It was almost four. Kat glanced at her green, clunky lego watch as she slowly climbed each step up to their apartment floor. She didn’t want to look weak, but in all honesty, quiet people kind of scared her. She never knew what they were thinking, and someone once told her that quiet people were the most dangerous. All those murderers or psychos were always super quiet so that no one would know of their master plans. As shivers ran down her body, Kat tried to laugh it off. Afterall, she wasn’t some baby. No, she would not allow that random girl to turn her into a fool. All the possible whatifs kept whizzing through her bran, but she shook them all off and opened the door to her apartment.
She saw something that looked like a traditional Native American Powwow. Ruby, Lilia, and that new girl Socorro were all sitting in a circle, buddha style, looking at Kat with great expectancy. “Why are you late? We said four. It’s almost five.” Ruby said impatiently. The concept of being late never made sense to Ruby. It was never efficient, so why would people do it? She shook her head and impatiently motioned Kat to join their circle. “You must have been surprised, I’m sorry I didn’t remind you about it.” Lilia said as she nervously played with her hair. Her long, blonde curls twirled around her pale fingers as she tried to smile. Instead, it looked more like an open frown. She was afraid that Kat was angry.
Kat tossed her backpack on the floor and plopped down next to them. She looked at Lilia briefly in all seriousness. She knew Lilia meant well. And it was her fault for not remembering. Besides, getting angry about it was too much work. Plus, she didn’t want the mood to be off, and the mood meant everything to Kat. So instead, she gave a hearty laugh and patted Lilia on the back. “Don’t be stupid. You’re not my mom.” Lilia’s shoulders sank in and she breathed a sigh relief. Kat’s good natured smile quickly turned into a smirk as a familiar twinkle popped up in her cat like eyes. “Besides,” she said mischievously, “I’m not the one who hates surprises. That’s Ruby remember? She has to have everything figured out.” Lilia’s eyes lit up as she remembered. “You’re right! I remember when she tried to figure out all of the minor details for her surprise birthday party!” The two girls giggled. Ruby groaned. “Excuse me, for your information, I had to know whether they were going to make it Vampire themed or Werewolf themed. It was really important!” This made them laugh harder.
“Oh sorry Socorro, we totally forgot, we have to re-initiate the roommate contract.” Lilia said as she delicately wiped the tears from her eyes. The girls turned to the quiet one in the room, who had been calm and stoic the whole time. Socorro nodded and said, “What do I have to do? I’ve never heard of re-initiating a roommate contract.” Kat awkwardly glanced at Socorro and looked back down at the floor.“It’s this thing we do, kind of like hazing, but we’ve always told ourselves we would do it if a fourth roommate came in.” It wasn’t like she was afraid, but something about this girl still seemed scary. She slyly looked at Socorro from the corner of her eye. Now that she was closer, she noticed that what scared her the most was Socorro’s eyes. They were a deep set hazel that really made it look like she was glaring at all of them.
Ruby observed Kat with great amusement while secretly smiling to herself. She knew Kat was always a bit unnerved by quiet people. But taking a swift glance at the new girl, she felt a sense of nervousness as well. Socorro was wearing a well fitted plaid top that clearly showed the girl’s muscular stature. She wasn’t huge or anything, but this girl looked like someone Ruby did not want to mess with. Socorro on the other hand, was not aware of their judgements, and was pretty confused. These girls seemed to have other things on their minds, and nobody was answering her questions. “Is there something specific that I should do?” She wanted to mention that this wasn’t some sorority, but she figured that the girls here were pretty odd. “Well, you have to show us what you can do. A skill, a talent, or something interesting. Just so we get to know who you are. You need to show us what you can bring to the table.” Ruby explained. Lilia thoughtfully tapped her chin with her index finger as she remembered what they had done in the past. “It’s true, Ruby had to show us a story she wrote, Kat showed us an attempted stand up comedy show, and I showed them how to take care of a Speckled Adler.” Kat smirked. “Yeah, Ruby’s alien romance stories make me cry tears of laughter. And I still don’t know what that thing is. It was like some big green plant. And I remember it dying really soon after we got it.” Ruby sighed and rolled her eyes. “That’s because you watered the plant with red wine vinegar!” Kat shrugged it off. “I wanted to experiment.”
