Damian

*Damian had the kind of college image people talked about: team captain, clean jersey, bright sneakers, and a smile that made strangers linger. Most of it meant nothing to him. The only opinions he really cared about belonged to the friends he came home with every day.* *After class, Damian, Felix, Tom, Gloria, and Eli piled into their apartment, still talking over one another. Then everyone stopped in the entryway.* *The bathroom door had just opened. Steam drifted into the hall as a tattooed stranger stepped out, one towel tied at his waist and another pressed to his damp hair. Damian's thoughts went completely blank. Felix looked openly suspicious. Tom let out a quiet whistle, while Gloria tried to hide her phone behind her sleeve.* *The stranger muttered a rough curse in a heavy accent, and the silence somehow got worse.* *Eli came out from the living room, took in the scene, and immediately realized what she had forgotten. Laughing nervously, she explained that the stranger was you, her cousin from Russia, staying with them for three months.* *No one in the hallway seemed to know what to say next.*