A Breath Of Fresh Air (Sera)

[Alanna Darlington]

Alanna was the sort who usually kept to herself - it was just another side affect of her power. The more people she was around and the more her control wavered - the more their thoughts began to seep into her mind and the more people, the louder those thoughts were. So keeping to herself was really just survival at the end of the day. 

Yet today the dorm was unusually empty so for once she ventured out of her room to use the microwave to make herself a little snack. Anything to avoid the dining area when it was sure to be crowded. That was likely to give her a headache the likes of which was sure to spoil her appetite. 

She had switched dorms at the beginning of the school year so her current roommates were relatively new to her still. They had exchanged pleasantries a few times here and there, but nothing more than that. Usually she avoided them if she could. It wasn't personal, it was just easier that way. It was easier to go unnoticed and forgotten, especially for someone like her. 

Still, there was something nice about sitting in the common area, eating her mini bag of popcorn. For a moment she didn't feel like she had to hide, she could simply exist in peace. It was a foreign feeling, but a pleasant one nonetheless. 

[Deleted]

Sera did not like her roommates. Not all of them, mind you. Just the loud ones. And there was only one loud one. Sera hadn’t even bothered to remember that one’s name. The boy was nice. He didn’t get in Sera’s way and would respond appropriately when addressed. The other girl was also good on Sera’s radar. She too was quiet, spending most of her time away in her room. Which was good. She couldn’t cause a disturbance if she never came out. And on the few occasions she did, she was noninvasive. A perfect roommate.

That was why she was less than disturbed to see the brunette sitting on the couch when she returned to the dorm after swimming practice. Her long hair was still wet when she came in, clothed in a pair of skinny jeans and a lose fitting designer top. She held her sports bag over her shoulder, which contained her still-wet towel and bathing suit, and a variety of other pool accessories.

It had been a workout today. And intense one which had left the thin girl thirsty and hungry. She felt her stomach tying in knots from a lack of food. But it was not yet suppertime, so she would have to hold out for a couple more hours. If she ate now, then it would ruin her appetite for supper. Then her entire eating schedule would become upset and she would definitely get fat. Which she couldn’t afford to do, not if she wanted to fit in her Halloween costume this year. Because heaven forbid she recycle an old one or let out the seams to accommodate her expanded girth.

But she could have a drink. Something without calories, but none of that soda garbage that kids were guzzling down these days. So when she crossed into the common room and turned to go put away her bag in her room(which required also unpacking it and hanging the towel and suit to dry), Sera stopped at the entrance to the hallway and looked to the quiet girl nibbling on popcorn. “Get me a water,” she instructed. Offering no further explanation, she retreated to her room.

[Alanna Darlington]

When the door to their room opened, Alanna froze for a moment, eyes wide, almost like a mouse that had just been caught somewhere it wasn't supposed to be. Such a response was silly of course, but nonetheless accurate. Seraphine in particular caused this reaction - she was a very intense sort of person while Alanna was anything but. Somehow she always felt as though she was a bother - even more so than usual - around this particular roommate.

So her gaze quickly became downcast, focused intently on her popcorn bag, not moving as though her stillness might allow her to fade from sight. It was an irrational reaction and yet... she couldn't seem to help herself much as she hated herself for acting like this. It was just easier to escape people's notice. Her popcorn was nearly done and then she could retreat to her own room.

Alanna had just finally dared to take a nibble of her snack when the other girl's sharp voice cut through the room. She looked over at the girl just as Seraphine entered her own room. It wasn't the first time that the roommate had given such orders and honestly Alanna didn't mind complying. Perhaps she wished that the older girl could ask rather than demand, but she had to live with together, so confronting her would only make it more difficult. Besides, it was harmless really... Just a bottle of water, nothing malicious.

She put her bag aside - after all, this should only take a moment - and opened the mini fridge to grab the requested bottle of water. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous as she approached Seraphine's room though. She hovered in the doorway a moment before knocking lightly against the frame to get the older girl's attention. She simply didn't feel comfortable just walking into someone else's room without invitation. After all, that would be a terrible precedent to set - she would hate if they started just walking into her room after all.

"I brought your water," she added softly, unsure what to say to this intense roommate of hers.

[Deleted]

It was so hard to find good help these days. If she didn’t feel like she could trust Alanna to do what she said(and without being an annoyance), then Sera would have just gotten it herself, gone to her room, and be done with it. But like this, she could save time. It was more efficient. She wouldn’t have to haul her heavy bag around the common room and could get to work on putting things away a lot faster than she would have otherwise. And by the time she was done, her water would be ready for her.

