It had seemed like my junior year of college was going to be perfect. My assigned roommate never showed up, so I had a double room all to myself. I had rearranged everything to my exact liking and sprawled my things all over the place- well, as much as one can sprawl in a small dorm room. I had no 8am classes- and 4 out of the 5 classes I enrolled in were in the same building. Ah- the joys of having most of your gen-ed out of the way. Less than three weeks into the semester, it all came crashing down on me.
I came back to my room after my last class of the week- on a Thursday no less- being an art student does have its perks- to find the RA, Tabitha, and some strange black haired girl standing in my room, moving things around.
"Excuse me, my room. What's going on?" I said, more than a little perturbed that people were in my room, touching my things.
"This is your new roommate, Kara. She's a transfer sophomore. I'm sure she'll be a positive influence on you and you can help her adjust to her new school," my RA replied in her way too perky voice, completely ignoring my pissy tone. She was a sorority girl and she was trying her damnedest to make sure she embodied every stereotype. I looked them both up and down, trying to decide whether to scream at them or just scream in general. Kara apparently misunderstood my look and grinned a devilish grin at me and looked me up and down with one eyebrow raised in appreciation. I felt the heat rush into my cheeks so I quickly turned and started moving some of my things to my side of the room, which would be the one closest to the window, of course. Once my back was to them, I decided that I needed to speak.
"Welcome Kara, I'll get your half of the room cleaned out as quickly as I can. I don't need any help- I'd rather move my stuff myself. Maybe Tabitha can show you around campus and I'll be done by the time you guys get back."
I could hear Tabitha whispering and I already knew what she was saying. It was what several of the girls in the dorm said about me and only a few had the guts to say to my face. I'm anti-social. I'm aloof, I'm bitchy, I'm too good to hang out with the other girls. So, I didn't want to join a sorority. That doesn't mean I'm anti-social. So, I find most of the conversations the girls in the dorm carry on to be drool, demeaning to women and just plain boring. I don't care who is screwing who on whatever TV show is hot at the moment, nor do I care if Professor Albertson is packing something in his way too tight jeans or not. I am a nerd, and I am picky about who I spend my time with- and I was praying that Kara would be someone that I could bear to spend at least a little time around. The library was only open so late these days.
"We'll give you an hour," Kara said in a playful tone. She looked me up and down again and subtly licked her lips before walking out of the room. What the hell kind of room mate did they assign to me?
It was actually two hours later when I was dragging her steamer trunks out of the hall and into the room. So much for my semester of sprawl. All the furniture was lined up as it was supposed to be and all of my things were crammed into my half. I had just lain down on the bed to rest when Kara came in the room.
"Good job, Celeste. I would have been more than happy to help you, but Tabby told me you're antisocial and don't like people around," she said, flopping on my bed beside me.
"It's not that," I stammered, taken aback and impressed at the same time by her honesty.
"no?" she asked, looking over at me grinning. "So you're a social butterfly then?"
"Um, no." I mumbled. "I'm just picky"
"Well, if it's not too far beneath you, I'm going down to the Strip to see what's going on. I think it would be cool if you came with me- a nice little room mate bonding adventure." She raised one delicate eyebrow at me in challenge. "If that's not your scene...."
I propped myself up and took a long look at her. What was she trying to do? She'd just met me and here she was taking it upon herself to be my social savior. I wasn't ready for that. I mean, someone besides me was lying on my bed! That was about all the personal space invasion I could take for one day.
"I think I'll pass this time. I'm kinda beat from moving everything around," I replied, looking down at the floor. It was nice to be invited somewhere.
She shrugged. "Maybe next time," she replied, with a smile. And it was a real smile- the kind that meant she really would try again.
