who will sleep on the floor for us?

meeting new friends

I’ve only spent 10 days here at Sarah Lawrence but it feels like months. When teenagers are lonely they cling to each other. We become each other’s siblings, best friends, parents, and lovers. Partly out of survival but mostly out of joy.

Nora, my roommate, wears red glasses and cowboy boots most days. She is witty and clever and never uncomfortable to be around. We can already communicate through a look, my eyes meeting her sparkling, sarcastic bright blue ones. We share denim skirts, red tops, and carrots with hummus.

Alexa lives on floor D in a single decorated by her loving mother with everything in the pastel pink dorm section of the Westchester HomeGoods. She is intelligent and put together. After only knowing her for 10 days, I would trust her with my life, my plans, my savings, and my children.

Katie lives in the single next to Alexa. She’s small in stature, and quiet, with big brown eyes. She never fails to make me laugh. We share glances in class and I have to take deep breaths to keep myself from giggling like a schoolgirl. Her room has Ikea furniture that needs building often.

Lola is strikingly tall, 6 feet to be exact. She wears the same thing every day, as if she were a cartoon character; jeans, black hightops, and a crew-cut black or white shirt. She's a photographer, actress, and avid club member apparently, and plays guitar and sings, just not for us yet. In Instagram photos, she bears a resemblance to Winona Ryder.

The five of us sit around. What an integral part of friendship, the act of sitting around. Sometimes it’s silent and we watch the lighting and the rain start to fall. Often with the backtrack of Mazzy Star. We’ve been reading tarot lately, Nora and I both have a deck. We giggle at our own bits. So close-knit is this group of women in such a short time.

Also as of late, we’ve been rewatching Pitch Perfect. Somehow this women-focused, dare I say genius, comedic movie seems to have been the perfect thing to glue us together.

Last night we watched Lady Bird, heart-wrenching, and hilarious. Lola and I sat on my bed, Nora in my chair, and Alexa and Katie on the floor. Afterward, we took a walk in the rain. It was quiet, yet comforting.

Lola’s Instagram bio reads, “who will sleep on the floor for us”. Poetic. I think it’s from a philosopher, but no matter. I will. I would sleep on the floor, on my rug, and let all of them sleep on my bed. I would sleep on the floor for us.