august 1st
you finally go out of the car after a long six hours drive. it was quite difficult to breath in the car because of how hot the day is, and also because you were four where there was only enough place for three persons, including all the bags. the sun is so bright at the moment that you have to close your eyes for a second to get used to it.
you and your friends - who were actually more your friend's friends - drove to this house right in front of a lake. it was your friend's idea. dina is the kind of person to convince everyone to do something, she always finds the right words. so here you are with two huge bags, watching them stretching and taking pictures. the second car with 4 persons arrives right after yours.
you take a look at the outside. the land is vaste and beautiful. all this reminds you of a painting. there is green and blue everywhere. the heat makes you want to jump in the lake.
you don't know any of those people, and to be honest, you don't really care. you are not the kind of person to socialize with strangers easily. you mostly stay on your own because you are not comfortable being with people you don't know.
you keep your hands on your bags. you see jesse - the guy who was with you in the car - running to dina, to give her a hug and kiss her. actually, you only knew dina and jesse. dina was the girl you studied with, and also the one you spent free time with.
when you started going to college, you were most likely to stay with your highschool friends, or to be alone. you were alone for a time, like one month. and then, dina just showed up in front of you when you were studying in the college library. you can't ignore someone like her. she's unique.
you always had a way to describe people. to you, dina is a sunrise during summer. she is the birds singing early in the morning. she is also the music you listen when you feel lonely. that's what she represents for you. now both of you are so close that you are ready to accept to spend an entier month with her and her friends. friends you don't know.
'alright guys. you can put your stuffs in your room i guess' says dina when she stands right in front of the house's front door. 'just pick a room, 'cause i didn't plan who was supposed to take which room. but don't fight ok?'
everyone is grabbing their bags and heading to the door. what dina haven't said is that there are only four rooms and each have two beds, which means that you have to share your room with someone. your best choice is dina since she is your only friend, but she is definitely sharing her room with her boyfriend jesse. looking at everyone, you see that some duos are made already. there's another couple, owen and mel. you remember dina telling you about them, especially about mel's pregnancy. then there is a tall blond girl and a younger boy talking together. you can say that you are not going to share a room with any of them.
which leaves you with your last and only choice, the girl dina always talks about but you never got the chance to meet. you have heard so much about her, it's like you already know her. the funny thing is that you have no idea what she looks like. dina never showed you any photo of her and when you tried to find her social accounts, your friend said that she is not a big fan of them. you could only imagine how she could look like. she seems kind, so she would be pretty with long hair, a beautiful smile and a clean skin.
'hi, i'm abby' says a voice behind you. turning your head, you see the blond girl smiling at you. you smile back, a little shy and tell her your name. 'oh, i see, dina's friend! nice to meet you'
you watch her entering the house as well. before going in, you go back to the car when you realise you left your phone inside. you walk by the other car which seems a lot bigger and confortable than the one you spent hours in. you open the car's door and frown when you don't see your phone on the backseat. you squat, maybe the phone fell on the floor, but you don't see it at all.
'i just arrived and i already lost something' you complain to yourself.
'need help?'
the voice almost scares you, you get back up so quickly that your head hits the car ceiling. 'fuck' you automatically bring your hand to your head and look at the person behind you. and it's like you forget how to breath and how to talk. you might have put your eyes on the most attractive girl on earth.
'are you okay?' she asks, worried. her green eyes explore your face for an answer. it takes you a few seconds before you find your words. 'yeah, you just scared me. i thought everyone was already inside' you say. 'i don't think we can smoke inside' she shows you the joint she holds between her fingers.
you nodd, not knowing what to respond to that. 'you lost something?'
'my phone, can't find it'
she chuckles. 'i can make your phone ring, if you want'
you look at her taking her phone from her pocket and unlock it. she hands it to you, revealing the tatoo on her arm. she doesn't stop looking at you when you tap your phone number. it takes like two seconds before you both can hear under pressure resonating inside the car. you forgot you put it in the passenger seat pocket. you end the call, and the song stops. 'thank you'
you give her phone back, she smiles. the smoke escapes her mouth when she speaks. 'queen and bowie... that ring tone would send everyone to voicemail'
you can't help but laugh a little. the way she sounds make you cheeks warm up. she notices how shy you are, and she kinda likes it. it's cute.
