“Let’s see… five… six… seven!” Melody smiled as she stopped in front of the door to her dorm, setting her suitcases down and turning the knob, finding it unlocked. She muttered as she opened the door, “Huh, guess either they left the dorms unlocked, or my roommate is already inside.”
Almost immediately, Melody gave a low whistle at the sight of the spacious living room. In the middle area of the room was a small circular dining table, a couch, and a flat screen tv. To the right was a simple kitchenette covering most of the space with a storage closet in the back corner. While on the left, simple computer desk sat in the corner closest to the entrance, three doors, with the two closest to Melody being open.
“Wow, wasn’t expecting it to look this nice,” Melody whispered, scanning the room once more before grabbing her bags and heading inside, stopping for a moment to close the door.
Taking a quick look inside the middle room, Melody found a simple bathroom, the only noticeable features being the toilet, sink, and a small walk-in shower. “Not bad. A bit cramped but otherwise fine,” she mused before taking a step back and walking over to the other doorway.
Inside was a rather sparsely decorated bedroom, with nothing more than a bed, dresser, and desk adorning the interior. Despite this, Melody couldn’t help but smile at the somewhat spacious area, the furniture taking up less than half of the room, leaving more than enough space for her to move around in.
“I think I’m gonna like it here,” she said as she entered the room, her hooves making an audible “clop” as they landed on the hardwood flooring. Setting her bags aside, Melody quickly shrugged off her jacket, tossing it onto the bed before pulling out her phone and turning to the dresser. Choosing a light, upbeat jazz song, Melody calmly set about moving her clothes from her suitcase to the dresser, occasionally humming along to the beat. Once she had finished, she tossed the cases under the bed before grabbing her phone and turning the music off.
“Hmm, looks like I still have plenty of time before the assembly,” she said as she checked the time on her phone. “I guess a quick nap wouldn’t hurt.” Smiling, Melody set the alarm on her phone before walking over to the bed, placing the phone on the nightstand. Just as she was about to collapse onto the comfortable looking mattress, she stopped as she heard something from the doorway. Turning around, Melody spotted a a brunette woman of average height glaring at her.
“Um, can I help you?” she asked cautiously, her tail giving a slight twitch.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” the woman replied venom obvious in her voice.
Melody blinked before answering in a neutral tone. “Planning on taking a short nap before the assembly. Is there a problem with that? This is technically my room after all.”
The woman scoffed. as she folder her arms “You must be mistaken. There’s no way someone like you could be placed in the same dorm as me.”
“Oh really,” Melody said, a small grin forming on her muzzle. “How do you explain this then?” She pulled out the piece of paper she had been given earlier and showed to the woman.
She took a step forward and stared at the paper for several seconds, her glare hardening. “This has to be some kind of error, there is no way in hell you are supposed to be the one I’m sharing a dorm with.”
“Keep saying that, maybe it’ll come true,” Melody flippantly answered with a shrug. “You could probably take it up with the principal, see if there really are any errors in the placement.” She yawned and turned back to the bed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go ahead and take that nap now.”
However, before she could follow through with her plan, the woman grabbed her arm and began pulling out of the room. “No, you’re coming with me to sort this out.”
Melody’s ears dropped as she was pulled against her will. “I don’t get a say in this, do I?”
“No!” the woman snapped, increasing her pace as they exited the dorm. “This all has to be one big mistake,” she hissed silently.
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE’S NO MISTAKE!?!” The woman, who Melody learned was named Cassandra, screamed at the principal.
The principal, for his part, simply waited calmly until Cassandra had finished before speaking. “Just has I have said, Miss Garnett, there is no mistake in assigning you to the same dorm as Miss Gonzalez.” He pulled a stack of papers from his desk and began flipping through them. “Your placement was decided as part of our academy’s inter-species relations program.” His mouth twisted in a slight grimace at the naming choice.
“... What?” Cassandra asked, still glaring at the middle-aged man.
