Chapter Text
To say that Chloe Castor didn’t like her twin sister, Samantha, would be an understatement. Ever since the two of them had grown apart in middle school, Chloe found being around Samantha to be agonizing. Everything that she did seemed to get on her nerves. From her obsession with anything cute to the way she ate, Chloe couldn’t stand her.
And yet, here she was, sitting in the backseat next to Samantha as their moms drove them to college.
“I’m glad the two of you are going to be rooming together,” said their mom, Selene, from the passenger seat. “Elena and I were a bit concerned that the two of you still weren’t getting along, but it seemed that we had nothing to worry about!”
“I’m only doing this so I don’t get some weirdo as my roommate, that’s all.” Chloe looked to the side, seeing Samantha staring at her with the same blue-gray eyes that she had. She had a disappointed look on her face, as if she had hoped that wasn’t the case. “What?” Chloe snapped at her sister.
“I just… Never mind.”
Chloe hated Samantha’s voice. It was too high-pitched, too girly, a constant reminder of how Samantha was better than her. Everything about her gave off an aura of elegant femininity, and Chloe was just some girl. She could never hold a candle to her sister’s light, cursed to live in her shadow forever.
“Girls, be nice to each other…” said their other mom, Elena—who had always insisted on being called by her first name.
“I am being nice!” Samantha protested, leaning over the cup holder that was put down as a barrier between her and Chloe. “It’s Chloe who’s—“
“Oh my god, will you just shut up?” Chloe said, talking over Samantha. She could hear her mom sighing in frustration as Chloe gazed out the window. They had just passed by a sign indicating that they were in Ashford—the small college town that Roselake Women’s College called home.
The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes as they drove through the small town. Eventually, the silence became too much for their mom, who spoke up to try and fix the foul mood between the twins. “You know, Elena and I actually met at Roselake.”
“Selene…”
“What? It’s a cute story!”
Chloe tried her best to tune out her moms bickering as she watched Roselake come into view. The story of how they met was one that she had heard countless times before, and it wasn’t one she was particularly in the mood for. If anything, it would just prompt Samantha into talking about how she hopes that she’s going to find ‘the one’ at Roselake as well. As if her countless ex-girlfriends from high school didn’t indicate that likely would not be happening.
It’s just one year. Just one year, and then I won’t have to put up with her anymore. I can get my own dorm to myself, and never cross paths with Samantha ever again. I just need to live with her for one last year.
The stone and brick buildings of Roselake looked even more impressive up close. Both Chloe and Samantha had done a virtual tour of the college back during their junior year of high school, but neither of them had actually visited in person. As much as Chloe didn’t want to admit it, the campus was beautiful. She still wasn’t excited for college. It was simply a four-year stepping stone on her path to getting a job. Nothing more than that.
Elena soon pulled into a parking space in front of one of the brick buildings. The sign on the front indicated that the building was Maple Hall—where Chloe and Samantha would be living together for the next year. Elena took the keys out of the ignition as their mom turned to look at the two girls in the back seat. “All ready to go?” she asked.
Samantha nodded her head. “Of course!” She glanced over at Chloe, expecting her to say something as well, but all Chloe did was roll her eyes. If Samantha kept this up the rest of the year, she had no idea how she was going to survive living with her.
Chloe looked over the stacks of moving boxes that cluttered her and Samantha’s dorm room. Their moms had offered to help them unpack, but Chloe would rather die than be seen with her moms helping her to get settled into her room. At least Samantha seemed to feel a similar way, given that she declined their help as well.
The room was rather simple: two bunk beds on either side of the room with a bed on top and a desk underneath made up most of the space, with a tiny kitchen area and an attached shared bathroom in the entryway. Chloe was glad that she would only have to share the bathroom with Samantha. She had heard that some colleges had just one bathroom for the entire floor, and she didn’t know how she would have been able to live with that set up. The idea of walking down a hallway to go shower was terrifying to her.
Chloe turned around as she heard Samantha starting to unpack her boxes, spreading pastel-colored girly-ness all over her side of the room. Chloe watched Samantha putting up decorations for a bit until she felt Chloe’s eyes on her. “Want me to help you unpack?” The offer felt like Samantha was mocking her.
“I don’t want you touching my shit,” Chloe said coldly, turning her attention back to the boxes labeled with her name. She picked up the one labeled ‘bedding’ and set it down on her desk. Chloe looked around for a box cutter, but was unable to find one, instead opting to pick at the ends of the packing tape in hopes that it would come off cleanly.
It didn’t.
Every time Chloe was able to get a bit of the tape to peel, it tore off into its own separate piece, making her next attempt all the more difficult. After a few attempts, and subsequent failures, Chloe felt a tap on her back. She turned around and saw Samantha holding out the pair of scissors that she had been using to open her boxes. “I’m done using these,” she said, swaying them in the air ever so slightly. “You can borrow them if you want.”
“Thanks…” Chloe muttered as she carefully took the scissors from Samantha. She hated the idea of Samantha looking down on her, but she needed to get started with unpacking. Samantha didn’t say another word as she went back to her side of the room, starting to set up her desk with her laptop and drawing tablet. Chloe looked down at the pair of scissors in her hand. They were a pastel pink, like almost everything that Samantha owned. She had been so standoffish with telling Samantha not to touch her things, yet Samantha just let her borrow her scissors like it was no big deal. As Chloe started to cut through the packing tape on the box, one thought occupied her mind.
Maybe she’s changed in all the years we’ve spent apart…