It was a glorious day. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, there was not a cloud in the sky to be seen. It would have been perfect except for the fact that Arine had spent most of the day within the confines of the back seat of her father's red sedan. The blond-haired girl would have wanted to be outside, enjoying the beautiful day that southern California had given them. However, Arine knew that the trip down south would be worth it. If she could go to college at a campus like Oceanside Academy, situated less than a mile from the Pacific Ocean, sitting in a car for four hours was a small price to pay. And now, the 18-year-old was moving in to that very campus. Arine's father pulled into the parking lot in front of the dormitory building and found an empty space to park in. Finally, Arine and her parents were able to stand up again. The first thing they did after getting out of the car was stretch the kinks out of their bodies that they had gotten while staying in the same poses for the long drive. Arine looked around, admiring the scenery. There was a pleasant, cool breeze in the air, and the nearby ocean shimmered in the light of the setting sun. Arine's father breathed in and let out a deep sigh. "Man, it feels good to be out in the open," he said. "Can't you just smell that sea air?" "This truly is a beautiful place," said Arine's mother. "I'm glad I chose it," said Arine, smelling the salt-water scent that her father had spoken of. "Well," said Arine's father, "we should start getting your stuff to your room." The middle-aged man opened the trunk of the car and the three members of the family started moving Arine's belongings from the parking lot to her college dormitory room. Arine was not very much into dressing up, so her wardrobe was not a large task to carry up to her third-story room. The main task was carrying the girl's books and DVDs, which her father carried most of. However, he was a strong man, able to do his part. Still, he could not help but say as they carried Arine's belongings, "Boy, this stuff is heavy!" "Which is your room, Arine?" the blonde's mother asked. Arine believed that her room number was 335, but she was not entirely certain. Carrying her laptop computer in her left arm, Arine reached into her right pocket and pulled out a small manila packet and read the text that was written on it. It listed Arine's room number, phone number, and mailbox number. "This is it," said Arine, arriving in front of room 335. Arine opened the packet, revealing her room key. Arine unlocked the door and stepped in, followed by her parents. It was a double-room, meant for housing two people, containing two beds, two computer desks, and two dressers. The left side of the room was completely bare with no pillows, no comforters, no boxes full of supplies, and no computer on the desk. It was a sharp contrast to the other side of the room, which was very colorful. The pillows and blankets were brightly colored, obviously belonging to someone that enjoyed lots of color and life. There were a television and DVD player set up on the desk, facing the bed, probably so that someone could watch TV while lying down. Arine and her parents set all of Arine's belongings down on the empty bed. They looked around the room for a moment, examining its size and condition. "Not too shabby," said Arine's father. "You've got a window view and everything," said Arine's mother, walking to the far end of the room to look out the window." "All of the rooms have windows, Mom," Arine said, confused by the idea of her mother not knowing that fact. "I know," said the woman, "but this room has a beautiful view of the ocean." Arine looked out the window, and sure enough, the vast Pacific Ocean was opened up in front of her. It was an especially spectacular view from her third-story room. "It seems that your roommate has already moved in," said Arine's father, noticing the brightly colored bedclothes. "But she's not here," said Arine. "Well," said her mother, "hopefully you'll get along well with her." "Do you need any help setting up your stuff, Arine?" her father asked. "No," the 18-year-old replied. "I think I can set everything up myself, Dad." There was a moment of silence. Arine looked at her parents and the parents looked back at Arine. The awkward silence was indicative of the big goodbye. In a flash, they all realized that Arine was no longer going to be living with her parents. All of their faces grew somber. Her voice starting to crack, Arine's mother said, "I'm going to miss you so much!" The woman rushed toward her daughter and embrace her tightly. Arine wrapped her arms around her mother and held her just as tightly. After a moment, Arine's mother let go of Arine and took one last look into her daughter's blue eyes. "Make sure to visit us every once in a while." "I will, Mom," said Arine. "Thanks." Her mother backing off, Arine's father moved in and hugged his daughter as well. He too looked at Arine and said, "I hope you have fun here at college." "Thanks, Dad," the blonde said. With