74Emma pulled her trusty bug into the parking lot and got out of the car, taking in the sights before her. Students and their parents were walking by, carrying dorm room supplies and saying goodbye to one another. A few guys in university t-shirts were playing football on the quad. She shook her head as she took it in, still unable to believe this was actually happening. That Emma Swan, who less than two years ago was convinced she had no future beyond fast food service and possibly retail, was going to college.
She followed the signs to Freshman sign in and went into the tent, going over to the table set up for students with last names P-Z. "Hi, I'm Emma Swan. I'm here to sign in."
"Are you in Mifflin Hall or Arendelle Tower?"
"Mifflin Hall," Emma told the girl.
She waited as the volunteer searched through a binder until she located her. "Emma Swan, great. Here is your information packet and student handbook, along with a student directory and your course schedule. There's a campus map on the back of your info packet that you'll find helpful. Once you get to your dorm they'll give you your room key and you'll be all set. Welcome to Storybrooke University."
"Thanks," she said as she took the SBU tote bag filled with said stuff. She made her way out of the tent when she accidently collided with another girl. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's alright," the girl said with a shrug as she picked up her own tote bag. "Hi, I'm Ruby. Though people have also called me Red since I'm usually wearing this," she said as she indicated her red hoodie.
"Emma Swan, nice to meet you."
"Are you in Mifflin or Arendelle?"
"Mifflin."
"Me too. What floor?" Ruby asked.
"Sixth."
"I'm on the fourth floor. Are you in a double or a triple room?"
"Triple," Emma told her, feeling like the girl was interrogating her.
"Ugh, I don't know how someone can do that, room with two complete strangers. I'm in a double and I'm dreading just having one roommate. Well, I've got to run. Hopefully I'll see you around," Ruby said with a wolfish grin as she went off.
"Okay, bye," Emma said as the girl walked away. She's cute, Emma thought. Although their brief conversation did remind Emma of her own apprehension of having two roommates. It wasn't like she'd never shared a room with anyone else before. Between the group homes and foster homes she'd grown up in, she had had a good amount of roommates in her lifetime. But that didn't mean she wasn't nervous of rooming with two complete strangers. What if they were total freaks?
To be fair, one of them wasn't a complete stranger. She had already called and befriended one of the girls over the summer, Mary Margaret. They'd talked on the phone a couple of times and messaged each other on Facebook so they could coordinate what to bring for their dorm. But while they had gotten along, Emma knew that talking on-line and actually living together were two completely different things.
As for her second roommate, Emma knew nothing about her. She'd tried calling her once from the contact sheet she'd gotten. But the girl didn't answer when she called, nor did she return the message Emma had left her. The only thing Emma knew about her was her name; Regina Mills.
Emma moved her car to the Mifflin Hall parking lot. She grabbed a couple of bags from her filled to the brim car (she didn't have a lot of stuff, but her small car made it seem like she did) and made her way inside. After getting her room key she got in the elevator and took it to the sixth floor. She pushed her way through the crowded hallway to room 618, where a girl was hanging a colorful tapestry by one of the beds. "Hello?" she said as she knocked on the open door and walked in.
"Emma, hi!" Mary Margaret cried out as she ran over and hugged her. "It's so good to finally meet you in person. How are you?"
"I'm good," Emma replied as she pulled back, not used to such a warm introduction. "Did you just cut your hair?" she asked, since in all the pictures she's seen on-line her roommate had long hair.
"Last week," she said as she self-consciously touched her pixie cut hairstyle. "I've always wanted to try it and with starting college it seemed like a good time to go for it."
"It looks good," Emma told her.
"Thanks." She glanced around the room before looking at the three beds, where her bed was on one side of the room and the other two were on the other. "I already took the bed on the left side. So since you're here you get to choose between the other two. Do you want the one near the window or the one closest to the door?" Mary Margaret asked Emma.
"Um, I guess I'll take the window one," Emma replied.
"That one's mine."
The two girls looked over as a third girl entered the room. Though at first glance it seemed she was more likely on her way to a fashion shoot then attending school, given that the two of them were dressed casually and she was in a rather high end designer dress. That, along with sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat she had on, gave her the allure of a classic movie star.
"Hello, I'm Mary Margaret," she said as she went over to the girl. "And that's our other roommate Emma."
