Chapter 1:
Forgetting her was hard, and it was going to hurt. Anna was sure of that much. She had spent the last four days doing nothing but reliving memories of a time when she had been happier. Of course for her, that would be an understatement. There was no way that anything could top the times she had spent with Samantha.
Things like this happen all the time, she thought. Why would it be so hard to get over a breakup? Spending two years with someone who you love and trust with your life and then have them confess that they no longer love you... That had to be one of the worst feelings in the world.
No. I will not do this to myself. I've managed to overcome worse situations. This will be hard, yes, but time would heal.
After deciding to set her mind on something else entirely, Anna decided to start packing instead. Move in day, or "Sunday Fun-Day," as the university liked to call it, was just a day away. She had spent too much time procrastinating, or rather thinking about the "what if's" had Samantha not broken up with her. Let's not go there again, she thought. Try to focus on going back to school.
Never did Anna think she would actually be looking up to returning to school. Things would be different this year. She had finally decided her major, she even started to look into internships and other experience opportunities, and she desperately needed to fill up her resume. Most importantly, she needed to find a way to make money. It was her sophomore year of college and she didn't want to continue living in the dorms by the time junior year came around. Oh, then there was her new roommate who she had not met, yet only had the opportunity to message her through the school's messaging system. Unfortunately she never got around it, occupying her mind with nostalgic thoughts. She couldn't even remember the girl's name.
El.. Elena? All I know is that it begins with an E. Oh well; I'll figure it out eventually. Besides, it's not like she has tried to contact me either.
Anna woke to her alarm. She dismissed it, turned around and covered herself again, nuzzling her chin on one of her pillows. This would be her last day to sleep in, she thought. So she might as well make it worth it.
As soon as she was about to doze off again, she was brought back to reality by the ringing off her phone. She received a text message, and as hard as she tried to ignore it, she figure she might as well have a look.
Good morning Ms. Aldridge, this is to confirm your interview with our company tomorrow afternoon. We'd like to see you at 1:30PM. Please let us know if there are any inconveniences.
If Anna had any willingness to sleep, it was all gone by now. This was one of the best news she could have received, considering.
The rest of the day went by like a flash. She finished packing and sorting things she may or may not need. As night time approached, she decided to contact her soon to be new roommate. For a while, Anna thought of ways to start the conversation. A simple hey would be too weird, she thought about it before quickly typing.
Hello, this is Anna :) not sure if you're aware but we'll be roommates this year.
Waiting for a response would only bore her and make her anxious, so she occupied herself in other things. She looked through the brochure for the interview tomorrow. North Aim, Inc., had a reputation of hiring quickly without being too selective on their candidates, or at least that's what her former professors had told her.
I have to avoid embarrassment. It's an obsolete no, Anna! Let's see- she read out loud through the thin paper. "All candidates will be interviewed at once, as per request by the director. All candidates must come fully prepared and on time. Resumes should be submitted prior to arrival. We encourage the interviewee to become well informed not only with the company but also with our competitors and the type of business that conduct. Since this will be a group interview, a sole candidate who does well under pressure and is well informed will be chosen."
Well this made it worse, Anna thought. She only managed to become more nervous. She gave a quick glance to her phone screen only to see no reply from her new roommate.
It was still early, but since she had to wake up early and drive to campus the next day, she decided to retire then.
Anna slept as much as she could. The events of the following day, or the expectation of them, had kept her from sleeping profoundly.
Before she had time to think about what she would do as soon as she got up, she felt a deep sadness. Part of her went missing, and unfortunately for her, that part would not return even if she put up a fight.
Samantha had occupied two years of her life. Everything reminded her of the times they had spent together, whether good or bad. Even when they weren't around each other, they always stayed in touch.
Anna then decided that she was dwelling too much into the past. She grabbed her phone and deleted every picture of Samantha and herself, unfriended her on Facebook and unfollowed her on twitter, instagram and tumblr. The only thing she couldn't bring herself to do was remove her as a contact.
That would mean she's out of my life permanently. And I'm not ready to completely let her go.
