Chapter Text
Throughout Herta’s many years as an academic, she has already achieved great heights most couldn’t even dream of. A perfect honors student with an impeccable GPA. A scholarship to the finest university in the cosmos.
But there was one thing, one person she could not be rid of. A thorn in her side. A pebble in her shoe. One which had followed her here all the way from junior high.
That thorn was named Ruan Mei.
Despite being the smartest. Despite being the prettiest. Despite being the perfect woman, Herta could not seem to get rid of Ruan Mei.
She would only apply to the most elite private schools, scoring flawlessly on the entrance exams.
So would Ruan Mei.
She would run for the position of student council president.
So would Ruan Mei.
She received a scholarship to enter the great Genius Society University.
So did Ruan Mei.
At every accomplishment, at every success. Ruan Mei had always crawled her way to Herta’s side.
But every student knew one thing. Herta did not enjoy sharing her spotlight. And for Ruan Mei to constantly stand in her way, had been a blatant disrespect to her ego. So as the years went by, she grew to resent Ruan Mei more and more.
She hated how quiet she was. Refusing to talk to anyone, even Herta’s great self. She must have thought no one else was worth speaking to.
She hated how every time she would study at the library, Ruan Mei would be there. One table away from her. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
She hated how she looked while working. Her luscious dark hair would be wrapped in a bun. Her sky blue eyes sharpened ever so slightly as she read a textbook. The ever so faint smile she’d form when scoring well on an exam. How she would let out a cute little yawn after studying for hours.
Needless to say she hated her.
But that would all change today, for today was the first day of college. A fresh new start for Herta, away from that annoying girl. This was her chance to show the world how great she was. Her and her alone, the number one scholar.
Yet the moment she stepped in her room, she was
greeted by her one and only adversary.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said, turning to face the shaken Herta at the door.
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The university’s main auditorium shimmered with low light and humming conversation, filled with bright-eyed students and the faint, cloying scent of artificial lavender from the welcome kits.
Ruan Mei didn’t like large gatherings, but she appreciated the structure of ceremonies. Speeches, introductions, outlines of expectations. There was comfort in predictability.
She silently watched as the GSU president welcomed the freshmen in. Here she would be surrounded by the best of the best, a school home to some of the greatest scientists in all of history. Of course Ruan Mei was already familiar with that, but she listened in nonetheless.
After the speeches, she followed the stream of students toward the dorms, dragging her suitcase behind her. The campus was warm, sun-dappled paths lined with silver benches and little signs pointing toward each hall: Library, Dining Commons, Life Sciences and Dormitory.
She’d already memorized the map from the school’s website.
For now her main goal would be to properly unpack and prepare for class tomorrow. She headed northbound to the dorm building, keycard in hand.
Her room would be 304 in the east hall. She would have just one roommate with her, as was standard in most colleges. Partners of the same sex would be randomly assigned a roommate to share with.
Though she would typically prefer having a space to herself to focus on studying, she didn’t mind the idea of a roommate.
As long as they’d be easy to tolerate that is.
Traveling up the building, luggage in hand, she made her way down the hall and into the room. She entered the room, examining its contents. A rather sizable place for a college dorm. It had two beds, one for each end of the room. Along with each of the beds was a nightstand on one side and a wardrobe on the other. There were two desks mirroring each other accompanied by a bookshelf for textbooks. In the corner was a small kitchen including a mini fridge, microwave, oven and a dining table. The other corner held the door to the bathroom.
It looked to be a comfortable space for her time attending college. Ruan Mei set herself upon the edge of the right side bed. Unzipping her luggage, she began to lay out her clothes on the mattress.
Ruan Mei was a rather simple person. She only brought the essentials like clothes, a toothbrush, a comb and some food. It gladdened her to see a kitchen was included in the space, it meant that the tea she had brought with her wouldn’t be going to waste.
Speaking of which, perhaps now would be a good time to make some. She took out the box of teabags from her luggage. Making her way over to the kitchen, she found a small kettle in one of the cabinets.
Just as she began to boil the water, she heard the click of the door. From the entrance, a familiar face had greeted her. An old classmate from back in high school, and a fellow honors graduate like herself.
