I latched onto her the moment I found her in the crowd. Networking through the mass throngs of my peers was more intimidating to me than jumping off a cliff. And I was glad to see a familiar face.
We knew each other from before, and I knew she would be a good roomate for a semester spent in Chicago. This girl- we'll call her "Seema"- I adopted like a younger sister. She was only a year younger than I, but her tiny 4'8" frame, youthful appearance, and naivity about life all made her seem a bit childish.
Seema was my rock the whole time I was there. She & I made food together, shopped together, and watched the entire "Alias" series on my silver laptop. The laptop that served as computer, stereo, and dvd player for all three of us.
Oh yes, there was a third roomate who shared our overpriced 1 bedroom apartment in the Gold Coast; the expensive neighborhood north of downtown Chicago. We lived within walking distance of Lake Michigan, but the lake was frozen for almost the whole time we lived there.
It was a cold and gritty semester. I developed a knack for being tardy everywhere I went, including my daily internship. I always blamed my tardiness on having to deal with public transportation- something that was also new to me. And sometimes, it was the CTA's fault that I was late.
But back to the beginning of this story.
Seema and I knew each other from before. We had lived on the same wing of an all girls dorm, and because I was in the International Club at college, and she was an International student, we were forced to be friends. Still, I was suprised at how well we got along in Chicago despite our differences.
She was a little Indian girl, from the country of Quatar, pronounced "Kuther" per Seema. "All American's pronounce it wrong," she would say.
To her I must have seemed a typical American girl, who ate way too much fast food and complained everyday about desperately missing my friends. She had a gentle heart and was self disciplined, despite her shyness. Seema would pray 3 times a day in the hall closet; the same place she would talk on the phone. I wanted nothing more than to see and sleep with my boyfriend of 6 months; she had never been kissed and refused to touch a drop of alcohol.
We were different you see. But we found each other when we were lonely.
(to be continued...)