"Regina Mills," the girl coolly replied as she set her sights on Emma. "And I'm taking the bed by the window. I need sunlight to function in the morning."
Emma almost told the girl she was taking the bed by the window out of spite, but thought better of it. She had a feeling this Regina was not going to be an easy person to live with. And since Emma really didn't care where she slept, she decided it would be prudent to pick her battles with the girl wisely. "Fine. I'll take the bed by the door."
"Good choice," Regina smugly replied.
"Emma, since I'm pretty much unpacked do you need help getting your stuff?" Mary Margaret asked, noticing Emma seemed close to ripping the new girl apart.
"Yeah, thanks," she said as she kept her eyes on Regina. Emma waited for the two of them to walk out of the room before stating, "That girl is going to be a real bitch to live with."
"We're just moving in, let's wait and see how things go," Mary Margaret reasoned as they walked to the elevator, trying to be the diplomatic one.
They got a few boxes from Emma's bug and went back upstairs, chatting as they went. Once they got back to the room they found Regina unpacking, along with an older similarly dressed woman. "Honestly Regina, did you have to bring so much stuff?" the woman huffed as she lugged a heavy suitcase onto the bed by the window. "When I brought Zelena to school last week she didn't bring half as much junk as you did. Hopefully once you're in your junior year you'll be a bit more sensible, like your sister."
"Right, because we should all be perfect like Zelena," Regina muttered under her breath before they noticed the other girls in the room.
"Hi, I'm Mary Margaret."
"Emma."
"Cora Mills, Regina's mother," Regina's mom announced in a polite, if not overtly friendly, tone. She nodded to the girls before setting her sights back on her daughter. "Come on; let's get the rest of your stuff up here. I'd like to get back home at a reasonable time."
It only took Emma and Mary Margaret three more trips to transfer everything from Emma's bug to their dorm room. They continued to talk as they unpacked Emma's stuff, while Regina and her mother made seemingly endless trips to and from the room. "Do you know what you want to major in?" Mary Margaret asked.
"We haven't even started classes yet. I'm just looking to survive my first week," Emma answered truthfully as she unpacked a curling iron.
"I understand," Mary Margaret replied. "Right now I'm interested in psychology, but that could change later on. I am excited about the archery class I'm taking for my gym credit."
"Really?" Emma asked, since she didn't think her roommate seemed like someone who'd be comfortable handling weapons. "That sounds like fun. Maybe I'll try to take it next semester. If I survive that long."
"You'll be fine." The two girls then looked out the door as a few boys ran down the hallway yelling loudly. "I've heard the frat guys have a big party the first weekend and invite as many freshman girls as the house can hold."
"Yeah, that's great," Emma said without much interest.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Mary Margaret asked.
"Not anymore," Emma simply said.
"I had one in high school, but we ended things before we graduated," Mary Margaret explained. "I wouldn't mind being single for a while, but I'd like to eventually find someone. Maybe we can go out together and find two fellas."
"Fellas?" Emma repeated with a laugh. "What are you, from the 50's?"
"I'm just saying, we can both try to find each other a boyfriend."
"That's not going to work for me, since I'm into girls," Emma explained, figuring this was a good time to get that out in the open.
Mary Margaret looked at Emma in surprise, not expecting this development. "Oh…so you're…"
"Gay. You can say it," Emma said playfully.
"Sorry. I've just…I've never met someone who was gay before."
"You probably have and just didn't know it. Not every gay woman looks like a burly biker," Emma replied.
Mary Margaret laughed nervously before she stopped in confusion. "Wait, if you're gay why did you say you had a boyfriend before?"
"That's a long story I don't want to get into right now. Let's just go with the short version where I knew him before I came out and I'm not with him anymore."
"Finally!" The two girls looked over as Regina came in and sat heavily on her bed, which barely had enough space for her to do that. "That's done. One more second with that woman and I would have crushed my own heart to escape the inane chatter."
She sighed as she took off her hat and sunglasses. Luckily she wasn't looking at her roommates or she would have noticed Emma staring at her. She's gorgeous, Emma thought as she took in her roommate's dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and full luscious lips.
"I hope neither of you snore, because I'm not putting up with that," Regina announced. "And if either of you touch any of my stuff or eat any of my food, you'll be in a world of trouble."
Maybe it's a good thing she's a bitch, Emma internally reasoned. It'll make it easier to avoid wanting to make out with her.