Chapter Two
(The Next Day)
Mimi hung the last piece of her clothing in the tiny closet her new dorm room provided her. She made her way over to the bed in the corner and sat on the edge with a sigh. The room was a lot larger than she had expected it to be. Two twin beds, two desks, a small refrigerator, two dressers and two closets. Another door led into the small bathroom she would be sharing with her roommate.
Her eyes darted over to the other bed covered with boxes. Apparently her roommate's belongings had arrived, but her roommate hadn't. Mimi was both excited and scared to meet the girl that would be sharing her room for at least the next two semesters. She had often heard horror stories about college roommates from hell, but kept her fingers crossed that she would be luckier than that.
Mimi was completely parched, having just unpacked all of her personal belongings in a short amount of time. She had yet to put anything in her mini-fridge, so she got up from the bed and headed out into the hallway to find something to drink. Making her way through the throng of students moving themselves in, she found her way to the common room and the snack machines. She stood in front of the soda machine and dug in her pocket to get a dollar bill out.
Unfortunately, the only dollar bill she had was wrinkled and slightly torn. After several exhausting attempts at shoving her frayed George Washington into the bill acceptor, she gave up. She was about to turn around and ask one of the many students milling about for change, when she heard a voice speak low behind her.
"Need some help with that?"
Mimi whirled around and was once again face to face with Jason. "Oh geez... It's you again."
Jason looked at her with mock pain. "Wow, Mimi... You could at least pretend to be happy to see me. I *am* trying to help you."
Mimi spoke her next words with no inflection whatsoever, emphasizing that she wasn't at all happy to see him. "Fine. Fine. Fine. Nice to see you, Jason. Do you happen to have a dollar you can trade me?"
"See? That's much better." Jason pulled out his wallet and slipped out a clean, crisp one-dollar bill.
Mimi went to hand him her bill but Jason shook his head. "No way, Lockhart. This one is on me."
Jason inserted the bill into the machine and Mimi stared at him strangely. "No, I... I can't let you do that."
"Shush. Don't worry about it. It's just a dollar. What do you want?"
Begrudgingly, Mimi leaned forward and pushed the button for her selection. She waited until she heard the familiar sound of the plastic bottle making it's way to the bottom of the machine. Jason swiftly grabbed it and handed it over to her.
"Thank you." She flashed him a quick smile and then turned to walk back to her room.
She had made it all the way to her door by the time she realized that Jason was following right behind her. Mimi turned around and stared him down.
"I said thank you. Why are you following me?"
Jason didn't even bother dealing with her attitude, he just moved on to another subject. And, his slick way of avoiding her question made her even more flustered. "You live here?"
Mimi held up her room key and shook her head sarcastically. "No, I just so happen to have a key to some random person's room."
"I'm surprised. I figured you'd live at home."
"Well, I thought about doing that. But, my scholarship covers room and board, so I figured I might as well take advantage of it. You know, get the full collegiate experience."
Jason nodded slightly and replied. "Me too."
Mimi leaned against the door in shock. "What? You too? You don't live in this building, do you? Please say no."
Jason grinned wickedly and pointed at the number on her door. "You are room 217, and I am right across the hall and down a few doors. Room 224. Isn't that a funny coincidence?"
"So, I have to... Every day... I'm going to..."
"That's right, Mimi. You get to see my smiling face every single day. Right across the hall."
Mimi turned around and shoved her key in the lock, quickly opening the door in attempt to escape the news of her fate. *Right across the hall. God help me.* She thought to herself. She walked into her room and Jason followed. Mimi turned on her heel and looked at him with her jaw dropped in shock.
"Geez, come right on in. No invitation necessary. Have a seat, make yourself at home."
Jason grinned and sat himself in the chair at her desk. "Don't mind if I do. Thanks for the offer."
"I was being sarcastic, by the way."
"I did notice that. In fact, I've noticed that you act that way a lot around me."
Mimi grinned right back at him and nodded. "I apologize if you think I'm being rude. But, I have to come up with something to use as a counter-attack against you."
Jason raised his eyebrows curiously. "A counter-attack? I guess I understand. After all, I haven't exactly treated you very well in the past. But... what if I said I wanted to call a truce?"
