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                                                                      California State University, Sophomore Year

            "Yes" Miranda yelled, prancing around the room in glee. "Walk in closet, you are mine!" Miranda lifted the long straw in triumph.

            "You don't have to rub it in" Lizzie sighed, slumping against the couch as she glanced at the shortest straw out of the three.

            "Yes, I am all over that second floor room" Gordo sat down next to Lizzie and smirked. "So what's it going to be, Attic or kitchen? It really matters you know, you have to decide whether you want your clothes to smell like mothballs or meatballs" He laughed at his own joke; in return Lizzie smacked him on the arm.

            "That is so not funny, and you know it!" Lizzie sighed hanging her head in defeat.

            Gordo looked sorry and patted her arm soothingly. "You know the attic isn't that bad, it's actually pretty big."

Lizzie chewed her bottom lip as she contemplated the options. Her picture of sophomore year had definitely not included living like the Phantom of the Opera, skulking around in a dusty old attic room with its low, sloping ceiling. On the other hand, taking the room next to the kitchen meant trying to study while listening to three other people banging pots and pans together on the other side of the wall.

            "I guess I'll take the attic" Lizzie decided. "So what if I have to hobble around like Quasimodo…"

            "Now that that's settled, I'm going to sleep" Miranda said as she uncurled her legs and stood up stretching. "Hopefully I'll dream about taking a shower and using the phone"

            "Wait a second" Gordo stopped her. "We covered your top concern what about mine? We will start to starve if we don't find a roommate soon, to dish over their part of this month rent."

Lizzie felt like groaning, she could handle a lot to do but this was getting ridiculous. She had thought living off campus would reduce her stress, now she felt like she was more stressful than ever.

            "Well, we have those appointments for tomorrow," She said picking up the pad where she'd written her to-do-list. "And once we have a phone number we can put up flyers"

            Miranda was hovering at the foot of the staircase. "What appointments?"

            "I told you- the ones I set up while I was crashing at my friend Evan's place," Gordo reminded her. "We're meeting with four people- mostly friends of friends. The first one is tomorrow at two-thirty."

            "Ok, I'll be there" Miranda said. "Oh- so are you guys gonna help me move my bed into my great, new room?"

            Perfect Lizzie thought. The last thing they had to do tonight involved serious manual labor. "Then mine, right Miranda?"

            "And then mine." Gordo added.

            "Of course," Miranda added. "Did you guys really think I would make you bring mine up then blow you off by falling asleep" She said and walked up the steps.

            Lizzie and Gordo turned to each other and smiled.

            Lizzie fell back into the daisy upholstered sofa and sighed. She was so stressed she thought she was going to pass out, yet she wasn't tired. Miranda was snoring happily in her perfect room, Lizzie had checked. As far as she knew she had the duplex to herself. She closed her eyes and started drifting off. She was having a dream about, Conner. Why hadn't he called her, dream Lizzie asked. You will see me soon enough, dream Conner told her. Lizzie woke with a start as the sofa bounced.

            "Sorry" Gordo said sheepishly, "I didn't think it would bounce that much"

            "Oh its ok, I had just dozed off for a second" She smiled and turned to face him. "Can you believe it, our own house? I thought this day would never come."

            "Yea I know me too." Gordo told her, he sighed. "I'm glad you and Miranda asked me to go into this thing with you"

            "Me too…" Lizzie felt an awkward pause... "Well... I'm going to bed, g'night Gordo" Lizzie bent down and gave Gordo a kiss on the cheek as she got up.

Out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw Gordo placing a hand on his cheek, maybe she was seeing things, and maybe it was the stress. Lizzie climbed the stairs to her murky attic room. This is life; she thought at she put on her pajamas and climbed into bed.