Darn rats, Noah thought as he lifted up the couch cushions once more. How they had managed to get out of their cage was definitely a mystery. One that he hoped to solve soon.
They were nowhere to be seen, so he sighed and sat down, raking his fingers through his hair. A flicker of movement caught his eye and he glanced over at the person nearby who had a white and gray rat climbing up their pant leg. Scrambling to his feet, he tried making small talk because he doubted the person would react calmly to a rat on their leg.
Vera had her headphones in, blaring some sort of twangy guitar no passerby could decipher, and bouncing her leg as she read through her latest assignment for the roughly fifth time. Usually by the seventh read-through she’d spot the one last thing that needed to be fixed before turning it in, but, her eyes were swimming and maybe she needed to put it down for a while before going through it again.
She almost hadn’t heard the voice, if it wasn’t for the pause between her songs switching. “Oh,” Vera glanced over, yanking one earbud out so she could actually hear. She recognized him from some of her classes, “Hey, what’s up?”
“The flu sucks,” he added, head bobbing as if to affirm his belief but mostly because standing still was beginning to feel a little painful. “I think it’s the coffee one, do you know if there’s a way to like sober up but for coffee? You know like bread but not?” He asked, hoping that his line of questioning made sense. “Not really, no the whole new dimension thing is making me a little dizzy.”
“Uh, stay hydrated, I guess? Lots of water.” She grimaced, “I work at a coffee shop, you’d think I’d know some sort of cure, but, I watch people hit caffeine crashes everyday, I think it’s pretty impossible to stop once you’re in it.”
Greg felt the cold settle in, even as he grinned at her response. “Great! Good! Never better — is it cold or is that just me?” Wrapping his arms around his midsection, he tried to focus on the question asked. His head bobbed as he replied, “A little maybe, but it’s no big. You ever feel like you’re cold and hot at the same time while also feeling like maybe you’ve discovered a new dimension? It’s not so bad.”
Vera clicked her tongue, what a weird conversation to start her day. “I mean, I had the flu once and it kinda felt like that,” She continued to eye him carefully, “Maybe you’re sick? Unless you took some weird drugs, or maybe had like, a fucking ungodly, inhuman amount of coffee.” She shrugged, “The good thing is, at least 2 of those things are fixable. Unless you enjoy feeling like you discovered a new dimension? In which case, have fun?”
“this is a fucking nightmare,” he grumbled, before promptly bursting into laughter — and yes, that had certainly been too much coffee even for him. “everything is falling apart,” he snorted, a shudder interrupting him before he continued, “oh it’s just so funny and i don’t know why. how — how are you?” note to self, he thought, limit it to two lattes and one energy next time.
Vera looked over, eyebrow quirked. Somewhat in confusion, somewhat in amusement, mostly just in general concern. “Oh, I’m fine,” She couldn’t help but chuckle, the erratic energy radiating off of him was definitely something, “I think I need to know how you’re doing though. You good over there? Too much go-go juice today?”
“I think i’m going to drop out,” Lottie muttered as she tossed her pen to the side, fingers running through her hair while she leaned back in her seat, “Like really who fucking needs to actually go to college unless you’re going to be like… a fucking doctor, this is stupid, I don’t need to write a fifteen-page essay on why rock & roll changed music, it just did, simple as that.”
“I mean, you’re not wrong.” Vera looked up from her laptop, eyebrow raised, also currently typing a paper. Normally she wouldn’t be one to jump into the conversation, but, not often did the conversation actually align with one of her interests. She stretched out her arms and instinctively cracked her knuckles, “But, not everyone is as smart as us who know that. Fifteen is pretty fuckin’ extreme though.”
