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“Yeah. You line the lights on the key up with the lights on the door.” “That’s what unlocks it.” The girl bent over, picked up the key and placed it upside down in the lock. There was a clicking noise from the deadbolt and the purple haired girl pushed the door open. “See? Easy as pie.”
“Yeah,” Kris replied, but the word came out as a high pitched squeak that was almost painful.
One pierced, purple brow rose at the sound and Kris could bet that the other girl’s lips quivered. She wanted to close her eyes and escape somewhere far, far away, but she didn’t, instead she offered a relieved smile. “Thanks. Where I come from keys are just keys, not Christmas ornaments.”
The other girl chuckled and walked into the room without waiting for an invitation. Kris followed her in and watched as she stood surveying the room. The girl brought her gaze around to Kris’ face. She smiled and said, “I figured as much. You looked a little lost, cutie pie.”
Kris couldn’t tell if the girl was being condescending or playful. The only other person to ever call her cutie pie was her grandfather, so she decided to give the girl the benefit of the doubt. God, the last thing she needed was to get into an argument with some strange girl her first day at school.
“I do feel a little lost,” Kris said. “But I’m pretty sure that this is my room.”
The purple, pierced brow arched again. “Are you Kristen Price?”
“I am. Wait, how do you know my name?”
The girl pulled out a sheet from her orientation packet and showed it to Kris. “Isadora Ryman,” Kris read the name written between her dorm room number and her own name.
“You’re my…”
“Yep. Nice to meet you, roommate.” Isadora’s blue eyes beamed as her lips parted in yet another face splitting smile. “Call me Izzy.”
Kris held out her hand to shake just like her father had taught her to do, but to her surprise, Izzy wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her in for a hug.
She gave Kris a quick peck on the cheek and said, “Welcome to the big city, cutie pie!”
CHAPTER TWO
Kris was wide-eyed and unsure what to do, so she wrapped her arms around Izzy and laughed nervously. Kris couldn’t help but notice how much she liked the softness and the warmth of Izzy’s body against hers. There was a sense of comfort there that she’d never experienced before. She tightened her arms, pulling her roommate even closer and all but melting their bodies together.
She took a deep breath and her nostrils filled with the sweet scent of vanilla. She wondered how someone who looked so unique could have such a common perfume, and also how such a common scent could be so unique. It was a mystery that thrilled Kris and made her smile.
When they finally released their hold on each other, both girls smiled. Izzy said something about needing to finish her paperwork and skipped out the door and down the hallway, leaving Kris to stand with her mouth hanging open, wondering what the heck just happened.
Without Izzy’s colorful presence in the room, Kris noticed how bland the space actually was. Although she didn’t expect anything fancy, she had expected something more than white walls, cheap particle board furniture and the strange, musty smell that reminded her of her grandma.
The one good thing about the room was the large window that bathed the room in light. She immediately went over and threw it open. She closed her eyes and sighed, enjoying the soft breeze that wafted in.
* * *
“Thank god the windows open!” Izzy said, coming back through the door dragging a large, old fashioned suitcase behind her. “This place smelled like feet.”
Kris chuckled at the comment and pointed at the large suitcase Izzy was now struggling to get it up on her bed. Kris asked, “Do you want some help with that?”
“Nah, I got it,” Izzy replied with a shake of her head, which created a fascinating purple cloud around her pretty face. Kris wasn’t sure why, but Izzy fascinated her to no end. And she found herself gawking at Izzy as if she’d never seen a girl with purple hair before… which she hadn’t. Still, she didn’t want to seem rude. She quickly averted her eyes and retrieved her own luggage from the hallway.
She rolled her suitcase towards her bed, and stood frozen in shock as she inspected the mattress. She pressed a hand into the small, plastic covered mattress and winced when it crackled beneath her fingertips. She shuddered and pulled her hand away.
“This looks like a prison mattress,” she said.
Izzy looked back over her shoulder. “Have you ever been to prison?”
Kris’s cheeks blushed as she laid her suitcase on the floor and removed a set of yellow sheets from inside. “No, but I imagine this is what their mattresses look and feel like. It’s disgu
sting.”
Izzy laughed as she threw a pile of mismatched blankets, sheets and pillows over her bed. After very little straightening up she hopped onto the bed, making the mattress crackle under her weight. She leaned back with her hands behind her head. “So, exactly what were you expecting? One of those fancy beds with the different firmness settings?”
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Kris said, shoulders shrugging. “A real bed, maybe? I mean, my folks are paying an arm and a leg for me to be here, you think they could at least give me a decent place to sleep!”