Sera set her bag on the chair of her desk, not wanting to muss up her comforter by placing it on the bed. She unzipped it and pulled out the wet items inside. The towel was clipped on a wooden hanger and hung from the hook on the back of the door. Luckily it wasn’t sopping wet, as she wouldn’t want it to drip on her floor. If that were the case, she’d have to take it to the laundry facilities(or pay someone to do it for her) and have it washed and dried immediately. The bathing suit was also place on a hanger and hung off a hook just above the other one on the back of the door. They’d be dry by morning, left like that, and ready for her to use again by the next practice.

She peered into the mirror, checking her skin for any blemishes she’d not seen before. Her skin was getting a little dry, so she pulled out a small bottle of high quality moisturizer to soften it up again. She hated that feeling of dry, stiff skin one got after washing away the natural oils from swimming or washing one’s face. By that time, she heard a soft knock at the door and smiled to herself, knowing what awaited her on the other side. When Sera opened the door, the girl, Alanna, was standing there with the bottle of water she requested. Perfect.

Had she asked that insufferable blonde, surely she would have gotten a glass of water from the tap. Unacceptable, in her eyes. And while the girl would have knocked, she also would have invited herself into Sera’s room. Also unacceptable.

Sera took the water and snapped the cap open. Okay, so maybe not quite perfect - the cap was still sealed tight - but it wasn’t enough to bring a complaint from the cryokinetic. She put the bottle to her lips and drank the water until it was nearly half empty. When she came up for air, she looked to the brunette outside her door. She stared at her a second, wondering why she was still lingering when her task was completed. “Thank you,” she offered. “You may go now.” Perhaps she just needed permission to be dismissed?

[Alanna Darlington]

Alanna always felt nervous around Seraphine. The older girl was always so intense and blunt... it put her on edge. It wasn't that she disliked her so much that she just felt uncertain about her. She wasn't mean per se, perhaps a little demanding at times but not ridiculously so... Still, Alanna couldn't shake the thought that this was one person whose bad side she did not want to be on. Which of course only made her all the more anxious that she would accidentally do something to achieve just that.

When the door opened, she quickly held the bottle out for the other girl who took it and drank it eagerly. She hovered for a moment, unsure if she should stay or go. After all, she didn't want to be rude. However the look she was given as Seraphine looked back at her had her whole body stiffening. She nodded hastily as she was dismissed, turning away and feeling more than a little embarrassed. "Yes, of course, sorry," she mumbled as she did.

As she stepped back out into the common room, her eyes surveyed the room and couldn't help thinking it was a little in disarray. Nothing terribly bad, just generally lived in, but it gave her something to focus on to work off her nerves. So she went about straightening things up, folding the throw blankets, stacking the cups, that sort of thing. It was mindless really, but just enough of a distraction to keep her emotions and her power under control which was for the best. She didn't think she wanted to hear what was on Seraphine's mind, and she didn't think the older girl would react well if she did. It might seem silly, but it was important to her to be able to coexist with her roommates. Life was difficult enough outside the dorm, she didn't need things to be just as chaotic here too.

[Deleted]

Why was this girl so skittish? Sera wasn’t going to admonish her for no good reason. And given how compliant Alanna was, that wasn’t likely to happen any time soon either. Hence, she could afford to relax a little, so long as she didn’t become complacent and start to develop bad habits.

Sera turned her attention back to her room once Alanna had finally taken her leave. She had reached the end of her schedule for the day. She’d completed classes. Studying. Club practice. Now was technically her “free” time which she usually used for sewing, or perhaps more studying, or maybe even taking a drive out to visit her brother. That last option sounded optimal, as he would likely have something cooked up for the both of them by the time she got there.

Unless he was too busy fraternizing with that whore mother-of-his-child, or even that penniless, absent-minded writer.

Just the thought of that chilled the water in her hands until the water along the inside edges of the bottle had frozen. Sera barely noticed the temperature change, but the hardness of the ice had her frowning. It meant there was less for her to drink, unless she waited for it to melt.

Sighing to herself, Sera quickly change into something more comfortable and casual, and ventured back out into the common room where she pleasantly found her roommate doing some very necessary tidying. She smiled slightly at her efforts. “Thank you. For straightening up,” she said in a quiet, soft voice. The more in order the room was, the easier it was for her to relax. Another pang hit her stomach. Sera closed her eyes in vague discomfort for a moment, then continued to the counter where she searched the area for something small to settle her stomach with.