that, Arine's parents walked toward the door. "Take care, Sweetie," were Arine's mother's last words before exiting the room. "Bye, guys," said Arine. The two parents exited the room and the door closed behind them. Arine was alone in the room. Her parents were gone, probably not to be seen by Arine for months. Although she did not like being in crowds, Arine still breathed a sigh of loneliness. The room started to darken as the sun continued to set. Arine went to the window to catch her last glimpse of the sun before it fell below the horizon. With the sun at such a low altitude, the ocean sparkled even more brightly. "Beautiful," the girl mused. After the sun had set, Arine started unpacking her things and setting up her side of the room. Arine's bedclothes were not nearly as extravagant as her roommate's. They consisted of a plain, blue comforter and two plain white pillows. Arine's choice of clothing was similar in style, causing the 18-year-old to tend not to stand out. After her bedclothes were on the bed, her computer was set up, and her clothes were in their drawers, Arine picked up her favorite manga, lied down on the bed, and started reading where she last left off. Arine loved reading, especially graphic novels. The particular manga that she was reading was a romantic comedy, involving a coupling between a human and an elf. ---------- It was getting close to 9:00 pm and Arine's roommate had not gotten back yet from...wherever she was. 'Where could she be?' Arine wondered. The long drive had drained Arine's energy and the blonde was becoming sleepy. Bookmarking her manga, Arine started changing into her light yellow pajamas. After getting ready for bed, Arine started walking toward the door, where the light switch was situated right next to. As Arine reached for the switch, the door started opening. The blonde yelped in surprise and jumped away from the door so that it would not knock her over. The person that had opened the door was a girl one or two inches shorter than Arine. She was extremely cute with large, brown eyes and dark hair that went just below her shoulders. She was wearing a pearl necklace and several gold bracelets. "Oh," the girl said, surprised by the blond-haired girl's yelp. A warm, friendly smile spread across the brunette's face and she said, "Hello." "Hi," Arine said timidly. "Well," said the shorter girl, "since you seem to be making yourself at home, I guess you're my roommate." "I guess so," Arine replied. "I'm Mia," the girl said, holding out her hand toward Arine. "Mia Carver." Arine extended her hand and shook Mia's. "Arine Sylven," the blonde introduced herself. "Nice to meet you, Arine," said Mia. "Nice to meet you, Mia." "Sorry that we can't get better acquainted tonight," Mia said. "I just had a day at the beach and I'm all tired out." "I was just getting ready for bed myself," said Arine. Again, Mia flashed the taller girl that cute smile of hers. Sitting down on her bed, Mia slipped out of her sandals and got under her comforter. "Good night, Arine," she said. "Good night," replied the blonde. No longer in danger of anyone slamming the door into her, Arine reached for the light switch and turned off the lights in the room. She then proceeded to get under the covers of her own bed. As she was settling into the new bed that Oceanside Academy offered, Arine looked across the room at a sleeping Mia. The brunette was so cute that Arine could not help but smile. After admiring her new roommate for a moment, Arine closed her eyes and went to sleep. If she had kept her eyes open for just a few moments longer, she would have noticed what looked like grains of sand sparkling in Mia's hair for only a second. ---------- Arine woke up the next morning at 7:05 am. Slowly opening her eyes, Arine sat up in bed and yawned. The blonde looked around, a little surprised by her surroundings. However, as her mind began to wake up, she remembered that she was in her dormitory room at Oceanside Academy. The blonde looked to her left and saw Mia, sleeping soundly. Again, Arine could not help but smile at how cute Mia looked. "She's still asleep," Arine said to herself. Drawn toward Mia, Arine got out of bed and kneeled next to her roommate. 'Mia's so cute,' Arine thought as she looked over the shorter girl. 'I wish I looked like her. Petite frame, full lips, larger boobs...' Arine looked down at her own breasts for comparison. Although her breasts would attract almost any man that she wanted, in Mia's presence, Arine still felt self-conscious about her smaller bust size. Mia's hair had fallen in front of her face during the night. Wanting to look upon the brunette's face, Arine brushed Mia's hair away. However, when she did so, Arine exposed Mia's left ear, which had a very noticeable point at the end. "What the...?" Arine cried, backing away when she saw the unusual feature. Arine's voice brought Mia out of her slumber. Slowly opening her eyes, the first sight that Mia saw was Arine. The brunette smiled at the blonde and said, "Good morning, Arine." Trying her best to