We're Still Human

Chapter 33: Roomies

"Oh would you stop fucking snoring so much, you're going to ruin my vibe, Yasmina!" Nadia playfully shoves me, and I push her back, making her stumble out the bus.

After a long two weeks of term two and finally seeing the end of that semester, our basketball teams began heading off for the nationals, with Nadia and I of course, sharing seats on the bus. Kendall was texting me throughout, along with my mom and my friends, with mom texting me more than usual. I guess having about 3 months or so without your daughter living in your space can cause you to spiral. That spiral is deserved though, and I'm making her work for this relationship, just as she should have when I first truly came out to her.

Yes, I came out to my mom way before anyone knew about this. Way before I even knew.

I was ten, and I joked about liking girls more than guys. What was funny is we happened to be in the heart of Brisbane when I said this to her. Queen street mall, to be exact. I remember picking up a Ben 10 toy and then comparing it to my shego action figure, saying I'd much rather have a go st Shego than Ben 10, cause Shego is hotter and much more like me. I guess that really shaped my taste in women, because look at me now; Kendall is Shego, just the brunette version of her. In the mall that we're facing right now, I told my mom that I liked girls at the age of ten, and was met with a long lecture as my ice cream melted in Brisbane's scorching sun.

Oh, Brisbane, how I did not fucking miss you at all.

We made a pit stop at the mall for food, after travelling for 2 hours by plane and dropping our bags off at the hotel. Nadia's a liar, by the way; she kept on leaning on my shoulder as she slept her way through the flight and the way to the mall.

"Says the girl who was auditioning to be a creepy crawler in her sleep. Hollywood is calling, they want some background noise," I tease, poking her.

She halts in her tracks to throw her stitch plushy at me. "Cunt."

I throw it back to her. "Asswipe."

"You two are unbelievable," Stacy mumbles, walking between us. "Almost university students."

"Yeah, almost." I roll my eyes, stopping by sushi train. "Anyone up for some sushi?"

***

After getting some snacks and hanging with each other, we each headed to our hotel rooms for the night. Now, since we are just 18 students, the rooms were split into two, meaning each person had their own roommate, all except for coach and her team. Nadia and I are sharing a room of course, and what makes this deal even better is the endless conversations we'll have about literally anything.

And we both know that's not true.

Nadia unlocks the door to our room, switching on the light. I take a good look at the room while Nadia goes into the bathroom, adding her two cents about it. A bedside table with a lamp on it separates our beds, with an envelope resting on each side of the lamp. I walk towards the table, picking up my envelope, and tearing it open. Nadia walks out and does the same, chuckling as she reads her letter.

"To the then, now, and tomorrow. Dream while you can," she recites. "Wow. How thoughtful."

"Yeah, I'm surprised room service is being this courteous."

"I'd prefer this than being told to fuck off and fend for yourselves. Trust me, I've been told that before," Nadia states, jumping on her bed. "Super comfy."

I double take at her previous statement. "What do you mean you've been told that before?"

"At the last tournament. I went and we got like fourth place or something. Place was real shitty though, they would never check on us, plus Coach Davis wasn't always so nice."

"She's still a nightmare?"

Nadia nods. "Probably even worse than before. You're lucky before you had the worst of it."

We both laugh, before I walk to the window to look at the view. The hotel is close to the mall, the blue hues of the night swiftly painting away at the golden shine that was the day. I grin, fiddling my fingers a bit. I regret what I said about Brisbane before; it can be beautiful when it really wants to be.

"Brissy always had my heart when it came to the sets," Nadia says, as if reading my mind. "Reminds you of how beautiful nature really is."

"I didn't know you had a thing for nature." I turn back to look at her.

Nadia stares at me before smiling a bit. "I guess there's more to why I used to jog with you in the morning."

This. I knew this was coming. Nadia has always found a way to talk about us even when I don't really want to, and for whatever reason she does it for, it always seems to work because I can never seem to shut up around her. I guess that's what really gets her going; the fact that I'll allow her to talk about our history.

It's not like I haven't thought about it a lot, anyway.

"Why do you do this, Nadia?" I ask her. "Why?"

She shrugs. "It's how I can get you to open up to me. I know how hard it is for you to trust me again."

"This doesn't really build trust though."

"I'm fully aware, Nothando," Nadia argues back, standing up. "What if this trip is just a step closer into building our friendship again?"

"There's so much we'd need to talk about before we even get to friend basis."

"Like what?" Nadia walks over towards me. "Besides the obvious conversation you and I are both avoiding, why can't we be friends again?"

"Because you won't give me a straight answer to why you did what you did to me back in Sydney," I admit. "I know you're lying about it, Nadia. I just want you to tell me the truth."

Her eyes search mine for something I'm not sure she's after, with her irises glistening as the tears well up. I'm not sure as to why though; these are just one of the many secrets she has locked up in her mind.

She blinks back the tears before nodding at me, giving me a very blank stare. "We should start getting ready. Early morning tomorrow, long week ahead of us too."

With that, she turns away from me, going about her evening routine without saying a word to me again.