Betty was nervous. She was inclined to think this was a fairly reasonable reaction to meeting a complete stranger for a "roommate interview", but that did not serve to minimise her apprehension. She'd been waiting outside the prospective new apartment for over ten minutes now. Betty knew she had arrived early, but that did not stop the myriad of possible worst-case-scenarios rapidly formulating in her head. What if she got the time wrong? What if she was at the wrong address? What if they'd already found someone and forgotten to tell her?

"Betty!"

Betty jumped slightly, and turned around. Standing in front of her was a petite woman with long dark hair, who looked to be around the same age as Betty. She was smartly dressed in a green dress, complete with stiletto heels and a string of expensive looking pearls around her neck. Betty immediately felt a little underdressed in her jeans and sneakers.

"Hi!" she stammered. "Nice to meet you. You must be Veronica?"

Veronica smiled and held out her hand. "Veronica Lodge. Nice to meet you Betty. Sorry to startle you."

"No no, not at all. Thanks for agreeing to show me the apartment, I've been really looking forward to it."

"That's great to hear," Veronica said, ushering her over to the door and punching in the access code. "I really hope you like it." Veronica held the door open for Betty to walk in.

Betty's first reaction was one of disbelief. The apartment was light and airy, with modern fittings and an architecturally interesting design. Had she misread the advertisement? The rent for this place could not possibly be within her price range.

Veronica led her to the end of the corridor into the elevator, selecting the 8th floor. Betty's mouth was a little dry. She was just wondering how to broach the subject of whether she may have misread the rent advertised on the apartment listing when the elevator stopped, and Veronica launched into an explanation of the current living arrangement.

Veronica had clearly screened several prospective tenants before Betty. Her spiel rolled off the tongue without hesitation as she unlocked the apartment door and welcomed Betty into a spacious, modern apartment.

"So the room we have available is in this penthouse apartment. I need to make you aware its currently unoccupied, but the other tenants and I are planning on moving in this weekend. There's no formal lease. My parents purchased the apartment for me and my boyfriend to live in. There are two spare rooms, and we didn't really want to live here by ourselves. My boyfriend's friend will be in one of the rooms, and the other is the one we've listed. The rent is subsidised, because essentially we just want to find someone we like and who will fit in well," she finished, smiling.

Betty smiled back at her, feeling hopeful. She already had a good feeling about this. The apartment was, frankly, beautiful, and Veronica seemed really nice. "I understand. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

"I can tell you now that I've had a bit of difficulty finding someone," Veronica adds. "The boys left it to me to do the interviews. I think they'd rather not be responsible for the decision," she laughs.

Betty nodded, understanding. She had been to look at a couple of apartments since arriving in the city the week before, and could see that the risk of moving in with people you didn't know could go either way. To Veronica's credit, this had been the least awkward of the viewings she'd attended so far.

Sunlight bathed the main living room, and Betty could see the harbour out the balcony window. The apartment was fully furnished, and well appointed.

"So, what do you do, Betty?" Veronica asked.

Betty turned back to face her. "Ah, I've just graduated, actually. I got a job offer here for a graduate journalism role, so I've moved to the city to take that up. It starts next Monday."

Veronica beamed at her. "Congratulations! That's really cool. Nothing like a new beginning!"

"Yeah, I'm excited. I understand you work in finance?" Betty asked her.

"That's right. And my boyfriend Archie is a musician, and the other flatmate Jughead is a lawyer. So yeah, pretty serious lot," she said jokingly, in a way that made Betty suspect that they weren't that serious at all.

Betty wondered if she'd perhaps misheard the name "Jughead". Surely that wasn't his actual name? Although, if it was, she supposed it would a little rude to make this observation. Instead, she took a deep breath. "Veronica, I can already tell I really like it here. I understand you've probably had a lot of interest in the room, but I just wanted to let you know I'd be really keen to move in if it were to be available for me. But yeah, obviously the decision is up to you guys."

Veronica dropped her handbag on the floor, and dramatically threw herself back on the couch. "Oh, thank god," she said, closing her eyes.

Betty stared at her, bewildered. Veronica sat back up and opened her eyes and smiled.

"Betty, if you want it, the room is yours. I think you'll fit in really well. I'm so glad you're interested, or I'd have had to take the crazy girl who spent 30 minutes preaching the benefits of green smoothies."

Betty laughed. "Wow. Thank you. That's great news," she said, grinning. She couldn't believe her luck. Not only had this been the least interrogative "roommate interview" ever, but within the space of 10 minutes, the course of her life seemed to have changed dramatically. She was going to have a new apartment by the time she started her graduate role!

Veronica stood back up and adjusted her outfit and her hair. "I can't wait to tell the boys," she said, happily. "Shall we go?"

Betty nodded, and followed her back out to the lift, and down to the entrance.

"I'll email you some more details," Veronica said to her, as they left the building. "Will you be set to move in this weekend?"

"Absolutely. Whenever suits."

Veronica raised her arms in the air, triumphant. "Wonderful. I'll see you then!"

Betty waved in her direction, and turned to cross the street, still not quite believing her luck. It was funny how everything had a way of working out in the end. She'd been so nervous about moving to the city and about living with people she didn't know. Yet, here she was, handling it.

Betty ventured across the park directly opposite her new apartment building. Rounding the corner, she reached the city's waterfront, the harbour she'd seen earlier from the apartment window came into full view. Betty breathed in the salty air and felt the gentle breeze blowing through her hair. She sat down on a park bench at the waters edge. She folded her knees up to her chest and wrapped arms around herself, smiling as she watched the water rippling before her.