If the smell didn't kill her, the noise would.
Pearl didn't terribly mind the idea of cats. Aesthetically, she found them pleasing. Wide eyes, narrow limbs, lithe bodies, built for hunting and killing perfection, all while being pretty adorable. But in practice, cats were drooly, hairy, smelly, and loud. She was trying to study. Cats weren't even allowed in the dorms!
Well, she had thought that at first, but then she remembered that emotional support animals were a thing, and she bit her tongue for a little while longer. If her next door neighbor really needed an animal companion that badly that they went through all the trouble of filling out the paperwork necessary to bring it here, then who was she to get in her face about it?
But by the fifth week of constant cat screeching and stink, Pearl just couldn't handle it anymore. Her midterms would be coming up soon and she was already slipping in one of her classes. Gritting her teeth, she held her key card in one hand (so she didn't get locked out of her own room) and walked outside. She could hear the faint echo of techno music thumping inside the room as she knocked, and she was half tempted to knock louder when she finally got an answer.
"J-just a minute!" The voice was raspy and high-pitched. Had Pearl been in a better mood, she might have thought it uniquely cute. The music stopped and she could hear the girl inside hushing at something, voice frantic. Finally, the door opened, and the girl's messy, huge hair was the first thing Peridot saw. Then her giant, black eyes, wide with anxiety. A nervous grin was plastered all over her face. "H-hi, you're my neighbor Pearl, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I think we met at orientation," Pearl said. She shot a quick glance at the door to get the other girl's name. Peridot. Cute.
"Well, um, how can I help you?"
Pearl felt guilty. This poor thing was clearly a nervous wreck. Still, it had to be said. "You know, I really hate to do this, actually, and I've been trying to ignore it, but you know, the walls here are really thin, and your cat..."
"Oh, Tesla!" Peridot exclaimed. At first, Pearl thought it was some unique nerd exclamation (and Pearl should have known them all, she was a math major, for Christ's sake), but when Peridot scooped up a gray tabby cat in her arms and looked it in the eyes, she realized that Tesla was the name of her personal demon. "I told you you were being too loud! Why don't you listen to me anymore? You were so good at home..."
"Um, the smell is also a little, uh, strong," Pearl added, feeling awful. She seemed really, really nice. Just... kind of strange. But not in an uncomfortable way. Just different. "L-listen, I'm really not mad or anything, please don't be upset. It's just, I'm in the honors program..."
"Oh, I am too," Peridot added, clutching the cat to her chest. "Computer science/engineering double major. I'm really, really sorry."
"No, no! It's okay! Um, is he your...?"
"Oh, yeah, he's a therapy animal," Peridot said, petting him behind his ear. "I had an accident about a year ago and he helps keep me calm enough to go to school."
"I see," Pearl replied. "Well, um, I'm right next door if you need anything."
Peridot smiled, her crooked teeth giving her a look that was so innocent Pearl's heart melted in her chest. "Thanks! That's really nice of you. And I'm really sorry that Tesla's been bothering you so much. I'll try to give him less catnip so he's not so noisy, and maybe that'll help with the smell too. I swear, he never used to mark like this..."
"He might be uncomfortable because of new surroundings," Pearl offered. "You should get a few more of his things from home, if you can. And maybe playing with him will help, too."
"Oh, you have a cat?" Peridot asked.
"Me? Oh, no, no, I'm - I'm not really a pet sort of person." Realizing how heartless that made her sound, Pearl quickly amended her statement. "I mean, I like pets! I just, I don't have any. I like reading about them more."
Peridot shrugged. "That's fair, they're not for everyone."
"Yeah..." Feeling the conversation die off, Pearl quickly pulled out her phone. "Hey, um, if you ever need someone to play with your cat while you're in class or something, you can text me or whatever."
"Oh, that's a great idea! I don't have too many friends on campus so that would be really helpful." Peridot pulled her phone out of her pocket, safely tucked in a neon green case, and gave it to Pearl to put her number in. Pearl did the same, quickly punching in her name and digits. The two swapped back, sending quick test texts to make sure the information had been stored correctly.
"Sending... Oh, got it! Perfect." Pearl clicked her phone back into sleep mode and nodded. "Well, I really should get back to studying. Miderms coming up soon and all that."
"Yeah, I've got a big project to work on. Coding, ugh." Peridot rolled her eyes. "But it was really nice talking to you! Do you wanna grab something at the dining hall with me later?"
"Um, sure! Yeah, I'd like that."
"Cool! I should be done in like, an hour and a half. I'll just knock and let you know."
Pearl smiled softly, suddenly feeling weird and tingly all over. "Sounds great. See you then."
"Mm-hmm, bye!" Peridot gracefully closed her door, and Pearl went back into her own room. She found herself staring at the contact info that Peridot had stored in her phone. The girl had put a happy cat emoji next to her name.
Maybe she could grow to like cats a little more, after all.