Complementary

Cora sat at her dorm room desk. She was hunched over, like she was trying to make herself as small as possible despite the fact that she was currently the only one in the room. Her roommate's move-in day was three days after her own. She was on pins and needle, wondering who this girl would be and if they would get along. Cora knew she wasn't exactly the most likable figure, too shy, quiet, awkward and socially inept to be able to have a good time with other people, especially in large or public places, but she could still hope...

She could still hope that her new roommate would be kind, gentle, understanding and loving. It was her deepest desire that she would find a lifelong friend in her roommate, but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high, just in case it turned out that her roommate wouldn't like her, or that her roommate would only consider her a moderate friend and not something like a true companion. Cora had been to several summer camps as a child and, in every single one, the girls she bunked with might've started out friendly, but they considered her so terribly boring and plain that it didn't take them long to forget her and start hanging out with someone else, someone better, someone fun.

Cora suddenly shook her head with an aggressive sigh. Worrying about her roommate would do nothing except unnecessarily stress her out. It would not bring her new roommate here any faster, it would not give her any clues as to what type of person her roommate was. It would only make her even more nervous and afraid than she already was. There was no point in worrying. Besides, she did still have other things to do. Her side of the room might've already been unpacked, but she was still busy trying to memorize the school halls on her map and trying to remember what she needed to bring to each of her classes. The young woman hunched even further over her desk, still trying to shrink herself to the size of a church mouse, or to just squeeze herself into oblivion. It didn't matter that she was the sole owner of this room for the next three days, she already felt as though she were sharing her living space, and Cora's idea of sharing involved taking as little as possible before running off and hiding, leaving the rest to whomever it was she was sharing with.

At one point, later on in the night, a rowdy crowd of freshman were running down the halls, laughing, cheering and singing. Cora felt happy for them, honestly, but it was so late and they were so loud. Besides, Cora didn't do well with people. Especially not loud ones. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that they would go away and be quiet soon. Silly as it was, their noise was actually kind of scaring her. They were so rambunctious, and Cora was worried that they would figure out that she was alone in her dorm room and come and try and mess with her.

"Please, just go away. Please, just leave me alone!" Cora whispered to herself. At long last, her wish was granted. The pack of schoolgirls finally grew tired of their fun and Cora listened in relief as their voices and footsteps receded back down the hall. She hoped that her new roommate wouldn't be like any of these girls...

Three anxiety-filled days later, Cora sat on her bed, twiddling her thumbs as she waited politely on her roommate. Today was the day, and if the schedule was correct, Cora's new roommate would be here in two minutes. The girl fought hard not to start pacing or bouncing up and down. She was trying to look natural, so as not to scare her new roommate off before they'd even spoken to one another. Once again, she found herself instinctively lowering her head and rounding her shoulders, already displaying a very meek and submissive posture despite still being alone.

"Hey, hey, hey!" a cheerful voice greeted at the doorway. She wasn't alone anymore.

Cora spent the next 30 minutes helping her new roommate move in. All along the hall, others were doing likewise. The whole floor was abuzz with chatter and excitement as roommates finally met up and helped one another carry large bags in and out of the dorm room. Cora had the most to carry. Her roommate had brought along practically everything she owned. The two of them were waiting more bags long after everyone else was just setting everything up. This girl was something else, and unfortunately, she was Cora's roommate. Looks like she got a partier after all.