The morning light trickles through the drapes, casting beams on my comforter. I stretch every joint in my body and let out a loud, satisfying yawn.
"Good morning, sleepyhead. Catch up on that sleep?" Zara asks while scrolling through her phone on her bed.
"Morning," I greet, sitting up in bed. "I slept like a baby. The flight must have worn me out. What about you; did you sleep okay?"
She lifts a shoulder. "Not the best. I got a few hours here and there."
"Oh God, I wasn't snoring, was I?"
Zara chuckles at my question. "No, I just couldn't sleep well."
"I'm glad that it wasn't me who kept you awake. If I do end up snoring at some point, feel free to throw a pillow at me."
She laughs. "I'll keep that in mind."
It's only at this point I realize Zara has already showered and dressed while I've been in bed asleep. As expected, her outfit comprises all black. Black shorts, black bodysuit, even black sneakers.
"What are the showers like?" I ask nervously. That was the one part of my college experience I was not looking forward to, shared bathrooms.
"They're okay. Before Jake got into his fraternity, I used to use them."
I forgot about her boyfriend already being at Berkeley for a year.
"Wait, what about when you stayed over? Wasn't it a bit weird with him having a roommate?" I couldn't imagine sharing a room with a couple. I mean, what do you do when they want a bit of "alone time"?
"Not really; his roommate usually ended up going back to some girl's room after a night out, so I didn't see him much," she says nonchalantly. "Then when Jake got into his Fraternity, he had his own room which made it even easier."
"Oh. That's good, then."
"So what do you want to do today?" she asks, swiveling her body so that her legs are now dangling above the floor.
I look at the posters adorning her wall and wish I had brought some with me from home. "We could go shopping? There's a few things I want to get for our room."
"Cool, I'm up for that! Why don't you shower while I grab some cereal from the cafeteria?"
"Sounds like a plan."
I get out of bed and grab my showering bits before heading to the communal bathroom to get ready.
I have an ounce of dread about sharing a shower with loads of strangers, but at least I was lucky enough to be given an all-female floor, so there's no risk of seeing a half-naked guy in there.
When I walk in the bathroom, there are already two girls by the sinks doing their makeup, and I can hear a shower running in the back. I keep my head raised and head over to one of the empty shower cubicles and open the saloon-style door.
Very gingerly, I remove my pajamas and drape them over the door next to my towel. When I turn to face the hose and pull the lever, ice-cold water sprays out. I squeal in shock and quickly move to the corner of the stall. Laughter quickly erupts in the bathroom, making me cringe. Could this be anymore mortifying?
After waiting for what seems like forever, the water finally warms up, and I wash my body as fast as I can, then wrap my towel around me.
I quickly retreat to my dorm room, avoiding everyone's eyes as I leave the bathroom. Luckily, Zara is still out when I get back, so I don't have to worry about being disturbed while I dress. Seeing as the sun is shining high in the sky and there are no clouds in sight, I decide to pull out my white cotton dress.
I'm in the middle of zipping up the back when I hear my phone chime on the bed.
I stop what I'm doing and turn my phone over, thinking it may be a message from Zara to see if I'm ready yet, but when I see the notification lit up on my screen, I freeze in shock.
"Tanner Cole has sent you a friend request."
What the hell!
Why on earth is Tanner sending me a friend request? We've never had any contact online before, and the only times we do have contact is when our families hang out or we inadvertently end up at the same gathering.
I know my dad wants me to try and work it out with Tanner, but after years of us at each other's throats, how is us going to college going to change that? It's like that old saying - a leopard can't change its spots.
I bring up my account to hit decline, but as I'm about to press the button, my finger freezes. I don't have to decline him right away. I could just leave it. Either way, it has the same effect.
Before I exit my account, I see that I have a few tags from some of my old school friends and a couple of unseen messages. I scroll through the tags first and then open my messages and give a small smile when I see that I have a new message from Shawn. I meant it when I said to Zara that we've been managing to remain friends since we broke up.
Shawn: Hey, you. I'm all settled in at Stanford now. My roommate seems to be cool, and he's going to use his fake ID to get us some beers later for a block party. How're things going at Berkeley? What's your roommate like? x
It doesn't go unnoticed that he's left a kiss at the end of this message. I learned a while ago that if I reciprocate in that way, then he seems to jump to conclusions and tries to flirt with me. He hasn't sent me one of these in a few weeks, so I know something's up.
I look at Shawn's profile picture above the message and see that green light is on, telling me that he's still online. I press the button to enter a new message and type out a quick response.
Me: Hi. Berkeley is great! So is my roommate, thank God! Seriously though, I thought I was going to have a mini heart attack when I saw her. You remember that girl in high school with the motorcycle? She looks so much like her. Luckily she isn't mean like that girl was. I thought you had your own fake ID?
He immediately starts messaging me back. I watch as the dots on my phone move back and forth.
