Your Life and Mine

[Artemis]

Your Life and Mine

Lillian Delgado

Name: Lillian Delgado
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Year: Sophomore

Tiffany Archer

Name: Tiffany Archer
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Year: Sophomore

---

Music blasted through her headphones as Lillian was on her way back to campus. Like every morning, she was out for a morning jog around the surrounding neighborhood around USC. The morning ritual started in high school and continued until now. Rounding a corner, the song finished and Poppiholla by Chicane began to play. She grinned as the runner's high brought her into the zone. Her pace quickening, the outskirts of the campus soon came into view.

Raised in an immigrant family, Lillian's road to present had been a bumpy one. It had been her dream to run in college - ever since she joined her high school's track and field team. It had been a long road. There were days where she wanted to quit, fearful that she wasn't good enough. Before her greatest of feats, the loses were innumerable. However, for the promise of an education that her parents braved the move from their home country to the states, athletics was ticket, and she'd be damned if she ruined the opportunity. Though uncertain when she first started out, here she was, a sprinter for arguably the best program in the whole country. Wearing t-shirt with Trojans printed neatly across the chest area, pride exhumed from her.

As the last few feet came into view, Lillian pumped her legs and arms as she went into a full on sprint. Her breath came in sharp gasps as she reached the inner dwellings of campus and began to decelerate. Keeping a constant jog, Lillian began her cool down. Her heart hammered in her chest, but she knew it'd slow. She had always been fast at recovering - namely, she could keep going. Finally coming to stop near the McDonald's Swimming Stadium. Checking her heart rate, she looked at her watch. Ninety. Not bad at all.

Lillian wiped the sweat from her forehead as the sun was finally beginning to crest the horizon. Morning runners would've been out and about right now, but that was when students actually began to move in. Since Lillian was an athlete, she and her teammates all had early move-ins and meetings with their advisors. Lillian still had to meet with hers to finalize her schedule, but she wasn't in a hurry. The meetings were set and hers was later this afternoon. This year - instead of staying in the freshman halls - she had chosen to stay at Regal Trojan with one of her teammates, Tiffany. She remembered how awkward it was in the beginning. But, as the season progressed, they had become good friends. For that, Lillian was thankful.

Taking out her phone/music player, she started another playlist as she began to walk back to her apartment. Tiffany was suppose to move in today ending her period of solitude. A smile was glued to her face on the whole entire walk back. It was good to be back on campus with another season slowly crouching upon her. The competition, it was a rush that was hard to resist.

---

"Yes mama, I'm fine." Lillian poured herself a glass of milk as she took a sip. Her phone was wedged between her shoulder and cheek. "How's papa? The young gremlin?"

"Still sleeping," her mother said confirming Lillian's suspicion. "Do you have everything? Mama can drive and drop of what you need. Send me a list?"

"I have everything. Really," Lillian said. "I meet with my advisor later today. Tiffany's moving in today too!"

"Good! Didn't want you to be lonely. No teddy bear to hold, no?"

Lillian grimaced. "I brought him along, mama."

"Lillian!" her mother said in feign shock. "You're too old for toys, hija."

"Never mama," she said. "Anyway, mama, I got to go. Stuff to do. I'll call later tonight? Bien?"

"Si, hija. Love you."

"Love you too mama." Lillian ended the call as she finished the rest of her glass of milk then placed the glass into the sink. She hoped Tiffany didn't mind that she stocked the refrigerator. She didn't take up too much space leaving a little more than half unfilled for her roommate. Having time to kill, she sat on the couch and flipped on the TV to the news station. Having just taken a shower, Lillian bummed in capris leggings and a loose fitting hoody.

Taking out her phone, she opened the text box between Tiffany and her. She typed, "Hey girl! When are you arriving? I've delayed decorating - figured you'd want to do that together! Oh, classes. We better have the same ones! Well, as many as possible. Gen eds and stuff."

Sending the message, she sat back. As she watched the anchorwoman talk about various things, her eyes lingered on the brunette before moving to the clock in the common space. She still had a few hours before meeting with her advisor. The question now was what she was to do.
​

 

[nebula]

Around this time, Tiffany would have been on her daily morning run around her neighborhood. It had been a habit instilled into her by her parents ever since she took up cross country and track and field at a young age. But today, Tiffany was on her way to her home away from home. Her hand-me-down car traveled southbound down I-5. It was a 5 hour drive from where she hailed - from the heart of Silicon Valley, San Jose. She had went back up north for the summer to meet up with friends and family she hadn't seen for a long long time. But now, school was starting soon, and since she was an athlete representing this university, she had to come down a bit earlier than expected. Not that she minded, of course.

Tiffany was about forty five minutes or so from Regal Trojan, where she would staying in with her teammate and friend, Lillian. The sun was out, bright and warm just the way she liked it. Even though she also got plenty of that up north, there was something about the SoCal sun that really made her happy. Her family was filled with athletes, with her parents being former athletes, and her siblings being athletes. However, she was one out of two people in her family so far to make it to the collegiate level on a scholarship. Her second-oldest sister went to Stanford for soccer on a full-ride, and managed to graduate with a Master's of some sort. The next scouted was her younger brother, who played quarterback for his school's team.

The Trojan runner was displaying her school's colors, wearing plastic USC sunglasses on her face, a USC hoodie, and a pair of running shorts as she drove to her new home. Her heart pounded with anticipation as she thought about the upcoming season. Last year she had broken her PR in the 100m twice, and tied her PR during the 200m multiple times. She was very eager to see just what exactly the next season would bring to her and her team. As she continued down the interstate, she couldn't help but to wonder how Lillian was doing. She hadn't seen her since she went back up north for the summer. She hoped she was doing well, as Lillian was one of Tiffany's closest friends on the team, as well as a member of her 4x100 relay team.

Habits by Tove Lo was playing away at the radio as her car droned along, and she hummed along gently before her phone buzzed and the text tone rang in the car cabin. She looked down briefly to see who it was, and lo and behold it was Lillian! She was glad to see a text from her, but at the same time it was a bit inconvenient as she was driving. However, because Tiffany was actually smart, she knew how to multitask efficiently and that meant she could text and drive (even though it's not the smartest thing to do). She picked up her phone and unlocked it, the messaging screen between her and Lillian opening up. She replied, "I'm almost there! I'm still driving! #x" She said, the '#x' being in referral to some campaign by AT&T to indicate that she was driving and unable to respond.

After a rather long drive, Tiffany was finally within range of the USC campus, and even closer to her dormitory where she would be staying for the year. She could see a few people carrying boxes around and such, figuring they were also athletes that were required to get here early for athletics and such. It took a while to find a place for her to park, probably due to all the convoys of family members accompanying students to wish them a goodbye before they went off to college. Eventually she did find her spot, and she parked her car in it. Once her car settled down and she got herself together, she grabbed her phone and opened up her messaging screen once again, "Hey I'm here! I'll meet you at the apartment. Stay inside if you're inside, it's hot out here! Well... I guess you're gonna have to help me carry these boxes up :P"

Tiffany grabbed her USA Track and Field backpack given to her in high school, filled with all her schooling supplies and whatnot, at least all she could fit inside of it. She couldn't fit everything in one bag so she had to have her laptop and some other things in a separate shoulder bag. That wasn't that big of a deal, it was good exercise to be carrying these and some boxes up. Tiffany went around and grabbed a boxes, the box dedicated to her athletic gear. It was a rather large box, but Tiffany was perfectly fine carrying it by herself for some reason. She had a brand new pair of trainers and spikes for the season as a parting gift, which made her rather happy. She let the box down momentarily, closing the trunk and putting her lanyard over her neck before grabbing the box and making her way towards her dormitory.

After a few minutes of trying to remember what dorm she would be staying at, she finally found it after a good five minutes or so wandering around hopelessly. The people who lived here seemed pretty friendly, which was something Tiffany would be appreciative of. Eventually, Tiffany stopped outside the front door of the dorm she would be in for the school year. She put her hand on the doorknob and rotated it, feeling it rotate and signaling that Lillian was inside and waiting for her. She opened the door and walked in, putting the box down softly and closing the door behind her. As she closed the door, she held her arms out, walking towards her friend and teammate.