"Hmmm... Then I would accuse you of being a clone or a pod person, because that's not the Jason Masters that I know."
"Fair enough. But, we should at least *try* and be civil to each other. Now that we're going to be living..."
Mimi rolled her eyes and finished his sentence. "I know, I know... Right across the hall. You don't have to tell me more than once. So, why exactly did *you* choose dorm life instead of staying at home?"
Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "Same reasons you did, I guess. I wanted to break free from mom and dad. I thought it might be a good way to meet new people."
"You wanted to meet new people, and yet you're here bugging me? I'm not new people."
"I know that. But, still, it's nice to have a familiar face around here. Especially your face, Lockhart."
Mimi stared at him in confusion. There it was again, the sincere smile, the slight flirtatiousness in his voice. She was flat out stunned. "Especially my face? Jason... Are you on something? Do you have a fever? Did your hit head on something and sustain an injury to your brain? What is going on with you?"
Jason shrugged innocently and kept smiling at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. You act like I have never been nice to you before."
"Oh, you've been nice. And I think I can count all of those instances on two hands. But nice two times in less than a 24-hour span? It's kind of freaking me out."
"Well, a lot happened this summer. I'm a kinder, gentler version of my former self. But, if it will make you feel better I promise to be as antagonistic as possible on a regular basis. A little venom interspersed with moments of niceness? Okay?"
Mimi nodded slightly and crossed her arms. A kinder, gentler Jason? She didn't think it was possible. Especially after what had happened at the Last Blast Dance.
"I... I guess so."
"Let's face it, Mimi. All of your friends are gone. I don't have any friends here. You don't have any friends here. We need each other."
Mimi frowned slightly. Jason needed her. Yet another thing that didn't seem possible. Jason had always acted like he didn't need anyone, not even his ex-girlfriend Jan. Mimi didn't respond to his last statement, so Jason pouted at her and clasped his hands together as if he was begging her.
"Come on, Mimi. Please? Please? Being friends with me isn't going to kill you..."
"Yeah, but *I* might kill *you*."
Jason grinned and his green eyes twinkled at her, as he continued to plead. Mimi had no idea what exactly he was up to. Did he really want to be her friend? Or did he have something else up his sleeves? She had never seen Jason beg for anything in the thirteen years she had known him. And, as much as she tried to resist being shallow, it was hard to resist his eyes and that unbelievably sexy smile.
Mimi jumped back slightly and shook her head with self-denial. *Did I just think about Jason's smile as sexy? My God, what is wrong with me? Then again, his physical appearance had always been undeniably attractive. It was his inner beauty that had needed a makeover.*
"Mimi, you're starting to make me feel pathetic. I don't like to beg for friendship. I just think it would be mutually beneficial if we put aside our differences. We're both adults. We're mature enough to forget about the past, aren't we?"
"Well... I know *I* am. Whether you are or not, remains to be seen."
Jason laughed softly and nodded. "You think you know me so well, Lockhart. Just you wait and see, I might surprise you."
*You already have.* She thought it, but didn't say it out loud. Instead, she nodded slightly and replied. "Okay, okay... You've somehow managed to convince me. But only on a trial basis. If you start your old games up again, then the friendship is cancelled."
Jason smiled and held out his right hand. "Shake on it?"
Mimi nodded and thrust her right hand towards him. Jason wrapped his hand around hers and shook it firmly. He held her hand a little longer than necessary, and Mimi felt her cheeks begin to flush red. She suddenly took her hand away, hoping to escape whatever feelings he was beginning to stir inside her. Jason wouldn't let her off the hook though. He let her drop her right hand, but immediately picked up her left hand, which she had wrapped in a bandage after yesterday's fall.
He gently let her hand rest in the palm of his own hand, and then tenderly brushed over the top of her hand with the fingers of his other hand. Mimi felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch, and she did her best to try and hide it from Jason's gaze. She refused to let him have any more ammunition to use against her in the future, including whatever faint bit of attraction she might have been feeling towards him. An attraction that she could only pin down as purely physical, and nothing more.
"So... how's your wrist feeling?"
Mimi stammered nervously in her reply. "It's... fine. Just... it's... uhm. Much better. Thank you."
