Chapter Text
September marked the calm before the storm - a tranquil prelude to the impending, non-metaphorical darkness. As October unfolded, the frigid wind and rainy skies marked the prompt end of summer, amber leaves cascading to the ground as the tree’s canopies seemed to disappear overnight. By November, the sun seemed to vanish entirely, not expected to reappear consistently until March, or a lucky sunny day in January.
Now a young adult, stepping foot onto your college campus for the first time since your tour in early spring of last year. Ironically enough, you had decided to apply and got accepted long before you actually toured the campus, and even further, you had never been in a dorm. There were little to no expectations of what it would look like aside from videos you had seen online of white, brick-laden prison cells, but it seemed like your loose expectation was not too far off. Your floor was expectedly lively as expected as the hustle and bustle of young people trying to set up their dorms filled the air. Among the chatter, awkward conversations sparked between roommates meeting each other in person for the first time. You recalled connecting with a girl over text message, but you couldn’t remember if she had ever sent you a photo, or if you two had ever connected with each other over social media. A knot formed in your stomach as the impending anxiety rolled over you, you had no idea who you should be looking out for, or if you had already met her and made a bad impression.
Taking a deep breath, you rolled your suitcase neatly onto your bed, trying to ward off thoughts of already getting off on the wrong foot with your hypothetical roommate. The still silence of your dorm room compared to the busy atmosphere of the hallway made it feel like the walls were breathing. Since you had moved from out of state, your parents didn’t have the opportunity to help you set up your things, only sending you on your way with a large suitcase, your backpack and anything that could fit in it, and a chunk of money to help you pay for anything else. A persistent pang crossed your mind, longing for some of the company that your peers got from their parents.
You promptly pushed it down, refusing to feel sad on a day that had already been so nerve-wracking. Unzipping your giant suitcase, you promptly got to work on putting away your clothes in the wardrobe facing your bed. As you unpacked, another more positive thought swam across your mind–
Where was your roommate?
“Kiriko, I told you that we needed to leave at noon for that exact reason.” An annoyed woman scoffed at who you assumed was her daughter. “This place is a madhouse.” She added, shouldering her way through the now opened door.
“I didn’t think that orientation would be that long, I’m sorry. Aside from that, there isn’t any reason for us to leave three hours early when we live an hour away.” Her daughter replied, jiggling the door handle to your dorm and pushing it open with her back. An older Japanese woman stepped through, carrying a box labeled ‘kiriko dorm’. You assumed this was your roommate and her mother respectively.
Her mother didn’t notice you, but who you assumed to be Kiriko glanced your way. She smiled briefly, raising her eyebrows and flashing an awkward fanged smile before turning back to her mother. Kiriko’s hair was tied up into a ponytail with a red scrunchie, choppy bangs laying across her forehead and framing the sides of her face. It was a darker green color, although you could see from her roots growing that she had naturally black hair. She wore bold red eyeliner, but kept the rest of her face pretty natural aside from light mascara and the sheer glaze of a lip balm across her mouth.
You were a little awestruck, feeling slightly intimidated by her cool attitude as Kiriko and her mom unpacked the things they brought. It spurred you to do the same instead of just standing there and staring at her, unzipping your suitcase and releasing the shrink-wrap bags that lay inside. It was all clothes, you had brought everything that you thought you might want to wear. As it turns out, that appeared to be your entire closet. As you progressed through your unpacking, you realized you had only bought one pair of shoes, and that was the shoes you were wearing at the moment. A wave of embarrassment and slight frustration washed over you, already knowing that you were going to have to use whatever little money you had to get new shoes.
‘I wonder if Kiriko likes shopping. Would she come with me?’ You thought. Since you were in a large metropolitan area, taking the train to the shopping center would be easy and convenient. ‘Does Kiriko have a metro card?’ you pondered again.
The sunset painted the campus as the blue sky of the day became mottled with hues of yellow and pink. It was beautiful, the view from your dorm gave you a fantastic view of the cityscape as you sat on your bed, pushed up against the window. Kiriko had proposed bunk beds, but you ultimately declined as you thought stacking the two beds on top of each other would be dangerous. She agreed with that sentiment, but tried to convince you of the idea regardless. You declined once again. Plus, having your bed pushed up against a wall was cozy and peaceful. You thought of the view back home, with the sun peeking through the treetops and passing through your window onto your bedroom floor. It hadn’t even been a week, and you were already homesick.
“Hey, tomorrow after classes, would you like to meet up with some of my friends?” Kiriko asked, rounding the corner of the wardrobes and approaching your bed. The way you two set up the room gave you both a little privacy; your wardrobes were aligned with the other, with your wardrobe facing you and Kiriko’s wardrobe facing her, creating a half-wall between the two sides of your dorm, with enough space was left for you to pass through to the other side if needed. It wasn’t bunk beds, but it was satisfying enough for the both of you.
You look up, gazing at her for a few moments before averting your eyes. Enough time hadn’t passed for you to get out of your shell yet, so you were still a little bit shy around her. Raising your eyebrows, you parted your lips; “Sure, I would love to.” you replied, smiling at Kiriko. It was an exciting proposition, as you had been isolated from anyone your age for about a week during your travels. People were starting to socialize with each other after everyone got comfortable in their living arrangements, it would be good if you did too. "Would you want to go shopping? What would we do?" You asked, Kiriko turning back to face you as she heard your questions.
"We could go shopping! I know that Hana really enjoys shopping, so she'll enjoy it." Kiriko pauses. "Hana is really nice, pretty extroverted. Her boyfriend is the same, super sweet and positive." She rambled. “There are some people I haven’t met yet too, so it’s not like you’ll be a complete stranger.” Kiriko reassured, bumping your arm gently.
You smiled, letting out a light sigh at the relief of not trying to integrate into an established friend group. It excited you, possibly more than the classes you had tomorrow excited you.
"I'll tell them, I think you might get out of your class before us so I'll just let you know where to meet everyone, kay?" Kiriko replied. You nodded, making a brief humming noise in response. She turned to go to her side of the dorm, and after she was out of sight you turned to the few slips of paper lying on your desk. It was your class schedule, and as you darted your eyes over it you started to make mental visualizations of what lecture time would be like. Of course, you had planned out the route from your dorm to each of your classes, but you still had no clue what your seated experience would look like. The curiosity gnawed at you as you laid down to rest, staring at the ceiling as the ambient hum of the fan lulled you to sleep.