Active TWs: None
Passive TWs: Car accidents, medical trauma
4. Late August: Change
If there was anything positive coming out of this entire ordeal, having only one arm now meant that Yang got approved to move back in early. With a little bit of petitioning from the STRRQY family, reslife had also approved Ruby to move in early, so the family could move them both into their dorms on the same day.
By sheer luck, the sisters had been placed in the same building on the same floor. Being in the same building wasn't as shocking to Yang as being on the same floor. Beacon Hall was one of the four major first-year areas on campus, with a mixing of some second years, but not a ton. She'd spent her first year, or at least her first and only semester at UV so far living in the North Tower of Beacon Hall. She'd lived in Beacon North 205, with a randomly selected roommate she didn't know very well, and things had gone reasonably well. Then, of course, the accident happened over winter break that year, and she hadn't been back since.
It would be strange, moving into Beacon South. It was a mirror image of Beacon North, even down to the numbers. Beacon South consisted of only even numbered rooms, and Beacon North consisted of only odd numbered rooms. Yang knew was going to take some time getting used to everything being the exact opposite of what she was used to. She wasn't really sure how long it would take her, whether it be a long time, or possibly even no time at all. It had been over a year and a half, but she still really didn't know what to expect from herself.
The day before the rest of the first-years were scheduled to move in, the STRRQY family loaded up all four cars that the adults of the family owned, and left Patch early in the morning. Yang rode with Raven, while Ruby joined Summer. Tai and Qrow rode alone, but didn't mind, as they honestly needed the front seats for the extra space.
They had thought that moving Yang into her dorm two years ago had been a breeze, with the four adults and both girls helping. Now, however, with two girls to move, things were much more difficult.
It didn't help matters that no one would allow Yang to do practically anything at all.
Tai and Qrow were primarily in charge of packing all of Yang's things, much to Yang's annoyance. They barely let her lift a finger, even if she did still have one completely functional arm, and five completely functional fingers. They would also be in charge of unpacking her things once they got to her room, which she was also not looking forward to.
Yang had opted to ride with Raven instead of one of her dads. She'd had enough of them already, she wanted some time with Ma before she went back to school. At least, that was the excuse she had used when her fathers questioned why she wanted to ride with Ruby's belongings instead of her own. In reality, she knew that Raven was the most likely to allow Yang to enjoy the ride from Patch to UV in silence.
After the roughly hour-long drive from their small town to the suburbs of Vale that housed the University of Vale, the STRRQY family was ready to move in. They stopped at the reslife central office to pick up their keys, as they were early arrivals, and Ruby's joy that she had expressed when she learned her and Yang would be living on the same floor had resurfaced.
"We aren't like, direct neighbors, but we're neighbors!" Ruby exclaimed as she bounced up the stairs out of the central office.
"122 and 102 aren't really that close," Yang replied, staring at the key packet in her hand. "We're on opposite sides of the floor."
"Yeah, but it's close enough!" Ruby pushed open the door, holding it open for Yang to pass through.
"Thank you," Yang said, leading the way back towards their small fleet of cars that was waiting for them to return with their keys.
"See you in Beacon Hall, neighbor!" Ruby yelled, suddenly darting towards the cars at what Yang could only describe as an inhuman pace.
Yang rolled her eyes, giving a small smile. Ruby was always energetic, but today was another level. It made sense. Her little sister was finally moving into college - and so was she.
Yang thought she could have been a bit more excited about coming back to school. She certainly was excited to get out of her house, but she was certainly worried about what was to come.
People in Patch had stopped staring some time ago, aside from the kids. But UV was a big school. With around 30,000 undergrads, it wasn't uncommon to run into different people every day. Different people every day meant different sets of eyes. On the other hand, maybe it would finally allow her to desensitize herself to the stares, and help her to move on with her life. Yet again, she wasn't really sure what to expect.
Yang climbed back into the passenger's seat in Raven's car.
"Got your keys?" Raven asked, a smile on her face.
Yang returned the smile, holding up the packet. "Beacon South 122."
"Excellent," Raven replied, putting the car into drive and following Summer and Ruby out of the parking lot, Tai and Qrow trailing closely behind. "How are you feeling?"
"Excited. Nervous," Yang admitted, the thoughts already on her mind.
"That's expected." Raven paused for a moment before speaking again. "I know we've been a little overprotective for a while, and it's going to be nice to get some time away-"
"That's an understatement," Yang muttered, which Raven ignored.
"-but you and I both know your mother is going to be worried sick these first few weeks. I'm not saying you have to call every day, but reaching out every once in a while would be nice and make her feel better."
"Only Mom? You won't be worried?"