Jason was about to speak when they were interrupted by a loud, bubbly voice in the doorway. "Hellooooo!"
The girl in the doorway had a wide smile on her face, which immediately vanished when she looked at Jason and Mimi. "Oh, my bad. Was I interrupting something?"
Mimi's hand flew away from Jason like she had just touched a hot stove. "No, not at all."
"Oh good... I'm your roommate. Aurora Bennett. But, everybody calls me Rory."
"I'm Mimi Lockhart, it's good to finally meet you." Mimi moved forward and shook her hand briefly.
Jason stood and motioned towards the door. He briefly shook the girl's hand and flashed a smile at her. "And, I'm Jason Masters and I was just about to leave."
Jason winked at Mimi and walked towards the door. "Remember, Meems... If you need anything, I'll be..."
"Yes, I know... Right across the hall." Mimi rolled her eyes and Jason made his quick exit. She muttered quietly under her breath. "He sounds like a broken record."
Mimi turned back to her new roommate and gave her a quick once over. She was about an inch or two taller than Mimi. She had shoulder-length straight brown hair with reddish highlights, and dark brown eyes. She was thin and pretty, but not supermodel or movie-star pretty. Just regular girl-next-door pretty.
Rory grinned at her and immediately began the 'getting to know you' process. "So, Mimi... Where are you from? What's your major? Tell me everything there is to know about you."
Mimi's eyes widened with surprise. "Everything?"
"Well, you can spread it out over the whole year, I guess. For now, just tell me the facts."
"Oooookay. I'm from Salem, born and raised, and I'm currently undeclared and undecided. How about you?"
"San Diego, California. And, I'm a writer."
Mimi looked at her with interest. "A writer? What kind of a writer?"
Rory shrugged slightly. "A little bit of everything. Short stories, novels, poetry, screenplays... I just love to write."
"And you came to Salem from California? Why would you leave a place like that to come here? No offense, but are you crazy?"
"Sadly, yes I am. And you will soon find that out for yourself. Besides... You can't write about life unless you've experienced it. So, I heard they had some good classes here and I thought it'd be pretty different from growing up in San Diego, and now here I am. Just one of my many stops along the road of life."
Mimi nodded in understanding. "Well, Salem has a lot of interesting stories which I'll be glad to fill you in on later."
Rory smiled in appreciation and pointed towards the door that Jason had just walked through. "Soooo... the cutie with the firm handshake? Is that your... boyfriend?"
Mimi nearly choked in surprise, and began laughing loudly. "Oh God no... He is definitely NOT my boyfriend. He's just a... a guy I know from high school."
"So, does that mean I'm rooming with a fellow single girl out on the prowl?"
"I guess you could say that. I don't know if I'm exactly prowling, but I'm definitely single. My boyfriend and I broke up at the end of the summer."
Rory spotted a framed photo on Mimi's desk and picked it up to look at it. It had been taken near the end of the summer, the last time the whole gang was together. Shawn and Belle were embracing next to Kevin who had his arms wrapped around Mimi's waist, while Chloe was standing in between Brady and Phillip. The same place she always seemed to be standing.
"The guy in the glasses? That's your ex?"
"Mmm-hmm. That's Kevin."
Rory nodded slightly. "Cute. Was it a bad breakup?"
Mimi shook her head in denial. "Not at all. He just went off to college, M.I.T., we decided we didn't really want to bother with a long-distance relationship or anything. We're still friends."
"Okay, what's up with the gorgeous blonde?"
"Which one?" Mimi had to ask, seeing as how half of her friends could be considered 'gorgeous blondes'.
Rory tapped Brady with her finger. "That one. With the muscles and the tank top."
"Ohhhh... That's Brady, he's..."
Rory waved her hand to stop her and then pointed at Shawn and Belle. "No, wait, let me guess. The pretty blonde girl... She's perfect, right? Pretty, smart, talented, funny, sweet as apple pie? The kind of girl who you want to hate but can't because she's so darn nice."
