Chapter Text
Julia stepped out of the car, stretching. It was Sunday evening- and college officially started on the previous Tuesday.
“God, that was officially the longest car ride in my life.” She muttered, checking the time on her phone. It was 10:43 PM.
Kamille stepped out from the other side of the car and opened the trunk. “You should be happy, Julia. We missed some school. You would have been so happy to miss school a year ago.”
“Well, we missed the first days. The most important ones. We have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into. Plus, those are the easiest days of the year.” Julia walked over towards the trunk of the car, grabbing her suitcase. It was brown with leather straps- previously her fathers but was passed down to her.
Kamille grabbed her suitcase. It was yellow with flowers sewn into it- Kamille spent most of the summer sewing various colorful flowers onto the bag. “Fair enough. Do you think we missed anything too important?”
“Nah, just the syllabus and stuff. I hope we can find our way around campus.”
The two put their bags on the sidewalk, saying goodbye to Mrs. Bernaud first. She’d driven the two girls from the beach all the way to Kalgratt University, which wasn’t a short traffic-less drive.
“We really ought to do something to thank her.” Kamille sighed, watching her mother drive away. “I bet that wasn’t a fun drive.”
“We can discuss that later- let’s get inside! Aren’t you excited about everything? Like seeing where our rooms are and getting started on our future!”
Kamille watched as Julia slightly struggled to get her bags up the stairs. Julia always dove head-first into these things, always so excited to start a new future. She went to college to become a park ranger- if that didn’t say how much she loved her country and government, Kamille wasn’t sure what would.
“Allow me.” Someone said, walking out of the entrance and towards the two girls. Kamille spotted another person behind the first.
The first person stepped closer. Julia noticed that he was fairly tall (and muscular) with earrings and his nails painted black. He had long, raven-colored hair with the front dyed blond and golden earrings. The man wore a black shirt with a black-and-white flannel and had ripped jeans on.
“Interesting outfit.” Julia whispered to Kamille. Where they grew up, everyone wore bright but soft colors and men would never have pierced ears.
“Who’s the girl behind him?” Kamille asked.
A girl wearing a brown crop-top with sleeves that left her shoulders uncovered followed behind the man. She wore flared jeans and had her hair in gorgeous waves- it was clear she’d spent a lot of time and money on a facial and hair routine.
The man stood in front of Julia, slightly leaning on her suitcase. “Need help?”
“Who are you!?” Julia growled, trying to move her suitcase away from the other man.
"Relax, I was just planning to help you and your friend. Though it seems she’s busy.”
Julia looked over at Kamille, who was talking to the girl.
“Ugh. Whatever. We don’t need you’re help- who even are you?”
The man chuckled. “I’m Sahed. I’m just a student here and was passing by and seeing you two were having a bit of trouble getting up the stairs with your bags. Rainah insisted we at least ask if you need help because it’s the ‘nice thing to do’ apparently.”
Julia looked back over to Kamille and the other girl, Rainah. The girl grabbed Kamille’s bag, bringing it up the stairs. Kamille seemed much happier and more thankful than Julia about the help.
Sahed shrugged as he watched Rainah and grabbed Julia’s suitcase, taking it up the stairs.
“Hey!” Julia barked, scrambling up the stairs after the man. “That’s mine!”
“Chill out, I’m just trying to be nice.” He placed her bag when they reached the top of the stairs. “The passcode to get in the office is 1965. The year the school was built.”
Julia reclaimed her bag, still weary of the stranger… Sahed, was it? Whatever, she wouldn’t stress over the name of a total stranger.
“Come on, Rainah, let’s get back to our dorm before they lock us out. They've already done that before.” Sahed walked off, leaving Julia alone.
Rainah followed Sahed, taking quick steps to catch up.
“You’re welcome!” Sahed called out.
As the two somewhat-strangers walked away, the girls grabbed their bags and walked towards the big glass doors.
“I liked them.” Kamille was smiling.
“I don’t. Did you see the man? His ears were pierced!”
“We are in a state college. Not everyone will grow up like we did.”
“Still. His nails were also painted black!”
“I thought they were nice. Don’t stress about others appearances, Julia. Anyways, did you see the girl and how nice her hair looked? I wonder if we’ll run into her later and I can ask her for some tips.”