"Lillian! I missed you so much!"

 

[Artemis]

Right after she had sent the text, Lillian felt heard the ping as she checked it again. She rose an eyebrow as she smiled wryly. Placing the phone back on her lap. She wasn't about to send a reply only to have Tiffany send her one back. The hashtag told her everything. The girl getting into a car crash wasn't on her top list of things she wanted to have done to her friends. Her eyes re-centered on the news screen as something about world politics came up. A man - more specifically from the Malaysian Airlines - was giving an update about the flight that went missing a ways back. While Lillian felt for the people, shouldn't the airlines checked the plane to make sure it was still in working order? She was hardly knowledgeable on the whole story; she spoke from bits and pieces that she heard.

Zoning out for what felt like minutes, Lillian's eyes fluttered open as she heard a car pull up. She heard music playing from the speakers with tunes that she was all too familiar with. Sliding her fun into her hoodie's pocket, she walked towards the door as she gave herself a once over in the mirror. She couldn't be looking too trashy in public. Before she made it to the door, she heard something drop on the ground and the door closing shortly after. Walking to the corridor her eyes lit up. "Oh my god Tiffany!" Lillian ran towards her teammate and wrapped her arms around her. God was Tiffany warm. Must've been the outside heat. She snuggled a little deeper. "I missed you too! Didn't know you were driving when I texted ya! You shouldn't have replied. You can multitask, girl. I'll give you that. But still dangerous nevertheless!"

Unwrapping her arms, she looked at the backpack and single large box resting on the floor. She rose and eyebrow. "That simply can't be all you stuff, no? Come, chica. Lets get the rest of your things. Vamanos, senorita!"

Leading the charge, Lillian made a beeline to Tiffany's car. When Tiffany popped the back, she took a large box and stacked a smaller one on top. Lillian left he suitcase to Tiffany as they shuttled her teammates belongings into the room. It hadn't taken too long for the two of them to move everything in; however, with the burning sun out, Lillian felt the sweat on her forehead. She wiped it off.

Taking Tiffany's hand, Lillian guided her to the couch as she plopped down and crossed her legs. "Moving, ugh, I hate it!" She stuck out her tongue. "But whatever, how are you? It's been too long! Any crazy adventures over the summer? I've got a few myself. We can totally catch up on it later! Excited for the season? We better have classes together again. Dead serious."​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany shrugged and chuckled, "I don't know, girl. That's actually all my track stuff!" The box was rather massive, clothes for all types of weather and conditions, shoes for the entire season, which acted as a testament to just how dedicated she was to the sport she grew up loving and embracing as an essential part of her life. "That's the Lillian I know!" She beamed, as they went out to go grab the rest of Tiffany's stuff. She hoped they could get it done in time, as the sun was getting ready to beat down even further on the entirety of Southern California. She was so glad she was back in the company of Lillian, she had missed her a lot, and apparently vice versa.

Lillian hadn't changed a single bit over their time apart, which Tiffany absolutely loved. Lillian was just charging down the hallway to her car. Tiffany followed behind at a reasonable pace, she was only wearing flip flops and it generally wasn't advisable to run in flip-flops. Didn't mean it was impossible, however. As Tiffany arrived to her car, Lillian was already there waiting patiently. To relieve her of her boredom, Tiffany popped the trunk and allowed Lillian to grab some boxes.

A rather long and strenuous session of box lifting later, she was pulled to the couch by Lillian where they chilled out, Lillian getting very comfortable in her seat. Tiffany took the liberty to also get comfortable, sighing happily as Lillian asked how her summer went. "Oh you know, just the same old. Friends and family are up to the same." She said, before remembering a rather crucial detail. "Oh yeah, my brother is being scouted by our very own USC, Oregon, and some other colleges to play football for them! So proud! What about your summer?" She squealed, before Lillian brought up classes. "Oh gosh, I hadn't even thought about classes! Agh, let's hope we coordinate our schedules properly and get into classes together."

Tiffany eyed the remote, before taking it in her hands and scrolling through the channels. "I think there's a replay of the Trojan Invitational from last year on ESPN 2!" She said, scrolling through the channels feverishly to find it. Eventually she did land on the sports channel, which brought a huge smile on Tiffany's face. It landed on an especially good moment, as the Women's 4x100m finals were being shown. This was the event in which Tiffany and Lillian were featured on the same team, with Tiffany being the anchor and Lillian being the first leg. "Look, it's us!" Tiffany said, as she leaned in and watched.

This was only a few months ago, but Tiffany could remember it like yesterday. Along with Tiffany and Lillian being on the team, their fellow sprinters Alice Heinz and Becca Williams took the second and third leg respectively. The USC Women's 4x100m team looked absolutely unstoppable. They occupied Lane 8 as they captured the second fastest 4x100 time, second to Texas A&M who was the fastest at this meet. Other colleges on this track were Oregon, UCLA, LSU, Florida State University, South Carolina, ASU, and Alabama. The cameras rolled over the starting legs, and Tiffany was plenty happy to see Lillian donning the red and yellow of the Trojans.

The announcers discussed the race they had at hand, speculating that this would be an absolute great one. But soon enough, everyone was dead quiet as everyone got prepared to run. In this meet, Tiffany was standing in her lane, waiting readily for Becca to hand off the baton to her. She could only watch Lillian sprint her ass off. Every first leg got ready to run as the announcer said the three words every track athlete loathed and loved. "Set..." The official said, the time between the "set" and what was coming next seemingly taking forever.

"Go!" The official fired off his gun and everyone was off. Lillian was seen hauling ass down the curve, and by the time Alice was a quarter of the way done, USC was in third place behind TAMU and Alabama. The baton was handed off to Becca and Tiffany would be coming up soon. Tiffany looked back and got ready, standing on her spike plate, waiting for the baton to be handed off to her. As soon as Becca crossed "the mark" she took off, holding her arm back for the baton. As soon as the aluminum baton was in her hand, Tiffany took off. She was sprinting her ass off, gaining an enormous amount of time for her team and taking the lead. The announcers were on the edge of their seats, "Archer has taken the lead for USC, and it is only continuing as she is going, going... gone!"

Tiffany crossed the line, narrowly beating out TAMU and winning the 4x100 for USC. Tiffany was seen holding a finger up, cheering and clapping a she slowed down. After the race ended, Tiffany turned to Lillian. "Oh my god, what a race. I still get anxious just watching it!" She said, holding up her hand to show just how much it was shaking. "I hope we have absolutely awesome performances this year, I just want to get competing already!" Tiffany said, sitting on her hand to keep it from shaking out of control.

 

[Artemis]

Lillian's jaw dropped. "That's awesome news, chica! So, what's he thinking? Your brother on the football team. My gosh, it's going to be an Archer royal flush!" Again, Lillian did her signature eyebrow raise as she smirked. "Tiffany Archer! That's why we had to come earlier. Not that I'm complaining. Cali is so much nicer than back home. Ahem, anyway. You better check when you're meeting your advisor! I'm meeting mine later today. When I have my schedule, I'll sneak it into your hands. I'm pretty sure they try to keep athletes in the same generals. For practice and all."

Seeing Tiffany take the remote, Lillian smiled as she looked towards the TV though her attention was focused on the girl next to her. It was good having her back again. Lillian was so glad that she had formed a strong friendship with Ms. Archer. When she first arrived on campus, she'd be lying if she proclaimed she wasn't the least bit worried. The hazing stereotype - which was pretty well carried out - wasn't as drastic as her friends had told her. She made friends easily enough in classes - those big lecture halls could get to her sometimes. How did the professor handle all that pressure? It was something she would never understand. Her attention went to the TV when she saw 4x100m finals was being replayed. Now that was a race to remember.

As she watched the race unfurl, Lillian paid particular attention to Texas. Last season they took the win. However, this year, no doubt Texas was dead set on reclaiming their coveted first place. They'd lose again if Lillian had anything to say about it. As she watched - as she did many times after the race - she couldn't help but cringe slightly at her start. While it wasn't bad, there were technical things she worked on during the summer to help tune her reaction time to the go and accelerating out of the start position. As a first leg, it was her job to gain as big as a lead as possible while the second and third sustained the momentum - gain some if they could. The last leg - Tiffany - focused on bringing the team home. She loved relays for that reason. Instead of focusing on oneself, the whole entire team had to pull through or a lose was assured.