Mimi nodded, Rory had pinned Belle down pretty well for just looking at a picture of her. Rory grinned proudly and continued. "Okay, the dark haired guy. That's her boyfriend, obviously. They've probably been in love since they popped out of the womb or something. He's the kind of guy who acts tough, but inside he's just a sweet little puppy dog. Let's see... then there's Dimples over here. Obviously, Mr. Popular. Athlete, rich boy, all of that gooey teen-dream stuff. He's got it bad for the brunette girl, that's obvious. And, look at her... she's a little... I don't know, different. More exotic looking, probably has some sort of unique talent or hobby that sets her apart from everyone else. And the other guy? Brady? He looks a little older than the rest of you, and he's also completely into the brunette. I smell a major love triangle there."
Mimi's jaw was dropped and her eyes were wide with shock. "You are right on the money... That's very scary."
Rory placed the picture back on the desk and crossed her arms. "Poor girl, torn between two extremely hot guys... Must be a nightmare."
"How did you do that? You should have your own psychic hotline or something..."
"Oh no, those things are complete fakes. I'm the real deal, sweetie." Rory looked at Mimi's surprised expression and laughed softly. "I'm just kidding... It's all a part of being a good writer. The art of observation. You can learn a lot just by a person's body language. Even in pictures. So... Are all of the guys in this town as gorgeous as the ones in this picture and that cutie Jason from across the hall?"
Mimi nodded affirmatively. "Strangely enough... yes. The women too, now that I think about it. There's either something in the water or they weed out all of the dogs at the entrance to the city..."
"Hmmm... Then I must have made it in just under the wire."
Mimi giggled and grinned at her. "You and me both."
Rory walked over to her bed and grabbed one of the smaller boxes. "I guess I better start unpacking. Because, if I don't start now, I'll still have all my stuff in boxes at the end of the year."
"I can help if you need it. And, then if you want, I can show you around my hometown."
"Thank you, Mimi. That's very sweet of you. I think I'll start in the bathroom." Rory smiled at her appreciatively and took the box she was holding into their bathroom.
Mimi sat on her bed with a sigh. Not only was Jason being downright nice to her, but she had a roommate who could possibly beat her out for the title of 'most talkative.' Yes, college was going to be very interesting indeed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Co-ed dorms can be fun! Woooooo!
(The Next Day)
Mimi hung the last piece of her clothing in the tiny closet her new dorm room provided her. She made her way over to the bed in the corner and sat on the edge with a sigh. The room was a lot larger than she had expected it to be. Two twin beds, two desks, a small refrigerator, two dressers and two closets. Another door led into the small bathroom she would be sharing with her roommate.
Her eyes darted over to the other bed covered with boxes. Apparently her roommate's belongings had arrived, but her roommate hadn't. Mimi was both excited and scared to meet the girl that would be sharing her room for at least the next two semesters. She had often heard horror stories about college roommates from hell, but kept her fingers crossed that she would be luckier than that.
Mimi was completely parched, having just unpacked all of her personal belongings in a short amount of time. She had yet to put anything in her mini-fridge, so she got up from the bed and headed out into the hallway to find something to drink. Making her way through the throng of students moving themselves in, she found her way to the common room and the snack machines. She stood in front of the soda machine and dug in her pocket to get a dollar bill out.
Unfortunately, the only dollar bill she had was wrinkled and slightly torn. After several exhausting attempts at shoving her frayed George Washington into the bill acceptor, she gave up. She was about to turn around and ask one of the many students milling about for change, when she heard a voice speak low behind her.
"Need some help with that?"
Mimi whirled around and was once again face to face with Jason. "Oh geez... It's you again."
Jason looked at her with mock pain. "Wow, Mimi... You could at least pretend to be happy to see me. I *am* trying to help you."
Mimi spoke her next words with no inflection whatsoever, emphasizing that she wasn't at all happy to see him. "Fine. Fine. Fine. Nice to see you, Jason. Do you happen to have a dollar you can trade me?"
"See? That's much better." Jason pulled out his wallet and slipped out a clean, crisp one-dollar bill.
Mimi went to hand him her bill but Jason shook his head. "No way, Lockhart. This one is on me."
Jason inserted the bill into the machine and Mimi stared at him strangely. "No, I... I can't let you do that."
"Shush. Don't worry about it. It's just a dollar. What do you want?"
