Carrot Cake 3, Coffee 29: Make New Friends
Title: Make New Friends
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Carrot cake 3 (lift), Coffee 29 (door).
Word Count: 2030
Rating: PG.
Summary: Olivia meets her new roommate.
Notes: Yes, the title links in with Keep the Old. Yes, I have that song stuck in my head now. So do you.
Walking into her shared dorm room at Smith that first day was one of the hardest things Olivia had ever done.
People didn't like her. People never liked her. Her mother had told her that often enough, and her high school friends, all none of them, proved that well enough. She'd managed well enough in college, mostly since she and her roommate had opposite schedules; they'd never had time to form an opinion of each other. But she couldn't hope for such luck twice.
Now here she was, no safety net, nowhere to go if this didn't work out, facing a dormitory double with the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen inside, lying on her stomach on the right-hand bed with her back to the door and her feet in the air.
Maybe she'd made a mistake. This could be the wrong room. They all looked alike; tiny square boxes painted white, with two beds and two desks, two bureaus and two closests, differentiated only by the varying bed linens and the signs on the doors. They were easy to mix up, surely.
But no, she had the right room. Regina Caravecchio. That was the name on the letter, and the name on the cheerfully decorated sign on the door. Olivia had been name meanings, once, before; she had no idea what Caravecchio meant, but Regina meant "queen." Queen Regina.
She looked like a queen. Or better yet, a Madonna statue, one of the ones she'd studied in art history. Blonde and slender, clear pale skin, probably blue eyes, too-- all she lacked was the patient expression and a cherubic baby Jesus on her lap.
It did not bode well.
Such a girl would be full of herself. She'd probably been petted and praised her whole life, adored and spoiled. She was probably used to having everything exactly her own way, to throwing a fit when she didn't get her own way. Probably manipulated everyone around her, as easily as breathing.
Just like Olivia's mother.
No. No. She was not going to think about her mother now. She had escaped her mother, for good and all, and Regina Caravecchio could not control her, even if she wanted to try, which was a wild guess anyway and Olivia was letting her mind run away with her again. It was ridiculous. Regina-- who was currently chewing on a strand of hair as she read, something Olivia's mother would never have done-- was probably a perfectly lovely person. Everything would be all right.
And if it wasn't, she could always switch roommates.
She took a deep breath and walked into the room.
Regina did not look up at her entrance, and after a moment of confusion Olivia realized it was because she was concentrating on her book. She hummed as she read, a faint, off-key melody that grated on Olivia's nerves.
"What are you reading?" she asked, just to have something else to listen to.
Regina jumped, visibly, and twisted to look up at her. "Oh, hi! You must be Olivia. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."
Which was surprisingly friendly. But of course she'd be friendly at first. Olivia managed a smile. "I didn't mean to startle you," she said. "You looked pretty involved."
"It's one of my favorite books," Regina said, and sat up fully, dropping her feet to the floor. She did not raise a hand to fluff her hair or check her makeup; instead she held up the book-- Pride and Prejudice. "I love Jane Austen with a love that will never die."
"I couldn't get through it myself," Olivia said, without thinking, and then cringed internally. She should have just agreed and then gone about unpacking. Better not to start fights. Better to just fly beneath the radar...
"Well, Austen's not for everyone," Regina said, startling the boots off Olivia in the process. "What do you like to read?"
"I-- I--" Olivia stammered, and shook her head sharply. Stupid. "I don't usually read. I mean, I haven't recently. Not if it's not for school. I don't really have time."
Regina arched an eyebrow. "Really? What do you do, then?"
There was a note of polite indifference in her voice that stung, and without meaning to Olivia went on the defensive. "I play the piano," she said, and turned away from Regina's gaze to set her suitcase on her bed. "The flute, too. And I used to play the violin, but I gave that up junior year. It took up too much time."
The silence went on a bit too long for Olivia's comfort, so she paused in unfolding a sweater and turned around. Regina's mouth was hanging open, which should not have looked flattering, but did. "You play three instruments?"
