Estelle would soon come to realise that she would only be disappointed if she expected for what what she desired to become the reality.
With a knock on the door, she suddenly paused her thoughts. It was a familiar pattern that she had gotten accustomed to hearing, she could only think of one person that knocked in that way. "It can't be…" Estelle hoped that her memory was wrong and that the person at the other side of the door was not in fact who she thought it was.
Estelle walked closer to the door and carefully opened the eye slit to check who was on the other side. Alas, Estelle saw a face that she wanted nothing to do with. From the slit she could see Liandra innocently smiling, probably excited to see where she would be living for the foreseeable future. Her luggage was by her side and she seemed rather energetic.
"Uh… Hello? Is anyone there? Could you let me in? I think the door is locked on the other end." Liandra called out patiently. Rather than making a demand, she seemed restrained and polite.
Estelle did not want to open the door but she knew that Liandra would find a way in soon enough. It would be better if Estelle could set the ground rules sooner rather than later she thought.
Estelle quickly unlocked the door and opened it to reveal herself to Liandra. "Little sister." Estelle plainly remarked, saying nothing more to Liandra.
Liandra's body immediately became stiff as she straightened her back and raised her brows. "Older sister? Why are you here?!" Liandra gasped. She too was hoping for someone new to pair up with. Her social life had failed since the party and she had become desperate for new friends. With Estelle being her roommate, she wouldn't make any friends until classes began.
"I was assigned here. Did you think I asked to be stuck with you?" Estelle's coldly answered, walking through the main living area towards the bedroom and sitting on the left side.
Liandra instinctively followed Estelle as the latter coldly spoke to her. "Older sister… is there only one bed?" Liandra raised an eyebrow as she noticed a peculiar detail about the room. There was only one bed. From he looks of it, Liandra estimated it to be a king size bed. In her mind she was wondering if this was the only bed in the dormitory.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't seen any other beds in this dormitory. I should probably report a logistics error and have a seperate bed assigned." Estelle quickly began writing down a note in a pocket-sized notebook she kept next to the bed.
"No, don't worry… what if this is deliberate? We might lose points with the academy if we ask for a replacement." Liandra quickly moved her hands to stop Estelle from writing in the notebook. For some reason, Estelle instinctively desired to keep the arrangement as is. She bought to herself that being closer with someone would help her sleep at night. Even if only a placebo, she wanted to keep the bed two sleeping together. It would just be better that way.
"I have never heard of such a thing." Estelle put down her notebook by her side and frowned at Liandra. Estelle did not believe one word of her sister. No matter how much Liandra had changed in the last six months, Estelle still believed that selfishness and greed could never be fully eradicated in such a short period of time. She could not pinpoint Liandra's reason for wanting to keep the beds together, however, Estelle knew that this had nothing to do with an academy points system.
"Please reconsider… I won't disturb you." Liandra pressed further. Her hands found themselves grabbing onto Estelle's, squeezing firmly but not too aggressively. Her eyes made unbreakable contact with her sister's and she did not move an inch back. Her expression was innocent and desperate, something that Estelle had long believed to be all fake.
"Take your dirty hands off of me!" Estelle lashed out, freeing herself of Liandra's hand with a hard push. Her face was full of disgust as she gazed back at her little sister. Estelle wanted nothing to do with her yet she was always put in situations where the two would be stuck with each other. It was like a curse that kept on cursing.
"Promise to keep the bed as it is." Liandra stumbled backwards before finding her balance again. She did not care if Estelle was agitated. Liandra was adamant about this issue even if it was a small and petty detail. To her, this was a matter of her health. Isolation had only made her a tired a desperate person. Of course the logic in her reasoning had some holes, but she did not realise this in the moment.
"Why are you so stubborn over something like this? I knew you haven't changed. Fine, you can sleep on the right side. But never make demands with me again. If you do so, I will make your life here horrible." A disappointed expression could easily be seen plastered all over Estelle's face. She did not want to waste any more breath over such a small issue. As such, she ended the discussion with a simple threat.
"Thank you so much, Estelle!" Liandra sparkled with joy after hearing her sister finally give in.
"Little sister, don't call me by my name." Estelle immediately reminded Liandra.
"Of course, older sister." Liandra nodded her head in response.
The day went by rather quickly. Food was delivered by academy staff straight to the dormitory. The two ate in the dormitory dining room which was attached to the main living area. Afterwards came a bath. Although they had nothing to hide from each other, Estelle opted to bath alone and wait for Liandra to finish up.
By the time this routine was done, Liandra and Estelle had all of their items unpacked and we're both facing the ceiling. Under the blankets laid two sisters that were comparable to oil and water. Yet one might say that they need each other.