CHLOE BENNET / CIS FEMALE — don’t look now, but is that vera shepard i see? the 22 year old journalism student is in their junior year of study and she is a huntington alum. i hear they can be thoughtful, passionate, headstrong and defiant, so maybe keep that in mind. i bet she will make a name for herself living in turner apartments.
g’evening g’day i’m olivia and this is my sweet daughter vera who def has a chip on her shoulder and is somewhat of a yeehaw hermione with a gossip girl aesthetic, idk!! but, a bio and all of her info is below!
bio —
(cw: cancer)
The daughter of a farmer and a baker, Vera had a fairly average and simple upbringing. Maybe she never had the same mainstream clothes or cool smartphones as the rest of the kids in school, but, her home was filled with love and music and a constant reinforcement that hard work is the only thing that can bring you success.
Once college came on the horizon, Vera knew all her family could possibly afford even with all the loans was the local state school. She couldn’t bear the thought of being someone who is born, raised, and dies in the same place. So, she shirked off most high school events in favor of studying to be the best, brightest, and top of her class, in hopes to secure a spot in a prestigious school far away from the rolling hills and horses of Tennessee.
However, things got derailed when her mom suddenly fell ill just before her graduation. Vera deferred all her shiny acceptance letters and chose to stay at home her first couple years of college, taking the few classes she could afford at the local university until her mother was cancer-free.
The sunshine and beach vibes of the small, west coast Lockwood campus wasn’t the cosmopolitan New York setting she’d hoped for, but, providing the most scholarships and being the most feasible option for a transfer student, Vera packed her bags and drove a car older than herself out to California.
After all the late nights, striving for good grades to keep her scholarships, and working crappy part-time jobs to pay for the remainder of tuition and her expenses, a sudden influx of students who were paying absolutely nothing to get the same degree she had to give up so much for flared a thorny anger inside of her that has yet to subside. As she serves Rochester students coffee at work or passes them on campus the chip on her shoulder grows heavier. She just hopes to make it through to graduation without strangling someone.
personality —
Vera can be hard to get to know at first. She’s known to keep her head down and keep pushing through. Everything has a solution and there’s no time to be lazy. More than likely you’ll spot her either in the library working with headphones in or serving coffee at the local coffee shop.
She has a very, very low bullshit tolerance and will not hesitate to roll her eyes or speak her mind if you’re bugging her. She’s blunt, outspoken, and to the point, and doesn’t deal too much with anything arrogant, superficial, or flowery.
The rare few people who have been able to slide their way under her defenses have found that the passion she has for her hard work is also extended to those she cares about. 10/10 will drop everything and hide a body with you and likely already knows a good location to toss it.
Her moral compass is far too strong to the point it almost makes her rebellious. If someone is doing something wrong, she won’t let it slide and will call them out on it immediately.
At the end of the day though, she’s still a southern gal with southern hospitality who will bring friends soup to their rooms when they’re sick and always has popcorn and movies at the ready in her apartment in case of an emotional emergency.
fun facts —
She grew up loving to write, and paring that with her family’s love of music, Vera wants to be a journalist who writes about music, wether that be for a magazine or newspaper or on her own. She has a soft spot for country music as it’s what she grew up with, but she will listen to and enjoy anything.
She can’t cook much more than your standard college student fare: scrambled eggs, pasta, sandwiches, and the like. However, she is her mother’s daughter and can make you some of the best chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had.
She’s a thrifting queen!! If you want to find the most fashionable vintage outfit, she’s found every single good place around and can scour racks of clothes like a hunting dog for the cutest pieces. The clothes she thought made her an outsider when she was younger now being what’s cool and fashionable has done a lot for her self-esteem (and instagram game, lbr).
Yes, she does have a slight southern accent, and maybe she hates that she unironically says y’all far too much.,but hey, it’s endearing.
She has a record collection (like the fcking hipster she is, ugh) and loves finding the weirdest, random, quirky records she can at yard sales and the like.
She does the Lockwood radio station a few days a week for funsies and also writes for the newspaper.
i care way too much about aesthetics so may i suggest her pinterest board or her playlist (do i need to warn anyone it’s a lot of country music??) cool??
