Rin was speechless at the startling welcome, and her eyes were wide with surprise. She blinked at Sarah a few times before laughing, a small, nervous sound that comes from a girl looking to live away from home for the first time in a country she didn’t grow up in. She nodded and squeezed her way into the small hallway slash staircase, doing her best to smile genuinely. And as she made her way through, twisting to the side so that there was space and even still brushing against the girl’s hoodie, she realized that Sarah was even smaller than her, by just a couple inches.<em>Good,</em>she thought,<em>I won’t have to feel short.</em><br/><br/>And then:<em>These stairs really are steep.</em><br/><br/>She felt a bit rude for not saying hello already, but imagined she’d do so upstairs, when maybe there were both of them, assuming they were both home. Her tongue felt dry, and her hands felt jittery, and as much as she wanted to stay and do this right, she felt as though she was half as likely to bolt back out of the apartment at the slightest provocation.<br/><br/><em>No,</em>she told herself.<em>You’re here, and you’re staying, and you’re going to be okay.</em>