Just for a Moment

     Click. The shutter of a little pink Polaroid camera goes off and the white trimmed film starts to ease its way out of hiding. Terra pulls the camera closer to her and gingerly removes the film from the camera's grasp, giving it a little shake before looking it over. Two girls, one with a cross-eyed smile and one with an outstretched tongue slowly appear, freezing the ridiculous moment forever.

     Terra and Aria had been talking for what seemed like hours. Two fresh-faced first years ready to take on the new world of university. The road ahead of them is hazy and uncertain, but they are both prepared to light the way. Most people always believe that having a randomly chosen roommate will result in uncomfortable silence and incompatible sleep schedules, but this pairing somehow worked out. Aria's jet black hair and pale skin contrasts Terra's muddy brown hair and olive skin tone. Aria's loud and vibrant demeanor seems to contrast Terra's calm and quiet one, but their differences complemented the other's. Although it had only been a couple days since the pair moved in, to their floormates around them, they seem inseparable. Sure, some differences were bigger than others, but navigating unfamiliar territory is always easier with a friend.

     Terra stands up off the sunny yellow sheets of her bed and props the developed film against a copper pencil tin on the little shelf atop her oak desk. A white desk lamp and a spiky, green succulent complete the simple decor of her workspace. The space is quiet and calming, much like Terra is. She stares at the photo quizzically as if it somehow didn't belong.

     "You have a lot of pictures on your wall, so wouldn't it look better if you hung it up with the rest?" Aria asks from the comfort of Terra's extra foamy mattress pad once she notices Terra's lingering gaze on the photo. Terra's eyebrows furrow as she continues to stare at her desk. Aria doesn't have much to show for what most people view as aesthetically pleasing. Her side of the room contains a mismatch of everything she finds pretty, but it fit her bubbly personality perfectly. All of the bright colors and various trinkets from her travels only serves to promote Aria's curiosity for the world.

     "I think it's fine on my desk," Terra says, turning to look up at the wall where the majority of her photos are arranged into an evenly spaced rectangle surrounded by a string of lights. "I'm way too lazy to rearrange everything."

     "True, it does seem like a lot of work," Aria replies with a shrug as she stares up at the wall with curiosity. The multitude of faces stares back at her, each with their own story that she wants to know more about. "You know, you've never told me about all of your friends."

     "That's them," Terra says, pointing at the wall. She looks back at the wall and the good memories of her old friends wash over her. Maybe it's too soon to mix her old friends with her new friends, so Terra decides they can stay apart for just a while longer. It never hurts to share just a little, but maybe only if someone insists. I don't want to bother anyone with my life story. "Nothing much to it."

     "Awh, come on," Aria presses, a little disappointed that Terra didn't jump at the chance to share something like she would. All she wanted was to get to know her roommate more, but sometimes Terra doesn't open up as much as she does. "There is way more to it. You have so many pictures, but you don't want to talk about any of them? I don't think so."

     "I don't know, a lot of them are old friends. It's kind of embarrassing. I'm sure you don't want to know about all the weird stuff I did as a kid," Terra says, trying to brush off any further questioning, yet she still wanted her press on. With just a little more convincing, Terra will definitely be open to sharing. After all, opening up is the easiest way to create friendships, right? "I mean, if you really want to know, I guess I can tell you about some of them."