She went through the rest of her notifications. She blinked and stared at her phone again as she noticed her new roommate had finally responded.
Hi, Anna. I'm Elsa, see you tomorrow.
Sent 3:27AM
Anna tried not to think too much about her lack of enthusiasm, after all, she had responded at three in the morning so what should she expect? I shouldn't even bother replying, she thought. I'll meet her today, anyway.
After having decided that she had everything she needed, she put everything into the back of her car.
That's it, just one more box and I'm all set.
As she made her way back into her house, she spotted her neighbor getting ready to leave as well. He said bye to his parents and leaned down to pet his dog.
"C'mon Sven, you know you'll miss me-" the dog approached him and jumped around him as if preventing him to leave. "Be a good boy Sven, I'll come see you in no time."
Anna almost forgot she was walking up towards the door path until she tripped on her own foot. Unable to retain her balance, she quickly extended her arms as an instinct of defense. The whole act captured her neighbor's attention.
"You okay there, Anna?" he asked as he approached her with a worried look on his face.
"Oh you know me, clumsy as can be" she tried to finish the sentence with some humor, but even though she tried to laugh, she had scraped her forearm and that prevented her.
"Of course, Anna banana-" said the boy with a smirk on his face. "Here let me help you go inside." he grabbed her elbows from behind, carefully as to not touch her now bleeding arm.
"Thanks Kristoff, who knows what I would do without you coming to my rescue all the time, ha."
Probably stop you from getting your heart broken, said Kristoff mentally. "Let's get you cleaned up so we can get on the road before noon."
"Sounds like a plan, and don't hurry me! You know I take my time." Anna said as she quickly elbowed him. "Ow! I forgot about that."
"Just have a seat and get ready, I'll have you ready in no time."
"Fine. Thanks again, Kristoff." she looked at him and retuned a smile just as he stepped into the restroom to look for bandages.
Anna entered Maple Hall, a little nervous that she'd finally get to meet the person she'd be spending the rest of her sophomore year with. The girls in charge of welcoming every student asked for her name and received her dorm key as soon as they checked their list.
Well, that was fast…. Oh wait, my last name starts with an A. Lucky me. She smiled as she walked through the hallway towards the elevator.
"Someone looks too happy for the first day." Anna quickly turned around to her right and then to her left, only to find a tall brunette with her arms crossed smiling ridiculously.
"Says the person with the bigger smile." Responded Anna.
"Touché. I'm assuming you're headed to the elevator. Which floor? I'll walk you."
"Bossy much?"
"Oh this is nothing, my friend."
"Oh god." Groaned Anna, jokingly before winking at the brunette.
The brunette gasped exaggeratedly. "You will see the worst of it mwahahahaha."
"So do you make a habit of walking people to their dorms?"
"Only the ones I like," and with that the brunette winked back.
"I'm not new here, you know? This is actually my second year."
"I know. I also make it a habit of looking at the occupants' records, cause you know, I can."
"Oh, cocky too, huh?" Anna couldn't help but smile widely.
"What can I say? I'm in charge of your floor." The brunette pressed the button which indicated Anna's floor.
"What the…? I never even told you my floor-"
The brunette continued before Anna could finish. "Anna Aldridge, correct? You're on the second floor, which also happens to be the floor that I'll be in charge off."
"I guess it's only fair that I know your name since you seem to know everything about me."
"I thought you'd never ask. I'm Ygritte Arandelle." She smiled with so much confidence that Anna was left speechless for a minute.
Before Anna could come up with something to day, Ygritte continued. "Says here you're in room 220, should be the very last one down the hall. And-" She looked at the paper with an almost evil grin. "Wow, I don't know whether you're lucky or unfortunate to have Elsa as a roommate."
That captured Anna's immediate attention. "Why do you say that?"
"Well, I'll let you figure that out for yourself. Don't want to ruin anything for you. I have to go meet other occupants but I trust I'll see you at tonight's welcome night." Anna couldn't tell whether she was asking or stating so she just nodded and finally headed to her dorm.
