Roommates // Jenlisa

3: Actually Talking

"So how does it feel?" Seulgi asked at the end of the workday on Friday when Lisa shutting down her work computer and rolling her tense shoulders.

"Hm?" Lisa asked, glancing at the other girl, who was packing up the work bag she brought in every day.

"To have made it through your first week here?" Seulgi clarified with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah. It's been a pretty good week, but I am ready to have a couple days off for sure. I literally moved into my new place less than a week ago. Been pretty worn out," Lisa admitted. Seulgi's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you didn't already live in the city?" she asked in surprise. "Damn. You should've asked for a later start date!"

Lisa shrugged, standing and pulling the strap of her purse over her shoulder. "I wanted to get started fast, so I didn't mind. And I managed to find a house of not crazy people who needed a room filled. Can't really complain, considering how well it all worked out."

"That's some serious luck," Seulgi told her. "I'm so glad I moved here for college. It gave me plenty of time to get used to the city during breaks." Lisa nodded as the two of them started out of the office. "You'll have to let me show you around town."

"Sure," Lisa agreed with a nod.

"You busy now?"

Lisa stretched her neck a little. Her body was definitely readjusting to sitting at a desk for so long in a day. "No, guess not. I was just going to head home."

"Well, are you hungry?" Seulgi asked, as they made it to the elevator. "There's this cute café a few blocks south. It's walking distance if you don't mind the foot traffic."

"I could eat," Lisa answered with a chuckle, and they stepped into the elevator as the doors slid open. "Plus, a few blocks south is closer home which means a slightly shorter bus ride."

"You've been taking the buses around, yikes," Seulgi said with a shake of her head, "those are always so crowded."

"Yeah, but it's pretty much my only option. We're not exactly in NYC with subways, and I can't afford an Uber every day," Lisa explained, chuckling.

"No yeah, totally. I just walk everywhere, honestly," Seulgi said, "but I do have a car, so if something is really out of walking distance, I just deal with the traffic. But buses? I tried for a while in college, and I just couldn't do it."

"Hopefully it won't be too long term for me," Lisa told her coworker. The elevator dinged as they reached the main floor and they both walked out. "Once I have a few paychecks under my belt, I'm hoping to buy a motorcycle."

Seulgi looked at Lisa , clearly impressed. "Girl, you have a license for that?"

"Yeah," Lisa replied, laughing at the shock on Seulgi's face. "Come on, it can't be that surprising."

"Guess not. You're definitely going to draw some eyes if you pull up to work in a motorcycle, that's for sure," Seulgi told her, before thoughtfully adding, "which is definitely not a bad thing, and honestly, you really should do it."

They walked to the café Seulgi had mentioned and had a light dinner. Lisa found out that Seulgi was from the south before she moved up north to Washington State for school, and they talked about their similar experiences with majoring in computer science as non-white women, and how they remembered being some of the only people who looked like them in classes of forty people. It was sad, but true.

When they finished dinner, Lisa said goodbye to her new work friend and caught a bus back to the house. It still didn't feel much like she was going home, but she was settling in pretty well and she hoped it would feel more like home pretty soon.