Just Friends

Jayne Cameron’s POV Entering my new dorm, I let out a loud sigh after scanning around. From the good side, it’s larger than the last one and the interior is definitely more modernised. On the other hand, that means it costs more — specifically, £156 a week. The previous dorm I stayed in costed £132 a week. Plus, it was too small for my parents’ liking. My parents always want the best for me. After seeing that the previous dorm was only 1/4 of my bedroom in my home country; Myanmar, my dad insisted on living in a larger one for this year.  My dad is the type who is ungenerous when it comes to spending money for himself but when it comes to me, he spends it as if he’s the world’s richest billionaire. Just because my parents let me buy anything I want doesn’t mean I do. Just like other normal families, we also have our struggles so I’m aware of our family’s financial situations as well. For your information, I’m their only child.  I decide to unpack my stuff and make my new dorm gives off more of a ‘me’ vibe instead of just a plain, boring vibe.  - “Jayne! Hello?” Loud knocks on my door interrupt the unplanned nap I just woke up from. From the blaring and enthusiastic voice, I guess my roommate has finally arrived.Standing up from my bed and walking towards the door sluggishly, her enormous smile greets me the moment I open the door. “Hey.” “Wow, bro. Are you not happy to see me?” She frowns.  Let me introduce you to Tasha, my closest friend here. We met last year during college and we just clicked really well, which led us to becoming close friends. She’s Malaysian and when you see her for the first time, she gives off this cool girl look but once you get to know her, she’s a loser. Both of us also tend to always call each other ‘bro’ as well. “I just woke up.” She responds with a disappointed look before exclaiming, “My room is bigger than yours!” “Yes, I know. It’s unfa—“ “Okay, bye bro! I’m going to unpack!” She excitingly runs into her room and slams the door shut. Another fact about her, she does really weird things. I roll my eyes at the shut door before closing my own door as well and going back to my previous position on my bed. We are living in a two-bed apartment. If you don’t know what that is, well, there are two bedrooms and a shared toilet on the first floor of the apartment. The second floor consists of the kitchen and somewhat like a dining area. Fortunately, we have our own bathrooms and do not have to share. I open the television — yes, the television comes with the dorm, connect my phone to it and open my spotify. Opening my MacBook, I open my CV and read through it. I turned 19 last month on August 1st, 2019. When I was young, I thought people around the age of 18 and older would probably have their lives all sorted out, know what they want to do and are able to make their own decisions. It always stresses me out when I compare myself to my parents when they were young; I seem so useless. I chose Computer Science to be my major but I don’t have a tad bit of confidence in it. I still don’t have my life sorted out. Everyday I grow older and life just becomes scarier.  My parents are paying a lot for my tuition and accommodation fees. They sent me abroad to UK because they want me to graduate from a good university and become successful in life. But what if I can’t even find a good career after graduating? Worse, what if I can’t even graduate?  These kind of thoughts always makes me anxious randomly and the only people who can calm me down are the seven boys. I glance at the photo stand on my desk, a picture of the seven boys; a band who has helped me mentally and emotionally a lot since 2014.  No one understands that though. Everyone takes it as a joke so I refuse to express out my feelings too. People only talk about how feminine they look. They never talk about how they make me happy and how they are always there for me when I need them.  Slapping myself slightly out of my thoughts, I proceed to submit my CV to the bubble tea shop through email. If I get a part-time job, at least I’m helping my parents out a little. My dad wouldn’t like this. He wants me to just focus on my studies, graduate and only then, search for a job.  I click the send button and pray silently that I will get accepted. You might think, why is she even praying like this just for a part-time job? Well, everything starts from the small, first step.  - “Sis!” A ear-splitting voice screams, echoing in the empty hallway. I turn my head around to look at Louis who’s also a close friend of mine. To summarise our friendship, we attended the same high school back in our home country and decided to study abroad together as well. He can be really annoying sometimes though, maybe because he’s a year younger.  “Chill.” I roll my eyes whilst pressing the lift button. “What do you want?” “Where are you going?” He beams. He’s somewhat similar to Tasha, he is seen smiling like a fool most of the time but when he is not, he has this resting b***h face.  I have the same situation as well. If I’m not smiling, I look like I’m judging the soul out of people but I promise, I’m not. Sometimes, maybe I am but I’m not mean, alright? “Why?” I ask, not wanting him to follow my trip to IKEA. I wanted some peaceful time alone, damn it. This is the disadvantage of living with friends in the same accommodation. If you are sleeping, they will enter your room and wake you up. If you are sleeping but with your door locked, they will bang on it until you open it for them.  “You are going to IKEA right?” He asks joyfully.  “I’m not.” I lie, trying to hide the blue IKEA bag I have in my hand. “Ayy, I can see it.” He chuckles, “Let’s go together, sis! Wait, let’s call Tasha and Ryan too!” There goes my me-time. I watch him dial Ryan’s number eagerly with that foolish smile on his face. Not very eager like him, I also call Tasha’s number. “Come out, Louis says we should go to IKEA tog—“ “I’m coming!” I flinch a bit, hearing her scream. The lift is right outside our apartment which means when Tasha screams, I am able to hear it from outside. I just hope our neighbours won’t get frightened when they hear Tasha’s random singing in the middle of the night. “Bro, that was fast!” Louis exclaims when he sees Ryan striding down the hallway towards us.  Ryan winks in response with a cheeky smile, “I just need my jacket.”  “Sis!” He nudges me with his elbow, “It has been 3 months. You don’t look very happy to see me.” “Believe me, I am.” “Hey guys!” Another loud voice interrupts the conversation with her grand entrance. “Let’s go!” -