The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Nature

#Sage

Sage went upstairs to meet with Alana. When the elevators opened to Alana's hall, the sweet smell of all things girly traveled down his nostrils. It reminded him of the times his mother would drag him to the mall and he'd get a whiff of the scents escaping Bath & Body Works as they walked by. It was quite a change from his predominately male hall. They smelled like sweaty gym socks masked with heavy musk.

Once he got to Alana's room, he was surprised to see her door open. He never left his door open, not wanting certain orders to seep into his man cave. Taking a deep breath, he discovered that her room smelled like cupcakes and flowers. Her door was decorated with colorful banner paper, butterflies and old famous people that Sage didn't recognize.

Alana's tidy room looked a page from Better Homes. The bedding was a royal blue satin comforter with rust-colored brown and blue pillows. Against the wall was a khaki-colored couch with large blue striped pillows which coordinated perfectly with her bed set. Family photos and posters of the ocean covered the walls. He liked visiting Alana in her homey room; it felt like walking out of the hall and into a friend's house.

He noticed Alana sitting studiously at her desk, typing purposely on her laptop. Sage knocked lightly on the door, not trying to scare Alana as he did before in the PRC. Alana looked over at Sage and smiled.

"Sage, you made it! Come in," she said cheerfully.

A boyish grin caught his mouth, and he tried to pull it back. Sage didn't want to geek out; he'd lose cool points for sure, he thought. But he couldn't deny the relief he felt just being around Alana. Her lighthearted attitude refreshed him almost as much as riding his bike, and she helped distract him from all the turmoil of his parents' divorce.

"What are you working on?" asked Sage as he walked into the room and sat down on the bed.

"Oh, I'm developing a budget proposal for the student council. I'm doing some research; I think the organizational funds are allocated unfairly. We're planning to meet with Dean Petty on Friday to discuss the topic further, along with a few other areas of interest for our group like service projects. Oh, and the support staff here should get paid more. After talking to Miss Tina—you know her, the woman that works in Sebastian's—I had a few ideas about ways we can show our appreciation until they increase their pay!"

"Social justice?" implied Sage, turned on by Alana's enthusiasm and confidence. He felt the need to move a little closer, but restrained himself from doing so.

"Exactly," Alana grinned, satisfied. She titled her head to the side in an irresistible way. "And you, what do you want to talk about? Maybe how you should hang out with the staff more?" Alana teased.

"Yeah right, no. But I did want to talk, just catch up. How on earth do you keep it so neat in here? Are you like, ODC?" Sage joked, looking around the picture-perfect room.

An uncomfortable energy entered the room. Alana stiffened, unable to meet Sage's curious gaze. But he couldn't look away.

Alana chewed her bottom lip, then said, "I'm used to cleaning up an entire house and cooking. Once my mom got sick, all those responsibilities fell on me since I'm the oldest. Plus, it's hard for me to concentrate when my room is a mess," she explained, but something in her voice sounded unsure.

Sage nodded automatically, his expression indifferent.

"I guess you don't have that problem?" Alana asked.

Sage leaned back on Alana's bed, folding his hands behind his head. "Not at all."

"Well, tell me, how did your social program go?"