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"Review optional reading list."

"Check!"

"Read optional reading list."

"Check!"

"Make list of all dormitory necessities."

"Check!"

Casey McDonald was pacing back and forth in her room thinking of all the tasks she needed to complete before setting off for her first year at Queen's University.

"Register for classes," Emily idled, looking at her best friend filing past.

"Check!" exclaimed Casey, settling on the edge of her desk.

"Buy textbooks?"

"Yes, I bought them last weekend," conceded Casey.

"Pack up room."

"Well," Casey started, gesturing to the various boxes scattered on the floor, "almost."

"Say goodbye to Sam," said Emily looking up from the list.

Casey let out a long sigh, "Check."

"That's the end of the list," the teen noted with a laugh. "Apart from 'say goodbye to Emily'."

"That's going to take some time," Casey assured, sitting beside her. "Am I totally crazy, Em? Going to Queen's I'm leaving all of my friends!" Casey collapsed on the bed with a heavy sigh. "All my fam-"

Closing her eyes, Casey let out an inward groan, "Derek."

Emily was chuckling, "It won't be that bad!"

Derek Venturi was Casey's charming stepbrother and the bane of her existence. Derek had received a full hockey scholarship and was set to attend Queen's University in the fall. With Casey.

Almost sobbing, Casey let out, "Why did he have to choose Queen's?"

"You know he got that scholarship," Emily said lamely.

"Why did he have to choose my residence hall?" continued Casey.

"Maybe he wants to be closer to you," Emily suggested, quirking an eyebrow.

Casey stared at her for a beat- the two burst out laughing. Finally catching her breath, Casey wiped tears from her eyes. "But seriously," Casey said turning to her, "I'm going to have to see Derek every day."

"In classes, "Casey started.

"On campus," Emily offered.

"In the dorm, "finished Casey. "It's going to be a nightmare."

The two fell into a comfortable silence, Emily flipping through magazines and Casey packing textbooks into a large cardboard box.

It's not that Casey hated her stepbrother, (actually, on more than one occasion Derek had proved to be quite the hero, reluctantly showing Casey that he cared about her) but Casey wanted university to be a new page in her life. She wanted to be a new Casey, not "Klutzilla", Derek Venturi's geeky stepsister. But how could she be a new Casey with same old Derek?

Sitting up from the bed suddenly, Emily blurted, "I got it!"

"Got what?" Casey questioned, turning towards her.

"You're going to finish things with Derek! End this feud once and for all!" said Emily smiling hopefully.

Casey looked less than convinced, "And how do I do that?"

"Just talk to Derek…tell him that you guys are too old for this pranking-teasing-rivalry stuff, and fix things."

"Talk to Der-"Casey started to laugh.

"I'm serious!" Emily interrupted. "You're always getting pulled into Derek's crazy schemes. Just stop playing along, and he won't find any entertainment in bugging you."

Sitting down on the edge of the desktop, the brunette grumbled tiredly, "It's not easy being the bigger person with Derek, Emily! He just-"she huffed, "gets under my skin."

After a moment, Emily tried again, "You just need to put aside all of your anger-"

"And annoyance!" cut in Casey.

"Right… and resentment-"

"More like loathing!" Casey barked.

"-ALL of your feelings towards Derek, and-and put them behind you, "finished Emily.

"That sounds good in theory," Casey insisted, collecting textbooks again, "but you're forgetting that Derek's sole ambition is to make my life a living hell".

"Casey, it's just sibling stuff- Dimmy and I are the same way!"

Casey spun around, mouth agape.

"Filling my blow dryer with flour," Casey seethed.

"Not that bad," replied Emily, shrugging.

"Saran Wrap on the toilet seat."

"You learned to check after the fourth time, though," Emily said reassuringly.

"Rotten eggs in my air vent," Casey said, throwing her hands up dramatically.

"It was only a few months," said Emily faintly.

Casey turned to her glaring, "Paying off my teachers to call me Crappy McDump for the day!"

Fighting a smile, Emily quipped, "How was he to know the nickname would stick?"

Casey let out a grievous sob, flopping down on the bed. "He'll never listen to me, Em!" she groaned, throwing a pillow over her face.

Emily rubbed her shoulder consolingly, "You're not giving him enough credit Crap- uh I mean Casey!"

Casey groaned even louder.

"Derek has matured a lot over the years!" Emily added.

Standing in faded jeans and an old hockey jersey, Derek Venturi suddenly appeared in Casey's doorway. "Emily, your brother is waiting for you downstairs," he said. Swaggering into the room, he drawled, "Oh and Casey, I never got a chance to ask you how that itching powder in your underwear worked out?"

"Der-ek!" Casey yelled, throwing a pillow at him.

Derek dodged it, winking; disappearing down the hallway, he bellowed, "Only for you, Crappy!"

Laughing, Emily started collecting her stuff off the desk. "Just give it a thought, Case," she said over her shoulder. "If you end it, university will be a lot more bearable!"

Hugging her friend goodbye, Casey laid on the bed again staring at the ceiling. Several minutes passed before she jumped up and grabbed her jacket hanging off the headboard. "I need to talk to Paul," she said, racing out of the room.

Chapter 2 coming next week!