Check-In
RIYA
If our apartment ever caught fire, I honestly think nobody would notice for at least ten minutes.
Not because we were irresponsible.
Mostly because chaos had become our natural environment.
“WHO took my white hoodie?”
“No idea,” Dev answered from the kitchen.
I turned slowly.
He was literally wearing it.
“You know,” I said calmly, “one day I’m actually going to kill you.”
“Can you do it after breakfast?”
Across the living room, Riyan was lying upside down on the couch throwing popcorn into his mouth and missing almost every attempt. Music blasted from upstairs, one balcony door kept banging against the wall because nobody closed it properly, and the dining table had completely disappeared under coffee cups, sunglasses, chargers, and random expensive things nobody cared enough to pick up.
Probably because we all assumed Ferit eventually would.
Actually no.
I looked around once.
Ferit would never leave his things there.
That boy organized his life like he was running a small country.
“Riyan,” I snapped while dragging my suitcase across the floor, “if you put one more useless thing inside my bag, I swear I’ll leave you homeless.”
“I’m helping.”
“You packed instant noodles.”
“You’ll miss me emotionally.”
“I’ll survive.”
“Liar.”
I rolled my eyes and tried closing my suitcase again.
It refused.
“Why is this thing not shutting?”
“Because you packed enough outfits for a fashion week,” Dev said.
“It’s a ten-day trip.”
“That makes it worse.”
The trip had sounded exciting at two in the morning.
Now, standing in the middle of our disaster apartment while trying not to sit on someone’s half-eaten sandwich, I was slightly questioning my life decisions.
A travel company had organized this girls-only group trip where strangers from different cities traveled together safely.
New place.New people.New experiences.
Apparently I wanted “growth.”
According to the boys, I needed therapy instead.
“Where’s my passport?”
Nobody answered.
I straightened slowly.
“Guys.”
Still nothing.
A dangerous silence settled over the apartment.
Then—
“WHY IS EVERYONE IGNORING ME?”
Riyan looked up lazily. “Because this happens every single time you leave the house.”
“I’m serious!”
“Check your tote bag,” Dev said.
“It’s not there.”
“It is,” another voice said calmly.
Ferit.
I turned toward the dining table.
He sat there with his laptop open, sleeves pushed slightly up his arms, looking completely unaffected by the chaos happening around him.
“How do you know?” I asked suspiciously.
“You put it there last night while complaining about airline baggage limits.”
I blinked.
Then immediately opened the front pocket of my tote bag.
The passport was there.
Silence.
Dev slowly lowered his coffee. “That’s actually terrifying.”
Riyan pointed dramatically at Ferit. “One day we’re going to discover hidden cameras in this house.”
Ferit barely looked up. “If I had cameras, half your existence would already be deleted.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “You watched me panic for five minutes.”
“You seemed busy. I didn’t want to interrupt.”
“I hate everyone here.”
“No you don’t,” Dev replied instantly.
Annoyingly, he was right.
The apartment was loud, invasive, messy, and impossible to live in peacefully. But somewhere between movie nights, midnight food runs, sleeping on couches after long days, and stupid breakfast arguments, we had accidentally become a family.
A very dysfunctional one.
An hour later, we were somehow still late.
Riyan almost forgot the luggage trolley downstairs.Dev kept taking horrible candid pictures “for memories.”And Ferit—
Ferit silently fixed every problem before it became an actual problem.
Like always.
I noticed it absentmindedly while we waited for the elevator.
The way everyone naturally depended on him.
Not intentionally.
Just automatically.
If something went wrong, we all looked for Ferit first.
Which was funny considering he acted irritated by human existence most of the time.
“You packed your charger this time?” he asked without looking up from his phone.
“Yes.”
“Miracles happen.”
I gasped dramatically. “Why are you all so hateful before noon?”
“Because you’re loud before noon,” Dev replied.
Riyan leaned against the elevator wall and sighed. “You two genuinely sound like divorced parents fighting over custody.”
Ferit gave him a flat look.
Riyan grinned immediately. “There he is.”
The drive to the airport was louder than necessary.
Dev and Riyan argued over music in the backseat while I scrolled through the travel itinerary pretending I wasn’t nervous.
Ten days with strangers.
What if they were weird?
Actually worse—
what if they were boring?
“If your random roommate murders you,” Riyan said from the backseat, “can I keep your speaker?”
I turned around. “You people are sick.”
