Squib Who Scrubbed | ON HOLD

Chapter Thirty-Five

Moving out wasn't terrible, but moving in was. Confronted with her own room, Tania didn't know where to begin or how to organize her things. It had been years since she'd had her own room that was larger than a small bed twice over, and she didn't know she was supposed to organize her room.

Giving up, Tania decided she was just going to unpack and see where it took her. Even if she wanted to plan it out, she certainly didn't know how.

It was several hours later before Tania decided she liked how her room looked, at least right then. Unpacking had actually only taken a little over an hour, but Tania kept reorganizing her belongings in the apartment, unsatisfied every time with how it looked.

Sitting down on the bed, she narrowed her eyes and looked around the room. It wasn't as large as the one she had as a child, but it was definitely bigger than the one she had spent her teenage years in.

The one she had as a child was beautiful, she recalled, with a large bed and plenty of fluffy blankets, full of small stuffed animals and fairytale books. It had been a lovely mint shade of green and silver, with a closet full of pretty clothes for her to use and play dress up in.

A large window led to a balcony, although access to the balcony had been limited until she turned eight. Then, it had been permanently unlocked and she had been allowed to come and go as she pleased.

Of course, this had all been before she was eleven. Afterwards, she had been cramped in a small room that Tania suspected had been a closet before she had suddenly needed a new room.

Tania's thoughts were interrupted by the door of the apartment opening.

"Hello?" Tania heard Sophie call. "Ani, are you here?"

"I'm here, in my room." Tania answered, stumbling over her words. This room, it was hers now. As long as she lived here, at least. She briefly wondered how long she would live here, with Sophie and Mika.

"Did you get your room all organized?" Sophie asked, appearing in the doorway.

"Yeah," Tania shrugged, "Although I'm not sure if I like it, if I'm being honest. I might try to organize it again."

Sophie gave a smile and her own shrug. "If you want, we could go shopping for some little decorations."

Tania blinked, and her mouth opened in confusion. Decorations? Why would she need to decorate her room? It wasn't like she was going to be hosting a party in her room.

"Decorations?" She asked, voicing her thoughts. "What for?"

Sophie gave her a weird look, her nose scrunched up and her eyebrows low over her eyes. "To spice it up a bit, I guess. There isn't much in here, which is fine, but it would fill the room a bit. You could make it look really pretty."

Pretty.

The word echoed in her mind, and Tania silently mouthed it. Pretty was a foreign word, something she hadn't associated with herself in years. Making a sudden decision, Tania nodded at Sophie.

"We can go shopping for decorations. When would be good?"

Sophie immediately started listing off dates and times, which Tania nodded to absentmindedly.

Pretty.

Ani liked pretty. Ani was pretty, even if Titania wasn't, so as Ani, she had a duty to create and make pretty things.

And, maybe Titania liked pretty things too.

Saturday quickly approached, and Tania began to feel those blasted butterflies in her stomach again. And, although she tried to, she couldn't seem to get rid of them. Nearly all of her thoughts were devoted to the date, and what she would wear, act like, and talk about.