Lightening In a Bottle
Chapter One
“Can you believe this is actually happening to us?” Taylor giggled as she hung a Clock Work Orange poster on the wall with sticky tack that she was sure absolutely would not stay ‘sticky’ like the name implied. The walls in her dorm were all white, and too textured to actually hold anything up anyway. She sighed as the upper right corner of the poster dipped downward for the fifth time, and finally resigned, letting the entire poster fall to the floor. Exhaling, she turned an exasperated look in the direction of her roommate, who was paying absolutely no attention to her struggle with the dreaded wall.
“Oh, yeah, man. All the parties we’re going to attend.” Shoshanna half-assed a response back to Taylor, a small smirk crawling onto her lips as she scrolled away on her Mac. Taylor rolled her eyes, and huffed around the room until she got the annoyed blonde’s attention. “What are you going on about?”
“These walls, I swear, Shosh. They will be the death of me.” The cherry- haired girl carded her hands through her hair, and cocked her hip, gnawing on her lip as if it would give her some sort of idea on how to keep the hangings on the wall. “Maybe we should try Command Strips?” Shoshanna shrugged, and turned her attention back to the computer screen. Taylor pouted, then had an idea. “Hey, maybe your brother has some shit at his apartment?”
“Yeah, maybe.” Taylor waited for more of a response, then decided she wasn’t going to get one, and turned to finish unpacking the boxes scattered around the room.
They had moved into one of the better dorms at Mecca State University, and it was pretty close to everything that the girls needed to get to. Mecca State was the perfect school for them, as far as they were concerned, and was just out of the reaches of the hustle and bustle of New York City. The campus was gorgeous, and quite, quite the change from where they had grown up in New Jersey, where they had had to deal with crime rates rising, and over protective parents.
Taylor had known Shoshanna and her brother, Frank, for what seemed like forever, but was actually just a meek fourteen years. They had planned to go out of state together, but both had been rejected from their first choice of colleges, opting to actually check out the university that Frank attended. Falling in love with it the second they had set foot on campus, both girls promised to try their hardest to get into their selected programs.
A knock on the door pulled Taylor out of her concentrated state of folding clothes, and she almost snapped her neck looking up at the door so fast. Their parents had said their tearful goodbyes almost three hours ago, so who the hell was knocking on their door?
“Oh, it’s for me.” Shosh stated, putting her computer down, and going to the door. She opened it to reveal a precious boy standing in the doorway, holding a Starbucks cup, and bearing a giant grin.
“Shoshanna!” The boy squealed, throwing himself at her, and Taylor almost had a heart attack as she watched whatever brown liquid threaten slosh out over one of the rugs they had just laid down. They hugged for a while, and the boy finally pulled away, holding Shoshanna at arm’s length saying, “You dyed your hair! I love it.” He reached up, and ruffled the platinum mop of hair atop her head.
Taylor cleared her throat, and stood up, extending her hand to the boy, “I’m Taylor, since my roommate is an inconsiderate bitch.” She bumped elbows with her friend, exchanging a small smile with her.
“Oh, I am so sorry! I’m Phil!” The boy had a Northern English accent, jet black hair, and an adorable crooked smile. His eyes were a striking blue, almost the same as her roommate’s, and he had a ridiculously contagious perky personality. “I met Sho at orientation.” He talked out of the corner of his mouth a little, and was just- he was just.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you!” Taylor grinned at him, and he giggled.
“He’s good people.” Shosh joined in on the grinning, and it was just a perfect Kodak moment for Taylor. Her fingers itched desperately for her camera so that she could remember this moment forever, their first day, their first not-Jersey friend on campus, but she’d just have to make an effort to remind herself of it.
“Well,” Phil cleared his throat, motioned to right outside the door to another cup of Starbucks that Taylor assumed he had placed there, and said, “I didn’t know if she had a roommate, or if her roommate liked coffee, so I just opted out of buying some, but…” He trailed off when Taylor flapped her hand at him in a dismissing manner.
“It’s totally okay! Seriously, don’t worry about it. I got some like, an hour ago, so I’m all set.” Phil perked back up, then peered around the room.
“I guess you guys are having problems keeping stuff on the walls? Maybe your room is haunted? My best friend’s dorm is haunted, I swear!” He walked a little further into the room, and sat down in one of the Target bought fold-out chairs, settling down. “I like it, though. Very cute and cozy. It’ll be really wonderful when it gets all cold.” He looked so content at the thought of it being cold outside, and smiled softly to himself, taking a sip out of his drink.
