In the end they did spring for the larger dorm, though it wasn’t much bigger than a two-bedroom apartment, it was still much bigger than some of the ones she’d been privy to when she first took the orientation tour.
So far, it appeared she’d lucked out with her roomie. At first when Vannah had seen the name of her roommate on her paperwork for the dorm, she’d almost fainted. Xochitl Eztli. What in the world? Vannah had never heard of either first or last name and she hadn’t the faintest how to pronounce both. She had no idea what nationality the roomie she’d be paired up with was, but the school being in the heart of Los Angeles she’d assumed the likelihood it’d be someone Hispanic like herself. Though after doing a quick google search she found out it was an Aztec name which meant she was most likely Hispanic, and how to pronounce the first name—Soh-chee. She practiced quite a bit before that first introduction and held her breath when she responded to Xochitl’s first question as she reached out her hand that first day they met at the dorm. “Yes, I’m Vannah. You must be Soh-chee.”
Her timid roommate smiled big nodding as if surprised Vannah had gotten it right. Later that evening after both pairs of their overbearing parents had finally left their dorm, they’d laughed about their parents being so similarly over-the-top when it came to them. Like Vannah, Xochitl was the first of her brood to leave for college and was also far more reserved and timid than most other girls on campus seemed to be.
Xochitl’s first impression of Vannah? “I figured you were Hispanic because of your last name but if I’d had to go just based on your looks and blonde hair, I would’ve thought you definitely had some güera in you.”
Vannah had laughed and explained her whole life she and her sister had gotten similar comments. Especially growing up in southern California and spending so much time on the beach. In the summer their naturally light highlights would get so light they often surprised people who didn’t know any better when they explained they were one-hundred percent Mexican American.
She was just explaining to Xochitl how she’d finally mastered the laundromat app and how cool it was, when her roommate got a text that had her gasping and bringing her hand over her mouth.
“What is it?” Vannah asked alarmed.
Xochitl looked up shaking her head and softening her expression. “Just gossip but it’s juicy. Ms. Thang down at the lab. I told you she was doing more than just flirting with that guy she’s always flipping her hair for and batting her lashes at.”
Vannah’s eyes went wide as she rushed over and peered over her friend’s shoulder. Ms. Thang was actually Mrs. Diaz one of the administrators who ran the study lab on campus. She was married but forever flirting outrageously with one of the students in particular. Xochitl was convinced they were having an affair.
“So, what happened?”
“It’s from Annette,” Xochitl glanced up at Vannah all wide eyed before reading the text out loud to Vannah. “Mrs. Diaz’s husband showed up and they had a near screaming match in the parking lot. It got so bad security was called and her husband was asked to leave before they called the cops.”
Vannah’s jaw dropped. “He must be on to her.”
Holding a finger up Xochitl nodded looking even more excited as she read more. “I got it on video, but my phone keeps saying it’s too big to send I’m gonna try to send it in parts. It got pretty crazy. I wonder how he found out.” Tapping away quickly Xochitl text something back then looked up at Vannah and shook her head. “I can’t believe she’d be so blatant about it. I mean we’ve all noticed. How did she think it’d not get back to her husband? That’s just asking for it.”
She explained it’s what she’d responded to Annette. “My mom’s always said, you’re messing with fire if you decide to sneak around like that,” Vannah said in full agreement with Xochitl. “No matter how easygoing a man is you just never know how he’ll react to something like that. I’ve seen the photo of them on her desk and he looks almost nerdy. Tall, skinny and wears glasses.”
“Those are the worst kind,” Xochitl chuckled. “The ones that look all innocent.”
They were still in the middle of discussing it when another text with the first part of the video came through. Vannah quickly huddled around her roomie. It wasn’t a very good quality video. It was dark and taken from a far. You could barely tell it was a man and a woman arguing and despite them being loud, you couldn’t make out much of what they were saying.
“Did she just call him insane?” Vannah asked.
Xochitl nodded with a scoff. “What else is she gonna do, besides deny, deny, deny?”
They watched all three videos that came through and Xochitl suggested she forward them to Nena for their YouTube channel. “If she labels it with something juicy enough like, wife caught cheating, you guys might get a lot of hits.”
Vannah agreed. She’d gone back to talking about the laundromat app when she saw the text from Matt. Tapping at her screen, Vannah halted her explanation about the app with Xochitl to read the text.
Hey, have plans tonight? I’m craving Subway. You hungry?
Already smirking she texted back that she was in the middle of doing laundry but that she was hungry. When she was done Xochitl posed the same question about her plans for the evening since it was Friday night.
Trying not to giggle, Vannah prepped herself to respond. As much as they had in common one of their biggest differences was what a grump Xochitl could be compared to Little Miss. Sunshine, as her roommate had dubbed her very early on. Unlike Vannah who was almost always in a laughing mood, there were so many things Xochitl was unnecessarily annoyed by. But it cracked Vannah up how worked up her friend got over said things. She already knew this would be one of them, so she suppressed the smile as she explained.
“I’ll probably meet Matt for dinner. That was him who just texted me.”
Xochitl glanced up from her laptop and peered at Vannah. “He the one who doesn’t like coffee?”
Vannah laughed nodding as she remembered Xochitl’s first reaction when she told her about Matt’s aversion to coffee, and the girl had been suspicious of him ever since. “Vannah, that’s not normal and you know it.” She’d been quick to argue when Vannah asked what the big deal was. “Who doesn’t like coffee?”
Vannah braced herself for her friend’s reaction this time. “Yeah, he said he’s craving Subway.” Dropping her head back when Xochitl’s mouth fell open, Vannah laughed even more. “What?”
“Who the hell craves a sandwich on a Friday night?” Vannah fell onto her bed continuing to giggle about her cantankerous roomie’s outburst.
“Seriously, Vannah, he’s a college guy for crying out loud. Sushi or a slice a pizza and a beer would be a more normal thing to crave after a long week of school. You slap a cold sandwich together when you’re in a hurry or on a budget, but you never crave one. I’m telling you. I don’t trust this guy. Make sure you take your pepper spray.”
“Oh my God, Xochitl,” Vannah lay there laughing even more. “You’re too much. Take my pepper spray because he’s craving Subway?”
“Just sayin’.” She held her hand up focusing on her laptop screen again. “He’s been suspect ever since the not liking coffee thing. Now he’s texting a girl he’s trying to impress on a Friday night to say he’s craving Subway? Who does that?”