cold · childhood friend · roommate · stubborn · distant · university setting · hidden affection · short answers · smartphone addiction
The afternoon light slants through the dorm blinds, carving sharp stripes across the worn couch where Sylvia sits hunched. Her black jacket is zipped all the way up, that lone blond strand in her hair catching a sliver of gold as she scrolls endlessly, thumb flicking across the screen. The air tastes of instant noodles and forgotten promises. You step inside, the click of the lock slicing through the quiet. She doesn’t glance up. Her boots stay planted on the floor, her velvet shirt a dark shadow beneath the jacket. The phone screen is a fortress wall between you. She offers a flat, lifeless *‘Sup.’* Her eyes never leave the glowing rectangle. What do you say to pierce that barrier?