'i'm ellie' she says, looking at you looking at the grass. you raise your eyes to meet hers. they look go bright and green. you notice the freckles on her face. you tell her your name, which she repeats quietly 'nice'
and that was the first time you spoke to the girl who will share your room for thirty days, the first person you will see when you will wake up and the last when you will go to sleep.
she stubs out her joint and heads for the house. you look at the way she walks. her hands are in her pant's pockets. she wears a white t-shirt and converses. a masculine look, totally the opposite of what you imagine. you follow her.
you are glad dina chose this house. it's right in front of a lake and the whole environment looks peaceful. you actually hate loud places, which means you hate noise and crowded places. living in a house with seven other people would have get you reluctant if you were to spend an entire month in a big city.
from the outside, the place looks smaller than what actually looks from the inside. all the decoration is a mix of brown (brown like wood), beige and green. everything looks confortable. there is a fireplace in the living room, which makes you regret to be here in the middle of summer because you know it would have been great to use it during winter. you notice there is no tv and no wifi, but with everything dina planned for the next thirty days, paying for tv would have been useless. there are two circular sofas put in front of each other and separated by a circular low table. the whole place reminds you of a familial atmosphere. you imagine sitting one of the sofa in your pyjamas with other persons who would either sit on the sofas like you or sit on the ground at the low table. there would be a game on it, like scrabble or monopoly.
you walk through the room, passing through the kitchen till you reach the stairs. you meet abby's friend, the young boy you saw her talking to. you smile at him and introduce yourself to him before he introduces himself as well as 'lev'. you follow him until you reach the end of the stairs.
once upstairs, you find the others almost in a circle in the long corridor where the four rooms are.
'we've already got the groups for the rooms, but now we have to choose who gets which room' announces diane. 'who wants to choose?'
'hm, i think mel and i should take the closest room to the bathroom. as mel is pregnant, it's better if she gets nauseous' says Owen. 'you're right'
the second room is going to be occupied by mel and owen as it perfectly opposites the bathroom. then, as the couple and abby and levi didn't want the last room at the end of the corridor, it was decided - after playing rock, paper, scissor - that dina and jesse would occupy the first room, and abby and levi the third. for you, the location of the room doesn't matter, you don't really want to choose. and besides, you aren't the only one to choose. your future thirty-day roommate also has to choose. but she doesn't seem to care either. so you and this ellie are going to occupy the last room at the end of the corridor.
your eyes search for her. you see her a little further on, already heading for your room. she too has two bags, a backpack and a larger one she carries with her right hand. you start to follow her silently as you see the others starting to move into theirs. you pass each room with quick glances. they are bigger than you imagined. you pass the two bathrooms whose doors are closed. you decide to open one of them, the one closest to your room, the one you were going to use and share with ellie, abby and levi. your eyes open wide when you see the bathroom, which looks like the bathroom of your dreams. there is a rather large bathtub that could accommodate more than one person. there are some decorations such as books, scented candles and plants. now that you notice, you realize that there are plants in all the rooms. the bathrooms on this side of the house overlook the small forest behind the house, so the rooms had a view of the lake in front of it.
as you leave the bathroom, you see the door open, meaning ellie's presence inside. you discreetly poke your head in to see before entering. the girl is standing in front of one of the open bedroom windows. she has stuck her head out of it, her hands resting on the edge.
'it's too hot' you say as you drop both bags to the floor and wipe your forehead. 'yes, that's why i opened the window'
'but if you open the window it will be even hotter inside' you add.
ellie raises her head, realising that it wasn't such a good idea to bring the hot air from outside into the house. it would be worse. she rubs her neck and then turns to you with an almost shy smile ( despite herself) 'oh yeah, that's what i thought too' she lies.
there is a brief exchange of glances between you for a moment. then you speak up to break the awkward silence 'which bed do you want?'