It was in her nature to analyze everything. At the end of the day, Lillian was a very technical racer. She believed form and conditioning went hand in hand. Natural talent could only get someone so far - she being a testament to that. As she kept watching, she made a note to bring up baton handoffs to their coach. That could save them some time. The hand offs - though good - could've used some work. Particularly between the second and third leg.

When the race ended, Lillian observed Tiffany's movements as she covered her face and laughed. "Totally understand! That finish. Mmm Tiffany! I swear, if you weren't the anchor, we wouldn't have touched out Texas. Those girls are fast. Like super fast!" Snapping her fingers, she pointed back to the screen. "I think we can do better. Nit picky, but the hand offs. I think we need to work on that. I saw some fumblings. If we can be rid of those, who knows? Our win could be more than just a hair. I'm excited!"

Cutting Lillian off, she felt a buzz in her hoodie's pocket. "Sorry, one sec!" She unlocked her phone and ignored the numerous text messages she received. Her eyes widened. "Oh crap! Meeting. I'll be back in about an hour, chica! Get settled, but don't you dare start decorating without me! Team effort, Tiff!"

Moving to the door, Lillian put on her pair of sneakers and headed out the door.

---

Glad that it was over, Lillian looked over her schedule. For a dietetics major, her schedule worked out pretty well. Her classes - Orgo, Nutri Sci 361, Stats 471, and Bio 252 - was spread out in the morning and late-ish afternoon. However, she started everyday at 10:30 AM and was done at 3:30 PM. No late labs thank god. Last year, she had a lab that went until 9PM. So many conflicts with practice and the lab occurred that she ended up missing her labs frequently. Eventually she changed sections. her advisor really dropped the ball she thought to herself. Athletic advisors were assigned to each specific team. Surely, they had the time to correct something so critical, no?

Folding her schedule and putting it into her pocket, she waved to a group of swimmers as they gave her the look. Lillian - though flattered all the time - never really knew how to respond to boys. While she could appreciate how ruggedly handsome they were to being average, she was never attracted to them like her friends. She adored being friends with everyone, but something about being in a relationship with a guy turned her off. It was all very confusing, something she didn't share with anyone. Whenever the topic came up, she tried to change it. It wasn't a very comfortable topic.

Finally reaching the block where her dorm was, she walked into the building as she fished for the room key. When she got to the door, she tried the handle and found it unlocked. Tiffany must still be here. Lillian was only gone for an hour. "Tiffy!" she said as she grabbed a glass and filled it up with water. "Get your butt in the kitchen! Time to talk strategy for Operation: Decoration! Bring your wit and cunning please."​

 

[nebula]

As Lillian began her analysis of the race, everything she had said was pretty much everything Tiffany would have said. The exchange between the 2nd and 3rd leg was rather sloppy, but with refining she was sure that it would be fixed the next time this 4x100 team was put together. "Too true! She sort of fumbled it into my hand but I just went with it and ran all out. You have it easier since you only have to give." Tiffany joked, lightly punching her roommate and friend on the arm. She was watching the rest of the meet when all the jumpers and whatnot went up to do their thing. USC was a bit weak in the jumps during this meet but still pulled away with 3rd and a major PR in the long jump for one of their male jumpers.

The buzz that was in Lillian's pocket could've been felt from where Tiffany was sitting, because sometimes phones just did that. She knew it was probably something important so Tiffany didn't bother asking. In fact, she didn't even need to ask as Lillian went straight ahead and declared what had just happened. Tiffany nodded and watched Lillian dart out of the apartment. Now what? She was all by herself in the apartment and she wasn't allowed to decorate. The most entertaining thing she could do was to unpack but she really didn't feel like unpacking all those boxes all by herself. Too much work.

The only thing Tiffany could really do was just watch her TV rather boringly, and wait for Lillian to return from her meeting. In fact, speaking of meetings, Tiffany didn't know when hers was. She was a major in athletic business management, so she had quite the bit of classes compared to Lillian. Fortunately, she was on the same level as math as Lillian, which was good because that was almost guaranteed if they coordinated properly. She just hoped she didn't have any of those stupid classes with stupidly late labs. She managed to raise her grade up to a B, but that took a lot more effort than just actually doing the labs.

A few hours later, Lillian came back into the apartment. What Tiffany did to reveal herself was far too boring to even think about, but she had made it and now here she was. She could hear the Hispanic girl call out for her, which quickly prompted her to turn around and see the lovely ol' Ms. Delgado roll back into where she belonged, besides the track. The athlete rolled around on the couch, pinpointing where the voice was coming from. She got off the couch and walked into the kitchen, where she could spy a certain Lillian.

"Hm... I was thinking we should do our room(s) first!, if this thing is multiple bedrooms anyway." Tiffany inquired, turning towards the hallway. It was rather unclear if it was or not. Too many doors for her to tell. "Otherwise if we share a room we'll just decorate it the way we want it to!" Then we'll just slowly spread outward until we like what we have, sound good?" She said, cocking her head and tapping her her foot. Tiffany was honestly very excited to get to decorating.

 

[Artemis]

As Lillian tapped her fingers on the kitchen counter. She had a few moments to marvel her room as compared to her freshman dorms. There was an actual kitchen and commons room, which was already bigger than her last room. Furthermore, though it was a one bedroom so the girls had to share a room, it was still big enough to accommodate their personal desks and beds. Hopefully Tiffany was okay with sharing. They did talk about a one or two bedroom room, but the price for the room was obscene. Even the single bedroom was high. They split the cost equally and Lillian ended up paying one thousand-ish. Luckily the school had financial aid. Athletic scholarships, if you were good enough, rocks. Made it easier on her family as well. Mama and Papa had to take care of the nina. When Lillian graduated, she planned to pay them back as well - though they spent very little on college thanks to Lillian's aid from USC.

Not able to linger long on her thoughts, she saw Tiffany roll off the couch as she smirked. "What kind of grand entrance was that? I was expecting a barrel roll and fireworks, at least!" Lillian said gesturing with her hands. "Super lame, senorita ... But I only joke."

Lillian listened to Tiffany's input and nodded at the right moments. There was lots of work to be done. Posters, lights, and rearranging if they felt so inclined. Lillian was so excited for this living space. She already envisioned a layout for the common room. Something chill in atmosphere where a few friends could pop a spot and relax. Not the party atmosphere - Lillian wasn't all about that - but something playful. She'd have to talk to Tiffany about it. Get her input and preference. Lillian wondered if they should discuss a system if the other was going to have someone 'special' over. Lillian blushed slightly and pushed the thought aside.

"Why don't we start with the bedroom then?" she said. "So, since I arrived a bit earlier, I kind of claimed a desk and a bed. It's the window-side one. You'll either have to silver tongue your way through to get me to switch! Anyway, lets head on in and 'pimp' out that room! Rearrange only if you really want to. I played around with the arrangement and don't think it's that hideous. Oh, since we agreed on a single room last year, I'll try to be as pleasant of a roommate as possible, chica!"

Motioning for Tiffany to follow, Lillian went to the stack of boxes and picked up several and carried it towards the bedroom. "The room is big. Super big." Leaning the stack of boxes against her leg, Lillian opened the door as she sat the boxes down in the middle. "Welcome to home for the next year! Assuming we don't somehow start hating each other - which I highly doubt, no? I have yet to put my posters up. What do you think? As you can see, my bed is up against the window. The desk is where my feet are.

"Since the door is in the middle, I thought it best to keep you bed across from mine. Would could bunk or something, if you want something bigger in the room? But, I don't think putting a bed by the closet - so much space for tons of clothes! - would work out. It'd clutter the space and block access. Not savvy for a rushed day."