The one and only Herta.
And in response to discovering her roommate, Ruan Mei uttered a mere three words.
“Oh, it’s you.”
——————————————————————
“Of course it’s me,” Herta replied, an annoyed look on her face. “What are you doing here?”
“This is my dormitory,” she stated.
“No, no, no,” Herta repeated. “This must be some mistake. Out of all the students, why am I being paired with you?”
“Is there a problem with that?” she asked.
“Yes there is a problem,” she said, looking offended. “How is it that I always end up with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Every school, every club and every stupid class. You always end up being right there. What kind of joke is this?”
“Though it is statistically unlikely, the chances of us being assigned this room aren’t zero,” she replied. “However, you could speak to one of the resident assistants if you wish.”
“So be it. The GSU is strict with their policies, there’s no point in me complaining,” she let out a sigh. “And here I thought I’d be rid of you after graduation.”
Pulling a pen out of her pocket, she lifted it pointing towards the center of the room, drawing an invisible line.
“This half of the room shall be mine, and the other yours. Keep to your side and we won’t have any issues.”
“While I understand your proposal, don’t you find it inconvenient to have the kitchen and bathroom separated?” she asked.
“I was about to get to that,” she rolled her eyes. “This space here will be a communal area. Any objections?”
“None.”
“Great. Now keep out of my way for the rest of my time here and we should have no issues.”
Making her way to the left half of the room, she set aside her luggage. Contrary to Ruan Mei, who had packed just the essentials, Herta was holding onto 5 different bags. Four of them were holding nothing but clothes while the last one had all her school supplies.
Sitting opposite to Ruan Mei, she unpacked her belongings. Elegant dresses, blouses and tops were laid out beside her. Upon first glance, she could immediately tell that they were of high quality, likely from some luxury tailor of sorts.
“Do you really need all of those clothes?” Ruan Mei curiously asked, watching Herta as she unpacked.
“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes.”No high school uniform could do my beauty justice.”
“Come to think of it, I have yet to see you out of uniform. At least until today,” she observed. “Those clothes do rather suit you.”
“And what else is new?” she smirked, masking the hint of embarrassment she felt. “You should keep your eyes on that kettle instead of me.”
Shifting her attention, she looked back at the kettle, steam rising from beneath the lid. Turning the stove off she brought out a porcelain cup from the kitchen drawers. The pleasant aroma of oolong tea drifted through the room as she readied the teapot.
Meanwhile, Herta had been sorting through her many many clothes. It was difficult to believe she could fit them all into the humble closet of the dormitory yet she managed. As she hung the clothes, Ruan Mei could notice her taking small glances at her preparing the tea.
She didn’t say a word, instead silently continuing as if Herta wasn’t there. She poured herself a cup, pausing for a second.
“Would you like some tea?” she asked.
Herta glanced back at her, looking suspicious.
“Is this supposed to be some peace offering?”
“No,” Ruan Mei replied calmly, placing the tea on the kitchen table. “It’s tea.”
Herta hesitated, looking a bit conflicted. While she was tempted to just reject the offer, she didn’t see a reason not to accept.
“…Fine,” she said, making her way towards a chair, she carefully wrapped her fingers around the cup’s handle. “I receive plenty of gifts anyways.”
Ruan Mei didn’t react to her comment, simply pouring herself another cup. Taking a seat across from Herta she sipped her tea in silence, only taking a few glances at Herta.
Herta stared down into the tea, not looking up at Ruan Mei.
“You sure seem to love this tea,” she murmured. “The one you would bring a thermos of to the library.”
Ruan Mei looked up at Herta surprised. “You remember that?”
She froze for a second. “Obviously I do. It was annoying. The smell was distracting.”
“Is that so?” she smiled faintly. “I always thought it was calming.”
“Well, it tastes decent,” Herta replied, abruptly setting her teacup down and standing. “But don’t expect me to be drinking that often.”
“I don’t,” Ruan Mei responded plainly.
Herta turned away, looking at her shelf of textbooks.
“Whatever,” she sighed, her ears turning red.