Room 214
448 Words
Lily pushed open the dorm room door carefully.
The room smelled faintly of vanilla candles and coffee.
A girl with curly brown hair suddenly jumped off the bed.
“You must be Lily!”
Before Lily could react, the girl hugged her tightly.
“I’m Sophie! Your roommate! Finally, someone normal!”
Lily laughed awkwardly. “Uh… nice to meet you too?”
Sophie grinned brightly. “You’re cute. We’re definitely becoming best friends.”
The tension in Lily’s shoulders slowly eased.
Maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad after all.
As Lily unpacked her things, Sophie sat cross-legged on her bed watching her curiously.
“So…” Sophie began dramatically. “You already met Ethan Vale, didn’t you?”
Lily nearly dropped her camera.
“How do you know that?”
“Because the entire campus already knows.”
Lily groaned. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Ethan never chases girls. Girls chase him.”
“Well, I’m not interested.”
Sophie pointed at her accusingly. “That’s exactly why he’ll be interested in you.”
Lily rolled her eyes.
“Trust me,” she said, placing her camera on the desk, “guys like Ethan are all the same.”
Players.
Smooth talkers.
Temporary.
Sophie suddenly looked curious. “You sound experienced.”
Lily froze for half a second.
A painful memory flashed in her mind.
A boy holding another girl’s hand.
Lies.
Humiliation.
Whispers in school hallways.
“I just learned my lesson,” Lily said quietly.
Before Sophie could ask more, Lily forced a smile.
“So where’s the nearest coffee shop around here?”
Sophie gasped dramatically. “Oh no. You’re a coffee addict too?”
“Absolutely.”
“Perfect. There’s a café near the arts building. But…”
“But what?”
Sophie smirked.
“It’s Ethan’s favorite café.”
Lily stared at her blankly.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Far across campus, Ethan sat on a bench outside the business building while girls surrounded him.
One girl touched his arm.
Another offered him a drink.
Ethan ignored all of them.
Marcus noticed immediately.
“You’re thinking about the transfer student again, aren’t you?”
Ethan leaned back lazily.
“She called me a player.”
Marcus burst out laughing.
“She’s not wrong.”
Ethan smirked slightly.
“Maybe.”
Then his expression turned thoughtful.
“But she looked at me like she already hated me.”
“And that bothers you?”
Ethan looked toward the dorm buildings in the distance.
“A little.”
For the first time in years, Ethan Vale wanted someone’s attention—
not because she adored him.
But b
ecause she didn’t.
- Writer