Taking a breath, Lillian plopped down on her neatly made bed. "Thoughts, Tif? I'm cool with anything you want to do! Except lose the window. Only if it's life and death will I leave, chica," Lillian said winking at her friend. "All kidding aside, thoughts?"
​

 

[nebula]

"Hey! I save my dynamic finishes for the track. Don't want to end my season too early." She said, chuckling as Lillian criticized her for her inability to provide a proper entrance. Tiffany then turned to look towards the common room, where her mind was working about to see how they could formulate the arrangement. She made a few suggestions, but would leave a majority of the arrangement to Lillian. Tiffany wasn't really particular to any style of arrangement when it came to the common room. It was both hers and Lillian's, and she only had a few minor things to fix otherwise she was perfectly fine. Tiffany wasn't really planning on having parties out of this dorm, she wasn't about parties anyway, too many people and was often very chaotic.

As Lillian reminded Tiffany what exactly their dorm was like, she remembered that they had agreed on a single room dorm for the sake of cost. Tiffany was here on a scholarship, just like Lillian but only her tuition was covered. Tiffany paid partially out of her own pocket (through her savings), and her parents covered the rest from up north. She was going to pay them back eventually, but she was much too busy to get her own job. She did have some in the past, but that was a time when Tiffany had the time. Now it was nigh impossible to do so. "That's okay! When it's bright outside I don't have to wear sunglasses indoors!" Tiffany teased.

The runner of many ethnicities watched Lillian scoop up several boxes, prompting her to do the same. She carried the boxes and watched Lillian slip into the room, hearing her voice echo all the way from inside the room. She really did mean it when she said it was huge. That was good, Tiffany liked her space, especially if she was going to be sleeping in it. She dropped the boxes in the middle of the room as Lillian introduced the room to her. This seemed like a room she would definitely enjoy for the year. "I like it like this! It's roomy!" She said, in referral to the large amount of space in the middle.

"The space towards my bed is mine and the space towards your bed is yours. And then the line in the middle is free game." Tiffany stuck out her tongue, "Just kidding, all this space is free game for both me and you, just not close to each other's beds. Sound good?" Tiffany remembered she had her posters somewhere in her mass of boxes, but she would wait to put those up later, right now it was almost time to get the beds and desks personalized. As well as stock the closet. Tiffany pulled up a box that was labelled "things" and placed it on what she assumed to be her bed. She opened it before Lillian brought up the suggestion of what else to do.

"Get our desks and beds prettied up, stock the closet, then posters?" Tiffany said, as she started pulling stuff out of that box and sorting them out. Most if it was little trinkets like a picture of her family, some novelty items from stuff she really liked, a prized medal of her's, and some other memorabilia from her life. "Like last year, you can borrow my gear if you can fit in it, just ask!" She said, gesturing to the box with all her track stuff inside of it.

"So ready to get this year started, it's going to be fun spending time in here with you!" She beamed, as she organized the items on her desk accordingly and carefully so she had maximum space. She put more things towards the right so her left arm had more room to move, as she was a lefty. "So, how was your summer anyway?" She asked, turning around from time to time.

 

[Artemis]

Lillian laughed as she tried to imagine the boundary lines that Tiffany described. "So no man's land? I'll start building some walls then," she said playfully as she raised her hands to make a frame shape. "I can picture it already. East and West California. My grandparents would totally hate the reference. Okay, I'm done. Yeah! So immediate bed area is off limits. So, no hanging a shirtless Matt Bellamy poster right next to your pillow then, huh? Got it. Totally missing out though."

Seeing Tiffany set up her desk, Lillian looked over at hers as everything was already in place. Her lap top took center stage with a lap hanging overhead. She invested in a cooling mat, which was a godsend with how much she used her computer. There were little figurines of glass animals that she collected every since she was a kid. Her dad always brought one back from his trips. She had nineteen in total. Hopefully the traditional wasn't going to end any time soon. A few books were stacked on the upper shelf including Lillian's textbooks and novels. She had a thing for reading outside of actual school and sports. Acquired habit from when she was a kid.

"Likewise!" Lillian said as she finally got off her butt to hang up some posters. "Though I think you've gotten taller. Stop growing Tif! Last thing I need is you making me feel like a midget."

Grabbing a Muse poster, she hung it a fair distance above her bed as she grabbed a few more. They were music posters except for some sports ones. She found places to hang them on her side making sure to allow Tiffany some space of her own. She finally pulled out her last one as she read it over. Last year, she had a poster made of the poem Invictus. Her father loved it and recited nearly ever chance he got for her. It had gotten her through the hards times - be it sports or personal issues related. She loved the last line, 'I am the Captain of my soul.' Such a powerful line it was that fit so many different situations.

Hanging up the poster, Lillian sat on her bedside as she watched Tiffany organize her things. She was about to ask if she wanted any help, but Tiffany beat her to the question. "My summer? Oh it was wonderful! My family took a trip back to Mexico for my cousin's wedding." Lillian closed her eyes as the event replayed through her head. The music, the dancing, and the formal attire. She loved every moment of it. And the food! She missed that the most. "Hopefully I'll have little ninos visiting soon. My sister is great, but variety never killed anyone! There was this pretty Mujer I met down there too. Dazzling. I got some beach time as well. Mi primo lives close to the ocean. So beautiful. Me encanto, senorita! Other than that, I stayed in shape. Or at least tried too! How about your summer, Tif? I could hardly imagine you having a dull break? Want help finishing up? Posters were the last things for me!"​

 

[nebula]

"Matt Bellamy?" She cocked her head curiously, trying to think of a proper reaction to that man. "Matt Bellamy? More like Matt Baellamy." She sighed in an infatuated manner, making her legs buckle and wiping her forehead before quickly returning to what she was doing. She pulled out her 13" MacBook Pro, which was aptly decorated and screamed Tiffany when one was to look at it. There was the obligatory USC logo in the upper left corner, but on the other side to it was the USA Track and Field logo, connecting the dots on what exactly Tiffany did if someone took a look at her laptop if she was at a Starbucks or something.

Tiffany only got a MacBook just for how it looked, it was all pretty and shiny and metallic so Tiffany couldn't resist. She wasn't particular to Apple products, besides this one. Her cell phone was a Samsung Galaxy S5, having a Galaxy series phone since the S2 came out. She turned around and saw Lillian stack up some books on her desk. Tiffany wasn't really particular to reading either. It wasn't that she didn't like reading in general, she didn't have the attention span or the general interest in order to do so. Tiffany had a very short attention span, and got very bored easily. However, sports always grabbed her attention and as a result she got pretty far in her athletic career, where she was standing right now being a testament towards doing so.

As Lillian complimented her height, she looked down at her legs then back up, "Really...? I don't really think I have." She said, putting her leg up towards it and holding it in a figure four. Tiffany stood at 5'10", rather tall for a woman but it assisted her immensely in athletics. According to Lillian, that might've become 5'11. "Do women even still grow at our age? Pretty sure we were supposed to stop." Tiffany chuckled, before looking over at Lillian, "I think you've gotten even prettier since the last time I saw you! I think whatever you did over the summer did you good!" She smiled, before she finished up decorating her desk.

She then moved onto posters, figuring out what she should put on her wall first. She closed her eyes and went into the box to find something. The first poster that pulled out was something she considered a piece from home. It was a San Francisco 49ers poster, one that she looked up to for inspiration. Tiffany put it up right where she could see it whenever she couldn't sleep, even though it was football related it still worked wonders and helped to inspire the runner. She then hung up some other obligatory band, sports, and miscellaneous posters that Tiffany did like. As Tiffany hung up one last poster, she turned around as Lillian went on about her summer.

The trip to Mexico was most likely what made Lillian look so radiant now that she stood right in front of her, she couldn't stop taking her eyes off of her. "That explains the increase in beauty, seniorita! Viva la Mexico!" She beamed as she displayed the extent of her knowledge of Spanish, remembering how magical of a place Mexico was. Tiffany absolutely adored Mexican culture and cuisine, burritos were one of Tiffany's guilty pleasures. "My summer?" She said, thinking of what to say. "I went back to my homeland for a few weeks just to visit some relatives. So nice!" Tiffany tried to reflect on her summer, "My entire family went, even my way older siblings. I even got to meet my brand new baby niece! She's so cuuute! Her name's Joanna!" She said, looking for her phone and pulling up a photo.