"Okay, okay," Raven admitted. "We'll all be worried sick. I know you want independence, I know you do, but we-"
"I know, Ma, I know," Yang replied, cutting her off. "I'll call every couple of days at least."
Raven gave a small smile. "Thank you."
Yang looked out the window, watching as they slowly approached Beacon Hall. "That's what I did last time I was here, regardless."
"How often do you think Ruby will call?"
"Every day, without a doubt," Yang replied instantly. "She's too much like Mom to not."
Raven let out a laugh. "You aren't wrong. She's more than just the physical splitting image of Summer."
"I probably won't call as much as her."
"That's fine. I don't think any of us ever expected that. You're a very different person than your sister."
Yang hummed at the statement. It wasn't wrong, but she didn't really know what else to say.
"It's gonna be a good year, Yang. I can feel it," Raven said quietly as they pulled into the small loading dock next to Beacon South.
"I sure hope so," Yang replied before hopping out of the car.
A few hours later, Yang's room was entirely settled. As expected, Tai and Qrow didn't let her do anything, which was still very annoying, but at this point, she just wanted to get it over with. On the bright side, they'd arranged and rearranged all her furniture for her without complaint, until the room was exactly the way she wanted it, not wanting her to move stuff on her own at a later date. They didn't hesitate to tease her about how specific she was once they were done, but it was nothing more than lighthearted banter.
Her furniture arrangement was one of the several positives she had come up with for having a single this year. She could organize her room however she liked. She'd opted for the most floorspace, keeping the dresser in her closet, and using the desk as a TV stand instead of the dresser, which was what most people did. Her bed was low, which was uncommon for dorm rooms, but ideal for her, considering she couldn't imagine herself getting into a high bed easily, even if it wasn't fully lofted.
Once they were done, they wandered down the hall to 102, to find Ruby, Summer, and Raven were all still unpacking Ruby's stuff, although they were almost done. Yang had packed lighter than Ruby, but then again, her wardrobe was much more limited, and she already knew what she would and would not use in a dorm room. She expected that by next year, Ruby's belongings would be halved, at the least.
"Anything we can help with?" Qrow asked, stepping into the open door.
"Just hanging up some of the last of my clothes!" Ruby exclaimed, handing her Pop a pile of shirts on hangers. He took them, turning around and filing them into the closet.
"Done already?" Summer asked, neatly arranging the school supplies onto Ruby's desk.
"Yep," Yang replied, leaning in the doorway. "Longest part was moving the furniture."
"Yang's very particular," Tai said with a large smile, winking at his older daughter. "She had us move everything like twelve times."
Yang replied with her own smile. "Yeah, well, you aren't very good at following directions."
"Neither are you, firecracker," Qrow added.
"I get it from my dads," Yang retorted instantly, sending Ruby into a fit of giggles, Summer and Raven trying to hold themselves back from laughing as well. Qrow rolled his eyes, continuing to hang things up in the closet. Tai was attempting to ruffle Yang's hair, but she kept swatting him away.
Positivity, for once, flowed easily between all members of the STRRQY family.
In the RA lounge, the entire Beacon Hall RA staff sat around in a large circle on various chairs and tables. The 20 RAs were spread around the room, in order by floor and tower, North before South, waiting as Drew passed out rosters to all of them. They were nearing the end of their meeting, getting the remainder of their preparations for the next few days, the busiest weekend of the year for any RA or HD: move in weekend.
"The names are formatted very particularly. Bolded names are early arrivals. They are the only ones who should be already here. Italics are first years moving in on Friday. Bold and italic means a first year that moves in early. No formatting means a second year moving in on Saturday or Sunday," Drew explained as he passed out the rosters, double checking to make sure he was handing the right floors to everyone.
Some floors already had some early arrivals living in the dorms, although most of early arrivals came today, Thursday. Most of the ones who were already here were for marching band, some sort of job training, or international students, who came early for international orientation. The ones who arrived today were usually medical accommodations, special circumstances with flights coming from out of state, or volunteer movers who would help move students' belongings from cars to rooms all weekend long.
Blake hadn't seen anyone on her floor yet, nor had she received an email at the beginning of the week with any advanced early arrivals, as she had come to call them, so she assumed she wouldn't have any bolded names on her list as Drew handed it to her.
Blake looked down at her list. Mostly italic names, with a handful of non-formatted mixed in. Two bolded and italic, no regular bolded.
Ruby Rose - 102
Yang Xiao Long - 122
"How many early arrivals do you have?" Ilia asked, leaning over towards Blake.
"Two, one in the single, the other in one of the doubles. Both first years," Blake replied.
"I've got an early arrival in the single too," Ilia replied. "Second year, though. No italics."
"Same," Sun added from Ilia's other side.
