Page 7
1390 Words
Elena set her suitcase beside the bed and looked around the room again.
“Okay,” Maya said, dropping onto her own mattress. “Before you unpack everything, there’s something you should know.”
Elena turned.
“That sounded serious.”
“It is.”
Maya pointed toward the ceiling.
“The fire alarm goes off at least once a semester because somebody thinks cooking ramen at three in the morning is a personality trait.”
Elena stared at her.
“You’re joking.”
“I wish.”
Maya leaned back on her hands.
“Last year, someone tried making grilled cheese with an iron.”
Elena blinked.
“With an iron?”
“An actual clothing iron.”
“Why?”
“College.”
“That explains nothing.”
“It explains everything.”
Elena laughed, shaking her head.
Maya smiled like she had been waiting for it.
“There. Again.”
“What?”
“That laugh.”
Elena narrowed her eyes. “What about it?”
“Nothing. I just like that you actually have one.”
“I’ve been here for about an hour.”
“And you've already improved the room.”
Elena rolled her eyes and opened her suitcase.
“You’re strange.”
“You’ll get used to me.”
“I’m not sure that's possible.”
“It is. Give it three days.”
Elena began pulling clothes from the suitcase and placing them on the bed. Maya watched for a few seconds before getting up.
“Okay, no. We’re fixing this.”
“Fixing what?”
“You.”
“I’m unpacking.”
“Exactly. You're unpacking like you're checking into a hotel.”
Elena looked at the neat piles she had already made.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Make the room yours.”
Maya opened one of the empty drawers.
“You have pictures?”
“A few.”
“Put them up.”
“Why?”
“So when you wake up tomorrow, it doesn't feel like you're living inside somebody else's room.”
Elena paused.
That was actually a good point.
She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a small envelope.
Maya glanced over.
“Family?”
Elena nodded.
She took out a few photographs—her parents, her brothers making ridiculous faces, her little sister smiling at the camera.
Maya smiled.
“Oh, she's adorable.”
“She knows.”
“Which one is the troublemaker?”
“All three.”
Maya laughed.
“That's not an answer.”
“It is in my family.”
Elena placed the photographs carefully on her desk.
For the first time since leaving France, the room felt slightly less unfamiliar.
Maya noticed but didn't say anything.
Instead, she picked up a small framed photograph Elena had brought.
“Okay, this one needs to go here.”
Elena took it from her.
“I can do it.”
“I know.”
Maya held up both hands.
“I'm learning boundaries.”
“You're learning quickly.”
“Don't compliment me. It'll go to my head.”
Elena smiled and continued arranging her things.
For the next half hour, they unpacked without much conversation. Sometimes Maya talked. Sometimes Elena answered. Sometimes neither of them said anything.
It wasn't awkward.
That surprised Elena.
She had expected being alone with a stranger to feel exhausting.
Instead, Maya seemed comfortable enough to fill the silence without demanding that Elena do the same.
Eventually Maya checked the time on her phone.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“We need food.”
Elena looked at her.
“I ate on the plane.”
“That wasn't food.”
“It was technically food.”
“That tiny plastic container?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
Maya grabbed her keys from the desk.
“You're eating.”
Elena looked around at the half-open suitcase.
“I should finish this.”
“You can finish it later.”
“But—”
“Elena.”
Maya opened the door.
“Welcome to college. We procrastinate professionally.”
Elena stared at her for a moment.
Then she laughed and followed her out.
“Fine.”
Maya grinned.
“Good choice.”
They stepped into the hallway together, leaving the room behind them.
They took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.
Maya was already halfway down the first flight when she looked back.
“You coming?”
“I’m right behind you.”
“You walk very quietly.”
“I’m walking normally.”
“No. You walk like you're trying not to disturb the floor.”
Elena laughed.
“I didn't know there was a correct way to walk.”
“There isn't. Yours is just suspicious.”
“You've known me for a few hours.”
“And I've learned a lot.”
“Apparently.”
They reached the lobby, where a few students were sitting around the lounge. Someone was playing music quietly from a phone while two girls argued over something on a laptop.
Maya pushed open the front door.
The afternoon air was warmer now.
Elena stepped outside and immediately noticed how different campus looked without the rush of arriving with luggage.
Earlier, everything had been something to find.
Now she could actually look.
Students crossed the sidewalks in groups. A guy rode past them on a bicycle with one hand on the handlebars and a backpack hanging from one shoulder. Somewhere nearby, Elena could hear the faint sound of music and people laughing.
Maya walked beside her.
“You hungry?”
“Yes.”
“Good. That's the correct answer.”
“I was going to say I'm starting to get hungry.”
“Same thing.”
They followed a wide sidewalk toward the center of campus.
Elena looked up at one of the buildings.
“What is that?”
“Humanities.”
“And that?”
“Science.”
“And that one?”
Maya glanced over.
“Honestly?”
Elena nodded.
“I have no idea.”
Elena laughed.
“You've been here two weeks.”
“Exactly. I have only mastered the places that matter.”
“Which are?”
“Food. My room. The library.”
“You said you don't study that much.”
“I don't.”
“Then why the library?”
“Air conditioning.”
Elena looked at her.
Maya shrugged.
“I contain multitudes.”
They kept walking.
A group of students passed them, talking loudly about a party.
Maya glanced at Elena.
“Don't worry. You'll eventually learn which parties are actually worth going to.”
“I wasn't worried.”
“You looked worried.”
“I was looking.”
“You always look like you're thinking.”
“I am usually thinking.”
“That's dangerous.”
“Why?”
“Because then you start noticing things.”
Elena smiled.
“I already noticed that you talk too much.”
Maya put a hand over her heart.
“That hurt.”
“You'll recover.”
“I don't know. This friendship may not survive.”
“You called it a friendship before I did.”
Maya immediately pointed at her.
“See? Progress.”
They reached a large brick building with wide glass doors.
Maya stopped.
“Food.”
Elena looked through the doors.
Inside, students moved between different counters, carrying trays and drinks.
“This is the dining hall?”
“Yep.”
“It’s bigger than I expected.”
“Everything is bigger here.”
Maya pushed the door open.
“Except the food portions.”
Elena followed her inside.
The smell hit her immediately.
Something fried.
Something sweet.
Something she couldn't identify.
She looked at Maya.
“What is that?”
Maya smiled.
“Don't ask questions you don't want answered.”
Elena laughed again.
They joined the line.
Maya leaned closer.
“So. First official American college meal.”
Elena looked over the different options.
“I have a feeling I'm going to regret this.”
“Probably.”
“You're supposed to make me feel better.”
“I am. I'm being honest.”
Elena shook her head, smiling as they moved forward in line.
Maybe, she thought, America wasn't going to be as lonely as she had imagined.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD