Orange Tea Anonymous

Dear roommate,

Fair warning: when you walk into our room, you’ll smell an odd, sweet tanginess. Yet, before you have the chance to investigate, I’ll be jumping off the bed and pouring you a mug of my signature orange oolong tea — the source of the mystery fragrance.

Perhaps you’ll then notice the small collection of teas and teapots or the tidy stack of old books on my nightstand. (Jane Austen is my favorite.) Or perhaps your eyes will be fixated on the large flag of a kiwi-bird shooting green lasers out of the eyes.

Wait, kiwi bird and lasers?

Before you become concerned for my sanity, I’ll explain that it was my favourite finalist contender for the updated New Zealand flag and a good conversation starter.

While we haven’t met, I promise that I’ll be your loyal partner in crime. When you’re lying in bed awake feeling homesick, I promise to give you my sacred Netflix password and binge-watch reruns of Friends with you. If you’re ever feeling nervous, I’ll sit you down and reenact dramatic pep-talks to remind you that you’ll be great.

I promise that everyday I’ll be waiting with a steaming cup of mysterious tea to hear all about your day. Whatever it is, you can always count on me, because I know I can count on you too.