4. Noted

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The next morning, Stephanie and Kelsie still had not returned from their evenings of partying. I assumed they’d found somewhere to crash, and I hoped they were alright. After I got up around ten, fully enjoying one of my last mornings of freedom, I showered and got dressed. I noticed there was no sign of Lilith either. I wondered how late she’d stayed up unpacking. Curiously, I walked over to her door and saw a sign she had posted there:

Dear Suitemates,

I know you may be eager to meet me because I did not contact you before move-in. However, you must wait. I was born with a strong allergy to sunlight and because of this, I have different sleep habits from normal people. I sleep during the day and I am active when the sun goes down. This is safer for my condition.

I will see you all when night falls.

-Lilith

Allergic to the sun? Was that even real? I mulled it over. It explained why she arrived so late, though. If she lived several hours away, she would have to wait until after full dark before she could travel. I retreated back to my bedroom to do some research, leaving my door open just in case someone came back.

I went out and grabbed lunch at a fast-food restaurant, eating my burger alone while I watched others eat and chat with all their friends. By mid-afternoon, Kelsie and Stephanie were still nowhere to be found and there was no evidence of either of them having even returned to their rooms. I made trips to the bookstore and an office supply store to get my schoolbooks and pens and notebooks for the semester then spent most of the afternoon organizing and being relatively bored. I needed to go grocery shopping too, but I really wanted to talk to my roommates first and see how they planned to do meals.

With nothing else to do, I put on some shorts and tennis shoes and walked around the campus. There were trails for students to walk or run on, and there were already crazy people jogging on them, trying to keep in shape, or get into shape in the first place. I was careful not to get in the way of the joggers, who were oblivious to anything except the blaring music on their iPods.

The grounds were quite beautiful. The grass was perfectly green and immaculate even though at this time of the year in Texas, it was supposed to be brown and dry. Maybe the reason for such high tuition was the bright green foliage and pretty flowering plants. The trail bordered a small wooded area and it also bridged a wide river that was filled with trash and algae.

I watched the squirrels frolic and fought down a strong urge to play with them, to chase them up into their trees. They looked like they were having fun, but it would be even more fun for me to chase them, to strike terror into their little hearts as they ran from me. I shook my head and kept walking, ignoring the large squirrel population we seemed to have on campus.

I found myself back at my room a little while later, the sun having gotten the best of me. I was hot and sweaty and decided that a shower would be the perfect refresher to get all the grime off myself.

Unfortunately for me, the bathroom was occupied. Stephanie had finally returned to the dorm and from the sounds in the bathroom, she was cleaning up from the long night she’d had, or maybe preparing for another outing. I would have to wait for the shower.

I sat on the couch and turned on the TV, waiting for my turn in the bathroom. Kelsie came out of her room into the living room, dug around in the fridge, and out a diet soda. She looked as if she had just woken up from a mid-afternoon nap.

“Do you believe this girl?” Kelsie sat down in one of the chairs, cracking open the soda and setting it on the coffee table, brushing the bed-head knots out of her thick, red hair. Her voice was shrill and high. “Allergic to the sun? That’s like being allergic to like…air or water! It’s insane!” She laughed nervously.

“It’s not as if she can help it. It’s genetic.” I said, happy I’d done my research so I could defend Lilith. “She’s just trying to live as normal of a life as she can”

“It’s just…weird,” She said like Lilith could help her condition. “How will she go to class?” She stopped brushing and laid the brush in her lap, picking up the soda and taking a delicate sip from it.

“I don’t know. I didn’t ask her.”

She choked on her drink suddenly, “You met her?” She coughed. She leaned close to me after she cleared out her lungs, putting the drink back on the table. I was suddenly interesting because I had a piece of gossip she did not possess.

I moved my face away from hers, the scent of her perfume giving me a headache. I hated flowery scents, and she smelled strongly of lavender. A normal person probably wouldn’t have noticed it, but up close, it was nauseating. “Uh yeah, she came in late last night. I think you were still…out.”
“Is she weird looking? I don’t want to live with a freak!” She picked up the brush and clutched at it, as if it was a safety net.

I cringed at her harsh words. “She’s…normal enough.” Kelsie got up and walked back to her room with the brush in hand, leaving the half-empty soda on the table, sighing with displeasure.

Stephanie was still in the bathroom.

By the time I had use of the bathroom and took my shower, Kelsie and Stephanie were gone again.

I passed the time watching more TV until dark. That’s when Lilith finally came out. She made her way into the living room, still in her nightclothes; some black athletic pants with white stripes down the sides and a red and black Maynor t-shirt, showing off a little school spirit. I was happy to see she had some normal college attire to go with her vintage clothing. Even in those clothes, she didn’t look as if she had just gotten up. She looked perfect; no signs of grogginess. Her clothing wasn’t wrinkled or rumpled. Her blonde hair looked clean and brushed.

“They’re gone again,” I told her.

“Oh, that is too bad. I wanted to meet them.” She sat down on the couch in the same spot where Kelsie had been sitting earlier. I could still smell the faint hints of lavender.

“I’m sure you will see plenty of them later. You’ll probably wish you hadn’t met them. I can already tell they’re not the type of people that I would normally spend time with if I had a choice. ” I flipped through the channels.

“You’re right, I suppose it doesn’t matter if I meet them now or later. They will still be the same,” She sighed, “You look bored.”

“I hate to say this, but I’m actually ready for school to start.” I made a face at her and laughed.

She fake gasped at me and giggled, an unexpected sound coming from someone who seemed so proper. She seemed more relaxed now. “Let’s do something tonight!”

“Like what?” I turned off the TV, ready to get out of the apartment.

“I want to explore the campus.”

“I already did that today.” I laughed. This was a college town though, and there wasn’t really much to do except go out and get drunk. I was still underage for that, even though I knew that if you wanted alcohol around here, it didn’t matter what age you were. Fake IDs, scoring from your friends, or crashing parties, those were the easy ways college students got drunk. It just wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t into drinking and getting wasted, throwing up and having a hangover in the morning, making a fool out of myself in front of complete strangers. Plus, I didn’t enjoy the thought of what I would do if I lost control of myself.

I was so deep in my own thoughts that I jumped when she spoke, “But everything looks different at night,” Her tone had changed from laughing and happy to solemn.

I didn’t like the sad tone of her voice, something inside me said I wanted her to laugh again, it was better than any alternative. “You’re right, let’s go explore,” I agreed, hoping it would cheer her up.

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A/N: I've had too many roommates communicate with notes...and I really do hate flower scents, though fruit scents don't really bother me as much. Also, there really is an allergy to the sun, it's a rare allergy called Solar Urticaria and it makes you break out into really nasty hives within minutes of sunlight exposure, even under your clothes. Next chapter is on Monday! ^.^

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