“So, I just have to ask,” Taylor started, sitting on her bed cross-legged across from Phil’s chair, “You’re obviously not from around here, so, you know, why are you here?” Phil smiled again.
“Study abroad program. Dan, my best friend, and I both got into it. I’m a senior, and he’s a freshman. His dad’s the head of the program, and even though he’s not a senior, he was able to come because his parents trust me with him.” He let out a little laugh, and shook his head. “They shouldn’t though. That kid is a little party monster, I swear to God. He was like,” Phil suddenly pitched his voice up a million octaves to imitate the other boy, “Phil! You’re going to be legal drinking age in the states. Buy me alcohol!’ even though he looks older than me.” Taylor smiled secretly to herself, then looked up as the door opened again. Ripped skinny jean clad legs walked through the door, and Taylor didn’t even have to look all the way up at the person’s face to know that it was little Frankie Iero.
“Hiya, guys!” Frank waved at everyone, not including his own sister, who he subtly flipped off as he got to her, “I’m Frank, the fake one’s older brother” He extended his hand to Phil, who introduced himself as ‘the fake one’s’ better half, and they shook hands. Frank clapped, and turned toward Taylor, smiling and extending his arms, “It’s been forever, my little Tay-Bay!” Taylor blushed a little, letting herself get pulled into a giant bear hug.
“I told you not to call me that, asshole.” Her voice was slightly muffled by the older boy’s shoulder, then she laughed as the hug turned into tickling. “Stop, you man-child! Aren’t you like, supposed to be twenty?”
“Yeah, and?” Frank sniffed a little, then smiled. “Wanna blow this joint? It’s lame!”
“Hey! It’ll come around!” Shosh piped up, winking at Taylor obnoxiously. “But, actually, I am kind of hungry. How about you guys?”
“I’d love to go out with you guys, but,” Phil stood, and slapped his knees, “I need to check on my wayward son back at his dorm. He’s probably blasting Muse, and moping about, not actually unpacking boxes. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, though, yeah?” Everyone agreed, and shouted their ‘nice to meet you’s and goodbyes, and he walked out of the room.
“Really, though. Noms?” Frank grinned, then motioned toward the door for them to leave.
“Do you have your keys to lock the door?” Shosh asked, and Taylor nodded.
“Alright, let’s go! I know the best little Chinese food place around here, and they have a very extensive vegetarian menu!” He practically jumped out of the door, seemingly excited by the idea of vegetarian Chinese food. The girls exchanged grins, and quickly followed suit.
~
The few days that were left between when they moved in, and when school started all went the same. Taylor and Shosh would wake up around ten o’clock, then, not shortly after, Frank would come over to chill, or they would go out to eat. Then, they would walk around campus, nap, and wake up in time for dinner. After dinner, Phil would usually join in on a movie night, but always left half way through to go “check” on his friend Dan, and almost always refused the idea of bringing him along to movie nights. Once Phil left, the three of them would stay up until around three, and Frank would leave, letting the girls rest. Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.
Finally, the first day of school rolled around, and Taylor’s alarm blared in her ear. ‘Seven AM, time for class!’ her phone screen glared, and she groaned, getting up and going to her closet. She rifled through her shirts before settling on a slightly faded, maybe a little too short The Smiths shirt, and pulled it on with a pair of tattered black jeans. There was an equally as distressed groan from the other bed, and she turned around to watch as her roommate struggled to sit up, blonde hair sticking up every which way.
“Wow, nice sex hair, Shosh.” The blonde turned a glare in the shorter girl’s direction only to get an obnoxious giggle in return.
“Whatever, freak. You’re ginger locks aren’t lookin’ too luscious, either.” She yawned, and stretched before throwing the blankets off of her, and putting her feet to the floor. “Were you hot last night?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“I sweat the bed, actually, man.” Shosh stared straight into Taylor’s eyes, face completely stoic, before busting out laughing. “No, but really,” she said after she got her breath back, “We need to invest in like, a fan, or something.” Taylor grunted in a noncommittal way, and jammed a toothbrush in her mouth. “No, seriously. I’m not going to be able to sweat the bed every night because I feel like I need to shower right now, and showering requires getting up earlier. And, face it, that’s never going to happen. Ever.”