hide her shock, Arine said, "Hi." "Are you all right?" Mia asked, obviously noticing Arine's uneasiness. "Just fine," said Arine, denying that anything was wrong. Mia regarded her roommate for a moment. "You weren't watching me sleep, were you?" Arine blushed at Mia's question. "I thought you were!" Mia exclaimed. "I'm sorry," Arine said, blushing a bright red. "That's okay," said Mia. "Most people can't help but watch me sleep. My parents couldn't, my girlfriends couldn't, my guyfriends couldn't." "Well, you are very cute," said Arine. "Thank you, Arine," Mia cheerfully said. Suddenly, she smaller girl jumped out of bed and said, "Well, it's time for breakfast. Come on Arine! We'll go to the cafeteria and talk about ourselves over some food." "Um, okay," Arine said, a little surprised by Mia's energy. The blonde went to her dresser and picked out some clothes for the day. Arine felt insecure about changing in front of another person, but Mia was already stripping out of the clothes she had slept in. Knowing that girls frequently changed in front of each other, Arine swallowed her pride and started changing into some new clothes as well. As they were walking from the dormitory complex toward the dining hall, Arine was still kind of weirded out by Mia's pointed ears. The brunette walking beside her obviously noticed Arine's anxiety because she asked, "Arine, are you sure you're okay?" "Yeah, just fine," Arine still tried to convince Mia. "You seem awfully quiet," Mia said. "Oh, don't mind that," said Arine. "I'm always quiet." "Maybe it's because I'm so outspoken that other people seem so quiet to me." "You certainly aren't very modest, are you, Mia?" She smaller woman laughed at Arine's observation of her. ---------- Arine and Mia found an empty table in the cafeteria and sat down with their trays. Arine had a hearty meal on her plate, consisting of hash browns, bacon, and French toast with maple syrup. Mia's meal was a little simpler than Arine's. "Oatmeal, toast, and hash browns," Arine said, looking at Mia's plate. "You aren't a vegetarian, are you Mia?" "No," Mia replied, "I'm just kind of a health nut. I indulge in meat every now and then, but I like to keep a diet that's low in fat." The two girls started eating their breakfast. "So," said Mia, leaning towards her roommate, "tell me about yourself, Arine Sylven." "Huh?" said Arine through a mouthful of French Toast. "Oh." The blonde swallowed her food and said, "Well, I'm eighteen years old, my birthday is March third. I was born in San Francisco. I've lived up north my whole life. This is my first time actually LIVING down south." "I see," said the brunette, listening intently to what Arine told her. "What about you, Mia?" Arine asked. "Well..." said Mia. The smaller girl hesitated for a moment. "...I actually don't know where I was born." "Why not?" she asked. "The truth is I was adopted." "Oh," said Arine, a little saddened. "My parents--my adoptive parents--found me as a baby while they were hiking in Japan. Everyone was surprised that I survived. I had a bad case of pneumonia having been left out in the forest at night." "Oh, Mia..." Arine said, very sad by the story that her new friend was telling her. "But after about a week in the hospital, I got better, and the couple that found me adopted me." "That's a sad story." "I can't really say I complain," Mia said, much to Arine's surprise. "My parents have been good to me, even though we're not related by blood. They own this big casino in Las Vegas, so they can afford to spoil me." There was a brief pause. Arine was curious as to the origin of Mia's pointed ears. However, as she thought about asking the smaller girl in front of her, she became very insecure, afraid that her new friend would hate her for asking about it. However, when she looked at Mia, Arine's fear seemed to dissipate. "Mia," she started, "can you tell me about--?" "My ears?" Mia interrupted, finishing Arine's thoughts. "Yeah," replied the blonde. "It's a genetic trait. I was the first case of it anyone had seen. Most people are afraid of it, so I tend to wear my hair over my ears. But I like wearing my hair up, so when I'm at costume parties or anime conventions, I can pretend that I'm cosplaying as an elf or something." "Anime conventions?" Arine asked, surprised that Mia liked anime. "You're an anime fan too?" To Arine's question, Mia smiled and nodded. "People have always told me that I was strange for liking anime so much. I had no idea other girls my age liked that kind of stuff." "I should take you to a convention some time," Mia offered. "You'll find that you are not as alone as you think." "Oh, I don't know," said Arine, becoming apprehensive. "I've never been good with crowds." "Then just stay close to me. I'll show you everything you need to know about anime." "Thanks, Mia," Arine said timidly. Although she was thankful for Mia's kindness, she was also self-conscious about needing to be kind to. "You look so cute when you're nervous," Mia said, amused by Arine's reaction. "But I'll bet you look even cuter