Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ The Room Mate ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Lost again. She spent a considerable amount of time in the library – after eventually finding it – gaping in awe over all the books they had and trying to decide which one to read first. However, the moment she stepped out of the library – or so it seemed – she was lost again. She never had been good with directions and finding things. The thought crossed her mind to ask the headmistress of the school to print up a map of the school and post copies of it by the front door, but it was quickly dismissed. There was no need to put extra stress on the headmistress just to conform to her. Besides, though being lost was rather annoying, it was also fun. It meant more exploration, and she always loved that.
Rinsi had the basic layout of the main school building figured out already. That part was easy enough once Ki’iro showed her around. The other buildings, however, were different. To her, they followed no set pattern, or if they did it was one she had not recognized just yet. Every door looked the same, and while she could see numbers on the doors, she knew they were not what they seemed. She found that out when she found the number that was supposed to be her dorm room, and walked in on a young man who was getting dressed. After a quick apology, and an even quicker door slamming shut, she went on her way down the hall, deciding to try the next level. There, too, the numbers were the same, and unfortunately she had been so out of it during her quick debriefing due to mixed emotions and jumbled thoughts that she had not paid enough attention to what level she was on.
“Well, Mooney,” she said, talking to a little black cat that was following her, and had always followed her wherever she went, “Here’s hoping this is the right one.”
Rinsi knocked on the solid wooden door before her. It bore her room number on it, or at least the one she was given and she hoped that it was her own. She would know soon enough, she supposed, as she would either walk in on another stranger, find it empty, or find it empty with all her suitcases strewn around, or possibly even some combination of the above. Without waiting for an answer, she stepped inside. There she found a blonde girl with cat ears on her head lying down on one of the beds. Her knee looked badly swollen, and she was accompanied by a young man who appeared to have dark hair, and red eyes. She should not have been surprised, since she was in a school of the gifted, but she was a little.
“Oh, dear! It seems you’ve injured your knee. Here, I’ll heal that for you.” Rinsi cooed, a broad smile on her face.
Any discomforting thoughts she had before were gone now. She knew she must be happy and cheerful in front of these people, because she knew that each and every one of them had been through something difficult because of their abilities, and she wanted more than anything to make things all right again. Even if it was something so simple as a smile, or healing an injured knee.
The girl with the cat ears just stared at her blankly for a moment. She seemed so….cheerful. Why was she so cheerful? How could anyone be so cheerful? Given how well she was dressed, she guessed the other woman was one of those spoiled brat rich kids that always got what they wanted, and never knew what the outside world was like. She scowled for a moment, though mostly because her knee was hurting her so badly from earlier.
“And how are you going to do that?” she snapped.
The girl was a bit surprised at her own voice. She hadn’t meant to sound so angry, and instantly regretted it.
“I’m sorry.” She said with a sigh, “I’ve had a rough day. I am Nakya, and this,” she said, gesturing to the young man, “is Logan. I’d love it if you would heal my knee. There’s supposed to be a dance tomorrow, and date or no date, I plan on enjoying myself.”
“It’s no problem.” Rinsi said cheerfully, “We all have days like that. I don’t really blame you, with your knee like that, though. Who knows? Maybe you can fit into one of my party dresses. Well, this IS a school of the gifted, which means everyone here has a gift. I’ll show you one of mine.”
Rinsi lay her hand on the Nakya’s knee gently. She didn’t want to hurt the girl, and that knee looked quite sensitive. She struggled a little, having just barely learned and got the hang of her ability to heal just before setting up her classroom, but she managed. She concentrated her energy to her hand that was on Nakya’s knee, and watched as it began to glow softly. As it did, she focused her energy out of her hand, and into the injured and swollen knee. They both watched as the swelling dimmed to nothing, and the injury healed itself quickly.
No sooner had she finished than she heard the door open behind her. Turning, she saw Ki’iro standing in the doorway. She wasn’t sure why he was there, but he was, and he looked a bit upset.
“Sorry, I’ll talk to you later, Nakya.” He said solemnly, “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Just as quickly as he had arrived, he had left. Rinsi could only guess what that was all about, though she didn’t have much to guess on. Seeing how solemn they both were, she figured they had argued earlier.
“I don’t know,” Nakya said skeptically, as though she hadn’t seen Ki’iro, “You’re a bit smaller than I am. But thank you for the offer!”
Rinsi turned back to Nakya, happy to see her standing, and, in fact, beaming now that she could put weight on her leg again.
“Better?” she asked.
“Much!” Nakya replied, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find Ki’iro.”
Before Rinsi could respond, Nakya was out the door and down the hallway. The girl looked about her size, maybe only half of a dress size larger than her, really. Already Rinsi had in mind the perfect dress for her, and it was in one of her bags. Her musing soon turned to the up and coming dance, which she had not heard of up to this point.
Her musing did not last long. Before it could get into deep thought, Rinsi realized that she had completely ignored Logan. In fact, she had been quite rude and hadn’t even introduced herself to Nakya or Logan. She looked up to see that Logan was still standing where he had been, looking a little confused. She smiled at him, hoping he would smile back.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so rude. I’m Rinsi Starlight.” She said, extending her hand for a handshake.
Logan’s eyes darted about for a moment before he nodded his head. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but she ignored it as he took her hand and shook it. His hand was a bit cold, which surprised her, but she ignored that, too.
“No worries.” He said simply.
Rinsi noted how his voice sounded almost musical. She liked how it sounded, and figured he must have been in a choir at one time, if he wasn’t already. To not be in a choir with a voice that was so velvety as his would be a real shame.
