introduction to being a college student

[self_composed]

Bella packs light. (She can conjure whatever she wants, mooch off Alice for anything she wants to buy. She's wearing her riding gear and riding Tegu and only has a few other favorite-things she'd like to retain in their original forms. The black dress is one of them.) Her swag goes in saddlebags and she goes to Stanford.

It's a road trip; she wants to be able to account for her time, and besides, she likes her motorcycle. She checks into crappy little motels and once spends four minutes watching someone try and fail to disassemble her bike, from her window. (The fellow gives up eventually. Tegu does not want to come apart or move.)

At Stanford, she is there before her new roommate, who is reportedly named "Janine". Bella unpacks, and since no one's there yet, she wishes up some decorations too. She introduces herself to the RA, Maureen, and then loiters in the hall lounge, waiting for more people to meet.

Comments

[edgeofyourseat]

"No that would be a bad idea," Janine agrees. "Please do not crash any cars into or near me."

[self_composed]

"Don't have a car," Bella says, winking. "Have a motorcycle."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Please do not crash your custom motorcycle into or near me!" she amends.

[self_composed]

"I won't, I promise," Bella says, crossing her heart.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Thank you! I can see we are going to get along," says Janine.

[self_composed]

"That's good. It'd suck to not get along with my roommate," Bella says.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Yes it would!" agrees Janine.

[self_composed]

"Anything else you could use help unpacking?" Bella asks.

[edgeofyourseat]

"Hmm," says Janine. "If you would like to help me find somewhere to put my books and then put them there, you are welcome to do that and I would appreciate it very much!"

[self_composed]

"We don't seem to have bookshelves here, but I bet someone has a box they're not going to use any more that we could stand on its side and use for one," Bella says. "I'll go look. If I can't find one you could also use the legs of your bed as bookends."

And she heads out and starts poking her head into open doors, seeking boxen. Eventually she gets ahold of a long, short box that will suit and also fit under the bed, and returns with it, tucking the flaps inside the box for sturdiness. "Where's the books?" she asks.

[edgeofyourseat]

"The books are here," says Janine, with a demonstrative gesture to one of the four duffel bags now open on her bed. It does indeed contain a long row of neatly stacked books. She accepts the box and starts tranferring books from one container to the other.

[self_composed]

Bella helps. "Lotta books. I'm more of a library book person myself. That and the Internet."

[edgeofyourseat]

"They are comfort objects," Janine explains. "So is the internet, for that matter, but differently."

[self_composed]

Bella nods. "Anything in here you particularly recommend? I've always been more of an I-actually-read-the-assignments-for-English-class girl but perhaps I should branch out."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Well, I do not know which ones you would like," Janine says reasonably, "because I do not know you very well!"

[self_composed]

"Fair enough. Some people recommend the same thing to everybody, but I'm not in a hurry to pick through your book collection," chuckles Bella.

[edgeofyourseat]

"If you would like to read some of them later, you may, but please ask me before you borrow any," says Janine.

[self_composed]

"Sure, no problem."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Okay, great!"

Janine smiles brightly, which she hasn't done a lot of since Bella first saw her.

[self_composed]

"Any other things I should keep in mind if we're going to be sharing this itty bitty living space?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"Well," says Janine. The cheer in her voice fades a little, and the nervousness in her posture takes an uptick. "You checked the box on the residence questionnaire that says you are comfortable having a transgender roommate, right?"

[self_composed]

"Yeah?"

[edgeofyourseat]

"That is good," says Janine, "because I am. I would prefer if you did not mention it to anyone unless you are sure they already know, because not everyone on our floor checked that box."

[self_composed]

"Sure," Bella says agreeably. "I can keep a secret."

Boy howdy can she ever.

[edgeofyourseat]

Janine relaxes a little. "Okay, good."