ACCIDENTAL ROOMMATE

Right room

I stayed staring at the empty side of the room for longer than I probably should have.

The silence felt different now.

Before, even when Ethan and I weren’t talking, there had still been quiet movement in the background—his keyboard clicking, music playing softly from his headphones, random comments about homework or food.

Now there was nothing.

Just me.

I leaned back against the wall slowly and let out a breath.

It was weird how fast people could become familiar.

A week ago, I thought sharing a room with him would be a complete disaster.

Now the room felt too quiet without him in it.

I glanced down at my phone.

No new messages.

No new reels.

For once, I was almost grateful for the silence.

A few minutes later, voices echoed in the hallway outside.

Then footsteps approached the door.

I sat up slightly.

The door swung open suddenly.

A girl walked in carrying two large bags and immediately stopped when she saw me.

“Oh my God,” she said breathlessly. “Please tell me I’m in the right room because I cannot carry these things upstairs again.”

I blinked.

Then I laughed softly for the first time since Ethan left.

“You’re in the right room.”

The girl visibly relaxed.

“Thank goodness.”

She dropped one of the bags dramatically onto the floor before pushing loose blonde hair out of her face.

“I swear this building has seventeen staircases for no reason.”

I smiled faintly.

She looked around the room quickly before her eyes landed on the empty side.

“So,” she said, “I’m guessing that’s mine?”

“Yeah.”

“Perfect.”

Without hesitation, she walked fully into the room and dropped the second bag beside the empty bed.

Then she turned back toward me with a bright smile.

“I’m Chloe.”

“Mia.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said quickly. “Sorry if I seem chaotic right now. My last dorm assignment was a nightmare.”

I frowned slightly.

“You switched rooms?”

“Technically,” Chloe said. “My old roommate had three alarm clocks that all went off at six in the morning.”

I stared at her.

“That sounds horrible.”

“It was.”

I laughed quietly.

Chloe looked relieved at my reaction.

At least she already seemed more naturally talkative than me.

She started unpacking almost immediately, moving around the room with energy that made me tired just watching her.

“I heard there was some weird roommate situation in this room before,” she said casually while opening one of her bags.

My face immediately warmed.

Of course people knew.

I sighed.

“Yeah.”

Chloe turned toward me instantly, eyes widening.

“Wait—it was true?”

I buried my face briefly in my hands.

“Unfortunately.”

“Oh my gosh,” she said, laughing. “People were talking about it downstairs but I thought they were exaggerating.”

“They weren’t.”

“So you actually shared a room with a random guy?”

“For a week.”

Chloe looked genuinely amazed.

“That honestly sounds like a Netflix show.”

“It really wasn’t that exciting.”

“Still,” she said dramatically, “you officially had the most interesting first week here.”

I shook my head, smiling despite myself.

The room already felt different with her in it.

Louder.

Brighter.

Less quiet.

Chloe suddenly pointed toward the empty desk.

“So did he leave anything behind? Because if I find mysterious boy stuff later, I’m throwing it out.”

I glanced toward Ethan’s old side automatically.

Completely empty.

“Nope,” I said quietly.

Chloe nodded approvingly.

“Good. Fresh start.”

Fresh start.

The words settled strangely in my chest.

Maybe that was exactly what this was supposed to be.

A new roommate.

A new routine.

A normal college experience finally beginning.

Still…

My eyes drifted toward the now-empty side of the room one more time before I looked away.