I went about my normal routine, and as she was about to leave to go to the Strip, it was late enough for me to go to the showers. I was gathering up my bath-bag when she asked me what I was doing- I think she thought I might have changed my mind about going out. I explained that I showered between the hours of 11:30pm and 1am to increase my chance of being alone in the communal showers. I didn't like to be around all the other girls. I hated listening to their gossip as they shouted from stall to stall. I expected her to laugh. My last room mate did. But instead she just smiled and said something about it being good that I was doing my part to keep the morning traffic down in the girls' rooms. I was beginning to get the feeling that I would be able to live with her for a semester. She was very to-each-their-own and laid back.
I didn't see her much over the weekend- I was working all three days and she was in and out a lot. I noticed posters hung on her side, a new rug for the middle of the room, and various other little things. Monday morning was a surprise though. I showed up for my first class and there she was, sitting two desks over from my normal seat.
"Art or art history?" I asked, slipping into my desk. She looked up and smiled.
"Art, with an art history minor, you know in case I have to teach," she replied with a wry grin but a sparkle in her eyes. "You?"
"Art history, but I'm hoping to teach," I replied in my usual apologetic way. Most people didn't understand that I was completely aware of the future job prospects in my chosen field and still I continued down that degree path.
We chatted a bit more- she told me about the art program at her old school- until the teacher came in and began class.
After class, she slipped out before I could ask if she wanted to join me for lunch and honestly, I was a little disappointed. So, I ate lunch alone, went to class then went off and did my scholarship hours filing in the admissions office and went to work. When I came back to the dorm, she was already asleep, so I grabbed my bath bag and went to the computer lab to kill a couple of hours.
Tuesday was another surprise- my second class of the day, she was there again.
"You know, I'm going to think you're stalking me," she said jokingly as she sat down beside me.
"Hmm, seems like you've got that backwards. I think you might be stalking me." I replied in kind.
"Would you really mind if I was?" she said, with her eyebrow raised in question and that witchy grin of hers that made me blush.
I was surprised with myself though- I had a witty comeback off the cuff "I've had worse stalkers. At least I know if you steal my panties, they're just on the other side of the room."
She laughed so loud people in the hallway looked in. I was a little embarrassed, but then I laughed along because I realized that it wasn't just what I'd said that made her laugh so much- she had opened her backpack and stuck to her plush binder was a purple velvet thong.
"Just remember, I could carry them around with me first," she whispered as the teacher walked in the room.
Over the next couple of weeks, we established a kind of pattern. Lunch on Mondays and Wednesdays turned into lunch pretty much every day and dinner at the café on campus where I was meeting lots of new people whenever I didn't have to work. We were really beginning to become friends. She extended her invitation to come to the Strip again. It had only been three weeks since the last time she'd tried, but I decided to accept her challenge. After all, it was going to be the first time in a month and a half that I wouldn't have to work the following Friday. It would be a shame to waste an opportunity like that sitting in the library.
"Ok. I'm game. What should I wear?"
Her surprise was visible. "Seriously? Wow. Cool." And somehow I could tell that she meant it.
An hour later we were walking out the door. I let her dress me, kind of. It seemed to make her day that I let her dig through my closet. I drew the line on the short skirts though. I was ok with being seen, I just didn't want that much of me to be seen.
Once we got to the Strip, it seemed like she knew everyone. Every time we turned around, someone was shouting "Hey Kara!" She would wave, say hi, introduce me to people and we would all chat for a bit before moving on to another person. I think a couple of guys hit on me, but it had been so long since I'd even thought about dating someone, I wasn't sure. Boys were handing her drinks everywhere we went. She was young, attractive and outgoing- the perfect pick up target. I guess the drinks were why I thought nothing of it when she started touching me more- stroking my hand as we were sitting a table talking to someone she had met in her biology class. She appeared to be engrossed in the conversation so I thought the touching was just like a fidgety thing that she did when she got drunk- something she didn't even realize she was doing.
It was almost 2 am when she said she was ready to crash out, so we started walking back to the dorm. I think I had met more people that evening than I had ever met in my entire life, and strangely, it didn't bother me the way copious amounts of people usually bothered me. It had actually been kind of fun. She grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her.