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꩜ .ᐟ CHAP ONE . . .
THE MORNING SUN filtered through the curtains of the dorm room, casting a soft glow over the space. Kate was already awake, dressed in her usual workout gear, and fresh for an early morning practice. As she tied her sneakers, her eyes flicked over to the lump under the blankets on the other side of the room. Lila.
Kate sighed. She hated doing this, but it was almost 9:00, and Lila had class soon. Not that Lila ever made it easy.
Crossing the room, she knocked gently on Lila's bedpost. "Lila. Time to get up. You've got class in an hour."
A groan emerged from the blankets, followed by a barely coherent, "Fuck off."
Kate smiled despite herself. "Not happening. C'mon, i'll even buy you matcha before class."
The groan turned into a muffled chuckle, and Lila slowly emerged from her cocoon of blankets, her hair an uncharacteristic mess. A state only Kate and one other person had the privilege of witnessing. "You think bribing me with matcha is going to help? You know i'm not a morning person."
"You don't say," Kate said with a smirk. "Come on. Some nasty grass drink and fresh air will do you good. You've got like, ten minutes to get dressed."
Lila scowled, sitting up and running a hand through her tangled hair. "Ten minutes? For delicious matcha with you? I need at least twenty, Martin."
"Twenty?" Kate blinked, incredulous. "Why? You always look perfect."
Lila raised an eyebrow. "Because unlike you, i don't roll out of bed and throw on the first thing i see. Some of us actually care about how we look."
Kate chuckled, leaning against the bedpost. "You always put so much thought into your outfits. You ever think about just... throwing something on?"
Lila narrowed her eyes, lips curving into a playful smirk. "Yeah, maybe you should try it sometime. But then again," she paused, eyeing Kate's well-worn sneakers and oversized sweatshirt, "I like the effortless masc look. Totally screams 'gay basketball player.' "
Kate chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh, so you like the look, huh?"
Lila rolled her eyes, finally pushing herself out of bed. "I said it works for you, not that i'm adopting it. There can only be one athletic, soft masc lesbian and it ain't me." She shuffled toward her wardrobe, muttering something about needing to look decent for class.
Kate watched her pull out a perfectly coordinated outfit, a mix of sharp and stylish. "You know, you could rock the 'i woke up like this' vibe if you wanted to."
