Polar Opposites

4 - Dorm Matters

My dorm room was usually the place I felt most comfortable, with every sound, voice, and word being completely inaudible to everyone around me, with the pure exception being when others decided to either purchase a keycard for my room or when they were given one by a member of the staff, but otherwise, my room was the closest thing I had to the peaceful life I desired.

However, sometimes, life did not want me to acquire or even take a taste of a "peaceful life," and it'd do anything to force me to take action or spend time with someone.

And this was one of those times. 

Immediately after I entered my room, I smelled an indomitable pungent aroma, replacing the paper-ish smell that would inhabit my dorm room when I had no one else living over. Now, my room smelled more like fresh olive, which was pleasant, but unexplainably strong, taking over my sense of smell like a horde of sheep against a block of thin ice.

It was unbelievable how utterly intense the perfume(?) was, and I couldn't help but slightly clog my nose on purpose in order to lessen the effect of it.

Walking deeper into my room, I found the source of the scent rather quickly, discovering a small, cylindrical candle on the coffee table that was in the middle of the room. The candle's wax was nearly completely melted, dripping on itself as the remaining bits of wax slowly dissipated against the flame that melted it, killing its own life source until it would eventually also wither out. Moreover, I also found out why the smell had permeated the air for so long, as I found the person who lit the candle asleep on my... their bed. 

Ibuki was still wearing her school uniform, her body laid out flat downwards with her face turned slightly to where I was facing, or, to simplify, her left, each breath she took audible to me due to the silence of the room, excluding the sound of the flame within the candle moving about and crackling slightly. She looked tired, deathly so, and it seemed to me that she fell asleep immediately after getting back due to the condition she was in and clothes she was wearing.

Thus, I didn't want to disturb her if she had a tough day, so I merely decided to walk toward the candle and blow it out, the flame finally disappearing and the smell finally relaxing as the wax within the cylindrical jar continued to drip from its harder surfaces. 

Afterward, I decided to go ahead and get myself a nice cup of warm green tea, walking towards the small kitchen within my room as the sound of my steps were muffled.  

However, life didn't want to go in my direction, and as I made my first steps toward the kitchen, I suddenly kicked my foot against the table, rupturing a loud, booming sound from the table itself, and that was all that was needed for Ibuki to rise from her slumber. Blinking slowly, Ibuki's face morphed from one of peace to one of absolute grogginess, her whole body seeming weak and vulnerable as she brought herself up with her hands, although she did slip and fall back down several times.