A crisp breeze rustled through the shimmering foliage of a large oak tree, rain drops fell from its leaves and onto the helmet of a rider as she turned off the engine of her sport bike. The sun had just begun to break through the grey carpet of clouds in the sky, poking and prodding at the seams until its rays shone through. Just in time for it to make its journey below the horizon in golden splendor, fashionably late but no less cheerful.
The rider pulled off her helmet and brushed her long red hair back into place, detangling the strands that had been wind swept on her ride over.
Beside the solitary oak tree stood the Ellis building, a Victorian era mansion with a steeple. Its presence amongst the neighbouring grey concrete of the Math and English lecture halls was graceful and assured. The orange bricks that should have looked out of place as the sole detractor from the modern standard were instead the centerpiece of the block. The surrounding scenery quietly faded away to make room for its elegance.
But the red haired young woman had no patience for beauty and elegance as she took the steps up to the front entrance two at a time. She wrenched the heavy oak blocking her way into the girls’ dorm open and stormed inside. Her black ankle-plated boots left a faint trail of wet splotches on the light brown carpet leading to the stairwell. The rider grabbed the bronze doorknob with her still gloved hand and nearly ripped it off as she pulled the antique wooden door open to reveal a flight of steps leading upwards in a small spiral.
The side of the mansion facing the setting sun was spattered with windows, each led to a dorm room belonging to a first or second year girl attending the university. A few windows were ajar to let in the post-shower wind. The evening breeze was still laden with enough moisture to warn travelers of keeping their umbrella at hand, but cool enough to be refreshing after the unreasonably stuffy morning. The window of the steeple was open as well and a small trail of smoke emerged from it, swirling with the passing gusts.
Inside the steeple was a tiny room, just barely big enough for a bed and a small desk. A collection of unlikely objects laid about the cozy space. An acoustic guitar in one corner, a wooden step ladder in another and a flatscreen too big for the small space up against one wall.
Strewn across the bed were a laptop, two boxes of colored pencils, an ashtray, and a mess of blonde hair dyed in pastel blue and pink attached to a girl. Underneath her hair, her ears were plugged with earbuds, her music turned up loud enough to drown out her distractions along with the rest of the world.
The girl held a cigarette between her fingers, its tip was a long cylinder of ash threatening to fall apart at the slightest disturbance. On her wrist was a bracelet of trinkets, a guitar pick rattled among them as she flicked the ash absentmindedly. All of her attention was focused on the laptop in front of her, the list of faculties on the screen stared back at her.
English, Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Math, Engineering, Psychology, History, Philosophy… her vision blurred as she lost herself in the never ending cycle of thoughts that had stayed with her since the second year course sign-ups opened a week prior. What should I take?
On her desk, a phone blinked repeatedly. A valiant effort to get its owner’s attention with both text alerts as well as missed call notifications. But despite its impressive display of both visual and auditory cues, its cries for attention went unnoticed.
The door to her room was thrown open as a whirlwind of red hair and black leather rushed in.
“Floy!”
The small blonde jolted out of her daze and looked up at the intruder in her room, “Hey Val…”
“Don’t ‘hey’ me,” Valerie snatched the cigarette out of the younger girl’s hand and stamped it into the ashtray. “Get up, you’re late for your show.”
“My show? How do you know about that?” Floy grabbed her phone off the desk. “That’s supposed to be a surprise for you. I still have-” She saw the thirty missed calls and felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She had lost track of time, stuck in her own mind. And not just a little. “Can you gi-?”
“Yes!” Valerie interrupted her by grabbing her by the wrist and pulling the small girl off the bed. “I can give you a ride, just get up!”
Floy quickly complied and began to rush towards the small closet in the back that had been refashioned into a tiny single occupancy washroom. It had all the necessary plumbing less a shower, which was located downstairs in a communal area.
Valerie held onto the blonde girl’s wrist as she slid past her. The redhead sighed and pulled the girl in her custody towards her. “Sorry.” She kissed Floy gently. “Hi.”
Floy’s face was lit up with a broad smile as Valerie pulled away. The mischievous freshman thought for a moment and then decided to try pressing her luck a little. She slipped an adventurous hand under Valerie’s top but it was quickly swatted away.
“Nope, you’re already late. Your boys are waiting on you.” Valerie shot Floy an annoyed look that she could only hold for the brief moment it took to push the small girl into the washroom.
The senior closed the door behind her when she heard the sound of water running and she sighed again. A brief glance around the small room brought back memories of her own days living in the dormitories. The cramped rooms and shared spaces all had scratches and stains on the walls. Recordings of the bad decisions of several generations of exploratory youths.
She crossed the room with two strides of her long legs. A sweep of her arms brought the fading evening light into the room as she pulled back the curtains. Valerie took the ashtray from the bed and set it outside the window, the thin trail of smoke still smoldering from it rose up into the evening sky.
A moment later, Floy emerged from her preparations wearing an oversized t-shirt sporting a NOFX logo and a leather jacket to match. A red plaid skirt on top of ripped fishnet leggings completed the outfit leading into a pair of black boots with heels that gave the short girl several inches of borrowed height.
“How do I look?”
“Like a smaller blonder version of me.” Valerie closed the window and took hold of Floy’s wrist once more as the two left the dorm. The older girl kept a firm grip on the freshman as she exited the Ellis building with the same haste she had entered a few minutes prior. “I thought I lost that shirt.”
“I wore it home one day and forgot to return it.” Floy managed to reply before Valerie dunked a motorcycle helmet over her head. It slid on smoothly, fitted just for her. “Do you want it back?” Her words were slightly muffled by the visor.
“Keep it, it looks better on you.” Valerie hopped onto her bike and waited expectantly for Floy to get on as well. As soon as she felt the younger girl’s arms around her waist securely locked in place, Valerie let loose on the throttle and they roared away from the otherwise peaceful scenery.152Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttE5LZZBn2
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