Krista

Krista never understood the appeal of roommates. She wasn’t exactly a people person, and being the polar opposite of most didn’t make it any easier. That’s how she ended up with Angelo, her complete opposite in every way.

Angelo was loud, bubbly, and relentlessly cheerful—everything Krista wasn’t. He greeted her with that smile, the kind that practically demanded a response, while she mumbled a brief “Hey” and buried her face in a book. She preferred solitude, and the idea of sharing a space with someone so alive made her itch.

But Krista needed a place, and Angelo, despite his excessive optimism, had been the only option. He practically begged her to be his roommate when she was desperate, and the alternative was a basement with no windows.

The first few weeks were awkward. Krista holed up in her room, shutting down his constant attempts at small talk with one-word replies. “Pizza?” Angelo would ask, holding up a box like it was some kind of peace offering.

“No.”

But Angelo didn’t back off. He’d play music loudly, dance around in mismatched socks, and try to drag her into his world of non-stop cheer. “Do you ever stop?” she’d ask flatly.

“Only when I sleep,” he’d answer, grinning.

She was blunt and cold, always short in her responses. “Then sleep.”

Despite herself, Krista found his persistence irritatingly... endearing. She didn’t want to admit it, but his constant energy chipped away at her icy exterior. He was a reminder that maybe she wasn’t as cold as she liked to think.

She never let it show, of course. But deep down, she couldn’t deny that Angelo’s refusal to leave her alone might have been the one thing that kept her from feeling completely alone.

Krista scrolls through her phone, then taps out a message

"Don’t need help. I’m fine."