Stranded

Noelle glares at the miniature Christmas tree in front of her as if it's to blame for her current predicament. She knows it's not fair - the inanimate object has done nothing wrong - but she can't help herself. She needs someone to direct her annoyance at.

Someone other than herself.

"I should've gone home when I had the chance."

Had she done that, she wouldn't be sitting alone in her dorm, freezing and crouched beside an old heater that's barely doing its job. She could've had more to eat than just leftover Chinese food. And, most importantly, she wouldn't be so damn miserable.

In her defense, the Weather Channel had reported an incoming snowstorm for tomorrow. Unlike most of the people in her dorm who decided to leave as soon as that report was made, Noelle chose to wait. She figured that she could spend the morning packing up her things and be prepared to venture home at night when there was less traffic.

By mid-afternoon, the snow started falling.

An hour after that, there was already close to two inches of snow.

Twenty minutes after that, Noelle received a text from the school informing students that all roads on campus were officially closed. 

And so, here she is. Stranded in her dorm alone during one of the worst snowstorms the northeast has ever seen.

"At least it can't get much worse than this," she says, trying hard to find a silver lining in her current situation.

As if sensing her thoughts, the universe decides to play another cruel joke. This time, it's in the form of her heater making a few pitiful sounds before turning off entirely.

"No," she cries, reaching for the device and hitting the top of it with a closed fist. When that doesn't work, she starts shaking it. "Please keep working. I'm sorry for all the bad things I said about you in my head. You're not pathetic and I do appreciate you."

The heater doesn't make a sound or start back up again, much to Noelle's dismay. She puts it down, wraps her arms around herself and groans. It's going to be a very long, very cold night.

She has just begun imagining herself turning into a popsicle when someone knock at her door. She yelps and jumps into a standing position.

"Hello?" The voice definitely belongs to a male. "Is someone in there?"

Noelle grabs the closest item that can double as a weapon, her dead heater, and walks slowly towards her door with a racing heart. Once there, she pulls it open, ready to defend herself if needed.

She doesn't know what she's expecting. Perhaps an axe-wielding murderer or a snow-covered monster.

What she's not expecting to see is Nick – the cute guy who lives down the hall from her.

"Hey." He smiles and Noelle's heart skips a beat. "Noelle, right?"

"Yeah."

"Looks like we're stranded here together."

Maybe this snowstorm won't be so bad after all.