'i can take this one' she replies, pointing to the bed next to her. 'okay, i'll take the other one then'
you take your two bags and put them on your bed. these beds are not only separate but also double, you couldn't ask for anything better, knowing that you love rolling around in sheets. you open one of the bags, which contains mostly light clothes; dresses, skirts and tops. there are also two pairs of shoes in it, which you had put in a smaller bag (shoes for going to the beach and trainers for possible walks). in the other bag there are your toiletries and some make-up, which you immediately put away in the dresser next to your bed. you then take out a book (which you intend to read during your stay) and put it in your dresser as well. finally, you take out your underwears and socks, which you also put away.
you glance behind you to see ellie silently setting up her things. you see her put a worn out notebook and a pen on her dresser. your curious nature longs to know what is in the notebook. but you turn your head when you see ellie glancing in your direction. your cheeks heat up as if you've been caught doing something stupid. you wish you could slap yourself in the face for reacting like this. ellie is only a girl, so why are you reacting like a fifteen-year-old girl?
you go back to tidying up. you take every piece of clothing you had on your bed and hang it in the closet. most of your clothes have floral patterns, you think it's appropriate for summer, and it's kind of cute. you would describe your clothing as feminine and fairy-like. you think this kind of clothing makes you look prettier.
'oh, by the way. are you the type of person to wake up super early?' ellie asks you. 'or are you the one who sleeps till 1pm?'
'hm, i hate waking up early when i can sleep longer' you confess with a little smile, which makes ellie smile back. 'i see. so no clock alarm'
'we'll let the crickets wake us up'
ellie laughs softly as she removes a strand of hair from her face.
it's already the evening. the sun is still up but will soon disappear. the crickets have been quiet for a few minutes, yet neither of you has noticed the silence. you haven't noticed the others' footsteps leaving their rooms and going downstairs either.
'i think we should go downstairs. we've got a few more things to eat for tonight' you say as you approach the door.
'yes, go ahead, i'll join you in a few minutes' she replies as she approaches her dresser. you nod.
you all sit on the grass outside the house since the heat is more bearable in the evening. you just know that being near a lake will save your lives this month. all of you start to eat the rest of your sandwiches and potatoes chips. ellie joins you three minutes later.
for at least two hours, dina talks about the activities she planned. museum trip, beach day. she planned at least one thing every two days. you can't help but smile, because you know dina wants this month to be perfect for you all.
around 10pm, owen and jesse jump in the lake. mel yells at owen for jumping in the water while still wearing his clothes. ellie stands up and runs to the guys. unlike them, she takes the time to take her clothes of - to only wear panties and a t-shirt, and jumps too. you had the time to catch a bit of the parts of her body not hidden by the clothing she still wears.
'oh my god, the water is so good' she screams at you and the girls. she signs you to come join them, but the girls decline. you would have join them, to be honest. you are still hot, but you have your period. you just shake your head.
ellie and the boys play in the water like kids. mel sighs like a mother looking at her child.
'i don't know why, but i have a good feeling about our holidays' whispers dina.
'what?' says abby. 'i think this month is going to be interesting' dina responds while looking at you looking at ellie, but you don't hear her.
you all go to sleep at around 1am, all exhausted by the drive and the heat. you are in your bed, looking at your phone, waiting for the videos to load (there is no
internet network). the door of the room opens. ellie comes in from the shower, wearing new panties and another t-shirt. her hair are still wet. your eyes pass from your phone to her, and to your phone again.
you give up when you realize you won't watch that video. you turn off your phone and put it on your dresser on the right of your bed. you put yourself under the bed sheet and turn yourself to face ellie. she is on her bed, her legs are crossed and she holds the notebook. you look at her, and somehow she feels it because she turns her head and meets your eyes. for a few seconds ellie and you exchange a look without saying anything. then, when you feel your face get warm, you turn over.
'goodnight' you say.
'goodnight'
august 1st
just arrived at this house by the lake. dina forced me, i think it'll be good for me to get a change in my life. she did well, it's big and not too bad. the bedroom is huge and the bed is double. i love it. i'm sharing the room with a girl. she's shy and kind of cute. she's got under pressure as ringtone, she has taste.
*
we've just come back from dinner and i'm on my bed. i've just had the strangest but most intense eye contact of my life. this girl is... i don't know.