when you're happy." Although even more self-conscious than before, Arine forced herself to smile in order to make Mia happy. "Oh, wow," said Mia. "It's cuter than I imagined." Just then, Arine no longer needed to force her smile. She was happy that she had made Mia happy and her smile came naturally. "Really?" she asked. "No..." Mia said. Arine was stunned for a moment, trying to comprehend what Mia was saying. "...I just needed something that would make you truly happy." Mia flashed Arine a mischievous grin. "Mia!" Arine cried, pushing her roommate's torso playfully for having tricked her. "It worked," Mia said. "For a moment, you didn't need to force a smile. And I absolutely love your smile." Arine blushed, so happy that she could make Mia happy. The two girls continued chatting and eating. ---------- Having learned that they were both anime fans, Mia and Arine decided to head back to their dorm room and share their series with one another. "Let's see," said Arine as she searched through her DVD collection. The blonde started pulling out all of the anime DVDs that she had, "These are all of my anime series and movies." Mia looked at the DVDs that Arine had picked out. "Most of these titles I have," said the smaller girl. "You have a nice collection, Arine. Which one is your favorite?" Arine picked up her favorite series. It was a magical girl series involving ancient powers and a bit of implied shoujo-ai. "This one," said Arine. "Why?" Mia asked. "I just feel that I can relate to the heroine." "I see." There was a brief pause. By the way that Mia was looking at her, Arine got the feeling that the brunette was scanning her for signs of...something. What that something was, Arine could not tell. "Well," Mia said suddenly, "here's my stash." Mia picked up a box next to her desk and presented it to Arine. The taller girl was in awe and surprise when the entire box was presented to her. "Those are all anime?" Arine said. "That's right," Mia replied. Mia reached into the box and pulled out a DVD. It was the same anime that Arine had showed her. "This one is also my favorite," Mia said. Then, very excitedly, Mia said, "Hey. Let's watch it together!" "Okay," said Arine. Mia smiled and went to the entertainment system that she had set up. She inserted the DVD into the DVD player and lied down on her bed. The remote control for the television and the DVD player was lying on the dresser next to her bed. She picked it up and started the anime. Arine proceeded to lie down on her own bed, much to Mia's confusion. "What are you doing over there?" asked the brunette. "Watching the anime," said Arine, equally confused by Mia's question. "But why over there?" "Because it's my bed." "Come over here. Lie down beside me." Arine was surprised by Mia's request. "The TV is set up in front of my bed so I get a better view." Not knowing exactly what to make of the situation, Arine decided that she should lie down on Mia's bed since it DID have a better view of the television than her own bed. As they watched the anime, Arine turned to Mia, just to look upon her roommate. Mia felt eyes upon her and looked at Arine. At seeing Arine watching her, the brunette flashed another one of her smiles that were cute enough to make Arine smile as well. As Mia turned back to the television, Arine caught a glimpse of Mia's pointed right ear. Although a bit frightened by Mia's odd genetic trait, curiosity got the better of Arine and she reached toward her roommate's ear. Arine touched the pointy member and stroked it a bit. "Hey," Mia giggled. "That tickles." Arine quickly removed her hand from Mia's ear. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," the blonde said, a large blush quickly spreading over her face. "Don't be sorry," said Mia. "Your touch feels nice." Arine felt Mia's hand hold hers. Arine looked at the girl beside her to see Mia with that same, cute smile on her face. Arine smiled as well and held Mia's hand as well. ---------- After watching the anime for some time, Mia and Arine decided to go to the beach. Mia had a silver convertible that she used to drive herself and Arine from campus. The brunette had the hood down, enjoying the wind blowing through her hair. However, the wind blew her hair so much that it exposed her pointed ears. Arine asked, "Aren't you worried someone might see your ears?" "Not when we're driving by everybody this fast," replied Mia. "By the time they notice anything, we'll already be twenty meters away. And they'll forget it in the next ten seconds anyway." "I guess you're right." As they drove along the beach, Mia parked at a lookout point at the top of a cliff. The two girls stepped out of a car to see the view. Arine stared in awe at the sight in front of her. In front of her was an endless, blue sky above the horizon and an endless blue ocean below it. Their dorm room had a similar view, but not nearly as close to the water. The salty smell and the sound of seagulls added to the scene. "Beautiful," Arine said to herself. "I discovered this place yesterday when I was exploring