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Storybrooke University - a small liberal arts college located in the even smaller town of Storybrooke, Maine. With the new semester set to start the next day, students all over campus were in the process of unpacking, getting ready for their first classes, and meeting up with friends.
This is where sophomore Robin Mills found herself on a warm Sunday afternoon in late August, silently cursing the school for its ridiculously high textbook prices as she crossed campus back to her dorm. To be fair, it was partially her fault for not ordering them sooner. If she had, maybe she wouldn’t have had to spend over $200 on her World History textbook alone. While debating the best way to destroy the offending books at the end of the semester - she was leaning towards burning them - her phone buzzed in her back pocket.
Mom (2:48 PM)
Hi monkey! How’s your new roommate? Are you settling in okay?
Robin rolled her eyes at her mom’s tendency towards overbearing concern. She loved her mom and appreciated that she cared, but sometimes it was a bit ridiculous. Not only had she just seen her mom that morning, but her mom was actually a professor at Storybrooke U - which allowed Robin to attend for a severely reduced rate. Even if she somehow didn’t run into her on campus, at minimum they would definitely see each other at ‘mandatory family dinner’ next Sunday.
Though Robin grew up in Storybrooke and much of her extended family still lived in town, she’d managed to convince her mom to let her live on campus this year. She’d tried staying at home her freshman year, which wasn’t awful, but she wanted to have the ‘real’ college experience - roommates, tiny dorm rooms and all. It also helped make up for the fact that she felt kind of stuck here. She’d wanted to go somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, or maybe England, or somewhere else equally far from middle-of-nowhere Maine. At least this way she could somewhat pretend that she was somewhere new and different, and she and her mom wouldn’t drive each other crazy like they did for most of last year.
Before Robin had the chance to finish typing a reply, something - or rather someone - came barreling into her at full force. In a matter of seconds Robin was on the ground, glasses askew and phone barely still in her grip, with a stranger all but lying on top of her. Luckily Robin had thrown her phone-free hand back mid-fall, effectively stopping her head from smacking against the sidewalk.
There was a soft groan as the stranger shifted above her before freezing suddenly.
“Oh god,” a female voice said, barely above a whisper. “Oh my god I'm so sorry,” she said louder, clambering quickly off of Robin and standing up. She offered a hand. “Are you alright?”
As Robin reoriented herself, she noticed three things about the girl. 1 - she had a really cute English accent, 2 - she was really pretty, with blond hair that fell in golden waves around her face, and 3 - she looked concerned, probably because Robin hadn’t actually responded yet. Robin felt her face heat up as she quickly grabbed the girl’s hand and accepted the help up.
“Yeah,” Robin affirmed, somewhat reluctantly taking her hand back, “Yeah I’m fine.” Before she could return the question, the other girl continued.
“I really am sorry,” she sighed. “And I know what you’re probably thinking. ‘Stupid Alice, in such a rush, she can’t even look where she’s going.’”
“No, no, it was totally my fault too,” Robin interjected, “I shouldn’t have been on my phone.” She held the phone up for emphasis, earning a soft smile from the stranger - Alice - which she couldn’t help but return. Robin’s heart began to race as she continued holding her gaze, her face felt like it was burning. She tried to think of something else to say, something interesting or cool, but kept coming up short. After a few seconds, Alice’s eyes abruptly widened as though she’d just remembered something, and she looked down at her wristwatch.
“Shit, I’m so late!” Alice gave Robin a quick apologetic smile before bolting off past her. “Sorry again!” she shouted over her shoulder.
Robin watched her depart with an amused smile before finishing the text to her mom and continuing back to her dorm.
When she got back, her roommate, Drizella, was putting the finishing touches on her decorations. From what Robin could tell, she was basically done aside from the poster she currently had in hand - a shot of the New York skyline that she was attempting to hang above her bed. The two had officially met late that morning when Robin moved in, though she was pretty sure they shared a class last semester.
“Hey,” Robin greeted as she closed the door, walking over to her desk to pull her new books out. “Looks nice,” she commented, looking at Drizella’s pristinely decorated side of the room - with its perfectly aligned aesthetic posters, carefully arranged decorative pillows on crisp white sheets, and a black and white patterned quilt folded neatly at the foot of the bed.
“Thanks,” Drizella replied, a frustrated edge to her voice as she struggled to get her poster to stick with the school-approved wall putty. “You know, whoever invented this stupid poster putty should be slapped.”
Robin laughed in agreement. She’d started trying to hang some of her stuff before heading to lunch and ultimately had to give up.
“There,” Drizella muttered as she finally got the poster to stick without falling. She glared at the poster for a few seconds, daring it to fall down again, before deeming it a success and sliding off the bed with a sigh.
“I need some retail therapy after that,” she said as she grabbed her purse, “wanna come with?”
“I’m good. I’m already far enough in the hole,” Robin replied, gesturing to her stack of new textbooks. “And I really should finish unpacking.” She didn’t actually want to unpack, but most of her stuff was still packed in suitcases and bins. If she didn’t start soon, she would end up having to sleep on a hard, bare mattress.
“Suit yourself,” Drizella said on her way out the door, “and good luck.” With that, the door clicked shut.
Robin had mixed feelings about Drizella. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her - she barely knew her, though she seemed perfectly fine. But, aside from the fact that Robin hadn’t had an actual roommate since sleepaway camp in middle school, she couldn’t help but notice the slight ‘mean-girl’ vibe that Drizella gave off. It reminded her of the girls she hung out with in high school. In fact, if they’d gone to high school together, there was no doubt in Robin’s mind that she and Drizella would have been friends.
