Remember The Music

Chapter 2

When I finally found my way back to my dorm room, Charlie was nowhere to be seen. Thankfully. I assumed she had already left for dinner. I flopped back down onto the bed, resuming my position from earlier. Maybe I could just take a nap.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the tidy row of luggage lined up against the wall. The unpacked suitcases seemed to up leer at me. 

With a sigh I stood up again, slowly making my way towards them. I might as well unpack. In only an hour I’d given up the childish hope that I could go home.

Two of the suitcases were filled with skirts, shirts, stockings, and sweaters, all embroidered with the school insignia; a lake with two pine trees. The final suitcase was filled with many of my books from home. 

The dorm rooms consisted of two beds, two dressers, two desks, and one bookcase in the middle. I hoped that  Charlie wasn’t a big reader, because my books took up nearly all the space in our shared bookcase.

After struggling to refold all my clothes with only one hand and placing them into drawers, I made up my bed. Once I was finished, I stood back to admire my handiwork. My half of the room was so plain and tidy that it was barely noticeable someone was living there. Everything was grey, matching the dull color of the walls. Grey sheets, grey duvet, grey macbook, grey alarm clock. Charlie’s side of the room, however, was the exact opposite.

Bright pink bedsheets, a laptop in a pink case, pink pencils in a pink holder on the desk, and even a pink towel hanging from the doorknob of our shared bathroom door. I was going to take a wild guess that her favorite color was pink. 

Satisfied with my organizing skills, I kicked the now-empty suitcases deep under the bed and out of sight. Now I could finally take a nap. After traveling all day, I was exhausted.

My familiar duvet made the bed seem more comfortable now. It even smelled like my house. You never realize that your house smells a certain way until you aren’t living there anymore. I closed my eyes and it didn’t take long before I was asleep.

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“Psst!” Something made a noise near my ear. I groaned but didn’t open my eyes. “Psst! Wake up!” 

“What?” I grumbled, still half asleep. I hated when my mother woke me up so early in the morning.

“Wake up,” the same, high-pitched voice repeated. I opened my eyes halfway, adjusting to the brightness of the room. That was definitely not my mother and it was definitely not morning.

“What do you want?” I asked reluctantly, a bit annoyed. I glanced at the alarm clock on the wooden desk next to me. 7:00. I had been asleep for about an hour and a half.

“I brought you some food because I didn’t see you at the feast and I thought you might be hungry” Charlie informed me, holding out something wrapped in a blue napkin. “But don’t tell anyone, because it’s against the rules to take food out of the dining hall.”

“I’m not hungry,” I replied. However, my traitorous stomach let out a hungry growl at the exact same time. 

“Well, okay,” she said doubtfully. “I’ll just put it on your desk in case you change your mind. It’s a muffin.”

“Fine.” I rolled over to face the wall, turning my back towards her. Maybe she would leave me alone now.

She went and sat back down on her own bed, the mattress springs creaking slightly. I could feel her eyes on me as I lay there, but she didn’t say anything.

After a few minutes of silence, I sat up. “Are you just going to stare at me all night? It’s creepy.”

She didn’t reply again, so I threw her an annoyed look. “Fine, I’ll eat the damn muffin.” She quickly hid a triumphant smile.