The Next Day

"Wow, who knew furniture shopping could be so…extravagant." Paige said, following Ellie and Mrs. Nash into the apartment complex.

"Oh right, your place came fully equipped with home furnishing." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Hey, it's not my fault my dad had the place fully furnished before I moved in. Besides, it's not like I totally love the décor." Paige insisted. Ellie gave her a look. "Maybe it's not that bad."

"Well, I'll tell you both." Came Mrs. Nash as she closed the door. "You have it lucky. There weren't apartments as fancy like this, or dorms rooms as nice and clean as the ones over at the university when I attended U of T. Furniture hunting should be the least of your problems."

"Especially if you have parents like mine." Paige delightfully sighed. "Thanks again Mrs. Nash for inviting me today. I had a blast, despite the fact that Ellie tagged along." Paige playfully nudged the redhead, smirking. Ellie mockingly smiled back.

"Oh don't mention it Paige; I always thought you had great taste."

"Really?" Paige said, giving Ellie a look. "Why thank you, how sweet. It's just too bad I couldn't persuade your daughter from buying that horrible, pale green furniture set."

"I picked that out," Mrs. Nash defensively replied, slightly frowning.

"Oh…well in that case it was a beautiful choice. I'm sure it'll look great…somewhere in this apartment." Paige looked away, avoiding the awkward glare Mrs. Nash was giving her. Ellie giggled.

"In any case," Mrs. Nash said, turning to her daughter. "The moving guys said the furniture would be here in 2 to the 3 weeks, which gives you plenty of time to look for a job,"

"Yippee, a job." Ellie said unenthusiastically.

"Either a job, or roommates who are bold and rich enough to pay this place off. Don't expect me to do all of it. You'll need someone to help you take care of this place."

"Couldn't I just get a job that pays well instead?"

"Eleanor, why are you so against getting roommates. I think it'll be a great experience for you."

"Mom, I've had roommates before."

"There you go, it was experience."

"Yeah, but I lived with friends… and Paige."

"Uh… hello, standing right here." Paige waved a hand.

"I just wish I could live with someone I knew, that's all. Strangers just moving in seem… strange."

"What about Marco?"

"He, uh… he got caught up with other stuff. Besides, he's living on campus this year." Ellie looked to her shoes as she mentioned Marco. It still hurt to talk about him.

"Well if you're concerned about strangers than schedule interviews for all the people who wanna move. Get to know them; it might put you at ease of who you choose."

"That's great. I'll even help with the interviews and get you some flyers around town." Paige offered.

"See, the funny thing is, I thought when we moved out I'd never see you again. But unfortunately I see you every day. Why is that?"

"Cause without me," Paige placed hand around the girl's shoulder. "You're just a quirky, little redhead without spunk in her life. I complete you."

…

Alex didn't get much sleep the previous night. She stayed up flipping through channels, hoping to find something good on t.v; then she remembered two hours had past since midnight. Nothing was on, with the exception of crappy infomercials and the slap stick humor of the Three Stooges. She chose The Stooges. Luckily for her, it was an all night marathon. The show kept her company until she decided to drift off around three.

Checkout time was at noon, 12 to be exact, Alex woke up around 8. For some reason, she couldn't get back to sleep. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing her friends again that woke her; maybe it was the painful thought of them rejecting her once she knocked on their door. Alex realized she didn't pull her weight very often around the house while she was a "guest". Hopefully they could forgive that.

Despite her last meeting with Paige, she hoped things would be okay between them. She didn't come back to win her over, she just wanted to visit home for a few days. What better way to make a comeback than to visit old friends?

At around 10:30, Alex got ready. Her morning was spent watching kiddie shows on the PBS network. After getting showered and dressed, she packed away her hygiene materials and headed to the front desk. She dropped off the room key and headed back on the road.

After a few minutes of driving through town, she finally reached the university residential area. The off campus houses sat on either side of the streets. The sorority and fraternity houses stood in a row only a few blocks away from one another. Alex breezed through neighborhood as if she lived in the area herself. She didn't forget a single detail. Minutes later, she came to the lot.

The familiar house sat their in a corner of its own. Nothing about it had changed; the window hinges needed a paint job that was all. But everything else seemed the same.

Alex basked at it for a moment through the open car window until she finally built up the courage to get out and ring the doorbell.

She stood on the stoop, waiting for someone to answer the door. A moment later, it swung open. An unfamiliar brunette stood in the doorway, she looked at Alex questionably.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Uh… hi. My name's Alex. I'm looking for the owners of the house. A Michalchuk or a Nash?"

"Okay. Who are those people?" the girl said.

"The house owners," Alex made a face.

"I'm the house owner, well me and a friend."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm standing here aren't I?"

"Yeah…but not too long ago those people were here. Paige Michalchuk, Ellie Nash, Marco Del Rossi."

"Okay. Well, they probably moved out sweetie. The Dean said this place was available for at least two months before we bought it."

"Moved out?" Alex repeated, as if it were the only words spoken.

"Yeah."

"Do you know where they are now?"

"Why would I?"

"I…I um. I guess you wouldn't. Okay. Sorry for disturbing you."

"Whatever." The girl shut the door without further recognition. Her rudeness didn't seem to faze Alex; the words "moved out" continued to linger in her head.

"Moved out?" she said again, slightly frowning. She headed back to the car, looking to her shoes. "Moved out?"

"They moved out?" came a familiar. Alex looked up. "Damn."

It was Sean Cameron.

…