the area around campus," Mia explained. "I don't think any other college has a view of the ocean like this nearby." "It's beautiful," Arine said again. "It's the kind of a place a boy would show a girl on a date. It's beautiful." "And so are you." Mia and Arine looked at each other and smiled. Mia took Arine's hand in hers and they looked back at the fantastic view of the ocean before them. ---------- After admiring the scene for several minutes, Mia drove herself and Arine down to the ocean. The two girls found a changing room by the ocean where they changed into their bathing suits. As Mia stripped, she did not seem to notice her blond-haired roommate observing her intently. The brunette's body was perfect in Arine's eyes. Mia took off her bra and turned to Arine. She cupped her breasts in her hands and asked, "Do you think my boobs are large enough?" Arine's entire face turned red with a furious blush. "Uh...uh...well," the blonde stammered. "L--Large enough for w--what?" "For the boys. Are they big enough to attract the boys?" "They would attract anyone, boy or girl!" said Arine. "They're perfect, Mia." Arine looked down at her own chest. "Not like my buds, she said. "You're a full C-cup," said Mia. "Still, they're small when compared to yours." With a cheerful smile on her face, Mia said, "I'll take that as a 'yes'." "'Yes' what?" asked Arine. "They ARE big enough." "Oh, definitely!" Having confirmed that her breasts were "big enough", Mia got into her red bikini. Arine was surprised by her own disappointment when Mia's breasts and nether regions were covered by the fabric of her two-piece bathing suit. After Arine had changed into her blue one-piece leotard, she and Mia left the changing room and headed to the sand. They set up the beach blanket that they had brought along and sat down on it. They broke out the sun block and applied it to their skin. "Arine?" said Mia after applying her sun block. "Could you get my back?" "Oh. Sure," Arine replied. Arine squirted sun block onto her hands and started applying it to Mia's back. 'Her skin is so soft,' Arine thought to herself. The blonde moved her hands from Mia's back to her shoulders and started to massage the brunette. "Oh, Arine," Mia moaned in delight. "That feels so nice. " Arine drifted into a trance-like state, hypnotized by the warmth and softness of Mia's skin. "Hey, hey," Mia said suddenly, "careful with the ladies." Broken out of her reverie, Arine noticed that she had absentmindedly moved her hands around Mia and were now resting on the brunette's breasts. Arine screamed in embarrassment and quickly pulled her hands away. Mia laughed hysterically at Arine's reaction. "I'm so embarrassed," said Arine, blushing. "Sorry about that. It's just that your skin felt so nice that I couldn't stop feeling it. "Not that I didn't enjoy it," said Mia. "I just don't want people to think that we're TOGETHER." "Oh, of course not." "Let me get your back too." "Oh, thank you." Arine turned her back to Mia to let her friend apply sun block to her back. The moment Mia's fingers touched Arine's skin, the blonde shuddered. "Arine?" Mia asked. "Your hands just feel so heavenly," Arine sighed. "I'm a girl," said Mia. "I know what makes a girl feel good." "Right." After the sun block was applied to Arine's back, the two friends ran towards the water. For several hours, Mia and Arine played in the surf, splashing and dunking each other. ---------- It was late afternoon when the girls returned to their room. The sun was already beginning to set. "Whew!" said Arine, happily. "That was fun." "I love the beach, don't you?" said Mia, throwing herself down on her bed. "Man. I'm pooped." "You're tired, Mia?" Arine asked, surprised and slightly amused by Mia's statement. "But you're always so full of energy." "It comes with a price. I'm so energetic that I use up all of my energy, and by the end of the day, I'm really tired." "I can see how that would happen to someone," Arine laughed. Mia smiled when she saw Arine laughing. "I love watching you smile," said the smaller girl. "You really should smile more often." "I have been smiling more often," said Arine. "Ever since I've arrived at Oceanside, I've been..." Arine paused, searching for the correct word to describe what she felt. Unable to come up with anything better to say, the blonde finished, "...happy." "Well I hope you stay happy," said Mia. The brunette yawned. "Oh. I need to take a nap. I won't sleep for too long. Just enough to get my energy back." Mia kicked off her sandals, getting ready for her nap. "Mind if I check out some of your anime while you sleep?" asked the blonde. "If you ever want to see my anime, you don't have to ask," Mia replied. "Thanks." With that, Mia got under her covers and fell asleep. Just like that morning, Arine could not help but watch her roommate sleep. After a few moments of admiring Mia's peaceful form, Arine went to Mia's box of anime and looked around for something that she thought would be interesting to watch. "I haven't seen this one," said Arine, picking out an