"Doesn't surprise me," Blake said with a shrug, sliding her roster into her training binder. "Most of the singles are medical accommodations anyways, and a lot of those include early move-in."
"Strange on the other first year though," Sun commented. "The marching band already moved in, which is usually where the first years come from."
"Could be from out-of-state, and had to get a flight today, or a different medical accommodation," Blake replied with a shrug. Sun hummed, giving a small nod and starting to say something before being cut off by Drew.
"If you've got any early arrivals, I encourage you to check in with them tonight after dinner," Drew said loudly, bringing the chatter around the room about the rosters to a halt. "Tomorrow's the big day though, so I do recommend you all get to bed early. I got the breakdown earlier of when our students are coming. 10% have moved in for early arrivals, and 60% will come tomorrow. The other 30% will come in over Saturday and Sunday, and based on the numbers I've been given from previous years, I'm expecting around 20% Saturday and 10% Sunday. Tomorrow's all hands on deck. We've got about 550 residents moving in tomorrow, but I have full faith in our abilities!" Drew gave a smile, looking around the room.
The RAs let out a series of cheers and excitement. Blake gave a smile, the most she could offer with her current energy levels. Drew spotted her smiling, and his own smile widened.
"Alright team, let's break for dinner, and then finish up any last minute preparations you need for tomorrow! And don't forget to check in with any early arrivals!" Drew exclaimed, releasing the RAs from the lounge.
"Can one of you help me hang up some posters after dinner?" Ilia asked as she followed her friends out of the lounge. "I've got a couple more left, but I'm awful with placement."
"Sure," Sun replied.
"I should probably check in on my EAs after dinner," Blake said.
Ilia nodded. "That's a good idea. Let us know if you wanna hang out after."
"Seconded," Sun added.
Blake simply nodded, knowing she probably wouldn't spend the evening with the two of them, and instead began thinking about the names again.
Ruby Rose. Yang Xiao Long.
She remembered last year, her first early arrivals. It was a first year girl, here early for marching band. She had been so excited to meet her first resident - only to find out that anyone who came early for marching band basically spent less time in the building than the RAs did in the week leading up to school starting, and that was really saying something.
This year, this year was going to be different. She was determined to make it start out on a positive note, and having a good first interaction with her new residents was going to do exactly that.
Blake stood outside of room 122, knocking twice on the door. There was no answer. She knocked a second time, rolling on the heels of her feet. Still nothing.
Blake sighed, looking at her phone. It was only 7:20pm, just after dinner had ended for the RAs, and it was entirely possible that Yang Xiao Long was at dinner with family or something. It was easy to forget that the rest of the world didn't operate on the dining hall schedule, and that for most people, dinner wasn't limited to between the hours of 4:30pm and 7:15pm.
She stepped away from the door, heading down the hall to 102. Maybe she'd get luckier with Ruby Rose!
Two more knocks. More silence. A final two knocks. Still silence.
Blake returned to her room, feeling a little defeated. She opened the door to find Gambol sitting right near it.
"Mrrp!"
"Hello!" Blake exclaimed with a burst of energy she hadn't known she had, crouching down after closing the door behind her. Gambol ran up, headbutting Blake's leg and purring. "It's good to see you too," she said as she smiled at the purring cat.
Blake scooped Gambol up, walking over to her bed before placing the cat down. She slid off her bag, putting it on the floor next to her bed. She pulled out her laptop and the roster Drew had given her earlier.
"Well," she said to Gambol as she sat down, opening up her laptop, "if I can't talk to my residents right now, I might as well figure out what they look like."
Gambol purred as Blake mindlessly continued petting her with one hand, typing on her computer with the other.
The moment that Facebook filled the screen, Blake clicked into the search bar. She looked at her list. The first name on the list was the other inhabitant of 102, Penny Polendina. Also a first year, as the italics indicated.
Blake typed the name into the search bar, but it gave no real results. There was a middle aged woman from Kansas, a literal child in Washington, and a Dr. Penny Polendina from Vacuo. None of which were likely to be the Penny Polendina that was going to reside in Beacon South 102.
She moved onto the next name in the list, Ruby Rose. This gave instant results. The first profile showed a teenage girl from the town of Patch, a place Blake recognized being roughly an hour or so south of Vale. She clicked it, waiting for a moment while it loaded.
The profile was pretty standard - her education on the side showed that she had graduated Patch High School the previous June, and she would be attending University of Vale this year. The girl's profile picture showed her smiling with a corgi. Blake noted the red tips in her cropped brown hair, thinking that the look suited the girl. Her cover photo was her at her high school graduation, posing with an orange haired girl in their cap and gowns, diplomas from Patch High School in hand.
Blake clicked the photo, curious if there was any captions.
Ruby Rose : Best friends today, roomies tomorrow! UV, here we come!
