The Thirty Day Bet

Chapter 2

The taxi pulled up to a large brick building with the words "Washington University of the Arts and Science" across it. Kevin paid the driver since I bought our lattes, and we lugged our suitcases inside.

A group of seniors had set up tables where people could take maps, ask questions, request tours, and find out where their dorms were. Kevin and I waited in line for a map for twenty minutes. Kevin tended to be impatient, so instead of getting in any more lines, we trekked to the dorms.

The school did not have a huge population of students attending, and many students joined sororities and fraternities, so there were only two buildings for dorms: a girls' and a boys'.

We parted ways, planning to meet in an hour to go grab lunch in the dining hall.

I quickly found my room, number 56, and dug out the key that had been mailed to me when I sent my housing payment to the University. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door. In the room stood a petite girl with an afro of red curls and a face covered in so many freckles that there was hardly any plain skin.

The redhead grinned and said, "Hey! You must be my roommate. I'm Veronica."

"Hi, I'm Elle."

"Oh, like Elle Woods from Legally Blonde?" Veronica asked with excitement.

"Uhh, yeah I guess." My response made Veronica widen her smile. I liked this girl already. She was adorable. There were so many questions I could ask her, but I started with the ultimate lame question, "Which bed do you want?"

The room was medium-sized with two queen sized beds against opposite walls. Each bed had a small table next to it. There was a door on each wall where the beds were, the right one containing a closet and the left containing a bathroom.

She pointed to the one closest to the bathroom. "If you don't mind, I was thinking that I could have this one?" She said it like a question.

"Totally! Hey listen, I gotta go meet my best friend for lunch in..." I paused to check my watch, "seventeen minutes, so I don't have much time to hang out, but maybe tonight we can grab some snacks and get to know each other."

"Um, I'd love to, but I have plans. My boyfriend of two years enrolled here too, so I was gonna spend the night over there. In fact, I'll probably spend a lot of nights there if his roommate doesn't mind, and maybe he could spend some nights here and you could sleepover at that best friend's place? Oh God that sounded so selfish. Sorry. I have no filter. I do wanna get to know you, though. College friends are for life. Maybe we can get coffee tomorrow at ten?"

I was surprised that she had plans to "spend the night" with anyone; My roommate's small stature made her appear so innocent. But I didn't mind it. I figured it was one more facet to Veronica, that I'd come to cherish. And I always loved those "no filter" friends. So I smiled and said, "I'd love to get coffee. Let's meet here tomorrow, and we can walk to Starbucks together."

"Sounds great!"

I felt a rush of excitement. I've been in college less than a day and already have a new friend. I unpacked my toiletries with my extra time. Then, I walked out the door and headed for the dining hall to meet Kevin. I couldn't wait to hear about his roommate too.