Chapter 6
~*~
Gloria drove for hours back to the house, conscious of the silence in the car. She had once liked driving in the quiet, with no one to bother her as she ran her errands, but that was always optional. Alone in the car… Gloria felt hollow.
It was early morning when she pulled up to the house and parked her car. They had forgotten to leave any lights on before leaving, and the house looked like it was shut up against her and no one should disturb it’s silence.
“This is nonsense,” she said to herself, walking up the steps to the front door. She unlocked it, stepped inside, and kicked her shoes off. She wanted a shower and to sleep until Taco chose to wake her up.
In a daze, trying to not let her feelings get a hold of her, she turned on the hall light and walked up the stairs, turning into her room and looking up.
It felt wrong. Seneca wasn’t there, the ceiling fan wasn’t on, no lights were on. There was no sound, no rain against the window and roof, no breeze ruffling the curtains, no water running from the shower or a recently flushed toilet.
She backed out of the room and closed the door. The room- the house- was her and Seneca’s together and without him she felt like an imposter living here.
She padded down to the living room, turned on the radio on low for some noise, and curled up on the couch, trying to feel at home. Maybe she would leave for the fellowship a bit sooner than she’d planned...
~*~
The sheets didn’t feel right.
Besides the small picture he had of her, there were no traces of Gloria anywhere in the room. He didn’t doubt his mother had designed it that way. She didn’t do anything by accident, and she’d never really favored Gloria. In her opinion, there were better bred young women for him to be involved with.
The sun was coming through the curtains. She hadn’t even invested in blackout curtains.
Seneca shoved his feet into his slippers and walked out of his room. Even though they had planned to meet the three other housemates the day before, they had been nowhere to be found when they went looking for them. He hoped to meet them today.
“I have three flights of stairs to walk down before I can eat breakfast? That’s communist,” he grumbled, laughing at his own bad joke.
There were three people floating around the kitchen and dining room, and he hoped that they were his housemates and he wasn’t being robbed. They were rather distinctive for thieves though…
The least unique one sat at the counter eating cereal, with straight brown hair tied back in whatever fashion she’d been able to secure it with. Her clothes were sensible, roomy, cozy, plain.
The second housemate was already wearing bold makeup. What time was it? What time did these people get up to look so put together? She was also wearing a dominatrix dress, with jet black hair. Wouldn’t it be ironic if she taught little kids? She doesn’t seem the type.
The third housemate was… Seneca didn’t want to assume the gender, but they dressed very femininely, and in pink. Wasn’t there supposed to be a second man in this house? He wasn’t in a house full of women, was he?
“Hi, I’m Seneca.”
~*~
Gloria paid the taxi and looked at her new home. And looked again. If the pamphlet made this place sound like a top of the art experience, then why was this in the middle of nowhere in the middle of flat country? Looking around, the countryside was empty, and the landscape was unkempt. She wasn’t about to be mugged, was she? She couldn’t remember if she’d told anyone where she was going and told them the address.
Gloria was about half an hour late, something she’d cursed herself for on the drive here, and there were several moving forms she could see from the windows. Had she missed orientation?
She pushed back her shoulders and picked up her bags. She took the few steps to get to the front door, and she knocked on the door. It was mostly glass, and the surrounding windows looked like they were made out of… wicker? They were certainly not solid.
A woman made her way over to the door with a bright smile on her face and Gloria recognised her from the pamphlet. Her clothes looked comfortable and well loved. Her hair, which was partially up in a playful bun, was greying. She looked like she was in middle age, but her skin routine must have been great because she seemed to shine from within. Gloria hoped that she could one day have the happiness that this woman was currently showing.
“You must be Gloria Reed! I’m Miranda. We were waiting for you before we all got settled. I know that it’s a bit off the beaten path out here, so I assumed you got lost. Not too lost, it seems, you’re only fashionably late! Come in, come in!”
Gloria pulled her luggage into the foyer, hearing voices coming from a few different directions, and a few people she could glimpse from the doorways.
“You’ll get to meet your classmates in a moment, but if you could bring your things up to your room, that would be appreciated. Tim used to welcome everyone by bringing their bags up to their rooms, but-” she leaned in and lowered her tone, “-with age setting in, we shouldn’t risk so many chances. Don’t want to lose our balance with heavy things, or dislocate shoulders.”
She resumed her previous distance and motioned up the stairs. “I’ll show you the way though. This way!” she bubbled.
They walked up the stairs. “All of these rooms are full this semester, which we’re very excited for. We don’t always have a full house. This is your room right here on the right, next to the wall. Your roommate was one of the first ones here, she got here a few days ago, so she’s already rather established. I’m sure you’ll get along pretty well though, you two seem like a good match.”
She motioned to the door next to the left. “This is the ladies’ bathroom. The men's’ bathroom is over there, over by the supply nook. If you need anything, your roommate knows where everything is. I’ll let you put your things in your room, you can get it all sorted out later after dinner.”
Gloria opened the door, oddly nervous. This room was going to be her home for the next few months, what if it was a closet she had to share with another person?
Instead, she was pleasantly surprised. It was furnished comfortably but not excessively. Gloria got overnight camp vibes from it. Clean, sparse, well lit. There were string lights hung generously from the ceiling, hanging low in most places, and lower in others. It added a bit of charm to the room, and the added plants on the desk by the window made Gloria hopeful. If her roommate believed her plants were her special effects, she couldn’t be that bad, right?
She shrugged her bags to the floor by her bed, and exited the room. At least it wasn’t a closet. If anything, it was more space than Seneca had in his dorm.
Miranda smiled. “Let’s go join your classmates.”
Gloria saw someone pass to the left at the bottom of the stairs; a young woman with her dark hair in a loose braid, a small jean skirt, a tight purple shirt, and heart tights. Not the type of thing you wear while farming…
They descended the stairs and turned left into a room with a couch, piano, a few bookshelves, an easel, and a fireplace. There was no computer, no tv, and no stereo. This was promising to be a very unplugged experience. At least she still had her laptop, she could keep up on her medical drama.
There were several people in the room. The girl Gloria had seen before was sitting beside the fireplace, next to her was a young red haired man with glasses and a fedora. Gloria kinda liked the fedora, honestly.
Sitting across from him was a guy with a denim shirt and black hair. If Gloria wasn’t already dedicated to Seneca, she may have looked at him a bit more. He had an aura of confidence, like he knew everything and knew that everyone else was anxious and he knew how to get whatever he wanted.
The guy next to him had honey blond hair, and looked like a relatively comfortable guy, wearing a tan denim jacket and a pair of jeans. He seemed to be laid back, as if he also wasn’t new here, but he wasn’t edges like the dark haired guy, he was relaxed.
A young woman with long blond hair stood in the corner painting on the easel, though Gloria couldn’t tell if she was any good at it or what she was painting yet.
“Guys, our last classmate has arrived! This is Gloria, let me introduce everyone to you. The girl in the corner is your roommate, Aquila.” The girl gave a wave over her shoulder without looking. “The girl in purple is Maria, and Arhun is sitting next to her. We didn’t have enough rooms to split girls and boys straight down the middle, so they share a room, which better not have any funny business, yah hear me?” Miranda eyed the two of them, smirking. “To the left of Arhun is Alex, and after that is Ashton. Alex and Ashton are both in their third year, so they know the lay of the land. I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you with anything you have a question about.
“Now then, I believe dinner is ready, let’s get going into the dining room, shall we?” Miranda herded.
^ It's a pleasure to meet you...
^ Hadgid! You are not a snack!
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