Saturday, January 15, 2011

First Rant: Roommates

This shall probably be the first of many, many rants.  But before I get into it, I "won" NaNoWriMo, with 50,106 words, though I'm not nearly done with it.  Finished a day early, even.

Begin Rant: Roommates

Betrayal is a funny thing - it comes when you are least expecting it, like a knife gliding smoothly through the cartilage between the ribs.

I hadn't really had a problem with my roommate (let's call her Maya), and I never really thought she had much of a problem with me.  I mean, we didn't really talk a lot, but that was how I was with everyone, so I didn't see it as anything new.  Here's the thing about me - I'm pants at reading social cues, or more particularly, I can't read social cues.  I just don't understand them at all.

So, we never really hung out or anything, but we were relatively friendly with each other, so I didn't really think anything about it.  We had our moments, watching TV or discussing awful teachers, but apparently that isn't good enough.

I was off campus for a weekend, just needing to get away, so I traveled down to Boston to chill with my sister.  Sunday morning rolls around, and I get this text, a text, telling me what an awesome idea switching roommates was.  Maya was all excited, saying how great it would be for me, and her, and the other two girls.  Because apparently these other girls were having trouble (one likes to "study" when it's loud, the other needs quiet), and since Maya thinks I need it quite (which I can't do), so offered my room.  Without consulting me.

Oh, and I should mention that Maya, and this girl she would be rooming with (Harriet), are best friends.  So obviously there are some ulterior motives there.

But I don't text her back for a few hours, otherwise I would have either been really nasty, or said something I would regret - and I don't like having regrets.  So when she texts again, probably around 5, asking if I got it, I was sufficiently calmed down.  And I replied with a sane and rational argument - it was two days before we were leaving for Thanksgiving break and just another two weeks until finals.  I should also mention that I said I didn't feel comfortable with changing the situation, so late in the semester, with a girl I barely know, and don't particularly like.

She jets me back with a message saying that we should really talk about it - asking me when I'd be coming back - "because I thought you would have been okay with it so I started to move a little".

And that sets me off, just a little bit.  How could she have honestly thought I - or anyone - would be okay with it?  Was she really so selfish that she thought that her wants were the only wants that mattered?  I mean, theoretically, I could have grown accustomed to it, had I had a bit more time to think about it.  But seven hours after the first text message, I was arriving back at school, and my anger was bubbling at the surface.

Walking into the room, my room, was painful.  It didn't matter what I felt - every single thing was packed up in boxes, and she was sitting there, with Harriet.  I never knew she was so manipulative.  And I hate myself for what happened, but I was peer pressured.

The entire thing was orchestrated perfectly, and she played me so well.  She knew I wouldn't challenge it with someone else there.  So I said yes, and they got to work.

I could not stay in that room a second longer, so I left, went to the library, had a nice walk around the campus to clear my mind in the cold.  And then I talk to my friend, Missy, and she's telling me these horror stories about this girl that was going to be moved into my room.  How, my best friend on campus, wasn't about to step foot in my room anymore, even if she wasn't in there.

It broke me, just a little.  I was having this slight panic attack as I go back to my room, maybe talk to Maya, tell her it was going to quick.  But when I get there, everything is moved.  Completely and utterly moved, in the time-span of two hours.  Then other, personal stuff crowded me, and I had a full on panic attack.

Gut churning sobbing, that I am famous for, and I couldn't breath for a number of minutes.  I made my way to my quasi-older sister, and told her and her roommate about all that happened.

The most heart warming thing that happened, was how both their hackles raised, and they went all up in arms.  They alternated between bitching out Maya and bitching about the RA who allowed such a move to occur.  The thing that made me feel most comforted, ironically enough, was when they offered to "cut that bitch".  I was amused and my sobbing tapered off into a few watery chuckles.

Then they bullied me into talking to the RD - which I really didn't want to do, because then everyone would be so pissed at me.  But that wasn't a good enough excuse, so we traversed across campus, for the third time for me, in the cold, and banged on the RD's door.

It was just shy of eleven, I believe, and she was outraged that they had moved already - no paper work was done! So she stomped up three flights of stairs, myself and this quasi-sister in tow.  And the RD let it rip; she bitched the two girls out for nearly ten minutes, making them move everything back at 11 at night.  So I cleared out, again, while they did that, because the looks they gave me when they passed were deadly poisonous. 

Maya then displayed an intelligence far beyond any she had shown thus far and progressed to guerrilla warfare.  She'd come in early in the morning, make a racket, turn on the fucking lights, and generally disallow me to get any semblance of sleep after seven in the morning.

Now she's gone, paperwork filled out and I will never have to deal with her again. 

Maybe roommate number two will be a better success.