Prudence Won’t Come Out To Play

(I attend a boarding school with a separate dorm for girls. I’m not very social, and tend to be quiet or abrupt when others try to get me involved in something that doesn’t interest me. As such, I have somewhat of a bad reputation in high school, despite being a nice person in comfortable circumstances. One day I’m walking up to my hall when I see a huge swarm of girls outside someone’s room.)

Me: “Hey, what’s going on in there?”

Girl #1: “[Hallmate]’s boyfriend just broke up with her.”

Girl #2: “He did it AT HIS FAMILY’S PARTY, which he invited her to, JUST to break up with her.”

Me: “Ouch, that’s rough.”

Girl #1: “Yeah, now she won’t come out of her room.”

(I decide to join the crowd, just to see if I can do anything to make her feel better. The door opens and closes as girls enter and leave. I notice a Beatles poster over my hallmate’s bed. I don’t know much about her, but I remembered hearing her sing Beatles songs while she was hanging around in the common area. As someone exits, the room, I stop the door from closing and try to come in.)

Me: *singing* “Dear Prudence, won’t you—”

(My hallmate’s roommate abruptly cuts me off with a scowl and backs me out of the room.)

Hallmate’s Roommate: “Get out of here, [My Name]. [Hallmate] is going through a rough time and she doesn’t need you making it worse!”

(I’m shocked and offended, but I decide not to press the issue. The next day, I happen to see my hallmate as I’m walking to class and I jog to catch up with her.)

Me: “Hey, [Hallmate], I heard about what happened.”

Hallmate: “Yeah, he’s a jerk. I’m glad it’s over, now that I think about it.”

Me: “When did you finally come out of your room?”

Hallmate: “This morning, when I had to get ready for school. People were in and out of my room all night. I couldn’t get any work done and I didn’t get to sleep until really late.”

Me: “I tried to come visit after dinner, but [Roommate] told me to go away.”

Hallmate: “What?! Why did she do that? She practically let the whole dorm in, even when I said I wanted some alone time.”

Me: *shrugs* “I dunno. I started singing ‘Dear Prudence’ because I thought it would make you feel better. Maybe she thought I was making light of the situation.”

Hallmate: “No way! That would have actually made me feel TONS better! Next time [Roommate] tells you to go away, just ignore her. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about anyway.”

(The next year, my hallmate requested a different roommate. The former one got stuck with a new girl who didn’t like her much either!)