My Not So One-Night Stand

Part One

Aurora closes her textbook shut and sinks her face into the palms of her hands. Rubbing her temples, she tries to relieve her pounding headache. She glances at the clock on her desk. Seven-thirty PM. She buried herself in her cognitive psychology textbook for the last four hours, highlighting and taking detailed notes, ultimately forgetting about dinner.

Upperclassmen warned her about taking Ms. McGrath's cognitive psychology class. They warned her about the weekly tests, lengthy research papers, and tedious reading assignments that would consume her entire senior year. However, she didn't listen. 

No one normally voluntarily enrolls in laborious professors' classes, especially if there are times slots with other professors open. Typically, their classrooms comprise of students who don't know any better or need the class to graduate. Aurora didn't fit into either of those categories.

There was at least one open slot in Mr. Davidson's cognitive psychology class at nine-fifty AM on Mondays, Wednesdays. The class fit into her schedule perfectly. Students even rated him 4.2 on RateMyProfessor, compared to the 2.1 Ms. McGrath had acquired. Instead of listening to everyone who told her no, she enrolled in Ms. McGrath's class, anyway. Her eight AM class.

Her roommates thought she was insane. Anyone she knew in the psych department did. But there was something about the way everyone spoke negatively about the class that intrigued her. She laughs to herself. Maybe she was insane.

Aurora exits her bedroom wearing a pair of loosely fitted grey sweatpants, a red crop top, and fuzzy slippers. Her long, blonde hair is tied up in a messy bun, baby hairs scattered across her face. Pouring herself a glass of water, she rummages through the pantry cabinet in search of something quick to eat.

"You look like shit." Her roommate, Chloe, declares. Aurora grabs a box of extra cheesy macaroni and cheese before closing the pantry door, setting the box on the counter. "Have you been studying all day?" She asks in a disapproving tone.

Aurora avoids eye contact, gazing around the kitchen, looking at anything but her disapproving roommate. Aurora grabs a clean pot from under the cabinet, filling it with water before placing it on the front left burner, turning it on.

"It's not too late to switch professors," Her roommate suggests. 

Aurora shakes her head-no. Once word got around that she voluntarily signed up for Ms. McGrath's eight AM class, students heckled her. They told her she would never pass and that she's just throwing away tuition money. The doubt her classmates expressed only fueled her even more, telling everyone she would successfully pass Ms. McGrath's class with nothing lower than a B+. There was no way in hell she could switch professors now. 

Chloe stands in the middle of the kitchen, unsure of what to say next to get through Aurora's thick skull. She doesn't have to prove everyone right. 

Just then, the front door unlocks. Nicole, their other roommate, enters the apartment. She takes her work shoes off and kicks them under the entryway table. She places her jacket on the coat rack before walking into the living room, falling backward onto the couch. 

Noticing the quietness and sensing the tension between Aurora and Chloe, Nicole drapes one arm over the back of the couch, focusing her attention on her roommates in the kitchen.

Not wanting to be rude and ignore her roommate, Aurora greets Nicole with a toothless smile before checking on the pot of water on the stove. 

"You look like shit."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm fine!" Aurora defends, her voice going up an octave with frustration.

"Well you do, love. Even your bags have bags now." Nicole says.