pink nights / sally face

ash

figuring out what to wear was a battle and a half. when i ran into ash earlier, she was wearing a large purple hoodie. nothing too elaborate. i felt like i should follow the same dress code. but what if she changes into something different? no, why would she change? we're just going to hang out in her room. oh, well then maybe she'd change into pjs? i can't wear pjs over there, i just met her!

it was getting late. when i got dinner, the sun was setting. it was almost 9:00 pm now. maybe it's too late to go over. but ... she said she'd be up late. surely 9:00 pm isn't late for college kids, right? fuck.

i stood up from my desk and walked straight out of my room. two doors and i was there. i inhaled sharply and knocked. i forgot how to exhale. and then i heard footsteps. exhale, exhale, door handle juggling, exHALE!!!! fuck fuck fuck, maybe this isn't a good idea, maybe i should just go back to my room, maybe-

"oh my goddddd, y/n! i'm so glad you came!" a cool breeze brushed over my hot cheeks. a warm pink glow illuminated from behind ash.

"oh well, i'm only two doors down. imagine how awkward of an excuse it'd have to be for me not to!" oh my god. do you want her to think you felt forced to come??!!

she laughed and gestured for me to come in. 

her room looked great for only just moving in. multicolored christmas lights hung on the walls and plants lined the window sill. so many posters. and an easel!

"wow, your room looks great ... how'd you do this so fast?"

"well i lived in this building last year, so i already had an idea of where everything went. trust, it was a lot longer of a process the first time around."

i raised an eyebrow. "wait, so you're not a freshman?"

"sophomore. i like to move in on freshman day though and have time on campus before classes. feels like an extension of summer but better!"

"ah, i see. me too. i transferred," i turned to her wall of posters and photographs. "you've got a great sense of ... composition? if that's the right term."

"thanks! yeah, my collage wall takes a while but collages are fun and the pictures are special, so it's worth it. even if the RA swears it's a fire hazard."

i laughed. ash was just naturally funny. i felt a little more relaxed now, being in her room. it was probably impossible to be stressed in such a chill environment.

"no way! is this a sanity's fall concert?" i pointed to a small photograph.

"yeah! last year i saw them for the first time! our ears nearly bled. we caved and bought 6 dollar ear plugs from the concession stand but it was killer." she walked over joining me at the wall. she unpinned the photo. "i went with these two guys, my best friends. they're the ones who actually got me into sanity's fall."

she handed me the photo. "the tall one is larry and the blue hair is sally. i met them in high school."

"wow, that must've been a really fun night."

"it definitely was. thank god i didn't take anything so that i still remember it!" she sat back down on her bed. "i really want to do it again though. maybe we could go sometime."

"oh, that'd be cool. i've only ever been to one concert. i'm dying to go to another."

"you should meet larry and sal, they've taken me to so many concerts. some of artists i've never even heard of!"

"do they .. go here?" i eyed the photo still in my hands.

"well, larry ... no. sal, yes. larry's what you would call, unconventional. a great friend, great artist, musically gifted, but on the path less traveled by, if you catch my drift. sal, obviously unconventional to a certain degree, blue hair all considered, but very brainy. he's majoring in psych."

"they sound cool!" i laid the picture down on her desk and sat in a chair across from her bed. "what's your major?"

"i wish i could say art. my parents said they wouldn't pay for such 'unreliable' education, so instead i'm majoring in finance. boring, i know." she rolled her eyes and looked down at her nails. "what about you? something more interesting than mine, i hope."

"maybe you could say that, i was undecided at my last school but im gonna try to do psych..." i glanced at her desk. blue hair. interesting.

"well from what sal tells me, it keeps you busy! he could tell you more about it than i could though."