Chapter Text
Miriam moved into the dorm room first, early in the morning. She had bid her grandmother goodbye, packed two big suitcases full of nearly all her belongings, and taken two trips on her moped back and forth from her house to the campus. The only decorations she put up was a short string of fairy lights, a trans flag, and a singular calendula she has been raising since she was younger. Her bed was arranged and made, her laptop put upon her desk, and any school supplies put into drawers. She knew in about a week her side of the room would be a mess, but for now she could keep up the charade of being neat and tidy.
She sat around the dorm for a bit before deciding to get her books for class. She couldn’t have been gone for more than an hour, but she returned to absolute chaos. Her roommate had arrived, and with them, her life would never know peace again.
The first time Miriam saw Kiwi, pink hair peeking from under their hat, singing along to music really loud, trying their hardest to hang up their collection of band posters, a wrinkle formed between her brows that never went away. She cleared her throat, the dorm entrance door slamming behind her on accident, causing Kiwi to whip around.
The first time Kiwi saw Miriam, it was like a note got stuck in their throat that they just couldn’t sing. She was taller than them, dyed blue hair with dark roots showing. Her face was soft around the edges yet still angular, like- like an elf, or something. She tucked a piece of hair behind an ear, and Kiwi saw all the piercings she had. At least six, maybe seven. They offered their hand to shake. “Hi! I’m Kiwi! It’s nice to meet you!” She didn’t take the hand.
“Miriam,” was all she replied. Kiwi paused, rolling the name around in their head, before nodding.
“It’s nice to meet you!” They said again, before laughing a little. “Sorry, I said that already, didn’t I? Well, either way, it really is nice to meet you!” Miriam didn’t reply, and turned away from them. Kiwi shrugged and did the same, piling all of their bedding onto the cheap dorm mattress they were given. They turned to say more to Miriam, but she had headphones in, and was unpacking her books onto her desk. Feeling a little embarrassed, Kiwi turned off their bluetooth speaker, and finished unpacking in silence.
Nearly the instant that Kiwi left to get their school books, Miriam was already on the phone with her grandmother, telling her everything she could think.
“Their name’s Kiwi- what kind of name is Kiwi?” Miriam vented, looking at the other half of the room that wasn’t hers. Kiwi somehow had brought enough stuff to furnish an entire mansion, it seemed; a baker’s dozen pillows, an army of stuffed animals, even a bookshelf or two, and all of the instruments- do they really play that many instruments? “I don’t know if I can do this, Gran. They seem like such an extrovert. I’ll end up killing either them or myself before the end of the year.”
That final exaggeration gave Grandma Sapphy quite the laugh. “I think it’ll be good for you,” she advised, “Like the sun to your moon, the ying to your yang. This is a big change for you, Miriam. Maybe you should see what happens?”
Miriam sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing better than to argue with her grandmother. She hated how right she usually was. “Alright… but if I get too annoyed I’ll try to get a different roommate. No buts about it!”
Somehow, Kiwi had talked Miriam into going to the dining hall together. The walk was fairly quiet, save for Kiwi humming some random song. They walked side by side, both of them thinking fervently about the other. Kiwi’s mind fluttered with compliment after compliment they could give Miriam if only their mouth worked; Miriam was begging Kiwi to stop humming and be quiet for even just a second. They arrived at the cafeteria and began grabbing whatever food they could, before sitting across from each other. Kiwi nodded appreciatively at Miriam’s piled up salad, while Miriam eyed Kiwi’s choice of two burgers and two slices of pizza.
“So…” Kiwi started, trying to make conversation. “Where are you from?”
“Here.”
“Like, in town? That’s so cool!” They gushed, beaming. Miriam took a stab at her salad, shoving it into her mouth grumpily. “I came from a few hours away; my mom dropped me off. If you live so close why are you staying in the dorms? Not that that’s a bad thing, I think you’re great company so far!” Miriam looked up at Kiwi, who was watching her expectantly, waiting for her reply. She raised her eyebrows.
“I dunno, I guess I wanted the full university experience.”
“That’s great! I can definitely see why; the campus is really pretty! What are you thinking about studying?”
“Uh… Chemistry. Horticulture. Geology. I don’t know quite yet… Science-y stuff.”
“Really? Cool! I was never great at science, but…”
The end of dinner really couldn’t come soon enough.
They started classes a few days later, and with that they didn’t see each other as often. Kiwi threw themself into their music classes and extracurriculars, leaving Miriam to her classes and a fair amount of solitude. Much to Kiwi’s joy and Miriam’s dismay, the two became a little closer, even having conversations outside of the dining hall. Kiwi was the one who asked all the questions, giving their own answer after learning Miriam’s.
Miriam hated to acknowledge the fact that Kiwi was growing on her in a weird, amicable way. She usually stayed away from others, seeking solitude and only really talking to her grandmother. Sapphy had been hearing from her less and less as the weeks go by.
Things changed a bit when Miriam came back to the dorm from grabbing some groceries to Kiwi dejectedly curled up in bed, sniffling. A part of her begged her to just ignore them; it wasn’t her problem. But another part of her, a more sympathetic and gentle part, made her ask, “Are you okay?”
“My parents are getting divorced.” Was all they said, ashamed to be showing so much negative emotion in front of Miriam. They supposed it would happen eventually, but after only knowing each other for three weeks… Though they live together, this sort of vulnerability could be damaging to their friendship.
Miriam couldn’t relate. Her parents had been out of the picture since she was a child. They wanted nothing to do with her. Still, as if subconsciously, she moved towards Kiwi’s bed, putting a sympathetic hand on Kiwi’s shoulder. Her sympathy just about vanished when Kiwi leaned down and wrapped their arms around her shoulders, letting loose a small sob. Miriam grimaced, patting Kiwi’s back a little harshly. She wasn’t a woman of many words, so she said nothing as Kiwi vented. Dad worked too much, barely made time for Mom, and Mom just couldn’t take it anymore. It sounded so cliche. ‘This is why I prefer women,’ Miriam thought.
“I shouldn’t be surprised,” Kiwi said, “I mean, he’s always been like this. I always knew how unhappy he made Mom, it’s why I never wanted to date men.”
“You don’t like men?” Miriam found herself saying. That made Kiwi snort.
“Well, I mean, yeah. Do I look like I enjoy the company of men? They can be nice sometimes, but I’m such a lesbian it’s- it’s unbelievable.” They replied.
‘Oh,’ was all Miriam could think.
“Oh,” was all Miriam could say.
After that, Kiwi cheered up a little, and the two eventually went to get some dinner. Miriam couldn’t stop thinking about how Kiwi liked girls. Kiwi liked girls, just like Miriam. She hadn’t met someone else who wasn’t straight before. Something about it made her cheeks warm up, but she ignored it.