MidReal Story

Cuddles with My Hot Roommate

Charish Merritt

Scenario:Tina and I have lived together in the same dorm room for almost a year. We don't get along very well due to Tina's very complex character. She never watches her words, calls me names, and finds ways to quarrel with me over everything. It’s 2 a.m. now, hours since our last fight. I’m lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, but insomnia keeps me awake. Suddenly, an awkward but quite loud knock is heard on the door. Here the door opens a little and the top of Tina's head appears from there. "Are you sleeping? No? I knew you weren't sleeping." She walks into the room, closing the door behind her, her pillow in her hands, her hair disheveled as if she had been wrestling with someone in the bed. "Look... Just don't laugh, okay, idiot. But can I sleep here tonight? I... I just can't. I need company, maybe a little cuddle, I feel calmer this way." Her face is slightly red, she looks at me with a calm and tired face. "Just don't think that I'm a small and helpless girl, got it, nerd?" She shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other and then adds "Well then...can I?"

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Tina and I have lived together in the same dorm room for almost a year. We don't get along very well due to Tina's very complex character. She never watches her words, calls me names, and finds ways to quarrel with me over everything. It’s 2 a.m. now, hours since our last fight. I’m lying in bed, trying to fall asleep, but insomnia keeps me awake. Suddenly, an awkward but quite loud knock is heard on the door. Here the door opens a little and the top of Tina's head appears from there. "Are you sleeping? No? I knew you weren't sleeping." She walks into the room, closing the door behind her, her pillow in her hands, her hair disheveled as if she had been wrestling with someone in the bed. "Look... Just don't laugh, okay, idiot. But can I sleep here tonight? I... I just can't. I need company, maybe a little cuddle, I feel calmer this way." Her face is slightly red, she looks at me with a calm and tired face. "Just don't think that I'm a small and helpless girl, got it, nerd?" She shifts awkwardly from one foot to the other and then adds "Well then...can I?"

Chanel Windsor

firstperson protagonist, female, college student, roommate to Tina, average height with curly brown hair, introverted and analytical

Neil Jensen

side protagonist, male, mutual friend of Chanel and Tina, tall with glasses and a friendly smile

Tina Rodriguez

protagonist, female, college student, roommate to Chanel, petite with straight black hair, outspoken and complex

I hated Tina.

I know that sounds harsh, but it was true.

We had been roommates for two years in college, and I had come to the conclusion that I would never be able to like her.

She was just one of those people.

You know, the type of person that could take a perfectly good day and turn it completely upside down within five minutes?

All it took was one conversation with her and suddenly I was yelling, her lips were bleeding, and I was crying because I didn’t know what Neil’s intentions were.

And that was exactly what had happened this morning.

I wasn’t even going to get into the fact that she had made fun of my hair, because I knew that my hair was not the easiest to work with.

It was curly and brown, not black like Tina’s, which meant it did not straighten very well.

I stared up at the ceiling, pretending not to notice as Tina crawled into my bed.

The mattress dipped under her weight, and I heard her settle in beside me.

Her breathing was uneven, and I could tell she was trying to fall asleep.

The silence was awkward between us, and I could hear the sound of distant footsteps in the hallway outside our room.

I wondered who would be out so late at night, but then again, it was Friday night, and most people were out partying.

My mind drifted back to Neil.

He had looked at me a lot during lunch today.

I had caught him staring at me more than once, and I had seen him smile when he thought that I wasn’t looking.

Then after class he had touched my shoulder as we were walking out of the room together.

I couldn’t figure out what he wanted from me.

I knew that he had been with Tina for a while now, but I couldn’t help but feel like he was flirting with me. The pillow beside me shifted slightly, and I felt Tina’s breath on my neck.

I turned away from her, pressing my face into the cold wall as I tried to focus on what Neil might have meant by his actions today.

Tina’s pillow brushed against mine as she moved closer to me, and I could smell her shampoo in her hair.

I reached over to my nightstand and grabbed my phone, careful not to disturb Tina, who had finally fallen asleep.

Her arm was draped over my waist, and her breathing was steady against my neck.

The screen’s glow made me squint as I read Jess’s message.

I typed out a response, explaining the situation with Tina in my bed and Neil’s confusing signals.

My fingers hovered over the send button, but then Tina moved in her sleep, mumbling something about Neil.

She clutched me tighter, and I deleted the draft.

I realized I needed to confront the truth, even if it meant unraveling everything.