Behind Closed Doors

Chapter 2

I throw my last bag over my shoulder, grabbing onto my suitcase with my spare hand. My moving process was finally coming to an end. It had been a long day at the lab and I finally found the time to actually move myself in.

I took a year off from Yale for this research position, meaning I'm not technically currently enrolled at school there. It's a long story, but I really wanted to take time away from classes to focus on research and intern experience. Melissa wanted me to be on campus to be within closer proximity to the lab and our test patients, so I'm being given a student dorm. I think I'm even going to have a roommate. I'm honestly kinda excited. It's going to be like a secondary university experience.

I walk in the doors to the dorm hall and go to the front desk.

"Hi, I'm Emma Lafelle. I got an email saying I'm in room 224B." I tell the man behind the desk. He clicks a few keys on his keyboard and pulls up what I can assume is my profile. I'm pretty sure I'm somehow registered under the UCONN software even though I'm not an actual student. Some exceptions were made, that's what Melissa said.

"Yep, I've got you here, Emma. You've got a roommate, if you didn't already know. I believe she's already checked in. I'll get you your keys and you can go on up and unpack."

I thank him and move to the elevator. I hope my roommate is nice. I feel the same way as I felt when I was starting my first year. I mean, you never really know when it comes to roommates. They can be amazing, but they can also be horrible. I've been lucky so far. I guess we'll see how this one goes. The elevator dings and I struggle to carry my things out. I arrive at the door and contemplate between knocking, in case my roommate's in there, or just opening the door with the key myself. She could be changing though. Or worse. I sigh and stand up straight. I'm just going to knock.

The door opens and a girl with long auburn hair stands behind it. "Oh my gosh, hi! You must be my new roommate!"

I smile back at her. "Yeah, I'm Emma! It's so good to meet you. What's your name?"

"I'm Avery," she says. She moves out of the way so I can carry my things in. "Welcome!" The room looks like a hotel room, with 2 twin beds, 2 desks, and a big closet. Avery stands to the right of me. I look past her shoulder and I see another door, which I assume is likely the ensuite bathroom. I read online that these dorms have one. Avery makes her way over to her side of the room and flops down on her bed. "So! What are you studying?"

I explain to her my situation and how I'm actually not a student here. She seems interested. "Not a student here? That means you don't have classes OR exams. I better not hear you saying no when I ask you to come out with my friends and I," she taunts.

I laugh. "I mean, if I have the time, of course. I've never been to Storrs. You're going to have to show me what there is to see about this place."

She sits up. "Well, surely you've heard about the sports here. Have you seen any of the games on TV?"

I knew this was coming. I don't really care though. "Yes, I've heard about them. Never seen one though. Honestly I'm not that big of a sports person. I like to run, but that's about it."

Avery nods understandingly. "No I totally get that. Honestly I wasn't that big into them, but my uncle is the women's basketball coach, so I go to a lot of their games to make him happy. I guess that makes me somewhat of a sports person," she laughs.

"Oh wow. That's really cool." I can't think of anything else to say. Of course my roommate has a connection to that team. That means she has a connection to Paige, I'm sure. I hope she doesn't try to make me go to any of the games.