Roomies? Blake raised an eyebrow at the caption. Perhaps the orange haired girl was Penny Polendina.
Curious, Blake clicked away from the cover photo, going to Ruby's photos instead. The tagged photos popped up first, showing what looked like mostly graduation photos. She clicked on another one of the two girls. The photo belonged to a woman named Summer Rose, which Blake only assumed to be a member of Ruby's family.
Summer Rose : Ruby and Penny on the big day! Best friends since kindergarten, roommates in college!
Blake frowned slightly at the statement. Friends that roomed together were a hit or miss. Either it worked fine, and strengthened their friendship, or it tore them apart. She had seen the latter happen a few times last year, and she really hoped that wouldn't be the case with these two, or anyone else on her floor.
She clicked out of the photo. The other thumbnails filled the page, mostly pictures of Ruby posing with various people in her cap and gown. Blake scrolled past one of Ruby with a blonde girl with only one arm, noticing, but not bothering to click on it. She did have the rest of the roster to get to, after all.
After some successes and a few fails, Blake had made her way halfway down the roster. She put little stars next to the people she couldn't find on Facebook - she'd try those names on Instagram later. She'd finally hit her own name, listed at room 118. The next was the only other early arrival, Yang Xiao Long.
Only two Facebook profiles popped up within the state. The first was Yang Xiao Long, the second was Taiyang Xiao Long, and the second profile picture included both an older man and the same girl from the first profile.
"Interesting family naming scheme," Blake muttered to Gambol, who was still curled up at her side, purring happily as Blake continued to mindlessly pet her cat.
She clicked on the first profile. There was something familiar about the girl, but she couldn't quite place it. She hovered for a moment on the profile picture before clicking it.
The picture was quite old, dated nearly three years ago. It was likely not a social media site she often used. In the photo, Yang Xiao Long was sitting on a rock, smiling at the camera. Her hair flowed perfectly, her makeup was stunning, and her outfit seemed well coordinated.
Blake's eyes flicked over to the caption.
Yang Xiao Long : Senior pictures came out awesome!
Three years ago? Senior pictures? Blake stared at the picture for a moment longer, confused.
Yang Xiao Long probably took some time off for whatever reason, and was starting school late. It wasn't common, but it wasn't unheard of either.
Blake shrugged, clicking out of the photo. The cover photo was equally old, but instead of including people, was a picture of a gorgeous beach, with a small corgi running along the ocean.
That dog also looked familiar to Blake, but she couldn't quite place it. There wasn't a caption or comments, so she decided to move onto the tagged photos, to see if she could figure out how she knew this girl.
The first tagged photo was of a high school graduation, but Yang wasn't in a cap and gown. A girl with a brown bob with red tips was… oh.
Blake clicked on the photo.
Summer Rose : Ruby and Yang! Look at those smiles, Yang is so proud of her little sister.
Blake's eyes looked back at the picture.
Yang Xiao Long had her left arm wrapped around her sister's shoulders, a massive smile on her face. Her right arm, however, ended at a stump just above where her elbow should be.
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Yang Xiao Long had lost her arm between her senior year of high school and now. It had caused her to start school late - interestingly enough, in the same year as her younger sister, who also happened to live on the same floor. Step sisters, perhaps, judging by the last names, but Blake wasn't sure. Regardless, it was why both of them had moved in early together - they came from the same family, and reslife tended to be nice about those things.
Blake continued clicking through the tagged photos, curious. Most of the photos were of family, from Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, or Ruby Rose, and two black haired adults who didn't have accounts, but Blake figured were related to them somehow. From Summer's captions, Blake assumed the woman's name was Rae, and the man's name Qrow. The photos all centered events that weren't Yang's - Ruby Rose's graduation, Ruby Rose's prom, Christmas, Taiyang Xiao Long's birthday, Thanksgiving, Ruby Rose's Birthday, Summer Rose's birthday…
It wasn't until Blake hit a photo of Yang Xiao Long at her own birthday party from a year ago with a large white bandage still on the ending of her right arm that Blake realized she had gone in way too deep. Looking at photos of residents for identification purposes wasn't weird - going this far into their personal history certainly was.
Quickly, she clicked out of the photos and Yang Xiao Long's profile. She needed to move on to the rest of the roster, and respect the privacy of Yang Xiao Long and other residents by not going that deep into photos like that again.
Blake wasn't exactly sure what had caused her to do that. She was usually pretty good about not deep-diving into people's social media that didn't know her yet. It was a privacy and respect thing, although some people had told Blake it was fine, photos that were available were on social media for a reason. Still, it felt wrong to Blake, like she was getting to know someone without them getting to know her.
There was something about Yang Xiao Long though, something that made Blake want to find out more without a second thought.