open utility room, I'd sneak in there, and disappear into the darkest spot, surrounded by pipes and tubes, and wires, and be warm all night. But rooms are always occupied by someone. And eventually, someone'd come by, and I'd wake up and bolt. Never got the opportunity to actually run from someone. Never got caught. Too paranoid, I guess. Always on my best guard, even when I slept.