"Um," Olivia said. "Four, actually, if you mean ones I'm competent on. But I haven't played the clarinet since I was in middle school." She'd left it sitting in its case in her bedroom, next to her first violin. God alone knew what her father had done with it. "I sing, too. Choir."
Regina closed her mouth, but her eyes stayed wide. "No wonder you don't have time to read. I'm surprised you have time to breathe."
That startled a giggle out of Olivia. "I have good time management skills," she offered, shyly. "And not much of a social life."
For some reason, that made Regina smile. "Well, we'll change that. We're very friendly at Smith."
Olivia wasn't sure that she wanted a social life, not if it was anything like her old one. But she didn't say that, only smiled back and busied herself with her clothes. Shirts and sweaters in the middle drawer, skirts and pants on the bottom, unmentionables in the top...
Regina wasn't to be shut out that easily, though. "I've always admired musical people," she said.
Olivia looked at her again. "You're not musical yourself?"
"No, I'm tone-deaf." There was a certain amount of regret in her voice. "I hang around musicians to get my fix. My... my ex was a guitarist."
Olivia must have imagined that very slight pause. What could this girl have to hide? "I won't practice in here," she said, then surprised herself by adding, "But you can come to the practice rooms with me, if you want. I can probably teach you to sing a little."
"I'd like that," Regina said, with a beaming smile that made her previous one look like a lip twitch. "Although I should warn you, I think I'm a lost cause in singing. I wasn't kidding about being tone-deaf. Dogs used to howl when I tried."
A giggle escaped. Olivia swallowed another one, and said, "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you." That got a raised eyebrow from Regina, so she rushed on. "If you don't want to sing, I can at least teach you some simple piano pieces. Heart and Soul is fun." Even if everyone who played piano had played it at least a thousand times. But her father had taught it to her; for that alone Olivia would always love it.
"That's a duet, isn't it?" Regina asked, thoughtfully. She didn't wait for an answer. "I'd really like that. If you have time. I totally understand if you don't."
Olivia picked up her black performance dress and shook out the wrinkles. She'd forgotten to buy hangers; she'd have to go and get some later. "I'll have time," she promised. If it would get someone to like her, she'd make time. "Um... I hate to ask, but do you have a spare hanger? Only for now. I'll buy my own, I promise, but I don't like to leave this sitting in my suitcase. It's silk, and..."
"Of course," Regina interrupted, jumping to her feet. "You can just keep it, I've got about a billion. I swear, my father thinks I own three times the number of dresses that I actually do."
She was rooting around in her closet, so she missed Olivia gaping at her back, for which Olivia was extremely grateful, because she was sure she didn't look half as attractive doing it as Regina did. "I... um, thank you. Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome," Regina said, turning around with a green plastic hanger in her hand. "Here you are. I also have an electric tea kettle and a refrigerator you can share." She nodded at the squat white pot that stood atop her desk, and sat down again.
Olivia flushed, and concentrated very hard on smoothing every possible wrinkle from her performance dress. "That's really too kind," she said. "I have a meal plan, I'll be okay."
She lifted her head once her blush had subsided to find Regina looking at her curiously. "It's really not," she said. "It's a big refrigerator, and the kettle holds a lot of water."
"I'll be fine," Olivia said, as firmly as she could manage, and hung her dress up in the closet.
Regina was still looking at her when she turned back around, but this time it was with an odd expression, half sadness and half anger. "You're not used to people being nice to you, are you?"
That surprised Olivia enough that she gave an honest answer. "Not really, no. People don't like me." She stopped, horrified. "I... I mean, I don't..."
Regina shook her head, and Olivia shut up instantly. Too many years with her mother, too many years fearing just that shake of the head, just that tumble of blonde hair... oh, Lord, she hadn't gotten away at all.
"That's ridiculous," Regina said, her tone disgusted. Olivia wilted just a little, then straightened in shock at what she said next. "If people don't like you than they're idiots. You're a lovely person."
"I... what?"
"Seriously," Regina said. "I like you, and I've only known you five minutes. I don't have any idea how other people can not."
