Gold Weaver

chapter i

Vasanoa was a glowing oasis in a blue desert, its lively reefs were flush with vibrantly colored fish of seemingly all shapes and sizes. Even the world's largest fish - whale sharks - called Vasanoa home. The islands themselves boasted beautiful volcanoes, and rich volcanic soil that fed the stunning green forests that were home to many species of birds, flowers, and fruits. The big city of Vasanoa, Hasanii was nestled between the green forest and the crystal blue sea. One of only three cities in the nation, Hasanii was shown off as a jewel in Vasanoa's ever-beautiful crown. Tourists of all kinds came to witness the natural beauty and culture of the archipelago, and natural science students poured in from every continent to get their education in the beautiful city.

Noah, of course, was no different. A marine science student, she had been lucky to get a fellowship that afforded her a tuition-free graduate education at Hasanii University. The whale sharks that the natural oasis attracted were the subjects of Noah's thesis and Hasanii University was home to one of the world's foremost whale shark researchers. Noah's sponsor - Dr. Alexandria Chan. Noah was exceedingly lucky to have gotten Dr. Chan's approval to work in her lab and learn under her.

And she was even more lucky to have founded a decent place. Her roommate, Alex, was a student at the university's school of medicine, and had been attending the university since undergrad. Naturally, this meant she had acquired an apartment in the area that was cheap, easily accessible to the university, and just all-around perfect for university students.

The trade-off?

Loud parties from other college students that lived in the building, views of the alleyway between this apartment building and the building next door, and loneliness. Alex's studies and job made it so she was rarely at the apartment - no doubt great for introverts, but to someone like Noah the impending loneliness was almost crushing.

Almost.

Somewhere between her TA gig and her coursework, Noah was determined to make friends. She had to. She wasn't in Hasanii solely for the university - she was there to establish a life in the islands where she could study sharks and make a home. And a home, at least in her mind, required friends.

Would it be difficult? Sure, but she was willing to work to earn it.

"Have a good day at work!" Noah poked her head out from her new room, waving goodbye as Alex walked out the door. Alex didn't answer much outside of a grunt, slamming the door behind her. Try not to take it personally, Noah reminded herself. Alex is a busy woman after all, and the last thing Noah needed was to sour any potential good-roommate situation with hurt feelings.

With the apartment to herself, Noah made her way over to the kitchen and tried to find something to eat. The kitchen wasn't particularly big, and was neatly nestled by the front door. When giving Noah a tour, Alex bemoaned that people had to practically walk through the kitchen to get to the living room, but if Noah was honest she didn't mind it at all. In fact, she thought it was pretty cute as an apartment layout. Noah opened the fridge, scanning for whatever was vaguely edible.

For the most part, Alex was pretty chill regarding groceries. She was pretty accepting of Noah eating anything in the fridge or cabinet that wasn't in Alex's specific fridge drawer and cabinet. General supplies like milk, butter, and eggs were free to use - but specific snacks were Alex's. As Alex had explained, it effectively made groceries cheaper for everyone if general supply costs were split between the household, and Noah couldn't really disagree.

Hasanii was an island, after all. The cost of living was far from cheap.

Still, having just moved in, Noah didn't really have anything of her own in the fridge, and they were running low on general supplies, too. She pulled out her phone, making a list of things she'd need to pick-up to, at the very least, fill up on some personal supplies.