Shawn: I can just picture her. Good thing your roommate is nothing like her. I lost my ID when I was packing, so I've got to get another somehow. You should get one while you're at college. It'll come in handy. x
Me: Do you honestly see me walking around with a fake ID?
Shawn: Good point. But if you get one, we can use it the same night to get in a bar or something. You're only a fifty-minute drive away, and I'm going to get a car in the next few weeks, so we can meet up and go explore. x
And there it is. It would be nice to see a familiar face over the coming weeks, but I don't want to go out with him and have it be awkward if he expects something more.
I stare at the screen for a few minutes while I think about how to turn him down gently.
Me: Thanks for the offer, but I think I want to spend the first few weeks settling in and to get to know my new peers. Maybe in the future, we can. Just not right now.
I bite on my nail as I watch the dots momentarily appear and then disappear again. After another minute, the dots reappear again.
Shawn: No worries. I get that you want to settle in. Maybe in a month or so, we can.
I notice that he hasn't put a kiss at the end of this message. I hate feeling like the bad guy, but Shawn needs to get the message that nothing is going to happen between us again.
Needing to hurry, I exit my account and throw my phone back on the bed so I can finish getting ready. I finish buttoning up my shorts and then grab my hairbrush out of the top drawer.
Just as I finish tying my red hair up into a messy bun, the lock turns on the door, and Zara walks into the room.
"And done!" I announce.
"Great! Are you sure you don't want to get anything to eat before we go?"
"I'm not really hungry. I'll just grab something while we're out."
She smiles. "Okay."
I grab my gold backpack, throw on my favorite comfy sandals, and head out the door with Zara.
After five hours of intense shopping in the scorching heat, getting sun-burnt on my shoulders, and having aching feet, I feel a sense of achievement at finding the right pieces to make our dorm room feel more cozy.
"Let's get to work," Zara says eagerly, clapping her hands.
"Ugh, where do you get your energy from?"
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were eighteen, not eighty-one," she quips.
"Very funny," I respond, rolling my eyes.
Even though I wouldn't mind having an hour to chill out on my bed, I'm excited to start decorating my side of the room. I have a good feeling that once it's done, I'll feel more at home here.
I get to work stripping the plain cover off my comforter that halls provided and replace it with a yellow floral one. I then throw my two new matching white-and-green palm tree-patterned cushions on top and place my silver one in the middle.
"Ooh, I love it; very summery," Zara notes.
"Thanks. I have one similar to this back home."
The instant thought of home makes me homesick. It's only been a day, but the thought of distance and being in different time zones for the next few months makes me miss it.
I was able to phone my mom while I was out shopping and she was beyond happy that Zara and I are hitting it off. I could tell from the relief in her voice, that she is finally relaxing after her previous worries of me leaving. I can only imagine how much she has been fretting over me.
"What are you going to do with your fairy lights?" Zara asks, breaking me from my thoughts.
"I was thinking of draping them on the wall and putting my Polaroids from home beneath it."
"That sounds cool. Do you want a hand hanging them?"
"Yes, please," I respond gratefully.
By the time I hang the last of the posters and photos on the wall, I'm out of breath. I slide ungracefully down the wall and slump on my bed. Zara finished decorating her side about ten minutes ago and has been glued to her phone ever since. From the enormous smile on her face, I'm assuming she is texting her boyfriend, Jake.
When I look at my side of the room, then Zara's, the words polar opposite springs to mind. While my things are full of color and vibrancy, nearly all of Zara's are black with the occasional mix of dark reds and grays. Even her bedspread is completely black. But in some strange way, our contrast in style works.
Zara puts her phone down and assesses my work. "Nice! I do love your fairy lights."
"Thanks."
"So what do you want to do tonight? We could crash a party," Zara says eagerly.
"I envy your energy."
Zara chuckles at my words, "All right, Grandma! We'll just stay in tonight."
I suddenly feel guilty. "We can go out if you want, or you can go see Jake. I'm sure he's eager to see you."
"Uh-uh, I told him from the get-go that I'd be spending the first week with my roommate. Anyway, he'll be busy partying it up with his fraternity.
"They throw the best parties, but you regret the heavy hangover in the morning."
She laughs.
"Awe, that's sweet of you. So did you go to a few of their parties last year, then?"
"Yep, my parents are so chill they let me come here all the time to see Jake. They've known him since he was ten, so they trust him."
"Whoa! So you've known him for a long time."
Zara's eyes seem to sparkle when talking about him. "That's the age when I first met him. He moved in across the street, and since that day, we've been inseparable."
I lay across my bed on my side and place my hands beneath my head. "That must be nice meeting someone like that."
"Sure is. You never know; you might find Mr. Right while you're here," she says, wiggling her eyebrows.
I weakly chuckle at her talking about my relationship status. "I think I'm still good for now, thanks, I just want to settle in and focus on my studies."
She laughs. "Okay. But you don't know what you're missing. College guys are so much better than high school guys. Trust me."
Have any of you had a blunder in communal bathrooms? How do you think the girls are hitting it off? 🤔
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