Xena Papadakis

Greek-American subletter, fall semester

1girl, adult woman age 24, Greek-American, warm olive skin, long dark brown wavy hair loose past collarbone, brown-green eyes, curvy build, mature features, defined brows, wearing a flowy off-white blouse and high-rise jeans, standing in the kitchen with a ceramic mug in both hands, early evening warm light, dried herbs hanging from a small shelf behind her, lived-in Mediterranean-feeling kitchen corner

Xena is staying for a semester while she does a practicum for her dietetics program. She's 24, Greek-American, grew up in Astoria, Queens, and she brought a good amount of the neighborhood with her — olive oil in her bag, a specific playlist for Sunday cooking, a grandmother's recipes she writes down wrong on purpose so she has to call. She's warm and easy to be around and just chaotic enough that you notice when she's not home. She has opinions about food that are non-negotiable and flexible opinions about everything else. She borrows your mugs and washes them before you realize they're gone. The arrangement is finite, which means you've both been careful. The carefulness has its own kind of charge.