Chapter 1: 1
Chapter One
Author note - So when I first had this story idea I told myself chapters would be double what a normally write, meaning anything from 6,000 - 10,000 words per chapter... HA. This isn't that type of story. Chapters will be relatively short (depending on the scene going on) but instead of using a lot of line breaks I'll just upload another chapter. So expect a lot of quick updates with short chapters.
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Zatanna sighed and hopped out of the car, drinking in the sight of her new dorm building. It was made of thick red brick and tan stones but the potentially dry and dead building was alive with other students moving in. She could practically sense her father frowning, "are you sure we are at the right building, Zatanna? I see only girls older than you."
Zatanna gave him a smile that said you should be proud of me, "it's because I arranged to take the dorm of a graduated senior. The girls in the dorms around me are older, dad." He seemed to consider this, his thumb running over one side of his black mustache. She would miss him dearly, him and all his over protective father antics and sage advice on all things except boys her age.
"Alright, I trust you." He placed a kiss to her temple before grabbing a giant box from the back of their car and starting towards the building. Her smile beamed as they took the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid the crowds, sneaking up the staircase to the third floor of the building. It stayed plastered to her face when she found her dorm number on the front of one of the wooden doors.
Politely, she knocked and popped her head in just to be sure. A tall blonde stood when she entered, eyeing her with expertly concealed interest. "You must be Zatanna."
Zatanna nodded and set down what she was carrying to shake the girl's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Artemis. This is my dad."
In his usual extravagant way, Giovanni bowed at the waist, "Buongiorno, signorina." The blonde's eyebrows popped up but her father didn't see it, instead heading back down to the car.
Zatanna offered an apologetic smile, "sorry, he's... from Italy. Old habits die hard." For the first time, Artemis smiled.
"It's okay, my mom's Vietnamese and she still swears in it." Zatanna giggled at that, pushing her boxes back to make room for the rest of her stuff. "Here, let's go help your dad with your stuff. It will take forever otherwise."
On their trips up and down the stairs, carrying things from clothes hangers to a lamp and a fan, a toaster for their kitchenette and actual food, Zatanna got to know her roommate pretty well.
Artemis was one year older and she was currently on the field hockey team. She planned on doing lacrosse in the spring as well. Her father wasn't in her life (the reasoning behind this was not shared) but she had a good relationship with her mother and could rely on her sister should she need something.
"Thanks dad, for everything," her voice softened as she met his eyes before promptly wrapping her arms around his middle. His hands fell onto her shoulders in return.
"Stay safe, my little magician." He sounded emotional but held it together. "Call me every weekend." Zatanna smiled sadly.
"Of course I will," with that, her father stepped away and gave a final nod to Artemis before turning and leaving the two alone in the dorm room. Artemis gave the younger girl a sad but reassuring look and they set to work.
The goal was to keep things as functional as possible without compromising looks. Their beds were on opposite sides of the room with two desks in the middle. Dressers sat at the end of their beds up against the wall. On Zatanna's side sat their small counter and mini fridge, on Artemis's a couch and TV. It was a pretty homey space, and Zatanna smiled at the result.
"So do you play any sports?" Artemis asked after a good hour of unpacking and setting things up around the room.
They sat on their beds and sipped iced tea (thank god for that mini fridge) to relax and take a break. It was nearing lunch, but they had time. "Actually I've never been one for sports really. I mean, I like watching the games, but I'm more there to take pictures than anything else."
"You're a photographer?"
"It's my passion, I want to run a studio when I'm older," she set down her drink to carefully pluck a case from one of her shelves. Then she pulled out her camera, "this's my baby, Rebel." Artemis chuckled at the pet name, "He's a Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR, which is just a fancy way of saying if I drop this my dad will be pissed." Artemis full out laughed at that and took the device from Zatanna's hands to examine it.
"You know, you should look into the school paper, I've got a friend who runs the website and tech stuff, he might be able to hook you up. Of course I don't know if you're any good, but it's worth a try." Zatanna grinned and took the camera back, drawing the strap around her neck and letting it rest there like usual.
"I suppose I'll look into it."
"He's cute, by the way." Zatanna's head snapped up like Artemis said she had the plague.
"The friend of mine. He's single." Zatanna felt her own eyes widen.
"Uhh, actually I don't think that's a good idea."
"Ohhh, you have a boyfriend already."
"What- no no, I'm just... not comfortable with idea of dating so early in the school year." Artemis shrugged it off and returned to her bed, sipping from her ice tea.
"Suit yourself. What else should I know about you? Any allergies, interest facts, quirks, pet peeves?"
Knowing now was a good a time as any Zatanna spoke the first thing that came to mind, "yeah actually... I graduated from an all-girls high school." Artemis choked on her drink, a reaction Zatanna had gotten many times over. No one ever seemed to grasp the concept of not having the opposite sex around every day of the school year.
"Catholic school?" Something in Artemis's eyes screamed both worry and suspicion. Zatanna sought to squash that something.
"No, it was just a regular all girls private school." That something lessened, but still it persisted. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm going to be blunt: the boys are going to love you." Zatanna frowned slightly.
"Is that a bad thing?" Artemis shrugged a bit and tipped her head back to get the last of her iced tea.
"Not necessarily, just make sure you know who you're flirting with beforehand, alright? Girls at this school guards their guys like rabid dogs." Zatanna giggled at the imagery, happy to have the situation diffused. "Now come on, let's get some lunch. There are some people I want you to meet."
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