Chapter Text
*Beep beep beep beep*
It was 8am. Korra didn’t get a lot of sleep last night because today was the day she finally moved into her college dorm. She shut her alarm off, jumped out of bed, and started getting ready for the long day she had ahead of her. Her mind was flooded with excitement as she packed up her minivan. Although she hated it when her best friends Mako and Bolin called it her “soccer mom car,” she loved that minivan immensely. Korra did one last scan of her bedroom and the rest of the house to make sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind.
“Looks like I’m all packed up,” Korra whispered to herself. As she turned around to walk to her parents’ room to say goodbye to them, she heard a knock at the door. “Who’s there?” Korra yelled. The door swung open and revealed Mako and Bolin standing in the doorway. “Surprise!” Bolin yelled. Bolin was holding a box of donuts, and Mako was holding a drink carrier that had three iced coffees in it. “You guys are so sweet! I can’t believe you two drove all the way down here!” Korra exclaimed. The two boys wrapped her in a warm embrace. “We wanted to give you a proper send-off.” Mako stated. Mako was very stern and cold compared to his brother, but she could tell that he truly meant it. “This hug is nice, but let’s dig into these donuts. I’m starving .” Bolin said as he pulled away from the group’s embrace.
The trio sat at Korra’s dining room table, eating donuts and drinking their iced coffees. Korra absolutely loves iced coffee, so she practically inhaled the whole drink within a minute. It was one of her many skills. Out of the corner of her eye, Korra saw her parents leaving their bedroom. “Looks like we woke up just in time.” Tonraq said through a yawn. “Hello, Mako and Bolin. I see you two took care of feeding my daughter.” “Absolutely!” Bolin exclaimed. “We wanted to see her one last time before she heads off to college.”
“Is your car all packed up, sweetie?” Senna asked as she touched Korra’s shoulder. “Yep! I was actually double checking to make sure I had everything right before Mako and Bolin showed up.” Korra said excitedly. “Aw man,” Bolin sighed. “It’s already 9:30. We should get going. Mako and I have to work at 12, and you know how long the drive is.” The brothers got up from their chairs and wrapped Korra in another embrace. “Thank you for everything. I’ll miss you guys so much.” Korra said while holding back tears. “We’re so proud of you.” Mako and Bolin said in unison. “Text us when you’re all settled in, okay?” Mako stated. Korra simply nodded her head as she gave her friends one last hug. “Those two have been so good for you.” Senna said after the boys left. “They really have been.” Korra replied as a tear fell down her cheek.
As soon as Senna and Tonraq noticed Korra’s tears, they hugged her tightly. The embrace didn’t last long, because Naga immediately licked Korra’s leg to get her attention. “You’re gross.” Korra laughed as she bent down to give her loyal companion a hug. “I’m gonna miss you a lot, girl. Since I won’t be here, it looks like you’re gonna have to sleep with mom and dad whenever there’s a big, scary thunderstorm.” Korra said as she looked up at her parents. Naga woofed in agreement. She gave her dog one last hug before she said goodbye to her parents. “I’ll call you when I get there. I promise.” Korra said to her parents as she gave each of them a hug. “Thank you, sweetie.” Senna said as she held back her tears.
“We’re so proud of you, and we love you so much.” Tonraq said as he also fought against his own tears. “Thank you, dad. I love you guys even more.” Korra said as she gave her parents one last hug. They walked her to the door and stood on the front porch as Korra got into her car. “Not bad,” Korra said after she put the university’s address into her GPS. It was a 2 hour drive from her house. She plugged the aux cable into her phone, hit shuffle on her Spotify playlist, and started driving. It looked like the GPS was having her take the new highway for the entire trip. There shouldn’t be much traffic since it was only 10:30am on a Sunday.
Before she knew it, Korra was only 10 minutes away from Republic City University. “In 1000 feet, turn left on 12th Avenue.” her GPS stated as it interrupted Sports by Beach Bunny. Korra followed the GPS’s directions, and continued singing along to the music. “You have arrived at your destination.” her GPS declared as she pulled into her dorm’s parking lot. “Kyoshi Hall.” Korra said as she read the sign by the dorm’s entrance. “This is the place.” She found a parking spot, got out of her car, and made her way into the dorm. When she stepped inside the lobby, a man sitting at a table greeted her.
“Welcome! Can I have your first name and room number, miss?” he asked. “My name’s Korra, and I think I’m in room 322,” Korra replied. “Korra...Room 322…” the man muttered under his breath as he searched through the stack of envelopes for Korra’s key. “Here it is!” he exclaimed as he handed Korra the envelope with her name and room number written on it. “You’re going to go straight through that set of doors, and the elevator will be on your right.” “Thank you,” Korra replied. She made her way towards the elevator. When she got there, she tapped the “up” arrow, and the doors opened. She stepped inside, and tapped the button for the third floor.
When she got out, she followed the signs, and eventually made it to her room. The door had two sticky notes on it--one with her name, and one with another name-- Asami . “That must be my roommate’s name,” Korra whispered to herself. She suddenly felt really nervous as she slid the key into the lock. “What if she doesn’t like me?” Korra thought as she turned the key and opened the door. Korra looked to her left and saw a tall girl with long, black hair sitting at the desk under her lofted bed. The girl turned her head when she heard Korra’s footsteps, and got up from her desk. “You must be Korra,” the girl said. “My name’s Asami.”
“Shit, she’s really pretty.” Korra thought as she looked into her bright green eyes. “Snap out of it, Korra. You can’t fall in love with every girl you see.” “Nice to meet you, Asami,” Korra replied as her face visibly turned red. “Did you come here alone?” Asami asked. “If so, I wouldn’t mind helping you unload your car.” “Thank you, I’d really appreciate that,” Korra replied. The two girls left their dorm and headed towards the elevator. “So,” Asami said as her and Korra got into the elevator. “Tell me about yourself. What’s your major? Where are you from? What are your hobbies?” “Oh, um…” Korra pondered. “I’m from the Southern Water Tribe, it’s about a 2 hour drive from here. The new highways are pretty nice. I’m an International Relations major, and I’m also on RCU’s lacrosse team. I got an athletic scholarship for it.”
“Wow, that’s really impressive!” Asami exclaimed. “Thanks,” Korra replied as she blushed. “What about you?” “Well, I grew up here in Republic City, and I’m double majoring in Business Management and Mechanical Engineering. I don’t do any sports, but I love playing the saxophone. I’ve played it ever since I was a kid,” Asami said. “That’s really neat,” Korra responded. “Sounds like you’re gonna have a busy year.” “Yeah,” Asami chuckled in response. “But I don’t mind it at all.”
“Ding.”
The elevator doors opened, and the two women stepped out. They walked through the lobby, and eventually made it to Korra’s minivan. “Nice car,” Asami stated as Korra unlocked it. “Thanks. She’s an old gal, but she gets me where I need to go,” Korra responded. Asami took the large storage tub out of the trunk, and Korra grabbed her two suitcases. “That’s everything,” Korra said. She locked her car, and went back to the dorm with Asami. When they made it back to their room, Korra started unpacking her belongings, and made her bed. “Hey Korra?” Asami asked while her roommate was getting down from her lofted bed. “Yeah?” Korra responded when her feet touched the carpet. “Do you want to go to the library together to pick up our textbooks and get our student ID photos taken?” Korra smiled at her new friend. “I’d love to.”