Littlespace Academy (SFW)

Chapter 4 (REDONE 11/26/22)

I was sitting in the living room of Charlotte's and Ellie's dorm. Boxes sat next to every wall, carefully labeled by what items belonged to who. The layout was very similar to my dorm, except both back corners of the living room were hexagonal instead of only one. I barely sipped the coffee Charlotte had offered me while they chattered about topics I didn't feel pressed to focus on.

This felt so strange. I'd never been so far out into the world before, and even with my best friend by my side there was an overwhelming feeling making me aware of just how much I didn't know yet. There was nothing that wouldn't be new and nothing I wouldn't have questions about. The realization alone had my head spinning. Almost stumbling when I stood up, I excused myself to the bathroom and shut the door behind me as fast as possible.

Even my reflection in the mirror looked exhausted and scared. I was like a deer in social headlights; I didn't know where to go or what I was doing, but I always felt like I was on the verge of something awful. I had been treated well enough by others around me in high school, but this was an entirely different population.

A much more accepting population, I reminded myself. I ran my fingers through my hair to somewhat neaten it before I splashed my face with some cold water and went back to the living room after drying it off.

"Myrium!" Charlotte's squeal caught my attention and how happy she sounded had me smiling immediately.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Elisa and I have a similar schedule, isn't that great?" She hadn't been this excited about anything in awhile. I nodded as I took my seat.

"So, Ellie, or Elisa, why have I heard two different names used for you?" I looked at the sharp-eyed woman sitting on the comfy chair across from me.

"That's a question," Elisa stated. "Ellie is a nickname, Elisa is my official name. I have no preference." She fixed her hair after she finished talking. Her voice had a rumbly undertone that I couldn't help but wonder if she started out with. "What's your schedule?" The look she gave me made me feel like it wasn't entirely a request. I pulled up the picture of my schedule and handed it to her. "We have three classes together on Mondays, and you have math together with Charlotte on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The three of us don't share any classes." She handed my phone back to me and I nodded. I felt lighter now that I knew I had some classes with Charlotte. I wished it could've been more, but it was extremely lucky that we had anything overlapping at all.

"Do either of you know about any of the professors or other students?" I asked.

"My girlfriend and another friend got to meet a small portion of the professors recently." Elisa began scrolling through something on her phone. "The age regression professor appears very considerate and knowledgeable, the math professor has a disorganized appearance paired with a delicate persona, and the English professor has a structured yet welcoming attitude. I know nothing of other students, perhaps we'll get more information as the academic year progresses." Her word choices almost had my head spinning. The protective aura from yesterday was still following her around, but it was becoming an odd formality of its own the longer I talked to her. The way she moved was almost rehearsed; she wasn't stiff, but she wasn't entirely calm either.

You sound ridiculous, I scolded myself. Elisa definitely acted in ways that weren't common, but that wasn't a bad thing. It definitely couldn't have been rehearsed either.

Watching Elisa brought my thoughts back to how pretty she was. She was now in a crop top and leggings, allowing me to make out what she looked like a lot better than yesterday. Her shoulders weren't broad, but they weren't close together either. She had a thin figure, and I could see muscle tone on her stomach peeking above the waistband of her leggings. Her arms were slender, her hands looked soft, her fingers were long and thin, and her nails looked well taken care of despite how short they were cut.