Roommates
The sound of a buzzing ringtone filled the room, vibrating on the wooden nightstand as Kiri groaned from under the sheets, lifting a pillow into the air before hitting the girl beside her with it. Kiri normally slept in Syura's room when she stayed over, while Lo'ak took the couch, or... the hallway floor. Most of the time, Syura is never in bed while she sleeps; she is always hunched over the kitchen counter as she studies nonstop. But not today.
“Yura, your phone…" She muttered, rolling onto her side before curling up again. The younger girl shifted with a heavy sigh, not even attempting to reach for the phone as it rang a second time. “Yuuraaa!” Kiri hissed as she sat up, throwing her arm over the other girl with a scowl on her face. Syura groaned and burried her face into the pillow, feeling the weight of her friend as she leaned over her back. Kiri fumbled for the phone, squinting at the bright screen as she looked at the number. "Who is it?" The other girl mumbled, still face down in her pillow, as Kiri rested an arm over her back. "It's your brother," she mumbled, rolling her eyes as she lowered the phone to Syura's ears. The girl on the pillow murmured and reluctantly sat up, taking the phone from Kiri as she curled back up under the sheets, cursing Syura for making her get up.
“Whattt?” Syura answered the phone with a hint of annoyance in her voice, wondering why her brother was calling so early in the morning.. or was it noon? She hissed under her breath as her other hand went to pinch her brows, a headache starting to form behind her eyes. She pushed back some of her hair and looked around the room; there was glitter and beer cans scattered around her floor, party headbands and ash on her nightstand, and she could see the mess in the hallway from her opened door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to recall the events of the previous night, but her mind was blank.
“Ara, Ronal's plane landed an hour ago. We're supposed to meet them at the house; where are you?” Her brother's stern voice made some of her senses wake up as she pulled herself out of bed, followed by a burning ache that spread throughout her body, telling her to stop moving, lay back down, and hide from the light. “I'm on my way... Traffic?” She replied in a shaky voice, grabbing clothes from her dresser, and making her way to the bathroom. Syura lived in a shared apartment with her roommate, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, one of which was in the master bedroom, which was her room. They used to live in a one-bathroom apartment after moving out of the horrible dorms last year, but her roommate got tired of sharing a restroom with his female roommate.
Her brother sighed from the other line, and after a few moments of silence, he spoke again: “Just hurry up. They'll be here in two hours and 15 minutes.” and he hung up. Syura turned on the shower while she took off her clothes—not like she was wearing any to begin with; her skirt was torn, her shirt was ruined by mysterious stains, and, Eywa, the whole hair situation. When she looked at herself in the mirror, she almost gagged at the sight. She stepped into the shower and let the hot water soothe her aching muscles, trying to retrace what she did the day before. All she remembers is leaving the library late at night, coming home to sleep, but being dragged out of the house by her roommate, and the rest is blank.
Syura scrubbed every inch of her body, including her hair. She was sure her skin was turning red from how hard she was scrubbing. After about 20 minutes of cleansing her disgusting body, she spent another 10 combing out her hair and letting it flow down her back; she didn't have time to dry it: their house was an hour away, and who knows what traffic is like, so she'd just let it air dry as she went about her day. She wore low-rise jeans that sat nicely on her hips, a thirted cheetah print top, and paired it with a few gold accessories before hurrying out the room, but not before tugging the sheets off Kiri, who was sprawled out on her bed, seeming in the same state she was in. Her shoes were by the door since they never wore shoes in the house—cute platform sandals that she bought a few days ago.
The moment she stepped into the hall, she wanted to throw up. The stench of cigarette smoke and alcohol hit her like a brick wall, and she immediately regretted whatever they did last night. She kicked around a few empty beer cans and made her way down the hall, peeking into her roommate's empty room before going to the kitchen. She glanced over to the living room and saw her roommate's brother passed out on the couch, one foot hanging off with a half-eaten pizza on his chest. She winced before turning her head to the kitchen, seeing her roommate leaning over the counter as the smell of coffee mixed with the burning smell of liqueur. He was wearing a wrinkled shirt and sweatpants, but he still managed to look somewhat good-looking, if you were into that sort of thing. Syura thought he looked like a stray dog.