"W-well, they don't," Olivia stammered, and hated herself just a little for it. "Nobody talked to me in high school."
"Oh, well, high school," Regina said, and managed to dismiss the entire ridiculous and painful ordeal with a wave of her hand. "People are always stupid in high school. I know I was."
Stupid was not the word Olivia would have applied to the people at her high school, but she let it go. "I thought it was me," she said, and then, under her breath, "My mother said so."
Regina evidently had much better hearing than Olivia would have liked, because her eyes narrowed, and then she smiled, determinedly. "Well, it isn't you, and never mind them. You'll see-- we Smithies are going to love you. And I will be your first friend, so there."
Olivia managed a smile back. "That'd be nice. I don't think I ever even saw my roommate at my old school, but Smith is a lot smaller."
"This is true," Regina said. "You know everyone and you know everything about them. For example, our RA, Joyce? She's stuck in this particularly heinous love-- shape with her boyfriend, two other guys, and at least one other girl whose identity keeps changing. It's fascinating." She paused, and then added, "At least, it is if you like gossip."
"I don't know if I do," Olivia said, rather surprised. "But it does sound... interesting."
"It is way beyond interesting," Regina said, with feeling. "Sit down, I'll tell you all about it."
"Sure," Olivia said, and smiled again, with more sincerity. "Thanks, Regina."
Regina blinked at her for a moment, and then, when realization dawned in her face, said, "She did not."
Olivia, arrested in the middle of taking a seat, stared at her in complete confusion. "Who did what now?"
"Joyce," Regina said, and got up and looked at the door. "Used my full name on the sign. Oh my God, she did."
"Is there something wrong with Regina?"
"No, not really," she said. "It's a perfectly nice name, but it's my grandmother's, not mine. I don't think anyone's ever called me Regina in my entire life. It's Gina, really."
"Gina," Olivia said. "Okay. Thanks, Gina."
"You're welcome, Olivia," Gina said, and grinned. "Okay, so there's Joyce, and her boyfriend Elliot..."
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Carrot cake 3 (lift), Coffee 29 (door).
Word Count: 2030
Rating: PG.
Summary: Olivia meets her new roommate.
Notes: Yes, the title links in with Keep the Old. Yes, I have that song stuck in my head now. So do you.
Walking into her shared dorm room at Smith that first day was one of the hardest things Olivia had ever done.
People didn't like her. People never liked her. Her mother had told her that often enough, and her high school friends, all none of them, proved that well enough. She'd managed well enough in college, mostly since she and her roommate had opposite schedules; they'd never had time to form an opinion of each other. But she couldn't hope for such luck twice.
Now here she was, no safety net, nowhere to go if this didn't work out, facing a dormitory double with the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen inside, lying on her stomach on the right-hand bed with her back to the door and her feet in the air.
Maybe she'd made a mistake. This could be the wrong room. They all looked alike; tiny square boxes painted white, with two beds and two desks, two bureaus and two closests, differentiated only by the varying bed linens and the signs on the doors. They were easy to mix up, surely.
But no, she had the right room. Regina Caravecchio. That was the name on the letter, and the name on the cheerfully decorated sign on the door. Olivia had been name meanings, once, before; she had no idea what Caravecchio meant, but Regina meant "queen." Queen Regina.
She looked like a queen. Or better yet, a Madonna statue, one of the ones she'd studied in art history. Blonde and slender, clear pale skin, probably blue eyes, too-- all she lacked was the patient expression and a cherubic baby Jesus on her lap.
It did not bode well.
Such a girl would be full of herself. She'd probably been petted and praised her whole life, adored and spoiled. She was probably used to having everything exactly her own way, to throwing a fit when she didn't get her own way. Probably manipulated everyone around her, as easily as breathing.
Just like Olivia's mother.
No. No. She was not going to think about her mother now. She had escaped her mother, for good and all, and Regina Caravecchio could not control her, even if she wanted to try, which was a wild guess anyway and Olivia was letting her mind run away with her again. It was ridiculous. Regina-- who was currently chewing on a strand of hair as she read, something Olivia's mother would never have done-- was probably a perfectly lovely person. Everything would be all right.