Julia tuned out Kamille’s rambling about the other girl- Rainah- and her hair. Apparently she was very up with the fashion trends. Julia didn’t care too much- she dressed more preppy, wearing light colored tops with skirts. Enough to look nice but not having to go broke to look good. Julia punched in 1965 and the doors clicked with a small beep, unlocking. They stepped in, letting the cool air wash over them.
“Welcome!” A woman said from behind a desk. “You must be new here- what are your names, and if you do remember, dorm style? It’ll help me find your keys and rooms faster.”
“I’m Julia Lazarrett and this is Kamille Bernaud.” Julia told the woman. “We chose the dorms on the co-ed floor.”
Normally, Julia would become furious at the thought of sharing a floor with boys. From the stories she heard, it seemed that the floor was always chaos if both genders shared. At this school, you could only share a room of someone of the same sex. But it was cheaper to sleep on the co-ed floor, and the girls needed to save all the money they could. Julia managed to convince Kamille it was alright- the boys were on the other side of the hall. It’s not like they’d be sharing a bedroom or bathroom.
The woman was typing something in her computer.
“Alright! I’ve found your keys. You girls are sleeping in room 424B. You know how the room numbers work- floor and lettering?”
“Yes ma’am. We’re on floor 4 and on the B side. I’m assuming the A side is for the boys?”
“Right you are… Kamille!” The receptionist looked at the computer for the girls name. “Here are your keys to the room. Might want to be a bit quiet, I’m sure some are sleeping already.”
Kamille took the keys and grabbed her suitcase. Julia led the way to the elevators. No way would she be taking the stairs up four floors.
After what seemed like the most rickety and long elevator trip, the girls were on floor 4.
“It looks like the B side is on the right and the A side is on the left. So we’ll still be facing the boy’s rooms.”
Julia sighed, looking at the sign on the wall. Rooms 1-25 were on the left wing, rooms 26-50 were on the right wing.
“Let’s go left.” Julia started walking, yawning. “I’m exhausted.”
“You slept most of the car ride.” Kamille followed behind.
“I can still be tired.”
The two passed multiple doors, some decorated. Each of them had nameplates on them. They eventually reached room 424B.
Kamille fumbled with her keys, trying to unlock the door. Julia was looking around, reading the names of nearby plates. She looked at 425B, the room they would be sharing a bathroom with. The nameplates read Plip and Plop.
“I wonder if they’re twins.” Julia whispered, trying to keep quiet in the halls. The door creaked loudly as Kamille pushed it open.
They walked inside, ignoring the dusty ancient smell. There was a sink on their right, a small kitchenette area. On the counter was a microwave and a minifridge. Straight ahead were their beds- two small twins on opposite corners. There was a small table with a wooden chair at the foot of each bed. The only divider was a small nightstand with a window above it. There was closets on the wall between the small kitchen area and their bed/study area.
Kamille left her suitcase at the foot of her bed, under the desk. Julia put hers on the side and flopped down on the stiff mattress. It let out a creak as she landed on it.
“Glad to see the school doesn’t believe in keeping up with the norms.” Julia grumbled.
Kamille sat on her own bed softly. “It’s not that bad, Julia. You can’t expect a state college to be giving us good quality everything. We’re lucky enough it has both our degrees.
“Still, we’re going to be sleeping here for the next 9 months. At least give us something comfortable.”
Kamille shrugged. “I’m going to change. Be right back.”
She got up to her suitcase, grabbing clothing that was on the top, and headed off towards the shared bathrooms.
Julia groaned as she realized that tomorrow she would have to be going to classes. Sure, it was nice being able to miss a few days, but it’d be obvious that her and Kamille were the new kids. She’d heard stories of how weird some of the kids are at state schools, and Kalgratt was no exception.
Like that weird kid who tried to take my bags. Julia thought with a scowl. It didn’t help that Kamille was being friendly. What if they were robbed, and left without anything to start the school year with?
As thoughts continued to drift in and out of her head, especially about the strangers... Sahed and Rainah, was it? Oh well, not like they’re important. Julia drifted into sleep, not even hearing Kamille enter back into the room silently.
Kamille pulled out two chargers, plugging her and Julia's phone into an outlet. She decided that they'll discuss how they keep the room tidy and chores in the morning.