Begrudgingly, Mimi leaned forward and pushed the button for her selection. She waited until she heard the familiar sound of the plastic bottle making it's way to the bottom of the machine. Jason swiftly grabbed it and handed it over to her.
"Thank you." She flashed him a quick smile and then turned to walk back to her room.
She had made it all the way to her door by the time she realized that Jason was following right behind her. Mimi turned around and stared him down.
"I said thank you. Why are you following me?"
Jason didn't even bother dealing with her attitude, he just moved on to another subject. And, his slick way of avoiding her question made her even more flustered. "You live here?"
Mimi held up her room key and shook her head sarcastically. "No, I just so happen to have a key to some random person's room."
"I'm surprised. I figured you'd live at home."
"Well, I thought about doing that. But, my scholarship covers room and board, so I figured I might as well take advantage of it. You know, get the full collegiate experience."
Jason nodded slightly and replied. "Me too."
Mimi leaned against the door in shock. "What? You too? You don't live in this building, do you? Please say no."
Jason grinned wickedly and pointed at the number on her door. "You are room 217, and I am right across the hall and down a few doors. Room 224. Isn't that a funny coincidence?"
"So, I have to... Every day... I'm going to..."
"That's right, Mimi. You get to see my smiling face every single day. Right across the hall."
Mimi turned around and shoved her key in the lock, quickly opening the door in attempt to escape the news of her fate. *Right across the hall. God help me.* She thought to herself. She walked into her room and Jason followed. Mimi turned on her heel and looked at him with her jaw dropped in shock.
"Geez, come right on in. No invitation necessary. Have a seat, make yourself at home."
Jason grinned and sat himself in the chair at her desk. "Don't mind if I do. Thanks for the offer."
"I was being sarcastic, by the way."
"I did notice that. In fact, I've noticed that you act that way a lot around me."
Mimi grinned right back at him and nodded. "I apologize if you think I'm being rude. But, I have to come up with something to use as a counter-attack against you."
Jason raised his eyebrows curiously. "A counter-attack? I guess I understand. After all, I haven't exactly treated you very well in the past. But... what if I said I wanted to call a truce?"
"Hmmm... Then I would accuse you of being a clone or a pod person, because that's not the Jason Masters that I know."
"Fair enough. But, we should at least *try* and be civil to each other. Now that we're going to be living..."
Mimi rolled her eyes and finished his sentence. "I know, I know... Right across the hall. You don't have to tell me more than once. So, why exactly did *you* choose dorm life instead of staying at home?"
Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "Same reasons you did, I guess. I wanted to break free from mom and dad. I thought it might be a good way to meet new people."
"You wanted to meet new people, and yet you're here bugging me? I'm not new people."
"I know that. But, still, it's nice to have a familiar face around here. Especially your face, Lockhart."
Mimi stared at him in confusion. There it was again, the sincere smile, the slight flirtatiousness in his voice. She was flat out stunned. "Especially my face? Jason... Are you on something? Do you have a fever? Did your hit head on something and sustain an injury to your brain? What is going on with you?"
Jason shrugged innocently and kept smiling at her. "I don't know what you're talking about. You act like I have never been nice to you before."
"Oh, you've been nice. And I think I can count all of those instances on two hands. But nice two times in less than a 24-hour span? It's kind of freaking me out."
"Well, a lot happened this summer. I'm a kinder, gentler version of my former self. But, if it will make you feel better I promise to be as antagonistic as possible on a regular basis. A little venom interspersed with moments of niceness? Okay?"
Mimi nodded slightly and crossed her arms. A kinder, gentler Jason? She didn't think it was possible. Especially after what had happened at the Last Blast Dance.
"I... I guess so."
"Let's face it, Mimi. All of your friends are gone. I don't have any friends here. You don't have any friends here. We need each other."
Mimi frowned slightly. Jason needed her. Yet another thing that didn't seem possible. Jason had always acted like he didn't need anyone, not even his ex-girlfriend Jan. Mimi didn't respond to his last statement, so Jason pouted at her and clasped his hands together as if he was begging her.
"Come on, Mimi. Please? Please? Being friends with me isn't going to kill you..."
"Yeah, but *I* might kill *you*."
