Onua sighed in relief. It was finally quiet. The quietest it had been since the freshmen moved in. Stretching out on the lounge couch, she turned on the dusty, old TV, turning on the volume as high as her ears could handle. It's not like anyone was there to complain. As RA she would usually have to tell the residents to keep it down, but now she was Queen of the building. A lonely Queen, but a happy one.
Flicking through the channels in a failing search for something not too holiday related, Onua caught a glimpse through the window of someone trudging up to the entrance on the floor below. Dismissing it as someone who probably left something behind, Onua turned her attention back to the screen.
It was some time later that Onua realized she had never seen anyone leave. Her stomach rumbled now that her attention wasn't on the cheesy soap she had settled for. Stretching her back and savoring the pops that came in response, she lifted herself off the chair, grabbed her set of master keys and half stumbled, half walked down the stairs. There better not be anyone here. She hadn't been informed of anyone else staying for break so anyone that was there would be breaking the housing contract. The very contract she had sworn to protect at all costs! Maybe not, but her curiosity was getting to her now. Who was it?
Marching down the stairs, Onua looked around for any sign of life. It was all quiet, lights off and lounges empty, just as it was supposed to be. She opened the door to the nearest hall and peeked in. Nothing. The other two yielded the same results. By the time she got to the last hall, she had nearly convinced herself that she probably just didn't notice the person leaving, so consumed by the on-screen people's nonexistent problems. She yanked the door open and almost didn't notice the soft notes of music emanating from down the hall. Aha! There was someone there!
She crept down the hall, various explanations running through her head. She had definitely seen a person come in so all supernatural explanations were out of order. It was a girls' hall and this particular one held a bunch of nasty, entitled brats. Brats she would expect to go home over the holidays to spend time guilt-tripping their parents into getting them more presents. So why would anyone be here? Unless they were like herself and had filled out an extended stay form, every other resident had to leave. She was almost at the end of the hall now. The last room had light peeking out from under it. Who's room was that again? Short hair, freckles… Miri! Miri Fisher! And that quiet little mouse of a roommate of hers. Diane? No, Daine. She hadn't seemed like that type to break the rules though.
Onua stopped at the last door and knocked. Hearing some shuffling on the other side, the door soon opened to reveal a ruffled looking Daine, brown curls all frizzed up in the braid attempting to tame them and a random T-shirt thrown over worn sweatpants. Her big, stormy eyes looked up at Onua, expression guarded. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Hello," Onua began, uncertain on how to talk to the quiet girl. Onua had made it a point to talk to all her residents and be open and available for her freshmen, unlike her own RA had been. She had somehow never really had a conversation with just Daine. Her outgoing roommate Miri had always been with them, facilitating things. Even now, Daine just looked up at her.
"Hi," she eventually murmured, a faint smile on her face. She opened her door wider and stepped back. "Would you like to come in?"
"Oh no," Onua said, rather hesitant on how to phrase her next question. "Thank you though. I was just wondering… Why are you here?"
Daine's smile grew a bit more as she stepped forward once more. "Why are any of us here?" she replied, a glint in her eye.
Onua chuckled, a bit surprised. "Sorry, what I meant was that all residents without an extended stay request were supposed to leave this morning. Aren't you supposed to go home too?"
Daine's smile softened a bit. A flash of something shone in her eyes. "I turned in the form but they had some problems processing it so maybe they forgot to let you know?"
Onua thought about that. Technical difficulties with Resident Services was just as expected as long holds for the Financial Aid office; in other words, it's totally understandable. "Oh alright then! Sorry, I didn't mean to be so straight. Just trying to do my job!" Her stomach let out a mighty rumble, loud enough to rival a whale. Daine let out a laugh.
"Since you're here, do you want to grab dinner? It could give us a chance to get to know each other. We're practically strangers!"
Daine looked down at her slouchy clothes. "What did you have in mind? I don't have anything clean to wear right now; I was actually about to come up to do my laundry and let you know I was here for break."
"How about pizza?" Onua asked. Who doesn't like pizza?
A couple of hours later, the two were lying on the floor, hardly able to breathe between their laughter. Turns out they actually had a lot in common. Daine, as a first-year Animals Studies major on a pre-vet path, actually had a lot to ask Onua who was two years further on the same track. Onua found that Daine had a wicked sense of humor, as evidenced by their current state.
Calming down from whatever humorous situation they had been crying about, Daine and Onua pulled themselves up and settle back into more comfortable positions. Turning to the screen, they let themselves get enveloped by a comfortable silence. Tuning out the random panic attack happening on screen, Onua realized that she had never really gotten her initial question answered. Why was Daine there? Daine had mentioned her Ma enough times for Onua to understand that they had a very strong mother-daughter bond. So why wasn't she home for the holidays? She turned to her new friend.
"Daine? Don't feel like you have to answer this but, why are you here? Shouldn't you be back with your family?"
Daine's small smile unconsciously dropped from her face, replaced by a more wry expression. "There was a fire a few years ago.. Ma and Grandda were caught in it while I was in school. They were my only family."
"I'm sorry," Onua murmured. She looked at the younger girl for some time. "My mom died when I was very young in a car accident. I was two, maybe three? My dad went down from then, always getting himself in trouble. He was about to be kicked out of the reservation when he was arrested for some drug problem. I was put in the system. Haven't seen him since."
Daine looked at her, understanding in her eyes. She reached out and gave Onua's hand a squeeze. They turned back to the blabbering screen, their minds in the past. Seems like they had a lot more in common than expected.