anime called Intelligence. Judging my the image on the box, the blonde guessed that it was a sci-fi anime. Booting up her laptop, Arine inserted the DVD into her CD-ROM drive. She put on her headphones so that the noise from the anime would not disturb her sleeping friend. From start to finish, Arine was entranced by Intelligence. The action was everything an action-fan would want in the first volume of an anime. "Wow," was all that Arine could say to herself in response to the first 4 episodes. "How did you like Intelligence?" a voice said from behind Arine. The blonde jumped at the sudden spoken words and looked to find that Mia had awoken. "Oh. Sorry, Mia," said Arine, apologizing for her surprise. "Uh...it was really interesting. The first volume, anyway." "I only have volumes one through three," said Mia. "Volume four should come out soon." "Is it just my imagination, or was there something between Shauna and Maurine?" "I haven't seen anything conclusive. But they do have their moments, don't they?" "Yeah." Abruptly changing the subject, Mia said, "Let's get some dinner." "Okay," Arine said. After Mia had put on her sandals, the two roommates exited the room and started toward the cafeteria. ---------- "Turkey and stuffing?" Arine asked when she looked at Mia's plate. "A bit heavy for you, isn't it?" "I told you I indulge in meat every now and then," said Mia. Aside from the turkey and stuffing, Mia had peas and mashed potatoes on her plate. "But look at you, Mia said, looking at Arine's plate. "You don't have any meat at all this time." Arine had peas and mashed potatoes as well. The difference was that the mashed potatoes had gravy on them and her third item was macaroni and cheese. "Still," Arine said, explaining the detriments that her food potentially served, "there's cheese on the macaroni and gravy on the mashed potatoes." "I'm still the health nut!" Mia cried playfully. Arine laughed at Mia's amusing outburst of energy. "I'm happy that I can make you laugh," said Mia. "I'm happy too," said Arine. The girls took each other's hands in their own and looked into each other's eyes. Arine saw something in Mia's eyes that she could not quite put her finger on. Arine blushed when she thought about what it could be that she saw. Not wanting Mia to see her blush, Arine went back to eating her food. After an awkward silence, Arine decided to make small talk. "So, Mia," she asked. "Why to you carry so much anime? I mean, I like anime too, but I don't have nearly as much as you do." "It's because of my heritage," Mia replied. "I may not be of Japanese descent, but I do feel a strong connection to Japan because it was where I was found. And so I learn all that I can about it. That includes the anime. I'm planning on taking a trip to Japan, after I'm done with college that is." "That sounds like a fun trip." "Hopefully I'll be able to go." "Why wouldn't you be able to?" There was a brief pause. Mia thought about how to answer the question. "It's still four years away," she replied. "A lot of things can happen in four years." "True," said Arine. "I don't even know what I want to major in yet." "I don't either," said Mia. But I'm taking a variety of courses this semester. I'm going to try out courses in different fields and find out which one appeals the most to me. If I find a certain field that I enjoy, I will most likely chose a major in that field. So, if you didn't get much variety in the courses you take this semester, make your courses a little more varied next semester. See which courses are the most fun and pursue those fields. You don't even have to declare a major until junior year so you still have two years to come up with something." Arine smiled at hearing Mia's words. "Thanks, Mia," she said. "I feel a lot better." "Any time, Arine." They continued chatting as they ate their dinner. The girls returned to their room after they had finished eating. "So, you like Intelligence, right?" Mia asked. "I'm enjoying it," replied Arine. "I'm curious to find out more about this character, Yuri, and Solar Intelligence." "Watch the second volume and find out." Wanting to share more of Intelligence with Arine, Mia went to her DVD box and pulled out the 2nd volume. "You'd better enjoy the anime while you can, Arine. Classes start tomorrow, so this is your last night of freedom." Arine lied down on Mia's bed as Mia inserted the DVD into the DVD player. As the movie started, Mia proceeded to lie down next to Arine. ---------- BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Arine's alarm clock went off. The blonde groggily sat up in bed and turned off her alarm. After rubbing her eyes for a moment, Arine looked over at Mia's bed. What she saw, or rather what she did not see, woke her up in an instant. "Mia?" Arine wondered, not seeing her friend in her bed. 'She must have gone to breakfast already,' Arine thought to herself. Hoping to find Mia eating her breakfast, Arine got dressed and headed to the cafeteria to get some breakfast herself. As she looked around the cafeteria, Arine could not find her roommate anywhere. 