“Maybe Frank has one? I don’t know. We could go to the store after class, or something, alright?” Shoshanna nodded, grabbing her phone from the night stand to, what Taylor assumed, text her brother. Taylor spit in the sink, rinsed her mouth, and then began to muss the short red hair on top of her head. She lined her eyes in black, and added some subtle red lipstick. “Ready?”
Shosh nodded, and spit in the sink, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Oh, yeah, man. All the parties we’re going to attend.” Shoshanna half-assed a response back to Taylor, a small smirk crawling onto her lips as she scrolled away on her Mac. Taylor rolled her eyes, and huffed around the room until she got the annoyed blonde’s attention. “What are you going on about?”
“These walls, I swear, Shosh. They will be the death of me.” The cherry- haired girl carded her hands through her hair, and cocked her hip, gnawing on her lip as if it would give her some sort of idea on how to keep the hangings on the wall. “Maybe we should try Command Strips?” Shoshanna shrugged, and turned her attention back to the computer screen. Taylor pouted, then had an idea. “Hey, maybe your brother has some shit at his apartment?”
“Yeah, maybe.” Taylor waited for more of a response, then decided she wasn’t going to get one, and turned to finish unpacking the boxes scattered around the room.
They had moved into one of the better dorms at Mecca State University, and it was pretty close to everything that the girls needed to get to. Mecca State was the perfect school for them, as far as they were concerned, and was just out of the reaches of the hustle and bustle of New York City. The campus was gorgeous, and quite, quite the change from where they had grown up in New Jersey, where they had had to deal with crime rates rising, and over protective parents.
Taylor had known Shoshanna and her brother, Frank, for what seemed like forever, but was actually just a meek fourteen years. They had planned to go out of state together, but both had been rejected from their first choice of colleges, opting to actually check out the university that Frank attended. Falling in love with it the second they had set foot on campus, both girls promised to try their hardest to get into their selected programs.
A knock on the door pulled Taylor out of her concentrated state of folding clothes, and she almost snapped her neck looking up at the door so fast. Their parents had said their tearful goodbyes almost three hours ago, so who the hell was knocking on their door?
“Oh, it’s for me.” Shosh stated, putting her computer down, and going to the door. She opened it to reveal a precious boy standing in the doorway, holding a Starbucks cup, and bearing a giant grin.
“Shoshanna!” The boy squealed, throwing himself at her, and Taylor almost had a heart attack as she watched whatever brown liquid threaten slosh out over one of the rugs they had just laid down. They hugged for a while, and the boy finally pulled away, holding Shoshanna at arm’s length saying, “You dyed your hair! I love it.” He reached up, and ruffled the platinum mop of hair atop her head.
Taylor cleared her throat, and stood up, extending her hand to the boy, “I’m Taylor, since my roommate is an inconsiderate bitch.” She bumped elbows with her friend, exchanging a small smile with her.
“Oh, I am so sorry! I’m Phil!” The boy had a Northern English accent, jet black hair, and an adorable crooked smile. His eyes were a striking blue, almost the same as her roommate’s, and he had a ridiculously contagious perky personality. “I met Sho at orientation.” He talked out of the corner of his mouth a little, and was just- he was just.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you!” Taylor grinned at him, and he giggled.
“He’s good people.” Shosh joined in on the grinning, and it was just a perfect Kodak moment for Taylor. Her fingers itched desperately for her camera so that she could remember this moment forever, their first day, their first not-Jersey friend on campus, but she’d just have to make an effort to remind herself of it.
“Well,” Phil cleared his throat, motioned to right outside the door to another cup of Starbucks that Taylor assumed he had placed there, and said, “I didn’t know if she had a roommate, or if her roommate liked coffee, so I just opted out of buying some, but…” He trailed off when Taylor flapped her hand at him in a dismissing manner.
“It’s totally okay! Seriously, don’t worry about it. I got some like, an hour ago, so I’m all set.” Phil perked back up, then peered around the room.
“I guess you guys are having problems keeping stuff on the walls? Maybe your room is haunted? My best friend’s dorm is haunted, I swear!” He walked a little further into the room, and sat down in one of the Target bought fold-out chairs, settling down. “I like it, though. Very cute and cozy. It’ll be really wonderful when it gets all cold.” He looked so content at the thought of it being cold outside, and smiled softly to himself, taking a sip out of his drink.
“So, I just have to ask,” Taylor started, sitting on her bed cross-legged across from Phil’s chair, “You’re obviously not from around here, so, you know, why are you here?” Phil smiled again.