Tiffany then listened to Lillian talk about the posters, in which she got off her bed and walked over to Lillian, "Sure thing! You need any help putting some up there?"

 

[Artemis]

Lillian gasped and covered her mouth. "Chica! You're not mocking me are you?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips and smirked. "You know that makes me loco, Tif! But, thanks. As always, you're never looking bad. Totally jealous, chica!" Trying to cover up her slight blush, she had to look up to meet the taller girl's eyes. Not telling a soul, Lillian had a thing for Tiffany. She didn't know if it was just being close to her all the time or being on the same team. She didn't even know if the girl swung that way; she had to play it safe. "So, where's home? You know, after all this time, you haven't shared that with me. But that can wait! You have a new niece? Did you take any pictures? I wanna see! You must have pictures."

Before Tiffany had the chance to show her, Lillian motioned for her to join her at the bedside as she handed Tiffany a poster. "Talk and work at the same time, senorita multitasker. Could you hang up that Texas Cowboys picture near the foot of me bed? I'm going to hang up this." Lillian unrolled the poster she had in her hands. "Puppies. Cute, innocent puppies. When I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Um, no judging!"

Chuckling, she stepped up and took the roll of tap on her desk. She took off a few paces and placed it right her Radiohead poster. Very clashing topics, but she didn't mind. This was her design, and if anyone had a problem with it, it was their problem. When she was done, she stepped down from her bed. She looked over as Tiffany finished with her assigned task. Plopping down on her bed, she rolled to her side. She patted the side of her bed. "Come here, Tif. I wanna see that picture por favor?" Lillian scooted over to make room. "I also want details! That's where the stories get good, chica. I'll even tell you more about Mexico, if you want!"​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany nodded as she begrudgingly took the Cowboys poster from Lillian's hands. Tiffany wasn't much of a Cowboys fan as she was a 49ers fan, but for Lillian, she'd do anything for her. Her friendship with her definitely overpowered her hatred in sports. She walked over to the foot of Lillian's bed, hanging up her beloved poster of the Cowboys. As she put the poster up, she turned around to see a rather cute poster which Lillian was hanging up. She snickered to herself, out of all the things in the world, puppies! She thought that was kinda humorous to see that Lillian had a soft spot for the cutest things in the world! She couldn't blame her, however, puppies were awesome! Lillian's question to Tiffany about where exactly she called the homeland stuck in the back of her head, but totally forgot she needed to answer the question.

"Oh yes, I have pictures! I'll share some with you after we get this done!" She beamed as she finished up hanging up the poster, stepping back a few to see if it was straighter than straight. Tiffany hated it when things were off, even by a tiny little bit. It just drove her nuts. The poster was adequately straight, which she liked a whole lot. She nodded to herself as she deemed it perfectly straight, and walked around to tend to her own things for a little bit as Lillian finished putting up her Radiohead poster. Seeing the puppy poster and the Radiohead poster was a bit... contradictory? She would definitely look at the Radiohead poster a bit since she did sleep on her side, and sometimes faced Lillian's direction.

As she heard Lillian's voice behind her, she turned around to only see Lillian pat the side of her bed. This was an opportunity that Tiffany could never turn down. Tiffany daintily skipped over to Lillian, plopping down next to her as she searched for her phone inside the pockets of her hoodie. She then found it, putting her finger on the magical fingerprint detector thing and unlocking the phone. "You've gotta tell me more about Mexico then." She said, pulling up the gallery app and fishing out the pic of her and her niece. She then found it, and showed it to Lillian. It was a picture of her sitting in her old house's living room holding a baby. "She was about three months old in this pic. I'm pretty sure she's a bit bigger since then." Tiffany smiled, "She likes me!" To prove that, she swiped right to change to a video.

She then played a video, in which Tiffany was sitting down yet again but it only showed the back of her head and pointed down at the baby. In the video, she was waving and saying hi to her niece in a rather cute voice, and the baby was just laughing contagiously. "She's such a cutie!" Tiffany exclaimed as the video concluded. "But onward, to my trip overseas!" She said, swiping left repeatedly to go past some miscellaneous photos. She held up a photo of her in an airplane. In this particular photo, it was a selfie of Tiffany with a rather disapproving face as her younger sister (aged 16) was happily asleep on Tiffany's shoulder. "I don't need to say anything." She said briefly, rolling her eyes.

Then she swiped left again, to show a photo of yet another selfie but at the beach. Tiffany angled it well enough so she could capture all the people who wanted to be in it. Basically it was a sibling photo. Tiffany was in front, allowing her to show her face and part of her rainbow bikini, and in the background were all of her brothers and sister. "Prettiest beach I've ever been to!" Tiffany beamed, as she swiped again to see some old ancient ruin thingy that Tiffany didn't know the name of. "That is... well I don't know... that's just a really cool thingy." She said, showing a photo of her practically hugging the bell.

Tiffany then put her phone down, "I think I've shown you four photos so far, so you owe me four! I gotta remember some stories anyway, chica!" She said, locking her phone an putting it in her hoodie pocket. "I wanna know about everything! All the ninas, ninos, mamas, papas, abuelas, and abuelitos and cousins!" She said, putting her head on Lillian's shoulder and eagerly awaiting a good story or four.

 

[Artemis]

Lillian watched as Tiffany unlocked her phone. Androids were the best phones ever. Not only did Android have variety but they were just wicked cool as well. Though Lillian was thinking of getting the Galaxy, she opted for the HTC M8. Having a phone that could be her mp3 player and portable speaker was killing three birds with one stone. While the speakers were a bit over the top and perhaps unnecessary, it was still good to have just in case. What she wished she had was that cool finger print unlock thing. It was so freakin' cool! "Yes yes, Mexico, but first the pictures!" Lillian said as she waved her hand. When Tiffany passed over the phone, Lillian squealed. "What an adorable little thing! Three months? But, she's so big already! Gosh, they grow so fast, don't they? You have videos too? Yes!"

Watching the video, Lillian couldn't help but smile at little Joanna. Tiffany wasn't lying, the girl was cute! But so were other babies, but whatever. Lillian resituated herself as Tiffany moved on to her trip. As much as she was excited about the baby, this piqued her interest so much more. Looking at the pictures, Lillian giggled. "Your sister is so cute! SCSF - super cute sleeping face! Copy righted as of now! Don't know how she could sleep on planes though. Honestly, those metal boxes ten thousand miles above in the air is nerve wrecking, no? Muy loco. Sleeping on a plane ... bah."

Lillian's eyes lingered on Tiffany in her rainbow colored bikini and gulped. She moved onto the rest of the picture, which seemed dull in comparison. She whistled. The beach in the background did look pretty gosh darn nice! "Hey you didn't answer my question! Where did you go?" Before she could get an answer, Tiffany had already swiped to the next picture. Lillian arched an eyebrow. "Is that ... a bell? My gosh, never thought anything like that existed. I mean, stonehenge, yeah, but dang girl!"

Lillian pouted when Tiffany put away her fun. She was about to beg for more until she felt Tiffany lean her head against her shoulder. Lillian's skin crawled. She felt her face warm as she resisted the urge to snuggle in just a little bit closer. Instead, she reached into her hoody and pulled out her phone. She unlocked it with a pattern. "Don't you go telling people that pattern chica! I trust you," she said as she went to the photo gallery. She clicked on a picture that showed her in a black tankini and a side tied swim skirt. Lillian was standing with her cousin and aunt in this one. "Okay, so, first off, this was at Acapulco. That's where the wedding took place. It's on the coast, so obviously I had to stop by!"

Swiping her finger, the next picture was her in a purple dress that hugged her body and flared out near her legs. "Super extravagante, but mama insisted. I chose the color!" Scrolling again, Lillian was dancing with her cousin. "I'm sure he was dancing with me only to snap his pictures and impress his amigos. That cousin is kind of creepy, my opinion!" Lillian scrolled again, as she showed a picture of her and her cousin that had gotten married. The white dress with its lacey embroidery was stunning. Though she wasn't looking to get tied down anytime soon, that's what Lillian wanted to wear if she ever walked down the aisle. "The lovely bride and I! Look at her dress, Tif! That must have cost a loan and a half! I'd love to wear that one day. Totally looking into the future though. Definitely not ready to get tied down. Takes a particular person to rein in this wild thing!"

