Eliza woke up later than she normally would the next day. Her curtains were tightly drawn and long hair still damp from her late-night shower the night before. She hadn’t bothered to braid it before collapsing onto her pillow.

She huffed stiffly, stretched, and reached for her phone. “Great.” She scowled as she realized on top of everything that she had forgot to plug in last night. The battery was spent.

She groaned, plugged it into the wall, and then went to her window to guess at the time. It had to be at least 7, maybe 8 in the morning even.

She shook her head. It was a Saturday so she wouldn’t have class, but she still wanted to get some time in for her thesis before she started work at one. Her thesis that she barely had formulated. Her thesis which she needed for internships and if she graduated with honors.

Her thesis that determined her future.

Eliza massaged her jaw as she realized she had been grinding her teeth again in the night. Her mom would be so pissed if she broke another tooth eating a carrot or chocolate bar again.

She lamented her aching jaw as she brushed her teeth and got ready for the day. Cheerful light splashed across the carpet as she went into the kitchen-living room. It felt like some sort of punishment for her dark mood which sat like a sludgy pond in her center. There was never any rest from that frantic feeling in her chest that she was never doing enough...

Eliza was in the kitchen going through the cupboards when she heard noises from her roommate’s bedroom. They normally missed each other during the morning and nights since they kept different schedules.

But Eliza had slept in that morning.

Her eyes went wide as she heard a sudden thump. Maybe Mickey did have someone over last night… Eliza concentrated on Mickey’s door for a full minute as if studying it alone could make it give up the mysteries of the night before.

She quickly turned away when Mickey herself came out in nothing but a pair of electric blue sports shorts and a plain white t-shirt that said “This is my happy face” on it. Eliza pretended to be busy getting her morning energy bar and coffee ready.

“Oh hey,” Mickey said with a wide yawn as she got out one of the big pans. She was admittedly the only one who actually used the kitchen to cook.

“Hi,” Eliza wished that her voice didn’t jump up two octaves when she said that. She looked down at her hands as she huddled by the cupboards. “How’s the semester going?” She cringed as she asked it.

“Eh,” Mickey said loosely. “Same old, same old.” She sang and then seemed to turn on the stove. “What about you?” She said and Eliza turned around to see a lazy smile on her face. Her straight black hair was stuck to her cheek and eyes unfocused. Mickey leaned against the beige counter, “Any drama? Romance? Adventures?”

Eliza snuck her way to the kitchen table so she could get some distance and not look at Mickey’s very white shirt with her very bra-less chest. “Nope.” She shook her head. “No dating until after the thesis is done.” She sang. “And no drama, none with me at least.” She snorted.

“Aww,” Mickey made a face and put her phone on the counter. “Not even a little drama?” She winked, “As a treat?”

Eliza chuckled and remembered why she chose Mickey to be her roommate all those months ago. “Not unless you include me accidentally tipping the hot barista at the school cafe five dollars instead of fifty cents.” She sighed, “technology will always betray you.”

Mickey let out a hearty laugh and shook her head while pouring oil in the pan. “How hot are we talking?”

Eliza relaxed a little bit. “A bit of Ruby Rose mixed with Ryan Reynolds.”

“Oh!” Mickey chirped, “so they would kill me on sight, I see how it is.” They both laughed before the sound of the oil sizzling filled the room.

Eliza numbly chewed on her peanut butter energy bar and glanced at Mickey’s bedroom door again as if someone might emerge from it. “You?” She said after a pause that surely could have meant the conversation was over. “Any… romance or?” It was a bit of a bold question since they still didn’t know each other that well.

Mickey rubbed at her eyes. “Can’t say so.” She said and went to the fridge for eggs. “No one for me here, you know college kids,” she said cryptically, “too immature.”

Eliza cocked her head to the side, “only older men and MILFS for you then?” She tried to joke and was rewarded by a huge smile from her roommate.

“So you do know me!” She laughed, “and here I thought you were hiding from me all this time.”

Eliza sat up straight, “No!” She tried to protest quickly, “I just, um, study. A lot. Gotta get everything wrapped up…”

“I know, I know,” Mickey waved a hand through the air, “I just never see you,” she looked Eliza up and down and then opened and closed her mouth hesitantly. “When did you even get in last night?” Mickey asked in the way she said all things: like a surfer girl who really didn’t care as long as the waves were good. 

However, she was also looking at her nails as she said it and scratching her ankle with one of her feet. She was trying too hard.

“Eleven like usual, headed straight for the shower,” Eliza picked at one of her long curls, “like an idiot.”

Mickey visibly relaxed at that. “Not a fan of wet hair?”

“Not a fan of wet anything.” Eliza said as she wrinkled her nose. “That’s why I moved to a desert state in the first place.”

Mickey clicked her tongue as she cracked an egg into her pan. “Well,” she eyed her slowly, “let me know if you’re ever home some nights.” She said way too casually again, “we should hang.”

Eliza gave a careful smile. “Sure.” She nodded, “I’d like that.” Was it a secret boyfriend then? Or a long-distance one she wanted to be alone with? Eliza tried to piece it together.

Mickey continued to stir her eggs and add little bits of cheese and meat to her omelette. Eliza focused on her fingers for a few seconds with their blunt nails and smooth skin. They weren't big hands, but they were quick and sure in their movements, precise. Eliza swallowed thickly after a moment.

“See you around.” She retreated to her room after that. She retreated deep and dark into her room to collect her barely-charged phone and backpack. She blinked back any thoughts of Mickey from last night: the one moaning and saying dirty words. The one with her tits hanging out and legs open wide and hair wild. The one that asked Eliza to cum for her.

Eliza splashed her face with cold water and left in a hurry that morning.