And if it wasn't, she could always switch roommates.
She took a deep breath and walked into the room.
Regina did not look up at her entrance, and after a moment of confusion Olivia realized it was because she was concentrating on her book. She hummed as she read, a faint, off-key melody that grated on Olivia's nerves.
"What are you reading?" she asked, just to have something else to listen to.
Regina jumped, visibly, and twisted to look up at her. "Oh, hi! You must be Olivia. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."
Which was surprisingly friendly. But of course she'd be friendly at first. Olivia managed a smile. "I didn't mean to startle you," she said. "You looked pretty involved."
"It's one of my favorite books," Regina said, and sat up fully, dropping her feet to the floor. She did not raise a hand to fluff her hair or check her makeup; instead she held up the book-- Pride and Prejudice. "I love Jane Austen with a love that will never die."
"I couldn't get through it myself," Olivia said, without thinking, and then cringed internally. She should have just agreed and then gone about unpacking. Better not to start fights. Better to just fly beneath the radar...
"Well, Austen's not for everyone," Regina said, startling the boots off Olivia in the process. "What do you like to read?"
"I-- I--" Olivia stammered, and shook her head sharply. Stupid. "I don't usually read. I mean, I haven't recently. Not if it's not for school. I don't really have time."
Regina arched an eyebrow. "Really? What do you do, then?"
There was a note of polite indifference in her voice that stung, and without meaning to Olivia went on the defensive. "I play the piano," she said, and turned away from Regina's gaze to set her suitcase on her bed. "The flute, too. And I used to play the violin, but I gave that up junior year. It took up too much time."
The silence went on a bit too long for Olivia's comfort, so she paused in unfolding a sweater and turned around. Regina's mouth was hanging open, which should not have looked flattering, but did. "You play three instruments?"
"Um," Olivia said. "Four, actually, if you mean ones I'm competent on. But I haven't played the clarinet since I was in middle school." She'd left it sitting in its case in her bedroom, next to her first violin. God alone knew what her father had done with it. "I sing, too. Choir."
Regina closed her mouth, but her eyes stayed wide. "No wonder you don't have time to read. I'm surprised you have time to breathe."
That startled a giggle out of Olivia. "I have good time management skills," she offered, shyly. "And not much of a social life."
For some reason, that made Regina smile. "Well, we'll change that. We're very friendly at Smith."
Olivia wasn't sure that she wanted a social life, not if it was anything like her old one. But she didn't say that, only smiled back and busied herself with her clothes. Shirts and sweaters in the middle drawer, skirts and pants on the bottom, unmentionables in the top...
Regina wasn't to be shut out that easily, though. "I've always admired musical people," she said.
Olivia looked at her again. "You're not musical yourself?"
"No, I'm tone-deaf." There was a certain amount of regret in her voice. "I hang around musicians to get my fix. My... my ex was a guitarist."
Olivia must have imagined that very slight pause. What could this girl have to hide? "I won't practice in here," she said, then surprised herself by adding, "But you can come to the practice rooms with me, if you want. I can probably teach you to sing a little."
"I'd like that," Regina said, with a beaming smile that made her previous one look like a lip twitch. "Although I should warn you, I think I'm a lost cause in singing. I wasn't kidding about being tone-deaf. Dogs used to howl when I tried."
A giggle escaped. Olivia swallowed another one, and said, "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you." That got a raised eyebrow from Regina, so she rushed on. "If you don't want to sing, I can at least teach you some simple piano pieces. Heart and Soul is fun." Even if everyone who played piano had played it at least a thousand times. But her father had taught it to her; for that alone Olivia would always love it.
"That's a duet, isn't it?" Regina asked, thoughtfully. She didn't wait for an answer. "I'd really like that. If you have time. I totally understand if you don't."