“Inter-species relations program,” Melody said, not taking her eyes off the Newton’s cradle on the shelf behind the principal. “It’s an optional program used by most inter-species schools. Simply put, it’s purpose is to allow students that have had little interactions with a species other than their own to better understand that species by placing them in situations that make it easier to interact and learn about them. From what I’ve heard it’s proven successful for the most part, save for a few mild problems here and there.” She tapped her hoof on the floor absent mindedly before adding, “And, if you wouldn’t mind, I prefer going by my first surname, Sharpe, Principal Richardson.”
“Well then, you are absolutely correct, Miss Sharpe,” he replied, handing her a sheet of paper from the stack before flipping through it once more. “Your placement together was decided through your participation in the program. Judging Miss Sharpe’s history with making friends with both humans and ponies, it was decided she would be a suitable choice with you, Miss Garnett, due to your minimal history with non-humans.” He shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. “That’s the simplest way of putting it anyway.”
Cassandra gave a low growl as her glare increased. “For your information, I never signed up for anything like that, and once my father hears about this, he’ll make sure the funding for this school is cut to the point that you’ll be lucky if you can afford to stay open.”
He stopped and looked at her with a deadpan stare. “First off, Miss Garnett,” he started in a flat tone, “Roughly ninety percent of this schools funding comes from it’s founder, Miss Aurora Star. Secondly, your father, who I might add is actually a friend of mine, is the one that requested you be signed up for the program.” He finished by handing her a paper similar to the one he gave Melody.
“What?!?!” She growled as she looked over the document, her eyes slowly growing wide as she saw her father’s signature at the bottom of the page. “B-but, that can’t be right. I-I never agreed to this!”
“You didn’t have to,” Principal Richardson said with a neutral look, taking the papers back and returning them to the stack. “Despite being nineteen years of age, since you still live with a parent or legal guardian, in this case your father, they are still able to sign certain documents on your behalf. Your father actually came to me personally on the matter. It seems he’s rather concerned about your, for lack of a better term, refusal to interact with ponies or anthros, and felt being signed up for this program would help.”
“Loophole abuse?” Melody guessed with a smirk.
The principal chuckled slightly. “I suppose you could look at it that way,” he said once he calmed down, adjusting his glasses. “But regardless, you have been assigned to the same dorm, and unfortunately I can only reassign either of you if both parties agree, and even then, it’ll take a few weeks.” He gave a low shrug. “You’d surprised how hectic everything is here during the first month, so even if you’d like to opt out of this I’d recommend at least waiting till making the request.”
“I’m fine right where I am,” Melody said, ignoring the death glare from Cassandra. “Wouldn’t want to disappoint her father. After all.” She smiled as Cassandra let out another low growl.
“Anyway...” The principal drifted off as he turned to his computer, typing silently for a moment before reaching over to his printer as two sheets of paper came out. “You should be getting an official copy of this later today by email, but this is your current schedule,” he said as he handed them both a sheet. “Classes you have been placed in together are highlighted.” Melody raised a brow as she looked down and the paper
Class Schedule- Melody Sharpe-Gonzalez
Monday-
8:30 am: Introduction to engineering - Samantha Dimir
1:00 pm: Comparisons of Equestrian and human music- Octavia Philharmonica
Tuesday-
Extracurricular
Wednesday-
8:30 am: Drama- Beatrix Lulamoon
1:00 pm- Earth and Equestrian Law- Jacob Heins
Thursday-
Extracurricular
Friday-
8:30 am: Magic Theory- Noble Theory
1:00 pm: Track and Field- Gilda Sharptalon
“You mean to tell me,” Cassandra started, nearly tearing the paper in half with how tight her grip was. “That not only do I have to share a dorm with her,” she pointed in horror at Melody. “But I’m also stuck having all but two classes with her as well!?!”
“Actually, for the most part you both signed up for the same classes, and the ones you weren’t signed in were simply filling in open spaces both of you left. All we had to do was arrange you together.” The principal shrugged, before turning to the clock. “As much as I’d love to continue this discussion, I have to prepare for the assembly, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” He stood and gestured to the door behind them.
Cassandra opened her mouth to argue further, but was cut short by Melody as she gave a polite goodbye to the principal and made her way to the door. Cassandra stared after her for a moment, her eye twitching slightly, before giving a defeated sigh and exiting the room.