Regardless, Robin was resolved to get most of her unpacking done before her roommate’s return, so she pulled up a Spotify playlist and set to work. After just a few hours, almost everything had been put in its place. All that was left was to finish folding and hanging clothes. Her sage green sheets and patterned earth-tone comforter were put on her lofted bed. Her desk fit neatly underneath, a tapestry map of the world on the wall behind it. Up by her bed she had a collage of pictures, some of friends but mostly of her extended family.
Unpacking didn’t exactly require a lot of brain power, so as she worked Robin couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Several times she found her thoughts drifting in the middle of organizing something - often thoughts about a certain blonde - and each time she’d have to shake herself out of it. She couldn’t help but wonder about the girl though. Where had she been running to? How had Robin not noticed her before? Did she share any classes with her?
It was in the middle of this latest daydream that Drizella returned - a few small bags on her arm and a to-go coffee cup in hand. Robin jumped at the entrance, shocked out of her daze. She noticed that she’d been holding a half-folded t-shirt and quickly put it away in the dresser.
“Nice, you’re almost done. It looks good.” Drizella noted as she crossed to their shared mini-fridge. She put some of her things away, dropping the rest unceremoniously onto her bed. “Wanna get Chinese for dinner?”
“Sure, sounds great,” Robin agreed, grateful to get away from her unpacking for a bit. Take-out also meant avoiding the Dining Hall for the night, which was always appreciated.
“Cool, I’ll pull up a menu.”
The restaurant was only a 10-minute walk from their dorm, so the girls opted to pick it up themselves. During their walk back, Robin caught sight of familiar blonde curls. Alice was sat on a bench in front of Granny’s Diner, intensely focused on a sketchbook in front of her. Robin felt the urge to go over and say hi but ultimately talked herself out of it. It’s not like they actually knew each other. And besides, she seemed focused on something, and Robin didn’t want to bother her. But she found herself hoping that she’d get a chance to run into her again sometime.
*****
On Tuesday morning, Robin begrudgingly sat down in Kitsis Hall Room 714 for her 9 AM English Lit class - Fairy Tales & Folktales: Reflections of our World. She was not a morning person and, by extension, not a fan of morning classes, but the topic had piqued her interest. Also her cousin Henry taught the course - though she still wasn’t sure if that was a pro or a con. Either way, despite her interest in the subject matter, Robin already found herself wondering what other classes were still open.
Slumping deeper into her seat in the small lecture hall, Robin stared off into space as she waited for the class to start. But after only a few seconds - or maybe minutes, she wasn’t sure - a voice startled Robin out of her daze.
“Sorry, can I-?” Robin instinctively turned toward the voice. “Oh! Hi.”
Still being pretty much half-awake, it took Robin a second to recognize her, heart stuttering when she finally realized that it was Alice. She was grinning at Robin, cheeks slightly flushed.
“It’s you,” Alice continued.
“Hey, yeah,” Robin tried to play it cool, ignoring the way her stomach flipped at Alice’s smile. “Alice, right?”
“Good memory.” Alice’s smile brightened. “You remembered me.”
“Well you did run me over the other day,” Robin replied with a teasing smirk, “kinda makes you hard to forget.”
“Good.” Alice seemed to catch herself as she said this, immediately backtracking, “I mean - uh - not good that I ran you over, obviously.” She took a breath before adding “I don’t think I got your name?”
“Robin,” came the immediate reply. “Where were you running to anyway? You mentioned being late for something.”
“Yeah.”She ducked her head sheepishly. “I was supposed to meet with my advisor, but I ended up being almost ten minutes late. He was really nice though.”
Any further conversation was cut short as Henry walked into the lecture hall and called out, “Alright everybody, welcome! Let’s take our seats so we can begin.” He crossed to the podium and began setting up as students pulled out notebooks and laptops.
“Do you mind if I sit?” Alice asked, pointing to the seat next to Robin.
“Oh yeah, of course,” Robin replied, shifting to let Alice into the row. She shot Robin a warm smile as she settled into the seat.
Robin did her best to pay attention, but it was just too easy to zone out on syllabus day. She could always just read it later. Or text Henry. Besides, she couldn’t help but sneak a couple of glances at her new seatmate during the class period - Alice was undoubtedly more interesting than course objectives anyway. About halfway through the period she realized that Henry caught her, sending a knowing look her way and smirking as he moved onto the attendance policy. Robin made sure not to let her gaze wander after that. She could tell Henry was already going to give her shit for it, and she didn’t want to give him any more ammo.
“It was nice meeting you Robin,” Alice said as she stood up to leave, flinging her backpack over her shoulder. “Well - officially I mean.”
“You too Alice,” Robin replied, unable to keep a smile from her lips as she started putting her stuff away. Alice crossed in front of her to leave, turning to give a quick wave goodbye before heading to the door. As Robin finished packing her bag, she felt another presence appear beside her.
“So…” Henry began, a teasing note in his voice, “Who’s your new friend?”
“Oh my god,” Robin said under her breath as she stood up. “None of your business.” Heat rose on her cheeks as she tried to cover it with an eye roll. She moved to pass him hoping he wouldn’t notice. No such luck.
“Are you blushing,” he laughed. Robin didn’t respond, pointedly starting down the stairs to the door. “Awww. Does my baby cousin have a crush?” He slung his arm over her shoulders as he caught up to her. “Let me buy you a coffee, and you can tell me all about her.”
Robin scoffed but agreed to coffee - she knew better than to reject an offer for free stuff. She did her best to avoid his questions about Alice, only partially succeeding. She divulged how they had met, but refused to entertain any notion of having a crush. Alice was just a new friend, nothing more.