Olivia picked up her black performance dress and shook out the wrinkles. She'd forgotten to buy hangers; she'd have to go and get some later. "I'll have time," she promised. If it would get someone to like her, she'd make time. "Um... I hate to ask, but do you have a spare hanger? Only for now. I'll buy my own, I promise, but I don't like to leave this sitting in my suitcase. It's silk, and..."
"Of course," Regina interrupted, jumping to her feet. "You can just keep it, I've got about a billion. I swear, my father thinks I own three times the number of dresses that I actually do."
She was rooting around in her closet, so she missed Olivia gaping at her back, for which Olivia was extremely grateful, because she was sure she didn't look half as attractive doing it as Regina did. "I... um, thank you. Thank you very much!"
"You're welcome," Regina said, turning around with a green plastic hanger in her hand. "Here you are. I also have an electric tea kettle and a refrigerator you can share." She nodded at the squat white pot that stood atop her desk, and sat down again.
Olivia flushed, and concentrated very hard on smoothing every possible wrinkle from her performance dress. "That's really too kind," she said. "I have a meal plan, I'll be okay."
She lifted her head once her blush had subsided to find Regina looking at her curiously. "It's really not," she said. "It's a big refrigerator, and the kettle holds a lot of water."
"I'll be fine," Olivia said, as firmly as she could manage, and hung her dress up in the closet.
Regina was still looking at her when she turned back around, but this time it was with an odd expression, half sadness and half anger. "You're not used to people being nice to you, are you?"
That surprised Olivia enough that she gave an honest answer. "Not really, no. People don't like me." She stopped, horrified. "I... I mean, I don't..."
Regina shook her head, and Olivia shut up instantly. Too many years with her mother, too many years fearing just that shake of the head, just that tumble of blonde hair... oh, Lord, she hadn't gotten away at all.
"That's ridiculous," Regina said, her tone disgusted. Olivia wilted just a little, then straightened in shock at what she said next. "If people don't like you than they're idiots. You're a lovely person."
"I... what?"
"Seriously," Regina said. "I like you, and I've only known you five minutes. I don't have any idea how other people can not."
"W-well, they don't," Olivia stammered, and hated herself just a little for it. "Nobody talked to me in high school."
"Oh, well, high school," Regina said, and managed to dismiss the entire ridiculous and painful ordeal with a wave of her hand. "People are always stupid in high school. I know I was."
Stupid was not the word Olivia would have applied to the people at her high school, but she let it go. "I thought it was me," she said, and then, under her breath, "My mother said so."
Regina evidently had much better hearing than Olivia would have liked, because her eyes narrowed, and then she smiled, determinedly. "Well, it isn't you, and never mind them. You'll see-- we Smithies are going to love you. And I will be your first friend, so there."
Olivia managed a smile back. "That'd be nice. I don't think I ever even saw my roommate at my old school, but Smith is a lot smaller."
"This is true," Regina said. "You know everyone and you know everything about them. For example, our RA, Joyce? She's stuck in this particularly heinous love-- shape with her boyfriend, two other guys, and at least one other girl whose identity keeps changing. It's fascinating." She paused, and then added, "At least, it is if you like gossip."
"I don't know if I do," Olivia said, rather surprised. "But it does sound... interesting."
"It is way beyond interesting," Regina said, with feeling. "Sit down, I'll tell you all about it."
"Sure," Olivia said, and smiled again, with more sincerity. "Thanks, Regina."
Regina blinked at her for a moment, and then, when realization dawned in her face, said, "She did not."
Olivia, arrested in the middle of taking a seat, stared at her in complete confusion. "Who did what now?"
"Joyce," Regina said, and got up and looked at the door. "Used my full name on the sign. Oh my God, she did."
"Is there something wrong with Regina?"
"No, not really," she said. "It's a perfectly nice name, but it's my grandmother's, not mine. I don't think anyone's ever called me Regina in my entire life. It's Gina, really."
"Gina," Olivia said. "Okay. Thanks, Gina."
"You're welcome, Olivia," Gina said, and grinned. "Okay, so there's Joyce, and her boyfriend Elliot..."