Jason grinned and his green eyes twinkled at her, as he continued to plead. Mimi had no idea what exactly he was up to. Did he really want to be her friend? Or did he have something else up his sleeves? She had never seen Jason beg for anything in the thirteen years she had known him. And, as much as she tried to resist being shallow, it was hard to resist his eyes and that unbelievably sexy smile.
Mimi jumped back slightly and shook her head with self-denial. *Did I just think about Jason's smile as sexy? My God, what is wrong with me? Then again, his physical appearance had always been undeniably attractive. It was his inner beauty that had needed a makeover.*
"Mimi, you're starting to make me feel pathetic. I don't like to beg for friendship. I just think it would be mutually beneficial if we put aside our differences. We're both adults. We're mature enough to forget about the past, aren't we?"
"Well... I know *I* am. Whether you are or not, remains to be seen."
Jason laughed softly and nodded. "You think you know me so well, Lockhart. Just you wait and see, I might surprise you."
*You already have.* She thought it, but didn't say it out loud. Instead, she nodded slightly and replied. "Okay, okay... You've somehow managed to convince me. But only on a trial basis. If you start your old games up again, then the friendship is cancelled."
Jason smiled and held out his right hand. "Shake on it?"
Mimi nodded and thrust her right hand towards him. Jason wrapped his hand around hers and shook it firmly. He held her hand a little longer than necessary, and Mimi felt her cheeks begin to flush red. She suddenly took her hand away, hoping to escape whatever feelings he was beginning to stir inside her. Jason wouldn't let her off the hook though. He let her drop her right hand, but immediately picked up her left hand, which she had wrapped in a bandage after yesterday's fall.
He gently let her hand rest in the palm of his own hand, and then tenderly brushed over the top of her hand with the fingers of his other hand. Mimi felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch, and she did her best to try and hide it from Jason's gaze. She refused to let him have any more ammunition to use against her in the future, including whatever faint bit of attraction she might have been feeling towards him. An attraction that she could only pin down as purely physical, and nothing more.
"So... how's your wrist feeling?"
Mimi stammered nervously in her reply. "It's... fine. Just... it's... uhm. Much better. Thank you."
Jason was about to speak when they were interrupted by a loud, bubbly voice in the doorway. "Hellooooo!"
The girl in the doorway had a wide smile on her face, which immediately vanished when she looked at Jason and Mimi. "Oh, my bad. Was I interrupting something?"
Mimi's hand flew away from Jason like she had just touched a hot stove. "No, not at all."
"Oh good... I'm your roommate. Aurora Bennett. But, everybody calls me Rory."
"I'm Mimi Lockhart, it's good to finally meet you." Mimi moved forward and shook her hand briefly.
Jason stood and motioned towards the door. He briefly shook the girl's hand and flashed a smile at her. "And, I'm Jason Masters and I was just about to leave."
Jason winked at Mimi and walked towards the door. "Remember, Meems... If you need anything, I'll be..."
"Yes, I know... Right across the hall." Mimi rolled her eyes and Jason made his quick exit. She muttered quietly under her breath. "He sounds like a broken record."
Mimi turned back to her new roommate and gave her a quick once over. She was about an inch or two taller than Mimi. She had shoulder-length straight brown hair with reddish highlights, and dark brown eyes. She was thin and pretty, but not supermodel or movie-star pretty. Just regular girl-next-door pretty.
Rory grinned at her and immediately began the 'getting to know you' process. "So, Mimi... Where are you from? What's your major? Tell me everything there is to know about you."
Mimi's eyes widened with surprise. "Everything?"
"Well, you can spread it out over the whole year, I guess. For now, just tell me the facts."
"Oooookay. I'm from Salem, born and raised, and I'm currently undeclared and undecided. How about you?"
"San Diego, California. And, I'm a writer."
Mimi looked at her with interest. "A writer? What kind of a writer?"
Rory shrugged slightly. "A little bit of everything. Short stories, novels, poetry, screenplays... I just love to write."
"And you came to Salem from California? Why would you leave a place like that to come here? No offense, but are you crazy?"
"Sadly, yes I am. And you will soon find that out for yourself. Besides... You can't write about life unless you've experienced it. So, I heard they had some good classes here and I thought it'd be pretty different from growing up in San Diego, and now here I am. Just one of my many stops along the road of life."