“What the hell happened last night?” She asked as she opened the fridge, grabbing an apricot-flavored juice, and setting it down on the counter. She then turned to dig through the drawers for something to calm her growing headache.
Neteyam glanced over his shoulder as his eyes as his eyes followed her, shaking his head slightly before turning fully. "You wouldn't take a break from studying, so we went to a party some guy hosted," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "And you thought of the bright idea of bringing the party here."
“I don't remember any of that,” Syura continued to look through the cabinets, not even looking his way as she shuffled throughout the kitchen. Neteyam's eyes followed her, tilting his head slightly as he studied what she was wearing. “Where are you going?” he asked as she finally found a small bottle of pills, taking one or two out before taking them with the drink.
“My family from Awa'atlu just moved into town. I'm supposed to be meeting them,” she went back to poking her head in the fridge, going through the leftovers they had. Neteyam nodded, his expression unreadable as he watched her, before turning to the finished coffee pot and pouring it into a mug. Even if he looks like he's holding himself together, Neteyam's mind is really just on autopilot. If he didn't wake up with every cell in his body on fire, he would've woken everyone up at the crack of dawn to scrub every inch of the apartment on their knees. He's likely going to lose his mind once he snaps back into reality, but it's a good thing Syura won't be here for that.
Syura finally turned around with cheese cubes in her hand, nudging Neteyam's side before walking over to the living room and staring down at the lifeless looking Lo'ak as he sprawled out like a dead fish on the couch. She grimaced at the cold, stale pizza that lay on his chest, then started stacking the cheese cubes on his forehead. “How long has he been out?” she asked, wrinkling her nose at the smell emanating from his pores. “He needs a fucking shower; he smells like...” "He hasn't showered in days," Neteyam finished, glancing up through the opening in the kitchen wall as he straightened himself, walking over to the two as he sat the coffee mug on the table.
Syura leaned over the lifeless Sully, pulling out her phone to start recording. “This is going to make a great video for our disorderly Lo’ak blog." She smirked before turning the camera toward Netayam. “Featuring, rugrat 'Teyam!”
Neteyam rolled his eyes, pushing her phone away as he shook his brother with his foot before digging his heel into his side. Lo'ak jerked up with a hiss, the pizza and the cheese falling to the floor as Syura jumped back with a squeal. “Is the party still going?” He asked with a rasp, rubbing his side where Neteyam had kicked him, and he glared at him. He then caught sight of Syura's camera. “You're recording?!” He tried to reach for her phone, but ended up getting tangled with himself and falling off the couch.
Neteyam shook his head as he walked back to the kitchen, and Syura couldn't stop laughing as she caught the whole thing. “You skxawng!” She giggled, then turned the camera to a groaning Kiri, who dragged her feet down the hall, her hair in disarray, and her face scrunched up in annoyance. “You guys are so fucking loud,” she said as she slipped onto one of the bar stools and rubbed her temples, then laid her cheek against the cold marble.
“Wow, you look like crap.” Neteyam said with a wrinkle of his nose, and Kiri muttered a ‘Fuck you’ as he slid a cup of coffee to her, just the way she liked it: vanilla creamer, a little milk, brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. He couldn't understand how she could drink that sweet shit; he almost had a sugar rush just by making it.
“Okay, I'll see you guys later." Syura skipped over to Kiri and leaned over her to take a sip of her coffee. She then made her way to the door and slipped on her shoes. "Make sure to take a fucking shower, Lolo!” Syura exclaimed as she started to head out, quickly grabbing her keys and shutting the door.
This was going to be a normal week for them.