The Roommate Rulebook

POV: ZOE I had one job, just one simple job. Find my dorm room, drop my bags, and start my new life as a college student in New York City. That's it, that was the whole plan. I had been dreaming about this day for months. Moving to New York for college felt like the beginning of everything. A fresh start, a new city, new people, new adventures. I had stayed up the night before packing and repacking my bags like a crazy person just because I was so excited. My mom had cried at the airport, and my little brother had made fun of me for crying too. I told him I had something in my eyes,we both knew I was lying. After all the emotional words saying they would miss me and my mom also advising me on how to live my life, they finally left when I entered the airplane, and in no time I was in New York City Fletcher University and I was ready. Except, nothing ever goes right for me. I stood in the hallway of Fletcher Hall, staring at the piece of paper in my hand saying “Room 214”, that I had already checked up to three times. Then I said to myself, " This is definitely the right room". So why was there already someone inside? I knocked anyway. I immediately heard a deep voice saying “Come in” I pushed the door open and peeked inside. I then saw a guy sitting at the desk by the window, textbooks open, laptop on, pen in hand. Like he had been living there for weeks already. He looked up at me with the most unimpressed face I had ever seen in my life. A tall guy with dark hair, sharp jaw and broad shoulders. The kind of guy who looked like he had never smiled a day in his life and was actually proud of that fact. "How can I help you?" he said. Like I was interrupting something very important. I held up my paper. "I think this is my room." He didn't even blink. He reached into his color-coded folder and pulled out his own paper, held it up without a word. Room 214, His name is Liam Carter I looked at my paper. Room 214, My name is Zoe Park. We stared at each other. The silence was so loud that I could even hear the next guy down the hall blasting music. "There has to be a mistake," he said. "Obviously," I said. Neither of us moved. I looked around the room properly this time There were two beds, two desks, and two wardrobes on opposite walls, then I realized that the room was clearly built for two people. I looked back at him. He was already on his phone, probably calling the housing office. I pulled out my phone and did the same thing. Fifteen minutes later we both had the same answer. Due to a system error, some glitch in the university's new online portal, we had both been assigned to Room 214. The housing office was very sorry, they were fully booked and there were no other available rooms until next semester. Next semester? I laughed, not because it was funny but because what else was I supposed to do? Cry? I had already done that at the airport. Liam did not laugh,he just stood there looking at the room like he was calculating exactly how much this was going to ruin his life. "This is unacceptable,” he muttered more to himself than to me. "Welcome to my life,” I said cheerfully. He looked at me like I had just said something in a foreign language. I shrugged and wheeled my biggest suitcase further into the room. Since we are stuck together in this room, let's accept it that way, there is no point standing in the doorway feeling sorry about it. "I'll take the bed by the window,” I said. He turned to look at me slowly. "But that's my bed." "You don't own it." "I was here first." "I have equal rights to this room. The housing office literally just confirmed that." He stared at me for a long moment. Like he was deciding whether arguing further was worth his energy. Then he exhaled slowly through his nose, the kind of exhale that said I am being very patient right now and turned back to his desk. I took that as a win. I dragged my biggest bag across the floor, making as much noise as possible and dropped it on the bed by the window with a loud thud. He said nothing. I started unpacking my clothes first, my sketchbooks along with it, my colored pencils and brushes that were all bundled up in a rubber band. Then the little cactus plant that I had carried all the way from home in a separate tote bag like the precious baby it was. I set the cactus on the window right next to his neat stack of books and I think it looked very happy there. He looked at the cactus, then at me. I smiled. He looked away. "What is that smell?" he said suddenly. "My candle." I pulled out a small vanilla-scented candle and set it beside the cactus. The whole corner of the room immediately smelled warm cozy and perfect "No candles please, it's a fire hazard." He said I blinked at him. "Are you serious right now?" "Read the student handbook on Page Twelve” it says open flames are not permitted in dormitory rooms." I stared at him. He had actually memorised the student handbook on the first day before classes had even started. Who does that? I turned off the candlelight and put the candle slowly back in my bag without breaking eye contact, just to make a point. Then I reached in and pulled out my Bluetooth speaker instead. Music started filling the room, soft and lowkey, nothing too crazy, just a little background vibe while I unpacked. He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again. "Could you not?" "It's distracting me please. I'm studying.” "It's literally the first day of school, classes haven't even started yet." He said "I'm aware of what day it is." "Then why are you already studying?" I asked him He opened his mouth, closed it again. Like he couldn't believe he was being asked that question. I turned the volume down, just a tiny bit. Barely even noticeable honestly. He looked at me with this expression that was somewhere between annoyed and exhausted. Like I had aged him ten years in the last twenty minutes. I gave him my most innocent smile. He picked up his pen and went back to his textbook but the tips of his ears had gone slightly red. I don't think he noticed. "We need rules," he said after a few minutes. "Excuse me?" "Rules." He said it calmly. Clearly, like a person who had already thought this through. "If we are going to share this space we need ground rules, clear boundaries. So that we can both function without constantly getting in each other's way." I looked around the room and thought about it for a second. Then I looked back at him. He was already holding a fresh piece of paper and a pen. Ready to start writing and implementing. Honestly? He has a point. I don't love the idea of living by a rulebook but I also didn't want to spend the whole semester fighting over candles and window beds. "Fine," I said. I walked over and sat cross-legged on my bed facing him. "Rules? Let's hear them." He nodded once as we had just agreed to a business deal. And this right here was how it all started. Didn't start with hello, nice to meet you, or with any of the normal things people say when they first meet. But with a boy, a piece of paper, and a pen. A boy who already looked like he deeply regretted every decision that had led him to this moment. Zoe was dumbfounded with thoughts on what would happen next.