“I’m practical.”
Ferit drove with one hand resting lazily on the steering wheel, occasionally telling them to shut up without actual success.
Outside the car window, the city blurred past in soft morning light.
And for the first time that day, excitement slowly returned.
Maybe this trip would actually be fun.
Maybe I’d come back emotionally healed.
The thought lasted exactly seven seconds before Dev spoke again.
“Don’t emotionally adopt strangers.”
“Too late,” Riyan said. “She already does that with waiters.”
“At least they appreciate me.”
“No,” Ferit said calmly. “They fear you.”
I stared at him. “That was rude.”
“It was accurate.”
At the airport, the chaos somehow continued.
Riyan got distracted by snacks.Dev nearly lost one suitcase.I forgot where I kept my boarding pass for a full minute and almost passed away dramatically.
Meanwhile Ferit quietly handled everything before any disaster fully happened.
Like always.
“You have everything?” Dev asked.
“Yes.”
“Passport?”
“Yes.”
“Brain?”
“Debatable,” Riyan answered for me.
I threw a napkin at him.
While searching through my bag again, my boarding pass slipped from my hand and nearly fell to the floor before Ferit caught it midair without even reacting.
Then he handed it back with the most unimpressed expression possible.
“If you lose this,” he said, “I’m going home.”
“You’re so supportive.”
“I try my worst.”
I suddenly looked at all three of them standing there and felt a tiny ache in my chest.
Disgusting.
I blamed emotional instability immediately.
“You people are going to miss me terribly.”
“Absolutely not,” Dev replied.
“You’ll cry.”
“We’ll celebrate.”
Riyan wiped fake tears dramatically. “Fly high, brave soldier.”
I hugged them anyway.
Dev first.Then Riyan, who complained the entire time.Finally Ferit.
Quick.Casual.Normal.
“Text when you land,” he said.
“I always do.”
“Good. Saves us from filing missing person reports.”
The boarding announcement echoed through the airport.
I walked backward toward security with a grin.
“Don’t destroy the apartment while I’m gone.”
“No promises,” Dev called out.
“And don’t emotionally adopt strangers!” Riyan shouted.
I laughed before finally turning away.
Two hours later, I stood inside the hotel lobby rereading my roommate details.
Seyran
Twenty-four.Recently moved for work.
That was basically all the information available.
Very mysterious.Slightly serial-killer-ish.
I adjusted my bag and looked around the lobby.
Families.Tourists.Couples dragging luggage everywhere.
Then I noticed a girl sitting quietly near the large window.
Dark hair.Coffee cup in hand.Headphones resting around her neck.
Not scrolling through her phone like everyone else.
Just sitting there calmly, watching the rain outside.
Something about her felt strangely still.
Like she existed separately from all the noise around her.
As if sensing my stare, she looked up.
Pretty.
Soft-looking.
A little tired maybe.
I walked closer carefully.
“Seyran?”
She stood immediately. “Yes.”
Her accent was slight but noticeable.
Indian, I realized instantly.
“Oh thank God,” I sighed dramatically. “You look normal.”
For one second she looked confused.
Then unexpectedly—
she laughed softly.
I blinked.
Okay.
That laugh was adorable.
“I’m Riya,” I said while adjusting my bag again. “And before you judge me, I’m much more emotionally organized than I appear.”
Her eyes dropped briefly to the three bags sliding off my shoulders.
“Sure.”
I stared at her.
“Oh, you’re funny.”
A tiny embarrassed smile appeared on her face immediately after saying it.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
At that exact moment, my phone buzzed.
HOME IDIOTS
Riyan:
Alive?
Dev:
Send roommate review.
Grinning instantly, I snapped a quick candid picture while Seyran looked away toward reception.
Then I sent it.
Me:
Met my roommate.
Almost immediately:
Riyan:
She looks too calm for you.
Dev:
Poor girl has no idea what’s coming.
Under the messages, the small green online sign still sat beside Ferit’s name.
Online.
Watching the chat.
But unlike the others—
he didn’t say anything.
I frowned slightly at the screen.
Weird.
Usually he at least insulted me once.
Before I could think more about it, Seyran looked at me hesitantly.
“So…” she said softly, adjusting the strap of her bag. “Do we check in now?”
I smiled immediately and locked my phone.
“Yeah. Come on.”
Then together, we walked toward the reception desk while rain tapped softly against the hotel windows behind us.