There was only junk food. And someone had eaten the last of her nutrition bars. Sera scowled, feeling the stress start to build again. It was that blonde bimbo, wasn’t it? Fine then, Sera would just eat the rest of her junk food…except that she wouldn’t, Sera would never touch the stuff. “Do you like junk food?” she asked Alanna without context.

[Alanna Darlington]

Alanna was just finishing up rearranging the folded throw blankets and pillows on the couch whenever Seraphine re-entered the common area. She was a little surprised when the older girl thanked her, but even more so by the soft voice in which she spoke. She was so used to Seraphine being blunt and demanding. It was kind of nice to see a softer side. Alanna responded with a warm smile of her own. "No problem. I don't mind. The rest of you are so busy with sports and clubs and stuff. The dorm should be a place to relax. It's hard to do that if everything's flung around and cluttered, you know?" Another shy smile came to her lips as she concluded with a small shrug. She just hoped she wasn't talking so much as to annoy the older girl.

Honestly, she didn't know much about her roommate. She knew that she was on the swim team, but that was really about it. Their previous interactions had been pretty limited to Alanna doing something that Seraphine had asked - well, told - her to do. Still, she wanted her roommmate to like her - she just never knew what to say around her.

She was picking up some cast aside food wrappers from the end table when Seraphine spoke again. She hesitated slightly before answering, wondering why she was asking. "Yeah, I do. Probably more than I should really, but I try to balance it out with healthier stuff too. I have a big sweet tooth though," she said with a small chuckle.

[Deleted]

How foul a face would that charlatan make when she realized that her precious chips had been devoured without her permission? That someone decided to purposely slight her for some unspoken reason? A taste of her own medicine, and once that swill had fully settled within her, she would know to never again mess with Seraphine Roen!

Sera huffed out a silent scoff. It was a yes-or-no question, she didn’t need to tell her life story. Still, it was a fortunate answer, therefore Sera would immediately forgive her. Especially if the girl assisted her in the “lesson” she was imposing on that girl.

“Good,” she said simply. Sera picked up the bag of chips(they had to be Maddie’s, right?) and crossed the room to Alanna. “Here, eat these,” she commanded as she handed the bag to the brunette. Assuming they were taken, Sera would turn to the couch and relax down upon it, sinking into the soft cushions with a face of relief. “Is there anything decent to watch on the television?” she asked, her eyes closed and face upturned to the ceiling.

[Alanna Darlington]

Surprisingly, given that she was by nature a telepath, Alanna was entirely ignorant of Seraphine's intentions. The downside to loathing her power - she tried to pretend she didn't have it at all. Something she was quite skilled at when there was only one other person around. Had she known what Sera was up to, likely she would have refused, or at least hesitated, but as it was, she simply thought her roommate was merely being kind.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as Seraphine offered her the bag of chips, but she quickly accepted them, slowly opening the bag in an attempt to minimize the noise of the wrapping. Her surprise only grew when Sera sat down on the couch and asked about television. "I'm not sure," she said softly. "But I think there is usually something decent on at this hour," she added in an attempt to be helpful.

She glanced around the room before hesitantly perching on the arm of the couch furthest from the older girl, uncertain if Seraphine would accept her continued company. She ate a chip as she did so, trying to think of what to say in the meantime. "What sort of things do you like to watch?" she asked after a long pause, realizing she actually knew very little about her roommate.

[Deleted]

“Hmm,” she hummed thoughtfully. Sera wasn’t sure how much she could trust Alanna’s word on that. After all, ‘decent’ was relative.

Sera did enjoy watching television from time to time, though it was true that there were few shows that she actually enjoyed. She rarely paid any attention to cartoons. Her few “friends” would often impose them upon her when they happened to sit down together. Reality shows were alright, especially the ones centered around fashion or other sorts of stage appearances. She also liked the ones which followed the lives of prominent families, though those got old quickly, because sometimes those people were just so stupid, even though she could relate to a lot of things they went through. Dramas were dumb. The news wasn’t really enjoyable, but she watched it anyway to keep up on current events. She enjoyed the Olympics when they were on, but rarely any other type of sport.

But Sera wasn’t about to go into all this with her roommate. Instead she looked over to Alanna and said, “Why don’t you find something.” At this point, anything would do as long as it wasn’t annoying. “I’m sure nothing I watch would be interesting to you,” she said with subtle smile of amusement. Sera was just looking for some background noise anyway.