Giggling, she put down her phone and just laid there. "Stupid thought, but when I was a kid, my friends and I had slumber parties. This little snuggle fest kinda reminded me of that." Slowly getting up, Lillian reached out and stroked Tiffany's hair. It was soft. She rose and eyebrow. "Tiffany! You have split ends. No no, senorita that won't do! Oh, before pre-season starts, we need to go to the spa! I've deprived myself all summer - though Mexico was totally worth it! At least you kept your hair nice and conditioned. Muy suave, chica!"

Looking down at Tiffany, Lillian studied her face. "By the way, Tif. Any lucky guys this summer? You live in California, chica, and a pretty thing like you doesn't stay single for long. That'd be a crime!"​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany continued to stare at Lillian's screen as she unlocked her phone and prepared to show Tiffany just exactly what she was up to down in Mexico. "My lips are sealed, amiga!" She said, cuddling against Lillian as she readied herself to see pictures of Mexico! Mexico really did seem like a nice place to take a vacation at, living there not so much. She saw a picture depicting Lillian and two equally as lovely ladies standing beside her. "Oh geez, I think my beach has got a rival then! That looks absolutely gorgeous!" She beamed, looking at the photo once again. She liked how Lillian was wearing the tankini, not like she could get any tanner anyway. "Nice tankini." She commented, looking up at Lillian and chuckling.

The purple dress Lillian wore was definitely a very, very beautiful one. "Muy caliente! I'm a fan of that color on you, really brings out your features." Tiffany commented, looking over the picture repeatedly and just admiring how great Lillian looked in that dress. The next photo sort of disconcerted her, accurately showing why exactly Lillian thought she was creepy, "No bueno. Muy.... creepy?" She said, the non-Spanish speaker trying her best to keep up with the firey Spanish of Lillian's. "I can see. Definitely looks like a creep. Who'd blame him though? Dancing with you is something a lot of people would kill to do, hopefully not literally." She remarked.

Tiffany then saw a picture of Lillian and the bride, and the bride was absolutely stunning, but so was Lillian in that dress! "Well, whoever you get tied down to will be a lucky person! I'll personally make sure you'll be wearing a dress like that." She said, looking up at her and sighing. She decided to press into Lillian's shoulder a bit more, hopefully not hurting her in the process or anything like that. Tiffany would be a-okay with anyone she dated, just as long as they were nice, smart, and hot. Deep down inside, however, she hoped that she would be the girl to lock up Lillian. Tiffany then looked up once again as she mentioned what she was thinking.

"I've never had a slumber party, so I wouldn't know, seniorita." She said, allowing her roommate to get up and stretch and whatnot. Admittedly, she was a bit startled when Lillian suddenly mentioned split ends. "Split ends?! Oh no! No bueno!" She said, grabbing a lock of her hair and looking at exactly Lillian was talking about. "Man, I really should get new shampoo. Not good for my hair!" She complained, before Lillian mentioned a spa, "Are there even any spas around here? We should go really soon before we're sucked up by school and practice!" Tiffany got up with Lillian, feeling weird that she was the only person still on the bed.

"Lucky guys? Not really - no." She said, in a rather happy manner actually, "Either I wasn't interested in them or they were creeps. Plenty of guys hit on me both in Cali and overseas." She complained, playing with a lock of her hair to pass the time. "What about for you? I'm sure you had quite the bit of guys get at you with that dress of yours!" She said, walking over to her and punching her lightly once again. Before she could say anything further, her stomach grumbled loudly. "Aww man! I forgot I hadn't eaten since this morning." She said, looking at Lillian. "Why don't you say we continue this catching up at lunch? I still have stories to tell!" Tiffany then went into her bag, taking out little track and field sack and putting her wallet inside of it.

Tiffany's flip-flops flip-flopping could be heard down the hallway as she headed her way to the front door, "Come on, seniorita! Let's walk around and see what looks good! Also helps us get situated with our surroundings and takeout!" Tiffany then realized how hot it was outside, and figured she didn't need her hoodie so much. She pulled off her sack and put her phone inside, before taking off her hoodie and exposing a plain white athletic tank-top. It was like she was ready to run, even though she was wearing flip-flops. She put her sack back on, before turning to Lillian, "You lead the way, you've been here longer than I have!"

 

[Artemis]

Lillian rose an eyebrow. "Sweetie, unfortunately, the majority of the male species creep me out," she said. Flinching from the playful bunch, Lillian gasped as she playfully slapped Tiffany's arm. "Oh, no need to get physical, Tif! Other than my creepy cousin? There was this one guy, Tif. Kinda of cute. Rugged beard. Fit body. Rare in Mexico in my opinion. I danced with him for a bit, but - like you - I suppose I wasn't interested. My sister thought I was loco. What were her words? Oh! She called me crazy, high standard, loco. God, la nina is adorable but nosy! Lillian heard Tiffany's stomach growl as she looked at the girls stomach and marveled her abs that Lillian knew she had for the briefest of moments. Grinning at the idea, Lillian walked towards her desk and pulled out her wallet in her free hoodie pocket. She blinked. "Wait, it's midday. Past midday. It's going to be hot, no?"

Walking to the wardrobe, she looked over her shoulder. "I'm going to change, Tif! I'll meet you at the door?" Unzipping her hoodie, she hung it up leaving her only in her white tank top. She quickly slipped on an orange Under Armor shirt and kept her black capris leggings. Walking to her desk, she grabbed her black and grey Under Armor sack pack. Tossing her wallet and phone in her bag, she quickly made her way to the door as she rose an eyebrow at Tiffany. "Didn't make you wait long did I, chica? Can't look like a bum walking around campus you know. Ready?" Lillian gave Tiffany a once over. "Oi chica, if your body doesn't scream campus athlete, I don't know what will! Lets show the other athletes a real athlete's body, no?"

Grabbing Tiffany's arm, Lillian led them out as she turned around and locked the door before walking to her destination. For the past few days, she had scooped out the campus - even though she already memorized it from freshman year. They had to go to the north side. Lillian and her parents had eaten at a Mexican place there. It was affordable and the food was delicious. "So amiga, I was thinking that, since you told me to lead the way, we'd go for some Mexican food," she said. She snapped her fingers. "Not Chipotle. Too American. No, we're going to a local restaurant. Low key, but the food is authentic! As good as Mexico - well almost. Now, for me showing you this wonderful place, you have stories to tell me, no?"

Lillian enjoyed listening to Tiffany talk. It didn't matter what it was. Heck, it could be about sheep - though hopefully Tiffany wouldn't resort to something that boring. Crossing the street, Lillian waved the swimmers she saw on her morning run as they gave her 'the look'. Lillian shook her head. "Show one little sign of friendliness and guys automatically sexify it." She laughed. "Some select women as well, but that's besides the point. They're actually really nice. If they caught your eye, we can stop by after their evening swim. Who knows? Maybe they'll glisten like those chiflado vampiros." Lillian laughed as they stopped at a crosswalk. At that moment, Lillian's stomach growled. She stuck out her tongue. "You made me hungry, chica. The burritos where we're going. Oh, muy bien!"

When the crosswalk flashed walk, Lillian led the two a few more blocks north until they came upon a small building. She looked up and saw the sign 'Vasquez'. It looked run down from the outside, but the inside was homey. The decor had a very Mexicano feel to it. Opening the door, Lillian waved Tiffany in. "Entrar mi amiga." She followed Tiffany in as she looked at the counter. Her smile broadened. "Hola senor Vasquez? Esta bien?"

A middle aged man with bronze skin looked up. Though he looked at a bouncer, Lillian knew he was a sweetheart. "Senorita? Bienvenida! Como estan tus padres?"

"They're doing just fine senor. I brought mi amiga to brave your exquisite cuisine!"

Vasquez laughed as he motioned to the table in the corner. "All yours chica. Today's lunch menu's on the table."

"Gracias, senor!"