'I hope I share some classes with her,' the blonde thought. Arine simply sat down at an empty table and started eating her breakfast. Arine's classes went by very slowly for her. She found herself very bored and quite lonely. At the beginning of each class, Arine hoped that she would find Mia there, sharing the class with her. However, with each class that Arine attended, she could not see Mia anywhere. The blonde sighed, realizing just how lonely she felt without her roommate there with her. After all of Arine's classes had ended, she simply went back to her room. Arine looked around for Mia. She sighed when she found that the brunette was still not there. Arine lied down on her bed, lost in thought. 'Suddenly, everything seems so empty without her,' the blonde thought to herself. 'Three days ago, I didn't even know Mia existed. And now, I can't stop thinking about her. Why? How has Mia become so important to me all of a sudden?' Arine looked over at Mia's anime collection. "I'll watch some more anime while I'm waiting for Mia to return," she said to herself. She went to the box of DVDs and picked out the 3rd volume of Intelligence. After inserting the DVD into Mia's DVD player, Arine lied down on Mia's bed and picked up the remote control, starting the DVD. An hour and fifteen minutes passed and the 3rd volume came to an end. Arine stopped the DVD, disappointed that Mia had not returned yet. 'Where could Mia be?' Arine wondered, worried about her roommate. 'I hope that nothing happened to her.' Just then, the door started to open. "Mia?" Arine asked, hoping that it was her roommate that was entering the room. Sure enough, it was Mia that had opened the door. However, the shorter girl was not in her usual cheerful mood that Arine had seen since they first met. The brunette appeared exhausted, which scared Arine a bit. Apparently not noticing Arine at all, Mia simply dropped her backpack on the floor and threw herself onto her bed, pinning Arine against the wall. "Mia," Arine tried to get her roommate's attention. However, Mia was fast asleep. Arine sighed in disappointment. 'I didn't even get to say, 'Hello,'" thought Arine. The blonde looked back at Mia. Again, she smiled at her friend's peaceful form. 'At least she hasn't died or anything,' she thought. As she watched Mia sleep, Arine brushed the shorter girl's brown hair out of her face, revealing Mia's pointed ear again. 'Somehow,' Arine thought to herself, 'I'm not afraid of her ears any more. I was freaked out when I saw them yesterday morning. But now, they're just as cute as the rest of her.' Arine touched the pointed ear and stroked it lightly. Mia sighed happily, seemingly comprehending Arine's friendly touch as she slept. ---------- Mia's eyes slowly opened as she awoke from her slumber. Much to her surprise, Arine was lying sleeping next to her with a contented smile on her face and her hand on Mia's cheek. "Arine?" asked the brunette. Arine awoke to Mia's words. Seeing Mia's large, brown eyes looking at her, the blonde smiled warmly at her friend. "Hi, Mia," she said. "What are you doing on my bed?" "I was here when you came back from class today. You didn't seem to notice me. You just threw yourself down on the bed and went to sleep." "Oh." Mia chuckled softly, a little embarrassed by what Arine had told her. "It was a tiring first day," she explained. "First days have always been difficult for me." "Yeah," said Arine, "me too." Mia smiled and asked, "You weren't watching me sleep, were you?" Arine replied, "I was for about ten minutes. Then I fell asleep next to you. I missed you so much today and I was so relieved when you came back. The only thing I've thought about today was seeing you again." "I wanted to see you too," said Mia. "I was hoping that we would share a class today or that we would meet at the cafeteria for lunch or something..." As Mia was talking, Arine leaned forward and embraced Mia tightly. "You really missed me today, didn't you?" said Mia, surprised by the taller girl's display of affection. Arine looked at Mia through slightly watery eyes, "I've never been good at making friends," said Arine. "I'm usually so timid and self-conscious that I can't talk to people. You're the only person that I've really been able to open up to." "Arine." "Mia..." Arine trailed off. "Yes?" asked Mia, wanting to know what Arine was about to say. There was a pause. Arine knew that she was falling for Mia. Mia had shown several signs that maybe she felt the same way, but she knew that Mia's friendliness could only be a result of the energy that she expressed so much of. Not wanting to risk her relationship with the only friend she had, Arine maintained, "Nothing. It's nothing." Moving the subject away from what she had stopped herself from saying just in the nick of time, Arine said, "Let's just find something to watch." Being one that enjoyed anime, Mia smiled and said, "Okay." With that, the two friends started looking for something to watch.
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