Page 28 of The Devil Wears Tartan

We pass a roommate I may or may not have met before and exchange waves as we make our way down the hall lined with bedrooms.

“Get in here so I can tell you away from prying ears!” Lydia urges, motioning like she’s directing a plane on a runway as she swings her door open at the end of the hall.

She’s fully immersed in the university student string light craze, with multi-coloured orbs hung in swaths along her ceiling and outlining her window frame. The walls are covered with Polaroid photos, colourful typography spelling out political slogans, and shelves housing souvenirs from our year of travelling the world together.

Lydia dives onto her bed as soon as I shut the door behind me and pats the purple comforter. I flop down beside her and nudge her leg with mine. “Okay, spill!”

She takes a deep breath. “So, you know how I was at that climate change panel last weekend?”

I nod. “Uh-huh.”

“And you know how Daniella’s friend who I think is really hot was supposed to be there?”

I think Daniella lives in this house, but between all the roommates and all the roommates’ partners and friends, it’s hard to keep track.

I nod anyway. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, they were there, and we all went to a bar after, and then everybody left except this person I’m super into, and then we went to a different bar just the two of us, and thennn...”

“And then?” I prompt, giving her leg another nudge when her dramatic pause stretches on for way too long.

“And then I totally made out with them!”

I whoop and thump my hands against the mattress in celebration. “Yes, Lydia! You are a goddess!”

“Indeed I am,” she says, tightening her goofy little ponytail as it starts slipping out of place.

“You gonna see them again?”

She nods. “We’ve been texting, like, non-stop. They’re Jewish too! I feel like I know so many queer Jewish people online, but then in real life, I’m like, where are you at, guys? So we’ve been talking about that a lot...among other things.”

She does a little shimmy on the comforter, and I pump my fist in the air.

“I’m so happy for you,” I say. “You’ve been talking about them since school started. What’s their name again?”

“Ty,” she answers in a dreamy tone I can’t help mocking.

“Ty!” I drawl. “Oh, Tyyyyy!”

Lydia whacks my shin with her foot. “My roommates are going to hear you, and they don’t know yet!”

“They’ll know soon enough, when you’re moaning TYYYYY in here every night.”

I say the ‘Ty’ part extra loud, and Lydia rolls over to shush me as I suck in a deep breath and prepare to do it again.

“Enough, you ridiculous fool!” she says as she clamps a hand over my mouth. “You’re in quite the mood tonight.” She peels her hand back an inch, and when I don’t start screaming again, she lets me go and flops onto her back.

“It’s just nice to be here with you,” I answer. “I’ve been feeling...weird, and this helps.”

“Weird how?”

“Weird like...” I stare up at the string lights, bringing my eyes in and out of focus to turn them into hazy starbursts as I work out what to say. “Weird like it’s the Tartan Tea tomorrow, and I haven’t talked to Kenzie since that night, and I don’t know what the hell is going on there, or in my life in general.”

Lydia reaches to pat me on the shoulder. “I’m going to try really hard to be a good friend here and focus on the important parts instead of laughing at the phrase ‘Tartan Tea’ again like I really, really want to.”

I snort. Even hearing that from her makes me feel a tiny bit better. Like I told her, it’s nice to just lay here and laugh. Bed chats with Lydia are an antidote to most poisons in this world.

“I appreciate your consideration.”

---