Leading the two back to the table, Lillian took a seat as she motioned for Tiffany to do so as well. Lillian glanced to the left as a local Mexicano band was playing. "Chica, no take out, we'll eat here. Si? The atmosphere. Love it! The menu changes everyday, depends on what Vasquez wants to make. So ... oh! Enchilada, burritos, no! Tacos de Matamoros? Oh chica! Think of the holy grail of tacos - or burrito. Depends actually. Oh, I'm getting that!" She looked at Tiffany. "Um, if you couldn't tell, I'm really excited to eat here. Heh..."

​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany waited for Lillian patiently as she changed. She leaned against the wall adjacent to the door and hummed to herself, folded arms and tapping her foot rather anxiously. If Tiffany didn't have something to occupy her in situations where she had to wait, something would be shaking, whether it would be her leg or her hand. Tiffany was a ball of energy, once she was fully awake of course. Otherwise, she was as lazy as a sloth. She often required more than 9 hours of sleep to even feel proper, but she was known to operate on less than an hour of sleep at one point. That was the lowlight of her high school career, unfortunately.

She heard Lillian's footsteps get progressively louder, obviously indicating she was close. Once she heard her voice, she turned and smiled, "Oh, not at all, chica!" She said, looking down at her as she looked at her, "Oh stop, Lillian! You're gonna make me blush!" She said, "And you know I don't blush that often!" Tiffany made not blushing a point, because once her cheeks turned red, then it wouldn't stop for a long, long time. "Let's show those athletes who's body is boss!" She said, poking Lillian in the gut lightly before being dragged out by her roommate. Her pull was very strong for a lady like her, which definitely assisted in the sprints that she did.

Tiffany knew the majority of the campus like the back of her hand, but there were still some points on the campus she had never been to before. Hopefully she wouldn't get lost or anything like that if she had classes over there. Speaking of which, she still needed to find out what classes she was going to have. She was wondering where exactly Lillian would lead her, hopefully it was something good. Something inside of her suspected it was something along the lines of Hispanic cuisine, but she wouldn't solidify her prediction. There was a bunch of other stuff around campus too. "Mexican food? Strange, I was actually craving that not too long ago! You know me so well, Lillian!" She beamed, "Of course not Chipotle, that stuff is like Panda Express to me, it just ain't the same, and it isn't authentic."

Tiffany then chuckled as she mentioned an authentic Mexican restaurant, "Something deep down inside of me knew that you were going to suggest something like that. That isn't racist, no?" She hoped, because to anyone else that would've sounded incredibly racist and she wanted to avoid being racist and stuff like that in general. "Well, a deal is a deal, I guess! Stories over Mexican food. How fun!" She beamed as she continued to walk along. Tiffany's decision to take off her sweater was good one, as this was absolutely sweltering and she was only wearing a tank top! She put her sunglasses down, blocking out all those harmful UV rays from her eyes.

Although she didn't look at Lillian directly, she could see her waving at a group of swimmers in the corner of her eye. She was wondering what all that was about, maybe it was something along the lines of flirting? She would have to ask Lillian about this funny business. "Same! I waved to a guy at a party once and within 10 minutes he asked me for my number. I gave him a false one." She said, groaning in disgust and waving it away. "Chiflando Vamprios...? I don't Spanish, Lillian! I don't know what that is." Tiffany retorted with a frowny face. As Lillian expressed just how hungry she was, Tiffany had the perfect comment, "Was it I who made you hungry? Or was it those swimmers?" She teased, sticking out her tongue.

The walk to the north seemed like forever, since she had no idea where she was going. Before long they walked across a rather humble looking Mexican restaurant, which certainly charmed her. Lillian opened the door for her and Tiffany thanked as she walked in, before eyeing a man who was sitting nearby. She waited for Lillian to come in since this was a foreign land to her and she didn't know how to get around in here. Lillian greeted her, and immediately Tiffany knew that this was definitely a welcoming place, not that she had any suspicions saying otherwise. As Lillian finished exchanging formalities, she waved at the man, "Hola!"

Tiffany then took a seat as Lillian pointed to it, sitting down and wondering what she wanted to eat. She was set on an enchilada, but she had no idea what the menu was since it was apparently changed every day. A certain someone was definitely enthusiastic to eat here, but she didn't blame her, it must've felt just like home. "I don't blame you, this just proves this place is delicious!" Tiffany then looked around for a second, before finalizing her thoughts, "I think I will have a chicken enchilada. Can you order for me in Spanish? I don't really know how order in Spanish, or Spanish in general."

 

[Artemis]

Lillian grinned. "It certainly does feel like home! Mama's cooking is second to none. For my tastes anyway," she said. Giving the menu another once over, Lillian what she simply must order. She heard Tiffany's choice and nodded. She was about to turn around and tell Vasquez their order, but the man had already walked over with two cups of water. Iced water. "Senor, Me gustaria ordenar tacos de matamoros y enchilada de pollo, por favor." Lillian motioned towards the water. "Gracias senor!"

"No pasa nada, senorita." Vasquez looked at Tiffany. "You can order in English too, senorita," he said. "Spanish is easier, but english okay as well. I'll make it ... good, senorita."

"Muchas gracias," Lillian said as she watched Vasquez leave. Taking her cup of water, she took a long sip. The cool liquid felt wonderful after braving the afternoon sun. Lillian was used to it, but it was still uncomfortable. "He's a sweet heart," she said as she listened to the band play. "Mi familia and I discovered this place by accident. Actually, we got lost. Papa was pretty adverse to going to Chipotle, so I had to map quest something more homey. We were going to some fancier version of Chipotle until we stumbled upon this wonderful little gem. They always made it a point to eat here. I'm sure the food reminds them of Mexico. Responsibly priced to for the quality. Tad bit cheaper than Chipotle. Confession, I love that place when I'm on the go!"

Leaning a bit closer to Tiffany over the table, Lillian gave her a mischievous look. "If you ever want to work on your espanol, you can always just give me a shout, chica," she said. "If you like the place, brush up on some phrases and wow Vasquez. Literally, whenever I see white people speak espanol in front of him, Vasquez literally doesn't know how to respond. He looks like a surprised cartoon character! Adorable! I think you'll like it though. I hope. Real Mexican food tastes different in a good way. Speaking of languages, I still wanna know where you're from, Tif!" Lillian pouted. "Why don't you wanna tell me? Still don't trust devilish old me?"

Sitting back in her chair, she wrapped her arms around her waist. "Stories too! You promised stories, Tiffany!"​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany looked absolutely confused as Lillian made her order. That was indicated by the puzzled look on her face as she heard the rapid fire Spanish go on around her. If this was a restaurant based on Tiffany's native cuisine, then the tables would be turned and fire off in her own native tongue(s). Tiffany was startled as Vasquez talked at her, she wasn't really expecting him to talk to her but it happened. "O-Okay... gracias, senor?" She said, rather sheepishly. She was slowly sinking down her chair, the gravity of this situation slowly pushing her down her chair with every second that passed by. Once he walked away she scooted back up to her original position, thankful that the awkward situation had ended.

"He's a sweetheart." She said, before leaning in to whisper into Lillian's ear, "But he scares me! I don't know why!" She said, before backing away and sitting back down. Tiffany then listened to how exactly Lillian and her family stumbled upon this rather lovely restaurant, with the intimidating Vasquez. She watched the band play away the upbeat tunes originating from the land of Mexico, and couldn't help but to tap her foot along to the beat. She was always a fan of listening to Mariachi bands play, always upbeat and livened up parties. Those bands have been to a few of the parties she had attended in the past, and they always livened it up like Tapatio on a boring sandwich.

"Mi espanol?" She asked, "What's wrong with mi espanol? Mi espanol es muy bien!" She said, dropping her enthusiasm, "Not really. No, everything I know is from you or long long ago." She said, as she mentioned Vasquez. "I'm not White, I'm Asian! Don't know that many Asians that speak Spanish, sadly." Tiffany responded, before Lillian asked where exactly she was from yet again. "Mm... I think I'll opt for the stories!" She said, dodging the question yet again. Even Tiffany's parents didn't know what kinds of ethnicities they had inside of them, since Tiffany and her siblings were of many, many ethnicities, but there was one that was bigger than the rest.

