I woke up with the annoying sound of my alarm, a throbbing ache in my head from the terribly slept night. Apparently, Olivia, my roommate, thought it was a good idea to bring someone home in a school night and honestly, that would be totally fine by me, I try not to pry, it's her life, she can do whatever she wants. But the fact that the sounds that came from her bedroom were enough to keep me awake for the better part of the night and probably the neighbors too - well, that kind of pisses me off.
Throwing the covers back, I make an effort to leave the bed. Olivia might be fine missing classes, but that's not for me. I move to the bathroom and start my morning routines, but the mirror is not graceful to me: my blonde curls are even more uncontrolled than usual, from the tossing and turning I spent my night in and, probably, from eventually having to put the pillow over my head to keep the...indiscreet noise away from my ears. I avoid looking at my eyes, knowing they would show the huge brown bags they get every time I don't get a decent night's sleep.
With the toothbrush in my mouth, I enter my bedroom again, going over my wardrobe and settling for some denim jeans and a simple black top, which I place on my bed, before moving to the kitchen.
At least today I don't think I'll be faced with a gigantic mess in the kitchen, like last time she brought someone home and decided it was a good idea to bake while...well...baked.
Olivia and I never chose to be roommates, we just happen to both need a place to stay while we graduate from Berkeley and since neither of us knew anyone here or could afford a rent on our own, the landlord proposed we share the bill and everything that came with it. And so we did. The first few months were catastrophic and, to be completely honest, the only reason I didn't leave immediately was because I had no place to go or a way to pay for it. But, as time passed we adjusted to each other, we even became friends, albeit after many, many argues over the common areas, who does the dishes and who cleans the bathroom. So, even if today I'm absolutely annoyed with her, generally we get along pretty nicely.
Pushing the door to the kitchen with one hand while the other's still working with the brush to get the morning breath away I meant to go directly to the coffee machine to get it going – I have a feeling today I'll need plenty. But as I reach the coffee machine I notice it's already on and now I'm just surprised, can't believe Olivia beat me to it, especially after a night out. I turn to get a look at the clock that's hanged on the wall above the fridge.
"Oh, merde!" I say probably louder than I should, when I see a small woman looking at me with the fridge door open behind her. I have no idea how long she's been staring, but I'm not happy to have a stranger going over my things. "Who the hell are you?" I ask with an accusing toothbrush, pointing at the small figure.
"Oh, man, I'm so sorry!" Her hands raised in an attempt apology. "I didn't mean to scare you." She says, her voice is soft, but the amused expression she has on her face is more than enough to tell me she's anything but sorry.
"That doesn't answer my question!" I say sharply. "And can you please close the fridge's door!"
She does, but the amusement doesn't leave her face, if nothing else it just grows. "Sorry..." She says again and now she's not even trying to pretend it, not holding down a chuckle.
"Can you tell me what the fuck is so funny?" I don't usually curse, but something about her cocky grin has me on the edge of my self-control.
"Wow..." She seems taken aback from my sudden outburst, her hands waving vigorously. "I'm sorry, but it's kind of hard take you serious when you have so much toothpaste on your chin."
My hand goes immediately to my chin, my fingers rubbing off the toothpaste from it. "Okay, thank you." I say weirdly. "Now, can you tell me who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She asks, while her hands point at herself as if presenting an evidence. "Or is it normal for half-naked girls to pop in your kitchen?"
For the first time since my eyes laid on the girl I make them focus. She's dressed in nothing but a white tank top and some close-fitted blue boxers, her brown hair tied in a bun on top of her head and there's something weird with it, but I can't exactly understand what from where I'm standing. A small silver ring on her nose. My eyes travel lower, even without me wanting, her thighs are firm, as it's her calf, flexed on her right leg since her left one is resting slightly crossed. She's barefooted, making her tinny frame even smaller.
"Good enough look?" She asks and the smile never leaves her face.
I start to feel the blush creeping to my cheeks. "You're Olivia's...friend?"
The small women chuckles and her entire body shakes. "Man, we are many things, but friends...that I don't know. I think we're not there yet."
I don't like it, the way she's talking, I think she's using me as a joke. "So do you have a name?"
"Of course I do, doesn't everyone have one?" She's on the move, going around the cabinets, opening and closing the doors.
"Can you just please answer one question like a normal person?" I give her a not so gentle push on the shoulder and take a mug from the cabinet, placing it on the balcony in front of her.
"Thanks!" She grabs the mug and starts to pour the coffee on it, taking an experimental sip. "Prefect!" Snaps her tongue. "Cosima, my name's Cosima."
"Well, Cosima, did Olivia give you permission to come and get coffee?" I ask a little softer.
"Are you kidding, she's out cold." She starts to move to the kitchen's doors. "Actually, I should go check on her. You can get some coffee if you want."
She leaves and I release a deep breath. "Olivia..." I said low, reprimanding my roommate as if she could hear me. The door slams open again and I caught the breath in my throat. "Could you stop do that?" I don't even have to turn, I know fully well who it is.
"Do what?" She raises her brow, but then her free hand gives a dismissively wave. "Never mind… Just... I never got your name."
"That's because I never gave it to you..." I say annoyed.
She snorts, doesn't seem in the least bothered with my sharp tone. "It's okay, I can get it from sleepy beauty over there." Cosima says, pointing in the direction of Olivia's bedroom with her thumb. A fast smirk and she is gone again, but the door's not even shut when she peaks through it again. "And you still have toothpaste on your chin." Gone for good.
"Merde!" I take my hand down again swiping what was left of it off. But just in case I go to the bathroom and look at the mirror. Yep, all gone.
I get to my bedroom and start to dress quickly noticing that I am already late. A quick stop in the kitchen, I reach for my thermos and the pot of coffee, holding one in each hand seriously thinking about throw that coffee away and make a new batch. But I don't have time for that, so I fill my thermos and leave.