Mimi nodded in understanding. "Well, Salem has a lot of interesting stories which I'll be glad to fill you in on later."
Rory smiled in appreciation and pointed towards the door that Jason had just walked through. "Soooo... the cutie with the firm handshake? Is that your... boyfriend?"
Mimi nearly choked in surprise, and began laughing loudly. "Oh God no... He is definitely NOT my boyfriend. He's just a... a guy I know from high school."
"So, does that mean I'm rooming with a fellow single girl out on the prowl?"
"I guess you could say that. I don't know if I'm exactly prowling, but I'm definitely single. My boyfriend and I broke up at the end of the summer."
Rory spotted a framed photo on Mimi's desk and picked it up to look at it. It had been taken near the end of the summer, the last time the whole gang was together. Shawn and Belle were embracing next to Kevin who had his arms wrapped around Mimi's waist, while Chloe was standing in between Brady and Phillip. The same place she always seemed to be standing.
"The guy in the glasses? That's your ex?"
"Mmm-hmm. That's Kevin."
Rory nodded slightly. "Cute. Was it a bad breakup?"
Mimi shook her head in denial. "Not at all. He just went off to college, M.I.T., we decided we didn't really want to bother with a long-distance relationship or anything. We're still friends."
"Okay, what's up with the gorgeous blonde?"
"Which one?" Mimi had to ask, seeing as how half of her friends could be considered 'gorgeous blondes'.
Rory tapped Brady with her finger. "That one. With the muscles and the tank top."
"Ohhhh... That's Brady, he's..."
Rory waved her hand to stop her and then pointed at Shawn and Belle. "No, wait, let me guess. The pretty blonde girl... She's perfect, right? Pretty, smart, talented, funny, sweet as apple pie? The kind of girl who you want to hate but can't because she's so darn nice."
Mimi nodded, Rory had pinned Belle down pretty well for just looking at a picture of her. Rory grinned proudly and continued. "Okay, the dark haired guy. That's her boyfriend, obviously. They've probably been in love since they popped out of the womb or something. He's the kind of guy who acts tough, but inside he's just a sweet little puppy dog. Let's see... then there's Dimples over here. Obviously, Mr. Popular. Athlete, rich boy, all of that gooey teen-dream stuff. He's got it bad for the brunette girl, that's obvious. And, look at her... she's a little... I don't know, different. More exotic looking, probably has some sort of unique talent or hobby that sets her apart from everyone else. And the other guy? Brady? He looks a little older than the rest of you, and he's also completely into the brunette. I smell a major love triangle there."
Mimi's jaw was dropped and her eyes were wide with shock. "You are right on the money... That's very scary."
Rory placed the picture back on the desk and crossed her arms. "Poor girl, torn between two extremely hot guys... Must be a nightmare."
"How did you do that? You should have your own psychic hotline or something..."
"Oh no, those things are complete fakes. I'm the real deal, sweetie." Rory looked at Mimi's surprised expression and laughed softly. "I'm just kidding... It's all a part of being a good writer. The art of observation. You can learn a lot just by a person's body language. Even in pictures. So... Are all of the guys in this town as gorgeous as the ones in this picture and that cutie Jason from across the hall?"
Mimi nodded affirmatively. "Strangely enough... yes. The women too, now that I think about it. There's either something in the water or they weed out all of the dogs at the entrance to the city..."
"Hmmm... Then I must have made it in just under the wire."
Mimi giggled and grinned at her. "You and me both."
Rory walked over to her bed and grabbed one of the smaller boxes. "I guess I better start unpacking. Because, if I don't start now, I'll still have all my stuff in boxes at the end of the year."
"I can help if you need it. And, then if you want, I can show you around my hometown."
"Thank you, Mimi. That's very sweet of you. I think I'll start in the bathroom." Rory smiled at her appreciatively and took the box she was holding into their bathroom.
Mimi sat on her bed with a sigh. Not only was Jason being downright nice to her, but she had a roommate who could possibly beat her out for the title of 'most talkative.' Yes, college was going to be very interesting indeed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Co-ed dorms can be fun! Woooooo!