This was it, the day she had been waiting for all summer. Move in day at Ooo University. The hallway was a flurry of activity when Bubblegum stepped out of the elevator onto the fifth floor of the dormitory lugging a rather large, pink suitcase behind her. According to the slip of paper in her hand, Bubblegum's room was number 511.
She made her way down the hall, dodging overly excited students as they moved in and out of other rooms. She hoped things would quiet down after the newness of today wore off. If her new neighbors stayed this rowdy all year she would be spending a lot of time in the library across campus where it's quiet.
After walking almost the entire length of the hall she finally arrives at her destination. Underneath the small black door numbers were two decorations. One was a white flower with Bubblegum's name scrawled across it in bright blue loopy letters. The other was a rainbow with the name Lady written on it in the same pretty handwriting.
All Bubblegum knows about her new roommate is that the girl is a transfer student from Korea and doesn't speak hardly any English. That's why the university had paired them together, seeing as how Korean is one of the five languages she is fluent in. When signing up for rooming assignments Bubblegum was told it "helps the foreign students adjust better if they can comfortably communicate with their roommate." She rolls her eyes at the memory, well duh!
Taking a deep breath, Bubblegum knocks lightly to announce her presence should Lady already be inside, and pushes the door open. She is greeted with glaring white walls and an empty room. Two beds are pushed lengthwise against the left wall with two desks separating them. On the right wall are two closet doors and a dresser which apparently they'll have to share.
The wall opposite the door has a nice big window which looks out over the back parking lot. There is a door on the far side of the right wall which she assumes must lead to the bathroom the two girls will be sharing with their neighbors next door.
Bubblegum breaths a sigh of relief, struggling to unpack all her things in front of a random stranger was something she had not been looking forward to. If she hurries she can bring everything up from her car before her roommate shows up.
Bubblegum deposits her suitcase onto the bed closest to the door and hurriedly retreats back into the hallway, making her way to the elevator. She gets there right as the elevator door is opening, but the person already inside makes her stop short. She felt a weird twinge in the pit of her stomach when she recognized who they were.
A raven haired girl dressed in a baggie Led Zeppelin t-shirt, ripped jeans, and red converse is standing inside gazing down at the floor. The girl is holding a black duffel bag in one hand and a guitar case in the other.
"Marceline?" When the girl looked up and saw Bubblegum she smirked. "Hey Princess, didn't know you were going to this school too." Bubblegum groaned. She and Marceline had gone to the same high school together. The girls had been very close when they were younger, almost inseparable. That all changed sometime before high school however, they drifted apart and things were never the same. Bubblegum knew it was her fault but she would never admit that to anyone, she'd had her reasons.
In their junior year Bubblegum had been crowned prom princess and the whole school had taken to calling her by the title, even their teachers. It was something she had hoped to get away from in college.
"Hello Marceline," she crisply responded. "I didn't think I would run into you here. Are you going to be staying on this floor?" Marceline stepped off the elevator and shrugged. Setting down her duffel bag she dug in her pocket and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper and held it up for Bubblegum to see. "Looks that way."
The number 508 was written under the dark haired girl's name. That was across the hall and two down from Bubblegum's room! Wonderful. She'd have to walk right by it on her way to the elevator every day. That meant she would run the risk of seeing Marceline every day.
Their only real conversation in high school had occurred when they were forced to be lab partners freshman year. The two were supposed to be dissecting a frog but Marceline had wanted no part of it. Bubblegum on the other hand found it fascinating and had no problem cutting open the dead creature. However, in order to get full points both partners needed to participate. This led to a very heated discussion turned full blown argument between the two girls. They had ended up disrupting the entire class and were given detention after school. Needless to say, they avoided each other after that.
Maybe she could build up some leg muscle and take the stairs.
"So.." Marceline's voice snapped her out of her musings. "Are you just gonna stand there blocking my way all day or are you going somewhere?" Bubblegum frowned and sidestepped out of Marceline's path, pushing the down button for the elevator. Yeah she'd totally be taking the stairs. Hopefully they had contrasting schedules and would never see each other.
Marceline hefted her duffel bag onto her shoulder once more and smirked. "See you around Princess." Bubblegum's frown turned into a scowl as Marceline sauntered down the hallway and shouldered her way into what Bubblegum assumed was her room. Just then the elevator dinged and the door opened. Stepping onto it Bubblegum let out a sigh, just think positive, she told herself.
Right as the doors were closing a small boy wearing a white hat bolted through the opening and slammed into Bubblegum causing her to let out an embarrassing squeak. "Ah fudge I'm sorry m'lady!" He exclaimed as he regained his balance. "I almost didn't get on but decided on it at the last minute. So you're a princess? I heard you talking to that other girl with the black hair. Do you need any assistance carrying your things?"
Still slightly shocked, Bubblegum warily reached around the boy and selected the button for the ground floor. "Um, I'm sorry what did you call me?" He tilted his head as he looked up; the boy was at least a head shorter than her. "You are a princess right?" He said. "Or is that your actual name?"
She sighed, damn that Marceline, now she'd never be able to escape the nickname. "Actually my name is Bonnibel Bubblegum. However everyone just calls me Bubblegum." The boy opened his mouth to speak but she interrupted him. "And no I am not a princess."
He stared thoughtfully up at her for a minute before replying. "That's a nice name and all but I like princess better, that's gonna be your new nickname!" Oh no no no this was not happening again. "Actually I.." Before she could finish her sentence he interrupted her with his squeaky voice. "Ground floor! Where to m'lady?" Bubblegum sighed as the metal doors opened up, she'd correct him later.
Accepting his offer to help carry her stuff, she allowed him to follow her out to her car parked in the parking lot. No one else was gonna help and besides, with him carrying half of her things it would take less time. Not that she had much to bring up. They each grabbed an armload and headed inside once again.
On the way back up to her room Bubblegum learned the boy's name is Finn, he's 14 years old and is there helping his older brother Jake move in. Even though they only live two blocks away Finn said Jake wanted to get the full college experience and live in the dorms, which Finn was bummed about. However the boy enthusiastically assured her he'd be visiting all the time. They have a younger sister named Fiona but he said she probably wouldn't visit as much, something about always taking care of her cat. Bubblegum just nodded and listened to Finn ramble on, only half paying attention.
They get back to her room and Finn helps her set everything on her side. "Is this all you have?" He asks, looking worriedly at her belongings. Bubblegum had only packed two large suitcases of clothes, dressings for her bed, and a backpack containing all her school supplies and her laptop.
"I live far away," she replies, "I didn't have a ton of room in my car so I just packed the essentials. I'll just buy more things if I need them. No biggie." She glances at her stuff. "It is a little bare in here though."
"I'd start with a desk lamp." He observed and she hummed her agreement.
At that moment a loud voice boomed from the hallway. "FINN! Where the heck are you?" Finn jumps. "Ah nuts that's Jake. Sorry I gotta go, I'll see you around!" The boy dashed out her door yelling, "I'm right here Jake! I was helping Princess Bubblegum with her stuff!"
Bubblegum groans and leans out the door, catching a glimpse of the boy's retreating figure entering a room at the very end of the hall by the elevator. She was about to yell something about how that's not her real name when she notices Marceline exiting her own room. The girl flashes her a dazzling grin and Bubblegum groans again, leaning back into her room and closing the door. Well at least this semester should be interesting.
So this is my first time writing anything like this...like ever. So any feedback would be really appreciated! I told myself I needed to suck it up and get out of my comfort zone, and this story is what I came up with. So enjoy, and thank you for reading!