HYMN OF THE RAIN

You Aren't Mine to Lose

The dorm is starting to fill up. New faces everywhere and somehow it makes me feel both happy and sad in some kind of way. A part of me wishes to see at least a face I know in the crowd, but so far I can't find anyone - not even someone who went to the same school as I did.

Being in a new city all by yourself gives you that sense of freedom. It feels like you're free to be whoever you want to. No one knows who you were back home anyway.

It also weirdly feels lonely, at the same time as it is liberating. Good thing I've already gotten to know someone here at least. Even if it's just my roommate so far.

Our stuff is still scattered across the room. Well, mostly hers. I wanted to tidy mine immediately when I arrived, but once she arrived, the red-hair grabbed my hand and insisted we needed a brief day out to 'celebrate first day of moving here'.

Rebecca is her name. She comes from a city near mine. I've only known her for a week and it's clear she's the messy one out of us.

"Do you see my t-shirt?"

"Which one?"

Becca is throwing her clothes out of her chestnut suitcase frantically. I glance at the clock on the nightstand and sigh. She'll be late if she doesn't head out soon.

I drag myself out of the comfort of my bed, assigning myself to search for the t-shirt in the drawers.

"The grey one that has 'I love life' embossed on it."

I look at her for a few seconds. She groans.

"My Mom wanted me to send her a photo of me wearing that on first day."

I laugh, shifting my focus again to the drawers. They're as unorginazed as the other parts of our room. But they're much more easier to go through than rummaging through bags.

"Oh, shoot. What should I do? I can't find it anywhere!"

"Just take the picture tomorrow. You can't be late for class just because of that."

"I can't lie to her!" she looks at me in sheer horror, "She'll kill me!"

"You don't need to lie to her. Just try to explain-I'm sure she'll get it."

Becca stands back from her suitcase. She goes silent for a few minutes, her eyes darting between the clock and the rummaged suitcase before her.

At the end, she mumbles something under her breath before she grabs her bag hastily.

"See you!" she storms out of the room.

"Bye!"

Becca is a nice roommate and thankfully I can still stand her messiness.

Speaking of messy...

I look around, noticing her scattered clothes on the floor. Pulling my hair into a ponytail after making sure I still have enough time, I crouch down then pick them up one by one.

Maybe I can find the t-shirt before I attend my lecture. 

A week usually isn't enough for someone to conclude something.

But for me, it's safe to say I'm -thankfully- enjoying my time here. It's possibly because I don't need to face Math exclusively anymore since now I'm only studying everything related to the course. Even if I don't like a course, I can still suck it up with the thought of "I'll probably need this in the future".

Ever since Rebecca found out we'll be sharing a room, she seems like she's determined to explore around campus with me every weekend.

The first weekend I spent here in New York, she woke me up at 5.30, then dragged me to go for a run at the park nearby. It wasn't exactly a morning jog, since most of the time, she stopped to admire the view and I stopped to catch my breath.

I'm exactly someone who likes to stroll around without any purpose in mind, but since that morning I know that'll probably change soon.

There aren't any big parks around my house, but I've heard this city has some beautiful parks to explore. Maybe I can drag Becca to read at one of them with me on the weekends.

My alarm snoozes and I quickly get up from the floor to get ready.

I haven't memorized where all the lecture rooms are, but I've known some of them. Hopefully I won't need to ask around to get there today.

Grabbing my bag and my phone, I lock the door behind me before fast-walking towards the lecture building. Even though 25 minutes should provide enough time for me to get there, my anxious thoughts still haunt me all the same. They manage to get me to the class 15 minutes early.

When I open the door, I can only find two people occupying the room. One sits at the far front, while the other occupies the seat at the back of the room.

The lecturer hasn't arrived yet.

I take my time to examine the room, before plopping myself on one of the seats at the middle. Noticing that it doesn't give me a clear sight to the presenting screen upfront, I change seat one last time before the class starts to fill up.

Believe me when I say I've had far worse lecturers before. So when I hear my seatmates muttering complaints about this one, I can't join into the rant and only offer a sympathetic smile.

Mrs. Huffrey, our lecturer for that class, definitely catches the whole class off-guard when she announces we'll need to team up for the upcoming project.

I've figured that some of the people here have already had friends with them and so I look around, trying to spot anyone who looks as lost as I am. I hope I can find a decent partner to work with. I honestly don't care if they're not exactly the smartest, as long as they want to work together with me.

"Alright, you can form your group later after class. I hope each and every one of you can find your own partner."

The class hums in confirmation, before she continues on with her material.

And still, I'm nervous to see how it turns out. I haven't gotten to know anyone in this class. I sure hope I won't end up reporting to her that I can't find anyone to work with.

To my surprise, Mrs. Huffrey ends her class 15 minutes earlier than she should. 

The minute she walks out of the door, everyone scrambles on their feet to look for one thing in common. Awkward and sudden introductions soon ensue in the room, while those who already have a partner walk out of the class.

I stand up from my seat after gathering my things, looking around awkwardly.

"Hey, uh, excuse me?"

I turn around, seeing the girl who sat in the front of the class offers a smile. 

She fidgets, "I'm Tiffany, by the way. Have you got a partner for the project?"

"No, no, I haven't," I exhale, feeling much less nervous than I was, "I'm Sasha. Let's be partners."