Chapter Text
And with the sound of the last box hitting the floor, Laura threw herself on the bed with an exhausted sigh. She and her dad have been transferring her stuff from the car into the dorm room for the last twenty minutes, and the time spent doing so was filled with both of them questioning how many art supplies Laura really needed. (The answer, of course, was different in their heads. While Laura considered all of her belongings indispensable, Sherman would have started making trips to the dumpster before they would even get to the third set of brushes.)
A few moments after laying across the bed, Laura felt a nudge on her leg. She opened her eyes to see her dad sitting down on the brink of the bed.
“Well, that was something. You better make some athletic friends before moving out, ‘cause I’m not really interested in repeating this process.” He said with a smile plastered to his face, but Laura knew he was only half-joking.
“Ha-ha.” She said, lifting herself up on her elbows.
“No, seriously, I hope your roommate is a minimalist, because there won’t be a whole lot of space left when you unpack.”
“I get it. I have a lot of stuff.”
He motioned to the boxes on the floor in front of him. “And I don’t even know which is worse – the fact you have about 30 different brushes, or the fact you have just as many pieces of Harry Potter merchandise.”
She nudged him with her foot. “Hey. Say one more thing about my art supplies or Harry Potter, and you’ll have lunch alone.”
“I will not say one word more.” He paused. “Well, I will, but only about lunch. I’m really hungry, and I saw a Taco Bell on our way here. Maybe your roommate will come around by the time you return to the dorm room?”
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
×
When they got to Taco Bell, Laura got them a table and her dad went to the counter, knowing the order by heart. (Laura has been getting Soft Taco Supreme with potatoes for the last five years, ever since she tried it once out of curiosity. Sherman has been getting Hard Taco Supreme ever since he first ate at Taco Bell.)
While she waited for her dad, she skimmed over the faces filling the restaurant. Most of the people were students, or at least of similar age to them. They talked and laughed, and quite frankly looked like they were having the time of their lives, enjoying the last day before the semester starts. Watching them interact with friendly voices and relaxed faces, Laura came to a realization – she didn’t actually have any friends yet – not that making new ones would be a problem to Laura, the girl talked faster than anyone you’ve met – and it made her feel kind of lonely.
Her gaze relaxed on the clear sky, since she decided people watching only made her feel more alone than she felt before. Maybe she could do a sky painting when she gets back – she did have a few pages to fill before moving on to another sketchbook.
As she was planning on what exactly she could do, her train of thoughts was interrupted by a voice calling her.
“Laura? Laura Hollis?”
She turned to the source of the sound, and her look landed on a pair of blue eyes and ginger hair. It took her a moment to recognise the face, but when she did, her lips formed a wide grin.
“Oh my God! LaFontaine!” She nearly shouted, swiftly standing up and pulling them into a hug.
“Good to see you, bud. It feels like high school was forever ago.” They returned the grin, but didn’t let the hug last too long, as Laura squeezed them more than she probably intended to.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, still confused by the sight of her high school friend in front of her.
LaFontaine shrugged. “I go to college here. I just finished moving into my dorm, actually.”
“Me too!” Seeing her dad over LaFontaine’s shoulder, she turned to him and spoke in an even more enthusiastic manner than before. “Dad, you won’t believe who’s here!”
×
The last thing Carmilla expected to see when she walks into her dorm was a floor covered in unopened, neatly taped cardboard boxes, yet there she was, trying not to trip over anything as she made her way to the left bed. (The right one was already taken, by the looks of it, with the sheets being messy already, and a yellow backpack leaning on the wall just next to it.)
Climbing on the mattress, she leaned against the wall and threw her bag next to her, pulling her book out of it shortly after. It was something she borrowed from Mattie – it was interesting enough to read, but not complex or captivating enough for her to be completely invested in it. It was just a way to pass time, just like she was doing right now, waiting for Will to come. He and some of his dudebros agreed to bring her stuff up if she was less hostile to them this year, which was a deal Carmilla made due to not having any other option for carrying all her stuff from the car to upstairs.
She only read about two and a half pages before three sweaty frat bros burst into her room, her property in their hands.
“Hey, hottie. Where do we leave the stuff?” One of them, who she was pretty sure was called Kirsch (a rather stupid name, if you ask her), asked her.
She restrained from rolling her eyes. “Wherever you find space, I’ll sort it out later.”
After a short discussion, they decided to leave the bags next to the closet, and left rather quickly after that, much to Carmilla’s delight. She focused on her book once again, hoping her roommate wouldn’t come back for at least another hour – she wasn’t in the mood for human interaction.
×
It turns out that LaF wasn’t the only high school friend of Laura’s to attend the same college as her – Perry, LaFontaine’s best friend, joined them in Taco Bell shortly after, and the three of them started catching up. She was relieved she knew at least the two of them, especially since that meant she had someone to accompany her after she said bye to her dad.
“Pretty sick we all have art related majors, right?” LaFontaine commented as the trio was making their way to their respective dorms.
Laura smiled. “Yeah! I mean, it just adds to our friendship, you know? Plus – we might even have some classes together.”
Perry smiled. “Oh, I’m sure we have! Maybe you could email me your schedule, and we can compare them, and I’ll get back to you in the morning to let you know.”
“Sure.”
They walked in silence for a while, until a thought came across Laura’s mind as they got closer to the stairs. “What floor are you guys on anyway?”
“Third.” LaFontaine answered, returning the question. “What about you?”
“Just below you, although I don’t know who my roommate is. Well, I know her name, but she wasn’t in the room when I got here.”
They nodded, and Laura looked away, glancing at the ‘2’ sign hung on the wall in front of her. She turned to LaF and Perry, offering a smile.
“Well, it was great seeing you guys again. And I’ll make sure to email you the schedule, Perry, I can’t wait to see if we have any classes together. Bye, guys.”
“Bye, Laura.” Perry said. “You’re always welcome in our dorm, by the way. Don’t be shy.”
“Not sure that’ll be a problem, Perr, but yeah. You’re welcome to come hang out.” LaF grinned.
“Thanks, guys. Bye.” Laura said before she turned around, hearing the two of them repeat their goodbyes behind her.
She pulled the key out of her pocket, and as she got to the door, put it in, only to realize it was already unlocked. The roommate must be here. She put a smile on her face and grabbed the doorknob. Opening the door, the edge was met with something soft, and she heard a loud thump and a soft ah, fuck. Realizing that ‘something soft’ was actually a human head – a beautiful human head, if she may add – she felt the apologies rushing to be said.
Yup – the roommate was definitely here, and Laura just hit her in the head with doors.