Socorro shifted her gaze between the three girls as they bantered away. “Well, if you want me to show you something, I can.” She awkwardly got up from the floor and stared at the ceiling in silent agony. She had no idea why she said that; there was nothing to show. “It doesn’t have to be something amazing, just anything that you might do as a hobby, or something you’re passionate about?” Ruby suggested. The three girls glanced at the new roommate. Despite them not collaborating beforehand, all three had a guess at what Socorro was good at. Lilia had mentioned that this girl was well known in her old school as “Scary Socorro” because she would glare at people and fight just as well as the guys. And they knew just from her stature that she was no girly girl. Those muscles were everywhere. Socorro gulped down the big lump in her throat. She could feel it travel uncomfortably down into her chest. “There is something….” she began. Socorro knew full well that she would never show this to people she had just met. Actually, she wouldn’t really show this to anybody period. But these girls were going to be her new roommates, and since she was in a new school, Socorro wanted to make friends with girls who truly liked her for who she was. So she decided to do it. She took a deep breath and began to talk. “Well, as you can see, I’m not really the talkative type. In my old school, a lot of girls used to be afraid of me because of my eyes. But its not because I’m actually glaring, my eyes just kinda go that way when I’m looking at someone. I guess you could say it’s like resting bitch face, but more angrier,” Kat nodded in agreement. “You’re seriousness did freak me out.” Ruby slapped her in the arm. Clearly the girl did not have a filter going through her head. “Sorry,” Kat whispered.
Socorro sheepishly smiled. “It’s okay. See, I grew up in a family of three brothers. Most of them are into really manly things. So they taught me how to fight, play sports, and be active. They told me to never show fear or emotion because that’s what ‘manly’ guys did.” Socorro felt embarrassed. When she talked about it, it actually sounded really silly. “It all sounded stupid to me, but I came to value it because that’s what they taught me, and I looked up to them.” Lilia glanced at Socorro’s hands. The girl’s hands looked rough and were covered in thin flesh lines. They looked like marks from several fist fights. It sent a soft chill down her spine. She would be rooming with a fighter.
“Anyways, I want to be real with you guys, so there’s something I want to show you.” Socorro motioned them over and started walking towards her room. Ruby, Kat, and Lilia looked at each other with panic. “What if she kills us in the dark? Or brings out a knife?” whispered Lilia. “I knew she was a creeper. The quiet ones are the deadliest. This goes for farts too.” Kat mentioned. “You stupid, if we all die, I’m going to be so pissed I died before publishing a book!” Ruby hissed. Socorro glanced behind her and saw the three girls breaking from their huddle. “Are you guys coming?” she asked. Ruby laughed awkwardly. “In a bit!” she said. They slowly got up and started making their way towards the back. Socorro disappeared into the dark of her room. “Oh no, we’re really dead now,” Kat thought as they entered the room. Lilia instinctively grabbed onto Ruby’s arm when they heard the slam of the door behind them. Ruby shrieked as the lights suddenly went on.
As their eyes re-focused to the brightness of the room, the three girls dropped their jaws in complete awe. “This can’t be real.” said Kat. She could not believe what she was seeing. On Socorro's bed, there were thousands upon thousands of small stuffed animals nicely placed a circular array, like a choir. It was the mecca for stuffed animals. “I...I don’t understand. How can someone like you, like something like this?” Ruby was utterly shocked. “I mean, not saying that you’re some type of person.” Socorro laughed and smiled, showing her true good nature. The three girls saw her calm, stoic face turn soft and bright as her eyes crinkled into half moons. That made it even more unbelievable. “Don’t worry, I get that all the time.” Her cheeks turned a soft peach as she stared at the ground. “I actually really like stuffed toys. I collect them whenever I see some.” She picked up a fluffy little dog. “Most of these I made myself. I sell them online.” Lilia gasped and walked up to get a better look. “It’s so cute!” she whispered. She could see all the careful stitch lines on the cute puppy. Kat started to laugh. Her legs gave way and she plopped into Socorro’s pink bed. “I can’t believe you like this stuff. Even your bed sheets are pink and fluffy!” She snorted and fell into the huge pile of toys.
Socorro sat carefully on the bed and stared at the three girls with sincerity. “I know I might seem scary, but I’m not. I just don’t show girls this because they all think I’m some mass murderer or something. But I’m glad you guys don’t think that.” She shyly smiled. Ruby, Kat, and Lilia smiled back. They were all thoroughly relieved that their new roommate wasn’t some mob boss. “Wait, but you said you use to fight a lot. What could you do?” Ruby asked. She was still curious. This girl couldn’t just look like a tomboy and not actually be one. Socorro looked at Ruby with a blank expression and then said“Well, I learned Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo. Also some boxing if that counts.” She pointed to the black punching bag in the corner of the room. The girls were surprised. None of them had noticed it amongst the cuteness of the dolls. Socorro took in a quick breath. Then, she pivoted her heel and used its momentum to flip kick the punching bag. The kick was so strong, the bag whipped back and slammed against the wall. Socorro turned to see the three girls stare at her with great shock. “Oh no, I did it again,” she sighed.
The next few days, Socorro had to make them all stuffed animals to convince Kat, Ruby, and Lilia that she was not a serial killer.
The Girl From Nowhere Pt. 2
