ᴏᴜᴛꜱɪᴅᴇ ɪɴꜰʟᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ

Chapter 2: Social Circle

Grasping the brisk metal, you twisted it, the heavy door revealing its inhabitants with an announcing creak. The dorm was relatively spacious with two bunkbeds pressed against opposite walls and a large chest of drawers tucked beneath the barred window which prevented endeavours to escape. Inside were three girls around your age, each perching on their allocated bed observing you, scouring your frame as they analysed your appearance. "Girls," Ms Harris' cold voice spoke, "this is (Y/N), she'll be staying in your room." The girls were much less intimidating than you expected, their expressions softening into polite smiles as Ms Harris introduced you. Your head snapped around as you heard the door shut behind you followed by the clacking of heels on the wooden floor. 

Timidly, you returned your attention to the girls. The girl on the top left bunk slid off, approaching you, "Hi, I'm Erin." She grinned toothily, her multi-coloured brace bands brightening her already bountiful smile. She had a pair of wide-lens glasses fixed upon her brow, enlarging her heterochromatic eyes. Her bronze skin was dotted with freckles and her cheeks dipped due to her dimples. An adorable afro poofed from her head, coils bouncing every which way. The odd socks she adorned poked out from beneath her dungarees added to her eccentricity, portraying her bubbly personality. 

A small smile crept onto your face, grateful she wasn't as antagonistic as you feared, "It's nice to meet you."

"We don't get a lot of girls here," her speech came out in a gentle lisp, "it's nice to have someone new who isn't a boy."

"Literally," the girl from the bottom right bunk chimed in. She had glistening golden hair which cascaded gorgeously down to her upper back, elegantly draped over her shoulder. Her forehead was shielded by a puffy fringe which barely brushed her eyebrows, nearly cloaking her forest-green eyes. Her pale cheeks were rosied by a soft pink hue and she bore a necklace with a bejewelled 'S' pendant. Her upper half was cosied by a cream cotton jumper with dark blue trimming and a navy skirt paired with white knee-high socks. "And it's not like the guys are approachable either, they're all here for like extreme violence or making bombs." Your eyes momentarily widened as Mitch immediately came to mind, you guessed she must have known him. Part of you wanted to bombard her with questions but you refrained. 

In response, you offered a polite chuckle. "What's your name?" You asked.

"Oh, it's Stephanie." She said, "But I don't mind if you call me Steph."

You nodded, "Ok, I can call you that." Craning your neck upward, you looked to the girl whose legs dangled off the top right bunk. She gave you a nervous smile, a quivering hand rising to a gentle wave. She had mousy brown hair cut into a wavy bob which hit her jaw. She fixed a black hairband to push stray strands out of her face, complimenting her ivory complexion which paired perfectly with her doe-like hazel eyes. A baggy grey hoodie draped over her body, masking her figure. "What's your name?" In reply, the girl moved her hands in an unfamiliar way, causing you to quirk a brow in confusion.

"That's Maddie," Erin jumped in, "she's mute."

"Oh, that makes sense," you hummed, flicked your gaze back to Maddie, "it's nice to meet you." Maddie replied in another set of gestures.

"She said you too." Translated Erin excitedly. "I know ASL, so I totally don't mind teaching you if you want?"

"That would be great, thank you, I'd really appreciate that." You beamed gratefully, glad you'd be able to interact with Maddie. Each of your previously paranoid thoughts evaporated from your shoulders as the girls welcomed you gleefully, eternally glad they weren't the monsters you'd envisaged. 

Erin returned the smile. "Anytime! Do you want help with your bags? You're in the bunk underneath mine." Your gaze switched to the left bunk. The top bed was filled with elephant plushies of varying sizes and textures, each one meticulously organised in its own special place. Stuck to the wall were an array of images of the animal, placed into a heart shape.

"I'm ok, thank you." You kindly declined, still observing the pictures. "I like the way you've organised your pictures, it's really pretty."

A sparkle glistened in Erin's beautifully unique eyes, her brace bands visible as another toothy grin tugged at her features. "Thank you so much! I arranged them into a heart because elephants are my favourite animal. I tried to do the big pictures in the middle and then filter it out by size. But I also wanted to keep all the same species in the same area," she elaborated excitedly, suddenly gasping at the idea of species, "did you know that you can tell elephants apart from their ears? Cool, right?!"

Matching her energy, you answered, "It is! I didn't know that." Glancing between her and her display, your tone nudged for her to continue, intrigued by her information. 

"I know, right? So the African elephants have much larger ears than Asian elephants and if you look closely, their ears look like the African continent and the Asian elephants' ears are shaped like India. Another way you can tell them apart is by their trunks. African elephants have what zoologists call 'two-finger trunks' which basically means their trunks are, like, separated into two and the Asian elephants only have one." Erin blurted with sincere interest, subconsciously tapping her fingers against each other rapidly, glad to share her facts with somebody who had yet to hear them. "Elephant trunks are also really cool, they can hold up to eight litres of water and even use them as snorkels when swimming."

"That's actually so cool!" You gawked, amazed by her in-depth knowledge, "How did you know all that?"

"I have loads of books on elephants." She explained, "You can read some of them if you want to?"

Dragging your suitcase to your bunk, you agreed, "Yeah, I'd love to at some point." The mattress dipped under the weight of the hefty bag, lowering from the mass of its contents. You reached around to unzip it, peeling it open to bestow your crammed belongings.

Thankfully, each of the girls eagerly offered to assist you with the chore. With a flurry of activity, they began unpacking your suitcase, carefully pulling out your neatly folded clothes. One by one, they handed each item to you and together you organized them into your allocated section of the wardrobe. You couldn't help but smile as they made sure every shirt, pair of jeans and cosy sweater found its perfect spot, each item meticulously folded or hung with care.

Meanwhile, the miscellaneous objects (your favourite books, your walkman and a few cherished photos) were tenderly placed into the bottom drawer. The girls took special care to arrange everything neatly, ensuring that your space felt personal and welcoming. Erin spotted the blank sticker plastered on the spare drawer and handed you a marker with a grin. "Time to make it official," she said. You took the marker and, with a sense of belonging, wrote your name on the sticker, marking the drawer as your own. The room started to feel more like your own little corner of the world, as you stepped back to admire your personalised space, a buzz of gratitude welled in your chest.