October 2, 2019
8:30am: My alarm and my roommate’s alarm go off at the same time. The sound of them in sync is like music to my ears.
9:59am: “See ya later,” I say to her as I leave for my 10:00am class that I’ll definitely be late to. “Bye,” she says softly. Ah, Sharon. She must be tired.
12:00pm: I go to the Ratty for my lunch break, hoping to run into her. I long for the day when we get take-out and eat in the crisp, fall breeze discussing the meaning of life.
12:04pm: We run into each other at long last. “Hey, I’m sitting at a booth if you wanna join.” Yes, yes I would love to.
12:13pm: I let her tell me how soccer practice was, even though I’m not so sure I understand all of the rules, like how you can’t hold the ball and run with it. She asks me about how my writing has been going, and I have never been happier to tell someone about myself.
6:36pm: “Hi, Karen” she says to me cordially. Oh god, she didn’t ask me how my day was. I really hope she isn’t mad at me. I’ll take the trash out tomorrow, I promise!
12:34am: “Goodnight,” she says to me. “Goodnight,” I respond cheerily. This is the first time she’s ever told me goodnight. She will never know how much that means to me.
October 4, 2019
9:15am: I get ready for the day quietly as to not wake her. I want her to sleep soundly so she will not get mad at me.
12:00pm: I’m wondering what I will do for lunch. God forbid I eat by myself in my room. I ask Sharon but she says she’s eating with her friends from the soccer team. She would play soccer and be amazing at it. I tell her to invite me to all her games, and I will go to all of them.
6:49pm: Should I text her asking to hang out? No! What if she never responds? What if she says no? Ok it’s fine if that’s the worst that’ll happen.
7:15pm: “Hey, do you wanna hang out tonight?” I text her.
8:34pm: She still hasn’t responded, but I’ll wait. Whilst I wait, I vacuum the room, brush my teeth two times, and do all of the dishes.
9:59pm: I realize she has a Neuro midterm tomorrow. I should’ve known. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.
11:23pm: I make a resolution that I will create a calendar of all of Sharon’s events. Now I’ll never forget her exams again.
1:50am: As I’m finishing my roomie calendar I realize that Sharon’s a bit busy, but not too busy to not hang out with me. At least after her exam tomorrow she will be free of midterms for another two weeks.
October 6, 2019
9:37am: I come back from the bathroom only to realize that Sharon already left. She didn’t even leave a note saying bye. I suppose I’m not sure what I’m expecting, but even a sticky note saying “bye Karen have a nice day ;)” with a piece of chocolate would have sufficed. Hopefully she isn’t mad at me.
10:30am: I continue contemplating Sharon’s lack of a goodbye. Maybe she was busy or in a rush. Maybe, okay you know what, I bet she’s sick.
1:00pm: Sharon comes back from her last class. I say hi and she says hi back, but this time I spot a bit of nasal congestion. So she was sick. I know her so well.
October 10, 2019
11:19am: Sharon isn’t sick anymore thanks to the DayQuil I mixed into her drink. I know she didn’t have any DayQuil on her since I searched through her medicine drawer when she was in the shower. What was she expecting, to just get better naturally? Silly Sharon.
5:09pm: “Hey, what’s this?” Sharon asks me, holding the calendar in her hands. I’m not sure how she found it but she did. I say to her, “Oh that? That’s just a planner I was going to give to you for Christm— HALLOWEEN! Because you know events— scary, right?” I was going to say Christmas naturally, but I have already made her a tinfoil soccer ball for that so I had to come up with something else. It was a good save, though, because she laughed for a whole minute. We will definitely be friends now.
October 26, 2019
3:53pm: Sharon invites me to her soccer party, and of course I said yes. I leave the room to get some fresh air and process what just happened. I almost get hit by a car as I’m thinking of what to wear tonight, but it’s worth it. She’s worth it.
12:04am: We are at the soccer party, which is very crowded and full of very loud music. Sharon, extremely drunk, says hi to one of her soccer friends. “Jamie, HEY!!! This is my friend, Karen.” My heart literally skips a beat.
She called me her friend.
Image via Lucinda Drake.