The girl next door

Season 2 Smoke&Starlight

The first week of college came at Ari like a tidal wave. Syllabi stacked thick in her backpack, professors rattling off expectations, names to memorize in every class. She tried to keep up, to sink into the background where she felt safest.

But it was hard to stay invisible when her roommate was Maya Torres.

Maya had a way of filling every room she stepped into. She tossed her bag onto her bed and changed into her soccer jersey like the space belonged to her, music pulsing low from her speaker. People stopped by their dorm constantly teammates, friends, random guys who wanted her attention. She laughed with them easily, her voice carrying down the hall.

And Ari? Ari sat at her desk, pretending to read, cheeks burning at every loud knock on the door.

One afternoon, Ari finally worked up the courage to slip outside to the quad with her journal. She needed quiet. She needed stars. Of course, it was daytime, but the open sky still comforted her.

She had just started scribbling when a shadow fell across her notebook.

“Writing poetry about me already?”

Ari snapped the journal shut, looking up to see Maya grinning down at her, a cigarette dangling from her lips.

“I no I wasn’t ”

Maya laughed, sliding onto the grass beside her. The scent of smoke curled in the air, sharp but not unpleasant. “Relax. I’m kidding.”

Ari’s heart thudded anyway.

Maya took a drag, exhaling slowly. “You know, I thought you’d be hiding in the library by now.”

“I was going to,” Ari admitted. “But it felt too loud in there.”

“Too loud in the library?” Maya raised an eyebrow.

Ari shrugged, fiddling with her pen. “People talk more than they read.”

Maya smirked. “Fair point.” She tipped her head back, looking at the sky. For a moment, the tough edge in her softened. “You always used to sit outside back home, didn’t you? Staring at the stars.”

Ari’s stomach twisted. Maya remembered that.

“I… I liked how quiet it was,” Ari said softly.

Maya flicked ash into the grass, her gaze still upward. “Quiet’s overrated.” Then, glancing sideways: “But maybe not with you.”

Ari’s face warmed. She opened her journal again, needing to anchor herself. But her hand trembled, and she knew Maya noticed.

Later that night, their dorm quieted. Maya sprawled across her bed, scrolling her phone, while Ari sat cross-legged at her desk, trying to finish a reading assignment.

“You’re always working,” Maya said suddenly.

Ari looked up. “That’s… kind of the point of college.”

“College is also about fun.” Maya tossed a pillow at her, smirking when Ari flinched. “When’s the last time you actually did something fun?”

Ari frowned. “Reading is fun.”

Maya groaned dramatically. “You’re killing me, Daniels.” She rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. “Come on. There’s a bonfire by the soccer field tonight. You should come.”

“I don’t really…” Ari hesitated. Crowds, parties, loud music all of it terrified her.

Maya studied her, eyes glinting. “What are you scared of? That people will actually notice you?”

The words hit harder than Ari expected. Her throat tightened. “I’m not scared. I just… it’s not me.”

Maya’s smirk softened. “Fair enough. But if you ever change your mind…” She leaned back, smoke curling from her lips as if punctuation to her words. “I’ve got your back.”

Ari looked away, her chest fluttering.

The next evening, Ari found herself at the window while Maya smoked again. The sky outside was velvet-dark, stars scattered faintly above the glow of the campus lights.

“You ever wonder,” Ari said quietly, “if the stars are looking back?”

Maya turned, caught off guard. “Looking back?”

Ari hugged her knees. “Like… maybe they’re watching us. And we’re just stories to them.”

For a long moment, Maya didn’t answer. Then she smiled not the cocky grin she wore like armor, but something softer. “You really are something else, Daniels.”

Ari’s pulse raced.

Maya leaned out the window again, voice low. “When I saw your name on the roommate list, I thought… huh. The quiet girl next door. Wonder what she’s like now.”

Ari swallowed. “And?”

“And you’re still quiet,” Maya teased, then added, “but you surprise me.”

Their eyes met in the dim light. Neither of them looked away.

Something unspoken lingered in the air smoke and starlight, fragile and electric all at once.

That night, when Ari finally lay down, she couldn’t sleep. Not because of the noise in the hall or the hum of her desk lamp still glowing, but because of Maya’s words echoing in her chest.

You surprised me.

For the first time, Ari dared to hope she wasn’t invisible anymore.