Chapter Three
It was 6 o'clock in the evening by the time Molly was able to find her dormitory. Molly adjusted the strap of the rucksack on her shoulder as she made her way through the crowded hallway of Vanderbilt Hall. Students were coming in and out of the rooms, trying to settle in for the upcoming school year. Molly checked the paper she held on her right hand for her room details and kept walking, occasionally glancing at the room numbers posted on the doors as she passed through. She walked for a couple more minutes until she found what she was looking for, Room 222.
She adjusted her rucksack again and knocked tentatively on the door. She heard a muffled noise coming from inside the room. Molly reached for the handle and slowly opened the door, peeking in to see where the noise came from.
"Hello?" Molly said quietly, as she peeked in.
She saw a short haired blond woman holding a load of clothes in her arms, trying to shove the lot inside a wooden dresser. The woman looked up from her tasked and smiled at her.
"Well hello there, my name is Mary. Mary Watson. I guess we'll be roomies. Come on in!" She said brightly. Mary shoved the last of her bundle into a drawer and held out her hand as Molly made her way to the room and took it.
"My name is Molly Hooper. Pleasure to meet you" Molly said shyly as she shook hands with her new roommate.
"Oh you're English too then?" Mary said, recognizing Molly's accent. "Brilliant! I won't feel as homesick as I thought I would be" she said with a laugh. "Sorry for the mess" Mary said gesturing to the array of boxes lying on the floor. "I'll try to sort it out as soon as possible".
Molly looked around and took the opportunity to assess the room properly. It was a simple two bed room. They would each have a dresser and a desk and they would have to share the bathroom. It was small but cozy. Molly would feel very comfortable here.
"It's alright" Molly said brightly. "So I take it you'll be taking the left side bed then?" She asked, eyeing the bed filled with random clutter.
"Oh yes, Sorry about that. I should've waited to ask which one you'd prefer" Mary said apologetically
"Oh no it's fine. The right one suits me just fine" said Molly. She made her way to the bed and pulled her suitcase to the bedside, and placed her rucksack on the bed as she sat down. She was contemplating on whether or not to start unpacking when she heard Mary speak up.
"So listen, I know you must be tired from travelling. What do you say we go out and get to know each other over some food and drinks? I've heard for the other students there's a bar near here and I'm famished"
Molly remembered she hadn't had anything to eat since she boarded her flight at Heathrow airport but she knew she had a lot of things to do to be ready for her first day tomorrow. Mary, sensing Molly's hesitation, looked at her imploringly.
"Come on love, There's plenty of time to be busy when classes start. Let's have one last night of fun before we're up to our eyeballs in papers and exams" she said, slightly pouting.
Molly looked at her roommates pleading face and gave in.
"Alright then" she said grinning. "Let's go"