“Oooooooh, you have such a nice voice!” Rinsi said cheerfully, “You should be in a choir.”
Before she could say or do anything else, a loud yowl reached her ears. She looked down at the nicely kept hardwood floor of her dorm room to find Moonstar, her little black cat, sitting next to her feet. He was looking impatient, and she knew what that meant. It meant he wanted to be loved on, petted, and he wasn’t going to wait. This in turn reminded her that her bags and boxes were still sitting around on her bed and on the floor, waiting to be unpacked.
“Right, I’m supposed to be unpacking. Oh, Logan, this is my pet kitty, Moonstar. I just call him Mooney for short.”
Rinsi had been so enveloped in what she was doing that she had hardly noticed the door open once more, and Nakya step through it. In fact, when Rinsi looked to her roommate’s bed – which was a little messy from her lying on it a moment ago – she found her roommate laying pieces of fabric over it.
“Oh, welcome back!” she said cheerfully to her roommate, “I’m sorry, I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Rinsi Starlight.”
“Nice to meet you!” Nakya said, looking a bit more cheerful than she had been earlier.
When Nakya looked at Rinsi’s side of the room, she noticed a little black cat sitting by her feet, looking rather impatient. Stifling a squeal of joy, she knelt down to the black cat and began purring at it. When the cat purred back, she scooped it up into her arms and began petting it’s glossy black fur.
“I just love cats!” she said cheerfully, “They’re so pretty, and I’m more like them than anyone else I know.”
Rinsi couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. It was just so cute! The girl looked almost like a cat with her ears, and now that Rinsi got a good look at her she could see a tail swishing back and forth behind her, making her look even more like a cat. She glanced over to Logan, and couldn’t help but notice that he was looking rather…uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure if it was just being in the same room as two gorgeous girls such as herself and Nakya, or if it was Mooney. Come to think of it, until Mooney made himself known, Logan seemed to be just fine.
“Uh…” was all he said.
Logan looked like he was trying to come up with an excuse of some sort, something to tell her that would not offend. In truth, he was. He didn’t like cats, but he was afraid that saying so might hurt her feelings somehow. He didn’t want to lie about it, though. Rinsi just smiled at him comfortingly.
“It’s okay. Not everyone likes the same animals.” Rinsi said cheerfully.
“Some people just aren’t cat people. Right, Logan?” Nakya followed up.
However, instead of comforting him, it seemed that their words only made things worse. His eyes filled with what look like distress, and all he could do was mutter a quick apology before nearly running out of the room. Nakya and Rinsi looked at each other and frowned a bit. They hadn’t meant to upset him, but it seems their words backfired on them.
“Rinsi, do you want to do something? I need to do something, to clear my head…” Nakya said softly.
Rinsi smiled. She knew just what to do to help. After all, it had helped her whenever she was upset. She turned to the boxes that lay on her bed and began to dig through them.
“I have just the thing!” she said cheerfully as she pulled out various dresses and outfits and lay them on her bed neatly. “Well, a few things really, depending on your interests. Now, where did I put it?”
After a few more minutes of searching through her boxes, Rinsi pulled out a black case that was the size and shape of a violin or a small guitar.
“There you are my baby!” she cooed as she nuzzled the case affectionately, “I'm sorry baby. I hope the trip wasn't too rough.”
This seemed to make her roommate laugh. Rinsi smiled to herself, proud of herself for making her laugh. That was, after all, her intention. She didn’t REALLY call her violin her baby, nor did she coo at it and act as if it was a person. She treated it carefully, sure, but she didn’t treat it like most guys treated a brand new car.
“Do you think he likes me?” Nakya asked suddenly.
“Who, Logan?” Rinsi said, “Let’s walk and talk. It’s a beautiful day for a musical stroll.”
Rinsi opened the door, and motioned as if she wanted Nakya to step through first. The girl stood and left the room, followed by Rinsi.
“I can’t really tell whether he likes you or not.” Rinsi said, “I’m not a mind reader, and when it comes to telling who likes who, or who is doing the flirting, I’m really rather dense.”
“I’m the same way.” Nakya said as they walked down the hallway, “I also cannot tell when someone doesn’t like me. Just ask Ki’iro.”
Nakya seemed to wince at his name, and Rinsi couldn’t help but wonder if she liked the boy. It seemed like it, if she was reading what she said correctly. She felt kind of sorry for her roommate. Rinsi herself had been in that situation before, and knew it wasn’t fun. However, the purpose of bringing her violin and for talking about such serious matters was not to bring anyone down, but to cheer her up.
“Well,” Rinsi said cheerfully, “if you worry too much about it, you’ll make yourself sick. Besides, I don’t think he doesn’t want to be your friend, and as your friend I can tell you he wouldn’t want you to worry so much.”
Nakya looked thoughtful for a moment, but then nodded and smiled a bit. What Rinsi said was true. Worrying was pointless, and only made things worse.
“Maybe we both can find dates for the dance today. You don't have to have feelings for someone to dance with them, right?”
A devious smile swept across Nakya’s face, but just as quickly it had come, it was gone, as she realized something very important. She had forgotten to make her dress! She had even laid out the material on her bed, but hadn’t touched it.
“I forgot to make my dress!” she exclaimed.
“That offer to wear one of mine is still open.”
“But aren’t you smaller than I am?”
“Only by half a dress size, I’m guessing. I have the perfect dress in mind for you.”