Chronicles of a Tamil Freshman – Part 1

With one swift strike, she hit the snooze button on her rusty Sony alarm clock and once again the room was silent. Her room was small with cream coloured walls, a twin bed, a wooden desk scattered with registration papers and to-do lists, a sliding closet opposite the bed, three labeled suitcases stacked in the corner, and a bulky Persian rug that gave the space a retirement-home feel.

Fifteen minutes passed, and the alarm jangled again. Tanya opened one eye and peeked at the clock. “Ten more minutes”, she mumbled, whacking the snooze button once more. She closed her eyes, and exhaled deeply. She had a big day ahead, and was in no hurry to let it begin. The comfort, however, was short-lived.

It was then, that she heard it.

“TANYA?!” her mom hollered from downstairs, wearing an old-fashioned, brightly coloured Tamil nightie.

Tanya knew how angry her mother became if, god forbid, her morning tea ran cold. Eyes wide, she channeled her inner Vijay and lunged out of bed. She showered, brushed her teeth and carried on with her usual morning routine. She brushed her short, wavy, black hair and clipped it back with one-too-many bobby pins. She slid open her closet and put on a red sweater and dark jeans that complemented her slender figure and olive skin tone. Feelings of fear and excitement welled up inside of her, as she knew she’d be moving into her college dorm room in just a few hours.