The Girl Next Door

The girl next door was loud and noisy, too noisy. It was exactly 9:04pm and she was still playing her music loudly. It had been on since Yaren returned from class, that had been five hours ago. She had tried to ignore the sound by going about her business and pretending it didn't exist; she had plugged in her headphones while she studied, and she had tried to even vibe along with the music while having dinner.

She had tended to her assignments and read ahead for the class she had tomorrow; Art History, all the while hoping that her neighbor would turn down the music since it was getting late. It was had to focus with loud music blaring so violently.

Having had enough of it, she closed her books, got up, and headed out determinedly. It was fine to tell the girl nextdoor that she was being quite the nuisance. On getting there, she knocked once, then twice.

No response.....

Expectedly. It was unlikely for her to notice someone was knocking since she had such loud music playing. Nonetheless, Yaren knocked once more, more firmly this time, more loudly.

"Yeah?!" Came a high-pitched response from the other side.

Finally. She thought, rolling her eyes subtly. It was nothing personal really, she knew dormitories tended to be noisy every now and then, but back in Turkey everyone seemed a bit considerate of each other. Plus, the dorm rules didn't allow such disturbances.

The door cracked open to reveal a girl with messy brown hair and the brightest blue eyes she'd ever seen. Her gaze raked over her slowly, almost demeaningly as she took in her appearance; from her wavy black hair which was held up in a messy bun, to her thick-framed glasses, down to the grey pajamas she had on.

"Who are you?" She asked, her tone suggested that she was being disturbed and she was displeased.

At least made the both of them. And what was it with everyone asking who she was? The professor had asked earlier, and now the girl next door.

The professor....

Something about the way he had glared at her made her unsettled even now, but then, his lesson had been so entrancing that his words continued to play themselves in her mind over and over again.

"I'm Yaren." She replied though she knew the girl probably didn't give two shits about her name. "I'm your neighbor and I've been unable to focus all day."

The girl opened the door fully and Yaren noticed she only had panties and a crop top on, a sharp contrast to her long pajamas. She cleared her throat quietly while trying to look into her eyes and nothing more.

She was uncomfortable, justifiably so because the dormitory back in Rize didn't allow such outfits. It was new to her, but she wasn't here to judge; she merely wanted to address the issue at hand and return to her room.

"And why is that, Karen?" The girl asked as she leaned against the door frame, everything about her screamed nonchalance.

"It's Yaren." She corrected while forcing on a polite smile.

"Yeah."

"The music; it's loud." Yaren explained on realizing she had messed with her name on purpose. "Could you turn it down a bit?"

She was about to respond when the high-pitched voice that had answered called out again from inside. It was only then Yaren realized this one had a lazy, drawly voice that seemed like speaking bored her.

"Who's it, Cassie?!"

"Karen." Cassie replied, her sharp blue eyes still held Yaren's daringly. "The music's bothering her."

"Well, we'll turn it down. Come back to bed."

Yaren cleared her throat quietly, uncomfortably. This was awkward, this was definitely awkward. Had she interrupted something? Was that why Cassie was dressed this way? That probably explained why her hair had been messy.

"Yeah, we'll turn it down." Cassie said to her. "I hope you can focus when our moans get too loud though."

That being said, she stepped back and slammed the door shut before Yaren could find anything else to say.

It took a moment for her to collect herself, probably a full minute. She stood there trying to make sense of what had just happened but it was pretty much pointless overthinking things. She was in a new place now, and their cultures and values were different from that of the middle-east.

What did it matter if two girls were having sex in a dorm room? Or what did it matter if she had only ever had a boyfriend once in highschool? Or that she'd only shared a peck with her boyfriend who was just as shy as she was?

Shaking her head, she returned to her room just as the sound of the music dwindled. And while she was grateful for that, she dreaded the sound that would eventually replace it. Closing her door quietly, she blew out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Did she like it here? She wasn't sure, she couldn't quite tell, after all she'd only been here for two weeks. A lot of things were different here and almost everyone was snobby, but that was fine; she wasn't a social person anyway.

Did she miss home though? She was sure she didn't, at least not yet. Yes, she missed her family; her parents, and her younger sister Elif, but she didn't miss the pressure and the expectations. Being the first child, she had been burdened with a lot of expectations from her parents from a young age.

She was supposed to go to college, study hard, get a good job, and then get married to a man of her father's choice. She was expected to make everyone proud; Elif looked up to her, her mother wanted her to be greater than she ever had the chance to be, and her father wanted her to be much more accomplished than he was.

The scholarship has been a blessing, she hadn't even expected her parents to let her come all the way here, seeing that they'd never let her stray too far from home, but her knew she had better chances of securing betyer job opportunities if she graduated from an ivy league university.

The mattress bounced ever so slightly as she sank down on it exhaustedly. It had been a long day, and perhaps it was alright to get go to sleep now. She could always study tomorrow, she had a lifetime ahead of her to make her family proud.