Tiffany took out her phone and unlocked it with a press of her thumb, before swiping to the next item after what she stopped on. She turned the phone over as she showed a video of her at a martial arts gym of some sort. "Here's me brushing up on some old skills from an old martial art that just happened to be where I was." She said, as she used those legs to kick the punching bag as hard as she could. Nobody could tell if her strength came from her technique or if it was just the sheer strength of her legs, or a mix. Either way, if someone were to get hit by one it would definitely hurt, possibly for a long long time.

"My brother kicks way harder, but he's long retired now." She said sadly, as she swiped to the next photo. It was a photo of her being carried by her younger brother, who complained that there wasn't a place for him to work out. "My brother said that he wanted to work out, and since we were taking a walk in the streets - I jumped on his back and made him carry me for a long distance!" She said, chuckling. "Older sisters for the win!" She said, before swiping to the next photo. This photo was rather hilarious as it was a picture of Tiffany all sprawled on her bed after everyone had woken up for the day. "Yeah, somehow my siblings got my phone and took a picture while I was still asleep." She said, tsking and tapping her chin.

"Last one, then you owe me!" Tiffany swiped yet again, this time to a photo back in California. It was a picture of her on top of Mission Peak in Fremont, CA. She was hugging the totem pole at the top along with her sisters, "We all had the crazy idea to make the 5.73 mile run up this mountain trail thingy, and we all made it! It was painful, but we made it!" She said, swiping the photo to show a picture of just how badly Tiffany had sweat during the run. The back of her white t-shirt was completely drenched, which was something not even a practice in the sweltering sun had done. "Alright! Your turn!"

Eventually, Vasquez came by with their food, and by all goodness it smelled like the most delicious thing in the world. "Gracias!" Tiffany squeaked out as she looked at her enchilada. She was practically drooling, but she didn't know if she should start immediately or simultaneously. "Oh goodness, this smells so good!" Tiffany beamed, as she took her utensils and cut a chunk, taking a bite. "Tastes even better!"

 

[Artemis]

Lillian leaned forward as she watched the video on the phone. Tiffany did martial arts too? Continuing to watch with interest, Lillian was beginning to realize she knew very little about her teammate. Martial arts being a prime example. It was such a turn on. "I knew you were a fighter, but this is just awesome, Tif!" she said. The power that she saw at each impact was amazing. Those slender legs had so much power. "What's next? You're not going to tell me you can walk on water, eh chica?"

Looking at the next picture, Lillian snorted. She wished her sister was as active as her. Having a close by running buddy made the arduous habit easier. Lillian was a bit jealous actually. Everyone in the picture seemed they were having fun. Particularly Tiffany who was riding on her brother's back. Lillian burst out laughing as she saw Tiffany's sleeping picture. Twisted and turned across her bed, she looked so cute, so vulnerable. There was hardly any tension in her facial expression - a rare sight for Lillian. But now, Lillian was sure she'd say first hand how the woman slept. "I suppose I'll have to get used to sights like that, si?" she asked as she looked back at Tiffany. "I swear though, chica. If you take sleeping pictures of me? That will not be bueno, senorita!"

When Lillian saw the last picture, she smiled as it reminded her of her family's outings back in Texas and Mexico. If she had more time, she'd love to beg her parents to take her on another trip into the wild. She was not a sedentary, house girl. Far from it. She loved the breeze of the mountain peaks, the sound of a river tapping against the creek bed, and the bonfires as marsh mellows were roasted. The music - her father on the guitar - always completed the night. It had been too long. Their last trip was when she was in high school. This summer - or winter break - she would convince them to go. "I'm jealous, Tif," she said as she sombred a bit. "Before I had to worry about practicing everyday for track, going to places like that was what my folks always loved to do. When sports became my life, they supported me, but I knew they were sad. You could just tell. Anyway, I'll have to visit that place sometime! Maybe walk up that trail myself - or with someone!"

Hearing that it was her turn, Lillian reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. "Compared to you chica, I think my break was pretty tame!" Pulling up her gallery of pictures, she found a picture of her on a surf board wearing a blue swimsuit with white and black board shorts. "Believe it or not, I can surf, chica! Other than working on my fabulous tan and flirting with the senori-- chicos, I jumped in on a surfing competition. Placed a wicked tenth overall. Lost my edge, but this girl's still got it, si? Papa bought a professional picture - not my choice. I have it in our room actually! Forgot to hang that beauty up. Yes, Tif, unfortuantely, I'm a narcissist to be!"

Swiping her finger to the right, Lillian's face turned a deep shade of red as she almost dropped her phone. She hadn't realized how far back the phone jumped. Sitting in the cabin of a ferris wheel, her old self was freaking out as her eyes were glued to the window. She remembered that day clearly. To this day, Lillian was afraid of heights. Her father had convinced her to go up with him, which she ended up doing. Though her phobia of heights still remained, which was why she never wanted to get on a plane, it was better.

Thankful for when the dishes came, she quickly put her phone on sleep mode as she looked at the taco that Vasquez put in front of her. "Smells good, senor!" She saw Tiffany say thanks as she began to dig into her enchilada. When Vasquez walked off, Lillian picked up her taco and took a mouthful. She closed her eyes. Simply delicious. She put her order done. "Now, Tiffany. I'll have you know that I'm well over my fear of heights - something you shall not tell a single soul, si? Anyway, the food. Good right? May I assume you're satisfied, chica?"

Taking another bite of her meal, Lillian wiped her mouth with a napkin as she took in the sheer size of the thing. "Dios mio! They expect me to finish this?" she said as she pointed towards the taco. "Game on senor Vasquez. Game on. Say Tiffany. This season, you think coach is going to keep us only sprinting or mixing it up a bit? I mean, I got the scholarship for my super human sprinting abilities and stellar looks. Obviously. But, I do admit, variety is nice, si?"​

 

[nebula]

Tiffany looked on as Lillian began to go on about her vacation. She had no idea Lillian was a surfer! "I would never think you were a surfer, but now that I've seen this photo, color me a believer!" She said, listening to Lillian elaborate on the photo in front of her. She really did like how she rocked that swim suit and those board shorts. "Competing in the offseason? Wow, looks like someone's been busy!" She said, realizing how lacking of competition her summer was. If Tiffany's friends and families were to describe her in one word, it would be "competitive". She made a competition out of a lot of things, and thrived under pressure! That was just the sort of thing that ran in her family, and made them all exceptional athletes! "Perhaps when we get back, we can take a look at that photo!" She said, before Lillian swiped again.

She looked at Lillian's reaction to the photo, and guessing on the reaction she probably shouldn't look. She put a hand up, but opened up two fingers to allow at least an eye to see what the photo was all about. Once she realized it wasn't that bad, she put her hand down and chuckled. "Lillian, fearful? That's like - mindblowing!" She said, making a gesture signaling the exploding of her mind. Tiffany did have some fears herself, but losing was one of the biggest ones, the other being spiders and snakes.

Tiffany took another bite of the enchilada, and the flavors mixing in her mouth just brought her many happy feelings! Tiffany swallowed and wiped her mouth, nodding. "Oh si, chica!" She said, taking a sip of water. "I feel so guilty for eating this though! I'm supposed to start the season diet soon!" She groaned, knowing she would have to give up many of her favorite foods for the sake of winning. "I think Coach sent us an email talking about how he might enter some of us into decathlons at some point, but for the most point we're probably going to be sprinting." Lillian did have a point though, variety would have been very nice.

Eventually, Tiffany managed to finish her enchilada and lied back, rubbing her stomach and wiping her face. "Oh my goodness... that was the best enchilada I've ever had!" She said, before taking off her bag and fishing out her credit card and ID, and placing in the bill that had been placed on the table. "I swear, Lillian, if you dare take my credit card out... I will...." Tiffany burped quietly, "Ah I won't do anything, but don't take my credit card!" She said. Vasquez came by and took the bill like a hawk, going to pay for their very delicious lunch. "Do you want to go back to the apartment and just chill out? I am soo full, I can't do much walking!" She said, getting her credit card, ID, and the bill back. She placed those cards where they belonged, and did all the tips and stuff like that before getting up and walking out the restaurant, "Come on chica, andale!"