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She shook her head, shaking the sunglasses perched on top. I was surprised they stayed in place as she berated the bag to oblivion. “Nope. I’m new here. My first day is today.” She looked up with a smile. “Well, it’s not technically my first day. I’ve got a few more things to do with my registration, but for all intents and purposes, it’s my first day.”
Another smile, and my goodness, this girl was sickeningly sweet.
“I got that.” I glared down at her suitcase, bemused at the dents on the side of its dark purple shell. Although, judging by her facial expression, it wasn’t what I was giving off. “But you do look awfully familiar. Did you go to science camp, or something like that when you were in high school?”
“Science camp?” She blew out an obnoxious breath and looked up at the sky. “The only way I’d ever be eligible to attend a science camp is if my twin and I were being observed for our differences.”
“You’re a twin?”
“Yup, and I believe he stole all the marketable talent for the both of us.” She smiled, but I could see the pain behind her self-deprecating joke. It was clear there was some hidden resentment there.
“Well, if your twin is a male, then that’s not how it works.” Her brows furrowed, so I explained. “Because you’re fraternal twins, not identical. You’re essentially just a brother and sister that gestated at the same time. If you were identical, it wouldn’t work either because you’d be exactly the same down to your DNA.” Then I thought about it for a minute. “Unless you’re mirror twins, of course. That’s when the egg splits more than a week into conception and the twins develop into a mirrorlike image of each other.”
There was a split moment of silence while this girl looked at me with fascination, but then she shook her head and held out her hand. “I’m Thea, by the way.”
I took it, and her bangles clanged together on our shake. “Aster.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Aster.” She gave me a genuine smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back. “You’re officially my first friend at Covey U.”
“Friend?”
She nodded her head in pride. “Yup.”
As much as I wanted to be nice, I was still internally grappling with dropping out of my study session with Tanner, and I couldn’t help but be grumpy. “Bit of a strong word since I’ve only just met you, don’t you think?”
She huffed out a laugh, and her brows furrowed. “Is that a joke?”
“It was supposed to be.” It wasn’t, but I went with it. My mom had a point. I needed more allies–or friends–on campus.
“Ah, okay. You like a bit of sarcasm. I can work with it.” She nodded her head, assessing the situation, when all I wanted to do was leave and rip up the poster of Tanner I tore down earlier. “I had a friend at my old college that was like you, except she gave me more of a ‘Wednesday’ vibe. You know the tv show?” She narrowed her eyes and let out a low chuckle because she probably guessed I wasn’t that big on popular TV. “Well, let’s just say she had that vibe that suggested she might kill you with a chainsaw in the middle of the night while you were sleeping.” She laughed, thinking back on it. “Thankfully, we didn’t room together, otherwise I probably wouldn’t be standing here today.”
“Where did you transfer from?” I changed the subject, because it was obvious Thea tended to waffle.
“Georgia Community College. My brother is a big reason I’m here.”
“Oh, really?”
She hummed out a response before saying. “Yeah, he’s always helping me, and if all goes well, I’ll be able to stay.”
“Sounds delightful.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” She smiled and nodded incessantly, completely oblivious to my sarcasm. “He doesn’t know I’m here yet, so I can’t wait to surprise him. But before I do that, I need to get this bag to my room, so would you mind showing me where this magical elevator is you speak of? I’ve got another three bags in the car.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Your roommate is going to kill you.” Then it hit me.Shit.Would she bemynew roommate? They hadn’t bothered to pair me with anyone else after the third one left, and I was happy with that. But what if they were just waiting to put Thea in with me? Surely, they’d have to ask me first.
Oh God. What a way to end one of my worst days on campus by far. Not only had I been humiliated in front of everyone in the library, but I now couldn’t wallow in my own misery because she’d be there, smiling at me like a jackal.
“I don’t have one.”
My shoulders dropped in relief. I was being obvious, but to be frank, I didn’t care. I’d had a crappy day, and her moving into my room with three suitcases larger than the whole place would have been enough to send me over the edge.
“I opted for one of those tiny rooms by the janitor’s closet because I wanted to come a semester early. They said they’ll see if they can find another place for me at the start of Sophomore year, but until then, at least I’ve got a place to put my stuff, and sleep.
“Sounds sensible. Come on.” I walked around the lobby to the side where the single elevator was hidden with her following behind.
“Ah, Aster. You are my savior,” Thea cooed, clasping her hands in prayer and bowing to me like I was some kind of patron saint of elevators. “What did I do in life to deserve you?”
“I just showed you where the elevator was. The signs on the wall would have done the same for you.” She seemed a little over the top dramatic, but that was her thing, I guessed. When the elevator dinged open, we both walked inside, and my finger hovered over the buttons. “What’s your floor?”
