| Dana sighed as she plopped onto the bed, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She got up and took out her contacts, then washed her face, pausing before climbing into bed to look at the clock. “I can’t believe I’m going to bed at seven-thirty,” she mumbled to herself before yawning again. “This double minor is killin’ me.” She squirmed her way deep under the covers and flipped out the light over her bed, sighing before relaxing. As soon as she was about to fall asleep, the phone rang. She sat up and sighed. “Never fails.” She made her way over to the phone, tripping over the shoes she had carelessly tossed minutes ago. “Hello?” “Hey, Dana, what’s up?” “Oh, hey Kaylie. Not much.” “Well,” Kaylie drew out the word, her eastern Kentucky accent drawling. “My cousin’s gonna be in town sometime tomorrow. You want to hang out with us sometime?” “Sure. How long is he gonna be here?” “He’ll be here for a coupla days.” “Yeah, sure. Just drop by sometime. The door will be open if I’m here. Just go ahead and walk in whenever.” “Okay. See ya tomorrow.” “Bye.” Dana replaced the phone on the hook and yawned again, retreating back to the warmness and comfort of her bed. Seconds later, she heard her roommate enter the room, saw the lights go on, and heard her click on the television. She rolled her eyes and rolled over to face the wall, quietly swearing under her breath. Sleep finally settled in. *** Dana heard the television turn on and instinctively rolled onto her side, pulling the covers up over her ears. Soon, she heard the door click shut and fell back asleep. Two hours later, the alarm went off, and she hit the snooze button three times before finally sitting up and stretching. She groggily made her way into the bathroom for a shower, getting ready for class. The hours crawled by as she went from class to class, finally praising the minute her three-thirty class let out, the last class of her day. She lit a cigarette and slowly moseyed back to her room, pausing to sit outside the residence hall to finish smoking. She flicked the cigarette away in disgust, then went up to her room. She plopped her backpack on the floor and collapsed onto the bed, sighing in exhaustion. Kicking off her shoes, she yawned and picked up the psychology book and plunged in, throwing herself into her reading. She jumped when there was a knock at the door. “It’s open,” she called, finding her place in her textbook. “Hey,” came a female voice from behind her. “Hey, Kaylie,” she responded, not looking up from her book. She heard Kaylie sit on her roommate’s bed, and glanced up, smiling. “Interesting book?” Kaylie asked with a smirk. “Not really,” she replied, stifling a yawn. “You can sit down,” Kaylie said, directing her comment to the front door. Dana looked over her shoulder, unable to see who she was talking to. Brain fart, Dana. Her cousin’s in town, dumbass, she thought to herself. A tall, dark-haired man of about twenty-five slowly sat next to his cousin, taking in the room. Dana smiled and introduced herself, closing her psych book and setting it beside her on the bed. He smiled and introduced himself as Scott, his deep voice echoing slightly through the room. “This is my cousin,” Kaylie said proudly. “I kind of figured that out, babe,” Dana said with a slight laugh. Kaylie smiled, sticking her tongue out. Dana chucked a pillow at her, barely missing her head. “I see college hasn’t changed much,” Scott said with a smirk. “Everyone goes back to kindergarten.” Dana smiled. “So what are ya’ll up to?” “I’m gonna drive him through town.” “Hey – you’d better not blink or you’ll miss the whole thing,” Dana said to Scott, getting up to rummage through the empty refrigerator. He laughed lightly. “You wanna come with us?” Dana turned around, her eyebrow raised. “You want me to drive, huh?” Kaylie blushed and looked at her hands in her lap. “You’re out of gas again, aren’t you?” Scott laughed. “I don’t get paid until Friday,” she said. “Please?” Dana laughed. “Why not?” Dana smiled at Scott as Kaylie did a victory dance. She grabbed her keys and purse and headed out the door. *** “… So then she intentionally falls down the stairs and embarrasses herself in front of a big group of cute frat guys just so they won’t hit on her anymore.” Scott was laughing so hard he was holding his stomach, tears streaming down his face, and Kodee was laughing between words, as Kaylie just blushed and giggled. “It didn’t work anyway, did it, Kaylie?” Kaylie shook her head, still laughing. “In fact, I have a date with one this Friday.” “You mean tomorrow?” Dana raised her eyebrow as Kaylie nodded. “What’s Scott gonna do? He’s still gonna be here, but you have a date.” Kaylie gasped. “Oh my God. I completely forgot about you,” she said to Scott, who smiled. “Gee thanks.” “You know what I mean,” she said, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. “Well, I guess he could hang out with me,” Dana said, shrugging her shoulders slightly. Scott’s eyes lit up, and he shifted in his chair trying to cover up his reaction. “Would you do that for me, Dana?” Kaylie asked. “Sure. Nothing else to do.” “Is that okay with you?” Kaylie turned to Scott, who tried to look nonchalant, but Kaylie could see he was happy. “I guess,” he shrugged, and Kaylie noticed a spark in his eyes. “Bye, you all,” Dana said as Scott and Kaylie headed toward the residence hall. They turned and waved, then headed into the dorm, then disappeared around the corner. Dana sighed and pulled out a cigarette, quickly lighting it before the breeze could blow out the flame. |