Podcast in the closet

Coffee shop

A new roommate? No way.
I had always hated socialising and was only comfortable in my own company, but now this random girl had come to live with me.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that this apartment was the epitome of depression. Walls splattered with stains, food moulding in corners, not to mention that the floor was barely even visible underneath the mess.

"It's quite messy, I-uh I don't really know if-" I began before she interrupted me,
"Nonsense! It can't be that bad" she said as she turned through the doorway to the first room in the house. He smile wavered for a split second and reappeared, slightly less genuine than before.
"It's a lovely home" she lied.
"Uh yeah, thanks..." I muttered in shame, before realising that I had to give her one of the rooms.
"There's a room for you that the landlord told me to keep spare for new residents. I never go in it so I guess it all yours"
Stella smiled again with a truthful sense of gratitude and followed me eagerly.

The room was pretty much just a white box with a bed and a window, however the girl was inspired by the possibility that the room presented her with.
"I can definitely work with this. I'm very artistic, including a passion for interior design so I'm certain I can transform it!" She declares. For me to have her about of eagerness and enthusiasm would be exhausting but she seemed to have an effortlessly positive outlook.

After a moments silence as she considered how to decorate her new room, I noticed the time.
"Look I gotta get to work-"
"Ooh where do you work? I don't have a job yet because I just arrived but it's cool that you work at such a young age"
Was 18 a young age to work? I had begun picking up odd jobs like dog walking and paper rounds to survive since I was 14, my first year living alone.
"I work at the coffee shop across the str-"
"Wow cool!"
Most people would be annoyed at how much she interrupted but I liked not having to say much and being able to listen to her saying whatever comes to mind. She made socialising slightly more possible.
"Coffee shop girls are the cutest" she continued, "do you have a little apron?"
I nodded hesitantly and then left her to unpack her many bags. I hurried out the door, thinking about how Stella called me cute, and well aware that I was late and looked a complete mess.

1 hour later:

It was a pretty quiet work day with pretty much no customers so I leaned on the counter after a while and checked if my manager was around. The coast was clear, so I pulled a blue object out of my pocket and raised it to my lips. I breathed in, lifting my head to the lights with my eyes closed and feeling the fruity flavours hit the back of my throat.
I was about to exhale when I heard the bell on the door chime and in walked Stella. Startled, I began to choke out a cloud of strawberry smoke. She laughed at my reaction and stared in wonderment and the delicate wisps floating over her head.
"Hiya willow! I'm sorry to make you jump, I just wanted an iced latte" she exclaimed as I nodded in embarrassment and started to make her order, "I remembered you said you work here and I tired from all the work I've been doing."
"What work?" I murmured shyly, furrowing my eyebrows in confused because she said she had no job.
"You'll see when you're home. I've got a surprise for you!" She claimed excitedly. That worried me. I hate gifts and i hate surprises, so I opted to stay silent and turn my back on her in order to finish the drink.

"I didn't know you vape" she stated to break the silence.
"How would you, we just met" I shrugged and she understood that meant to be quiet. Like I said, I don't like talking to people, I wasn't trying to be be rude.
I turned around and made accidental eye contact, all of a sudden noticing the intricate details in her eyes. Quickly looking down, I slid the coffee across the counter. She thanked me and left the shop as I watched her skip across the street and into the shabby building I called home.

Stella and I were very different in looks as well as personalities. She was colourful; glowing ginger hair, freckles, blush cheeks. She had already changed outfits twice today, each more colourful than the next. She was chubby and smiley.
I on the other hand, was pale and skinny with round glasses, straight black hair and bangs. I wore dull and oversized clothes that I changed about once a week.
But we were also opposites in every other way. I was introverted and she was extroverted, I was Chinese and she was English, I was pessimistic and she was optimistic.
How would we manage to live together in peace??