“Study abroad program. Dan, my best friend, and I both got into it. I’m a senior, and he’s a freshman. His dad’s the head of the program, and even though he’s not a senior, he was able to come because his parents trust me with him.” He let out a little laugh, and shook his head. “They shouldn’t though. That kid is a little party monster, I swear to God. He was like,” Phil suddenly pitched his voice up a million octaves to imitate the other boy, “Phil! You’re going to be legal drinking age in the states. Buy me alcohol!’ even though he looks older than me.” Taylor smiled secretly to herself, then looked up as the door opened again. Ripped skinny jean clad legs walked through the door, and Taylor didn’t even have to look all the way up at the person’s face to know that it was little Frankie Iero.
“Hiya, guys!” Frank waved at everyone, not including his own sister, who he subtly flipped off as he got to her, “I’m Frank, the fake one’s older brother” He extended his hand to Phil, who introduced himself as ‘the fake one’s’ better half, and they shook hands. Frank clapped, and turned toward Taylor, smiling and extending his arms, “It’s been forever, my little Tay-Bay!” Taylor blushed a little, letting herself get pulled into a giant bear hug.
“I told you not to call me that, asshole.” Her voice was slightly muffled by the older boy’s shoulder, then she laughed as the hug turned into tickling. “Stop, you man-child! Aren’t you like, supposed to be twenty?”
“Yeah, and?” Frank sniffed a little, then smiled. “Wanna blow this joint? It’s lame!”
“Hey! It’ll come around!” Shosh piped up, winking at Taylor obnoxiously. “But, actually, I am kind of hungry. How about you guys?”
“I’d love to go out with you guys, but,” Phil stood, and slapped his knees, “I need to check on my wayward son back at his dorm. He’s probably blasting Muse, and moping about, not actually unpacking boxes. I’ll see you guys tomorrow, though, yeah?” Everyone agreed, and shouted their ‘nice to meet you’s and goodbyes, and he walked out of the room.
“Really, though. Noms?” Frank grinned, then motioned toward the door for them to leave.
“Do you have your keys to lock the door?” Shosh asked, and Taylor nodded.
“Alright, let’s go! I know the best little Chinese food place around here, and they have a very extensive vegetarian menu!” He practically jumped out of the door, seemingly excited by the idea of vegetarian Chinese food. The girls exchanged grins, and quickly followed suit.
~
The few days that were left between when they moved in, and when school started all went the same. Taylor and Shosh would wake up around ten o’clock, then, not shortly after, Frank would come over to chill, or they would go out to eat. Then, they would walk around campus, nap, and wake up in time for dinner. After dinner, Phil would usually join in on a movie night, but always left half way through to go “check” on his friend Dan, and almost always refused the idea of bringing him along to movie nights. Once Phil left, the three of them would stay up until around three, and Frank would leave, letting the girls rest. Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat.
Finally, the first day of school rolled around, and Taylor’s alarm blared in her ear. ‘Seven AM, time for class!’ her phone screen glared, and she groaned, getting up and going to her closet. She rifled through her shirts before settling on a slightly faded, maybe a little too short The Smiths shirt, and pulled it on with a pair of tattered black jeans. There was an equally as distressed groan from the other bed, and she turned around to watch as her roommate struggled to sit up, blonde hair sticking up every which way.
“Wow, nice sex hair, Shosh.” The blonde turned a glare in the shorter girl’s direction only to get an obnoxious giggle in return.
“Whatever, freak. You’re ginger locks aren’t lookin’ too luscious, either.” She yawned, and stretched before throwing the blankets off of her, and putting her feet to the floor. “Were you hot last night?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“I sweat the bed, actually, man.” Shosh stared straight into Taylor’s eyes, face completely stoic, before busting out laughing. “No, but really,” she said after she got her breath back, “We need to invest in like, a fan, or something.” Taylor grunted in a noncommittal way, and jammed a toothbrush in her mouth. “No, seriously. I’m not going to be able to sweat the bed every night because I feel like I need to shower right now, and showering requires getting up earlier. And, face it, that’s never going to happen. Ever.”
“Maybe Frank has one? I don’t know. We could go to the store after class, or something, alright?” Shoshanna nodded, grabbing her phone from the night stand to, what Taylor assumed, text her brother. Taylor spit in the sink, rinsed her mouth, and then began to muss the short red hair on top of her head. She lined her eyes in black, and added some subtle red lipstick. “Ready?”
Shosh nodded, and spit in the sink, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
This is amazing!!!
7/23/14