A/N: Yay, another chapter complete! Thanky so much to all my reviewers. I hope you like this chapter, too. Oh, and have a happy Thanksgiving! Read and enjoy!

"I know we'll make it anywhere" –Snow Patrol

Eva stood shyly at the curb, bags in hand, double-checking the address. Yep, this was the place. She pushed open the large glass door and entered the lobby of the dorm building. Almost immediately she spotted a table across the room. She walked up to it self-consciously. "Um, hi," she said to the woman sitting there. "I'm here to check in for the summer program. Is this the right place?"

The woman gave her a friendly smile. "It sure is," she replied brightly. "Name?"

"Eva Kerekes."

"All right, let's see here…" The woman looked over a list. "Ah! Here you are. Room 14 A, Aida, Mizuki, and Kerekes, Eva Lia. Right down that hallway," she said, pointing to the right. She handed Eva a stack of papers. "That's got your schedule and all the other info you need. There's an orientation dinner tonight at 6:00 in the café. I hope to see you there."

Eva took the papers and smiled. "Thanks." She picked up her bags and headed down the hall. She wondered what kind of person her roommate would be. Mizuki Aida… Well, she would find out soon enough. 14 A, 14 A… Ah, there. Eva stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath. This was it. She was about to spend the next six weeks in New York studying dance day in and day out. She had worked hard to get into this summer program, and now here she was. She closed her eyes and opened the door.

She stepped in and opened her eyes. The room was pretty basic; a set of bunk beds against one wall, two small desks, and two identical sets of drawers. Two large black suitcases sat in one corner of the room. "So, you must be 'Kerekes, Eva Lia.'" Eva jumped slightly, startled, and looked up. A petite, colorfully dressed Japanese girl leaned over the edge of the top bunk. A catlike grin stretched across her face.

"And you must be 'Aida, Mizuki,'" Eva replied evenly.

The girl sat up, her tan legs dangling in midair. "Hai. But you can just call me Zookie." She blinked. "You don't have to just stand there. It's your room too, you know."

"Hmm? Oh, right," Eva said, snapping out of a slight daze. She dumped her bags next to one of the dressers and plopped down in one of the desk chairs. Her mind raced the way it always did when she met new people. She never had been very good at striking up conversations, but she felt the need to say something; she would be living with this girl for the next six weeks, after all. "So… where are you from?" she asked lamely.

"Detroit. You?"

"Bethesda."

"That's in Maryland, right?" Eva nodded. "Cool."

Zookie looked at Eva intently, her expression unreadable. After an uncomfortable period of silence, she asked, "If you could be any ice cream flavor, what would you be?"

This took Eva by surprise. "Ice cream? Me? I guess I'd be… mint chocolate chip."

Zookie pondered this. "Mint chocolate chip, huh? Okay. I'd be bubble gum. The old-fashioned kind, blue with the little rainbow bubble gum chunks."

As Eva looked at her roommate again, she realized that Zookie's response made sense. From what she could tell so far, bubble gum ice cream seemed like it would fit Zookie's personality. Sometimes it was amazing what you could tell about a person just from their favorite ice cream flavor. For instance, Eva's mother was particular to rainbow sherbet. A soft, gentle, artsy kind of flavor for a soft-spoken, gentle, artsy kind of woman. Tory liked rocky road, and the chocolate ice cream with its nuts matched her tough, sarcastic side, while the marshmallows hidden away matched her not-so-visible softy side. Bailey preferred just plain chocolate, simple yet timeless, and Teena was a lover of mango ice cream (whenever she could get a hold of some, anyway), bright, flavorful, and somewhat exotic.

Zookie looked at the cat-shaped clock she had already hung on the wall. "Do you have any idea where the café we're supposed to be going to is?"

"Nope."

Zookie grinned. "Well then, roomie, I think it's time we go get ourselves lost."

-

TorchVree: Have you seen my frog toe socks? As in, have you stolen them recently?

downbytheBay: Nope. I stealthily took the monkeys, not the frogs. Check your feet?

TorchVree: Yeah, like that'll help.

TorchVree: Oh. Curse you people who know these things.

-

Tory gazed dully out the window of the taxi, ignoring her little half-brother Robin as he repeatedly poked her arm. The taxi slowed to a stop in front of a familiar two-story house. "Well, here we are!" Bridget announced cheerfully. "Robin, why don't you go in and let Gran know we're here while Tory, Daddy, and I get the bags?" Robin nodded enthusiastically and ran up the walkway toward the front door.

Tory joined her mother and stepfather in unloading the bags from the trunk of the taxi. She wondered vaguely if anyone else had arrived for the family reunion yet. She and Robin and their parents visited Greta every Christmas, but Tory had only met the rest of her mother's family a few times. She was especially interested in meeting her cousins.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the mighty Bee and company, back to join us for the summer," called a voice from behind.

"Billy!" Bridget squealed. Tory looked up to see her mother throw her arms around the redhead's neck. "It's great to see you! How've you been?"

Billy laughed. "It's been all right. So I see the gang's all here. Scott," he nodded with a grin to Bridget's husband, "and Tory! Dang, you're getting tall! How're you holding up, kiddo?"

"I'm good," Tory replied, smiling brightly. "Up for a run later?"

"You know it." Even though "Uncle" Billy technically wasn't related to her, he might as well have been. For the first five years of Tory's life, she and Bridget had lived in Burgess with Greta. Billy had been there for them that whole time, and he was the closest thing to a father Tory had had. When Tory was seven her mother married Scott, but she never felt quite as close to her stepfather as she did to Billy.

Billy picked up the last of the bags from the curb, and the four of them headed up the walkway to the house, chatting merrily. Greta and Robin were waiting for them as they entered. "Well, there you are! Bridget! How's my girl?" Greta asked, greeting her granddaughter with a hug. "Scott, glad to see you're doing well. And Tory, my gosh! You've grown since I saw you at Christmas. You've certainly got your mama's height." Once everyone got untangled from Greta's hugs, she shooed them into the kitchen. "You just leave you're bags right there. I've got lunch on the table, so eat up!"

As they settled down around the kitchen table and ate, they fell into a comfortable conversation. Tory talked about how she had gone to state finals for track in the spring, and Robin excitedly babbled about a recent museum trip with Scott. Listening to the chatter around her, Tory smiled in spite of herself. Yes, to most people she came off as cynical and even bitchy, but cliché as it might sound, being together with her family made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She secretly loved moments like this, everyone talking and laughing and generally enjoying each other's company.

This summer couldn't have started any more perfectly, Tory thought.