Chapter 4: Gossip in The Dorm
[What is love? Love... What meaning does love hold to me? Love, to me, is something intangible. When you're with that person, the entire world seems to brighten up, and as you go down the street, the flowers by the roadside bloom. Love is when he walks you back home, and you intentionally slow down your pace a little just to spend more time with him before saying goodbye. Love is when he makes stupid excuses like, 'I didn't attend Friday class? Is it okay if I come over to take your notes?' when you clearly know the two of you had been busy stealing glances at each other in class last Friday. Love is when he says, 'I like the scent of your perfume.' So, you choose to wear it everyday. Love is being able to find happiness in his happiness. When he's angry, it frustrates you; when he's sad, it breaks your heart; and when he laughs, it fills your heart with delight. Love is-]
"Ah! Lame! Backspace, backspace, backspace!"
"Zen, you okay?" A concerned woman's voice came from behind.
"No. I'm not okay." Zen tore her gaze away from the computer screen and turned around. The appearance of the woman came into full focus as Zen looked up. The woman was of average height, slim and fit with a creamy complexion and round angular features. Freckles dotted her face but they weren't really visible unless looked very closely, but who in their right mind would study a person's face in such close detail. It was the face of a woman Zen knew all too well. With hair pulled up in a high ponytail and straight bangs framing the right side of her face, she could only be Madilyn, one of her roommates residing in the same dormitory.
Upon catching Madilyn staring at her deep in the eye, Zen pouted, giving Madilyn a look saying she really needed a hug, anything to take her mind off her problems. Madilyn seemed to get the drift as she approached Zen with an equally pouting face and offered her a hug.
"What's wrong, baby?" Madilyn asked, lowering her pitch to sound like she was talking to a toddler. Zen threw her arms over Madilyn's waist, her butt still stuck to the revolving chair as she let out a heavy sigh.
"My novel," Zen began, "it's not working out for me."
"What were you writing about?" Madilyn asked in curiosity.
"It's a high school love story."
"So, what's so hard about writing a simple high school love story?" Madilyn asked, stroking Zen's back affectionately.
"I don't know. Everything sounds so cheesy. It just doesn't fit the context. The deadline's in three days. I have to make it," Zen rambled on, "I really can't afford another angry client. If the client gets angry, I'll get paid less, and I won't have enough money to pay for my tuition, and then I'll have to make it up by taking five more part-time jobs. And if I overwork myself and fall sick, I'll cause my dad to worry. His health is already poor. If anything happens to me and he gets to know about the situation, he'll collapse again and I have to take care of his hospital bills. And then my brother." A horrifying realisation dawned upon Zen's face. "Who's going to take care of him? Ahh, I really cannot go on like this," Zen replied all in one breath. These writing escapades of her hadn't been going so well lately, causing her to get the feeling maybe writing just wasn't her thing after all. If only she'd quit writing and applied for the entertainment industry instead, she was sure she would have become a world-famous rapper by now, based on the volume of complaints that's been oozing from her mouth the past few weeks.
"Slow down. Nothing like that is going to happen. I swear you can be such an overthinker sometimes," Madilyn stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"But still, I-"
"I said nothing will happen. Oh!" Madilyn suddenly raised her voice in an irritated manner immediately shutting her up. Zen tightened her hold on the hem of Madilyn's dress. Perhaps she should calm down and stop overthinking. Madilyn was always right.
"You're probably right."
Zen pulled back and returned her gaze to her computer screen. A second later, she raised both hands and placed them over her lowered head as if drowning in self-created misery.
"You know," said Madilyn, "if you're so worried, you can ask help from Nadia. Compared to the two of us, she's the most experienced when it comes to relationships or these matters of the heart or whatever they call it these days." With that said, Madilyn gave one final look at Zen and retreated to her bed.
"You're right. Why didn't I think of that before? Maybe Nadia might be able to help me," Zen responded a while later.
"Of course, she would."
"Hello, my lovelies. Are you bitching about me behind my back?" Two heads turned to look at the new intruder. Black hair, blue eyes, and the scent of spicy designer perfume invaded the room. Zen's other roommate, Nadia, marked her presence, barging into their dorm room without any prior declaration of her arrival. With an overly cheerful but contagious personality and a morally dubious disposition, Nadia seemed like the most notorious one of the three, but Zen knew better. Nadia acted as a big sister figure to her and Madilyn. The only questionable trait of her was her relationship with men.
"Speak of the devil," Madilyn muttered under her breath.
"How was your date?" Zen asked Nadia.
"It went fantastic as always," Nadia replied with a grin. "So, what have you guys been up to?"
"I was chilling," Madilyn answered, "and Zen here was-" Before Madilyn could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Zen's sudden and unexpected outburst.
"Nadia," Zen sang, "You need to help me with my novel." Zen looked at Nadia pleadingly.
"Of course, I will help you," Nadia sang back, flipping her long black hair and then blowing a kiss at Zen. "If it's for you, Zen, my love, I would climb over a thousand mountains just to be your-"
"Too dramatic. Shut up." Madilyn interrupted, rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"You're just jealous of our chemistry." Nadia stuck her tongue out at Madilyn before turning her attention back on Zen. "Anyways, Zen? I thought you were good at writing fiction. What's got you in a bind?"
"Romance," Zen answered flatly.
"So? Romance, I think, is the easiest genre to write," Nadia continued.
"Well, that's not true, especially not in my case. Romance is just not my thing. I'm only good at horror, and thriller, and everything gory."
"I can sense that coming from you." Nadia shuddered. "Let me grab a quick snack and I'll come to you in a bit."
Zen nodded, continuing to type some words on her computer.
"Guess what?" Nadia started and without waiting for anyone's response, continued, "I saw a crowd gathering outside the dormitory today."
"What was it about, gossip queen?" Madilyn asked.
"You know, boring stuff. Nadia laughed.
"Are people that jobless these days?" Madilyn shook her head in disappointment.
"It's their life. Who are we to judge?" Zen cut in.
"Well, it's kind of refreshing to have some drama once in a while. Campus life was starting to get boring." Madilyn threw a casual glance at Zen before continuing, "But Zen, you don't really care about all these things, do you?"
"Nope," Zen replied. "Because it's not my problem."
"Oh, by the way, have you guys seen the notice outside?" asked Nadia, suddenly remembering.
"What notice?" Zen and Madilyn asked in unison.
"Here, I clicked a pic," Nadia tossed her phone to Zen, then went to rummage through a mass of unorganised stuff on her study desk for some chocolate cookies.
"What is it?" The ever so curious Madilyn jumped down from her bed and strode to Zen's side. Placing one of her free arms over Zen's shoulders, she glued her eyes on the phone screen.
"Dorm attendance timing, 8:30-9:30 pm. Curfew from 8 pm. The boarders will be..." Zen read the rules aloud without paying much attention until she reached the 4th rule. "If any student is detected engaging in any form of provocation/intimidation/threat to any other dorm residents, she will be asked to vacate the dormitory immediately. In this regard, the decision of the Head Warden is final and binding on the individuals involved."
"What's this ridiculous rule?" Madilyn scoffed. "Why does it seem like they're treating us like gangsters?" she questioned, earning a shrug of the shoulders from Zen.
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