Lizzie walked into her almost empty dorm room. It was a lot smaller than she expected but she was not exactly surprised. Her mother had warned her about the disappointment she would receive throughout college, beginning with her dorm room. Lizzie believed her mother still lived in the 1800s. She had fought for Lizzie and her sister, Jane, to stay home and find a husband before going to college. Lizzie was not about to stay home any longer and listen to her mother tell her it is not lady like to be so interested in science and to stay up until 3 in the morning and sit on her computer and obsess over fictional characters or spend her nights watching Netflix. Her mother wanted her to spend her time cleaning, cooking and learning how to raise a family. She was able to convince Jane to take care of the house with her but Jane did it more out of guilt.
Lizzie was glad she was moving in by herself. Her mother and father were busy moving Jane into her room. Lizzie had wished her roommate were already there. She did not want to be the first to choose a bed or decide how to rearrange their room, in case her roommate was disappointed. But then she thought about it and she realized she did not care. She planned on not being close friends with her roommate. Lizzie was not at Northwestern to make friends. She was there to study. There was no need for friends when she had books, movies and TV shows. So she choose the bed farthest from the door.
After she made her bed she moved onto her desk. She carefully placed the books she brought in color-coated order on the shelf on her desk. She filled the drawer with pens, pencils and her notebooks. She set her laptop out on the desk and admired the space. Lizzie's desk was always her favorite part of her room. She knew it would not be long before her books were out of order and her drawer was a mess, but she liked looking at it while it was organized. And she was stalling before she had to put her clothes away. She was even thinking about calling her mother into her room to do her clothes for her. But she knew once her mother came in there was no getting her out.
She started by filling the drawers under her bed right when her roommate came in. "Hi, I'm Caroline, you must be Lizzie." She held out her hand, which Lizzie shook tentatively. Caroline was put together, very put together. She looked like a J. Crew model. Her hair was perfectly straight and her makeup was flawless. She reeked of preppy perfection. Lizzie decided quickly that she did not like her, but she decided she would rather have Caroline as her roommate than some insane devil worshipper.
"Nice to meet you Caroline. I hope you don't mind I started moving in."
"No that's fine. But I was talking to some people in the hall and everyone seems to think that we should have an open door policy," Caroline was waiting for Lizzie to respond to her, but Lizzie thought that was an awful idea. So Caroline continued, "You know, when one of us is in the room we just leave the door open. It will help us meet new people."
"We have a longue. Why can't we just meet new people there?" Lizzie was preparing herself for her first fight with Caroline, but when she responded with silence Lizzie realized it was not worth it. "Yeah, leave the door open. I don't really care. Did you bring the frig?"
"I did. But I was thinking about it and I think we should each have our own," Caroline was expecting someone clean cut like herself for a roommate. Saying Lizzie's plaid shirt, black boots, messy hair and lack of makeup rubbed her the wrong way was an understatement. She did not want to share anything with Lizzie.
"Well that's great. I'm glad you told me the day we moved in, because I have so much more time to buy one," Lizzie was leaving the room to go tell her father that she needed a refrigerator. "I'm so excited to spend the rest of this year with you, Caroline," Lizzie was very good at being passive aggressive.
Jane's room was right down the hall from Lizzie's. It was already finished and looked cute. Jane and her roommate, Charlotte, arranged their room differently than Lizzie, it created more space but the beds were arranged in an "L" shape, and Lizzie did not want to be that close to Caroline when she was sleeping. Lizzie's mother, Jane and Charlotte were giggling over some story Charlotte's mother had told. Lizzie almost felt bad for interrupting, almost. "Mom…"
"Elizabeth this is Charlotte Lucas and her mother, Kathleen Lucas," her mother was speaking with a slight southern drawl. Which was dumb. They were from southern Illinois, not southern Tennessee. "How is your roommate? Can I go meet her?"
"Well she is a massive bitch-"
"Elizabeth Bennet! You are in a room of strangers and your mother! Do not speak like that! It is incredibly unladylike," Her mother had gotten used to Lizzie's swearing. Not like she could not control herself, but Lizzie tended to cuss in front of her mother more than she would in front of anyone else. She was clearly putting on a show for the new people.
"I'm so sorry Mrs. Lucas, Charlotte," Lizzie gave a slight curtsy toward each of them when she spoke their names. "She told me she would bring the mini frig but she just told me that she won't let me use it. And Jane can I have some hangers?"
"Your father can take you to Target. Jane used all of the hangers. He is down the hall helping a young man and his mother rearrange a room." Lizzie's father was nice but she knew he would never go help a stranger without her mother forcing him. And her mother would only make him help a nice young man of marrying age. Lizzie was sure that by this time her mother already knew all of the boys on the floor.
"Mom how rich is he? Jane is he actually cute this time?" When Lizzie looked at Jane she was blushing. "Would you like to come to his room with me to talk to dad? Maybe he wants to go to Target too."
"Elizabeth that is a fantastic idea! Charlotte you go too! You can sit in the front seat with Lizzie so Jane and Charles can sit in the back together," It had been a long him since Lizzie had seen her mother this excited. But Jane did not protest so Lizzie went to this room, which was on Lizzie's side of the hall.
"Hey dad, can Jane, Lydia and I take the car? We need to go to Target," Elizabeth saw Charles and decided to give a good impression. "Nice to meet you I'm Lizzie, I live right down the hall."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Chuck Bingley. Your father is a very nice man for helping us. Could I help with anything in your room?" His name is Chuck. Her mother was so pretentious calling him Charles.
"No thanks. Do you need anything from Target? You could come with us," And with that Mrs. Bennet came into the room.
"Honey we're going to lunch with Charlotte's mother. Would you like to join us?" She was looking at Mrs. Bingley.
"Only if Chuck goes to Target with Lizzie. Your daughter seems like a very nice girl!" Mrs. Bingley winked at Chuck. Mrs. Bennet was terrified. Someone as great as Chuck could not be wasted on Lizzie.
"You should meet my daughter Jane. She's a nursing major. You two might be crossing paths. A nurse and a doctor. All on one floor," Mrs. Bennet could not have been more obvious if she screamed 'Date my daughter! Not Lizzie! The pretty one!'
"Mom, half the people on this floor are in med school."
"Lizzie, what's your major?" Chuck was pretty cute. But he was definitely not Lizzie's type. He looked like he was made for Jane. He was wearing a baby blue sweater and light pink pants. Perfect for Jane.
"Chemistry with a philosophy minor, just for kicks. I'm aiming to be the next Schrodinger. Are you gonna come with us or not?"
"I'd love to. Let's go."