for want of spice [sophia]

[sophia vivian williams]

Living off campus? That was something that Sophia had almost thought about doing but because she didn’t know anyone on the island before coming to it and she didn’t know her way around the campus, she had chosen to live in a dorm. This allowed her to live in an environment where her roommates would have to keep all of the rules and hopefully remain at a volume decibel that would allow her to sleep at night and perhaps study in the day. She was happy to find that her current room mates were nice, if not a bit distant but she missed having someone whom she was completely comfortable around.

“How close is your flat to the beach?” This was an important question because the beach was awesome and swimming in the ocean was the best thing ever. It gave you quite a work out because you had to swim against the current going in and then stay out of the waves when you got out far enough and then you had to try not to get knocked over getting out of the water again.

Sophia took the brand of butter that Chai was pointing at. She set it in her basket and turned to him. “Did you have anything else you wanted to get?”

[willem van der holt]

Chai had decided to live off campus because, shortly after arriving, he met Jack, who would later become one of his best friends. Wanting to live together, but living in separate years, the only logical solution was to move off campus, which they did. Chai couldn't have asked for a better room-mate: it was quiet when it needed to be quiet and rambunctious all other times. Plus, Jack didn't seem to mind that Chai was growing a small herbal garden in his bedroom, something he probably couldn't have gotten away with while living in a dormitory. Nevertheless, the off-campus option had definitely been the wisest choice for the Dutch, who probably would have been too overwhelmed in a dorm.

He shrugged over the question, "Twenty minute," but that was not of concern. Chai was not a beachgoer. He liked to protect his skin jealously from the sun and was not much of a swimmer. Being tall and gangly did not make for an effective swimmer and he more splashed around while trying not to drown. It was close enough to the beach where, if he opened his windows, he could get that nice, salty smell and the faint sound of crashing waves, but still far enough away where he never felt obligated to go because a twenty minute walk was quite a long walk.

He shook his head, "I have more than I need," he laughed a little. A small trip to the grocery store for a few things turned in to something much larger. Glancing at his basket, he was buying much more than he had anticipated. It was okay though, he'd need it later in the week, so, if nothing else, it'd save him a trip.

[sophia vivian williams]

Sophia thought that twenty minutes didn’t sound so bad. A twenty minute walk was at most a ten minute bike ride. That was a length of time that was perfect for a trip to the beach. Sometimes she liked to walk around the island but mostly she liked to bike, when she could. It was faster but she lost the ability to carry as much.

When Chai said he was done shopping Sophia asked the next crucial question. “Well then…. shall we check out now?” She didn’t really want to be the one to make someone go where they didn’t want too but she knew that it would probably be a good idea to go towards the front but she wanted to wait and make sure that Chai was ready to go.

“Do you… Um… have any family around here?” Thinking of cooking made her think of family. Then she wondered if maybe Chai had any family around here because Florida was a little bit of an odd place to end up if you weren’t from the US and his accent didn’t really sound like something she knew of being in the states very often. If he had family around here that would explain his being here.