muse; nasir jones

eight ➢ heartbreak hotel

march 18, 1993

siya toured numerous campuses, but they all made her feel like she was still in texas. just being in the airport in new york let her know she'd made it. it seemed like the air wasn't so dense. her parents only agreed on her touring nyu so she'd weigh out her options, but she was sure this was the only option.

"isn't this exciting?" gina beamed dragging her suitcase behind her.

"i'm glad you're my roommate. i don't know if i can trust anybody else" siya replied completely serious, but gina laughed.

"too bad we gotta room with two other girls we don't even know" gina sighed once the elevator doors closed.

she pushed the button for their floor and rolled her eyes. siya grew up as an only child so the thought of being in a room with 3 girls - two she didn't know - wasn't that thrilling. the upside to it was meeting new people and getting used to no longer having personal space. plus, she was in new york.

the girls moved through the hallways like children laughing and running until they were on the right side of the hotel. gina unlocked the door and they exchanged a look once they heard a loud crash on the other side of the door.

"i can't believe she broke up with me!" the girl sobbed launching the closest thing to her towards the door.

"i can" the other girl sassed sitting on the counter.

"uh- d-do you need some privacy" gina offered as the girl sobbed.

"she'll be fine." the girl who sat on the counter waved dismissively.

the heartbroken girl ran into the bathroom slamming it shut behind her.

"that's lyric. they've been going back and forth since sophomore year." she slipped off the counter and helped the girls bring their stuff in, "i'm celine"

all the girls shook hands and we went over there schedule. they would be staying overnight for a 'real experience' on campus. outside of their room they were to be as a group and had to be back before the 10:30 curfew. while lyric wept in the bathroom the trio became more acquainted.

"when they said y'all were from chicago, i thought you weren't going to be so... nice" gina confessed laying on the foot of the bed with a book in her lap.

"what's that supposed to mean?" celine popped her gum dramatically causing them to laugh.

"girls from chicago are tough" gina shrugged and siya nodded shortly in agreement.

"i thought y'all were going be all stuck up and southern" celine popped her gum again.

"we are" siya mumbled while checking her nails for any chipped polish and all the girls laughed again.

their laughter came to a holt once lyric slide out of the bathroom with puffy red slanted eyes.

"hi" siya greeted with a sympathetic smile.

lyric looked at all of them for a second attempting to say something to each of them only for her mouth to fall shut.

"i- i just really need some icecream" she sniffled and fell backwards onto her bed.

so they made it their mission to cheer her up. they moved down the hallway like charlie's angel rejects and laughed all the way to the common area. students of the school gave them looks, but that didn't stop the girls from being giggly. they were in a city that wasn't their own and no real supervision. a few food chains lapped the area, but the girls decided to step off campus since they were free to leave for food. who were they to deny the heartbroken girl ice cream?

they sat in a little ice cream parlor getting more and more comfortable as the sun began to drool.

"you coming?" gina looked back at siya who was starting past her at a gloomy little coffee shop.

"don't wait up. i think i got something" siya spoke pasted her itching for her sketchbook.

"you sure?" gina examined her face clearly drained from the unexpected fun.

"i'll tag along" celine offered placing a hand on siya's shoulder in comfort.

after the girls headed back to the hotel siya and celine stood outside of the shop in awe. for a strange reason siya felt as if she was in some kind of trance. she was supposed to be here; she felt it in her soul. siya sketched pieces of the scenery before they stepped foot inside.

"i didn't take you as a coffee type" celine chuckled over her own cup of hot coco.

"i just- i don't know felt inspired" siya spoke with her tongue poking between her lips in concentration.

"so you really thinking about nyu?" she hummed after another sip.

"yeah, but for art" siya confessed.

"me too. well, dance" siya finally looked up at her taking notice of her tone.

"dance? that's cool. i have the rhythm of a goldfish" she teased trying to give celine the same thing she'd been looking for; acceptance.

"ballet" celine stated simply.

"nyu it is" siya gulped down some of her own coco.

they stayed a little pasted curfew. it tore a hole in siya's heart to leave the spot for some reason, but she sucked it up. every day of the short trip celine and siya sat and had some hot chocolate as the sunset in a booth at the specialty coffee. sooner rather than later it was time for the small group of girls to head home. she'd gotten celine's pager number and found herself shedding tears once they were in the air on the way back to texas. she felt an overwhelming feeling of emptiness and quietly sobbed unsure of why she was feeling this frustrated all of a sudden.

thank you again to everyone who hasn't given up on this book. it blows my mind that people are still interested. like/vote/comment whatever lol 💗 i enjoy all the feedback. i promise things will pick up soon ✈️💕