The Dreaded Third Roommate

I moved in on Sunday the 20th, if you remember. By Wednesday, Mikiko and I were still new to each other, but we had routines and got along fairly well for total strangers.

Actually, we live together better than I think I could with any of my friends because she doesn't have any preconceptions about me, I shoved mine about her HARD away from my mind, and I used to make it my job to be a crazy fangirl and learn all I could about the Japanese. So sometimes I can anticipate what she's doing, and I love how that makes her jump :D

So on Wednesday, I came home after...who knows what. But I came home, and the first thing I noticed was that there was a cleaning caddy on the desk next to Mikiko's stuff, and some new stuff up on the shelf. The second thing was the third bed was all made up. The Third was the HORRIBLE AWFUL SMELL OF PERFUME. She had plugged in like 3 of these awful Glade Plugins that spelled like a mix between Gardenia's and Iris', which is a surefire way to sent me into paroxysms.

I stood and stared for a moment, and then started rushing about picking up things. It had only been three days after all. I hadn't figured out where all my stuff should go! And I was using 3 wardrobes, so she had dumped a bunch of my stuff on the floor. Including the boxes I had stored under her bed. So by the time Miki came home I met her at the door clenching a knife like a crazy woman, flat boxes all around me and said in an oddly detached voice "Miki? Did you know about this?"

And of course she started pestering me with questions. "What's her name? Where is she? When did she come in? When is she coming back? Moe-nica, do you like her?"

"Miki, she came in while we were gone. I have absolutely NO IDEA what is going on."

And of course, THAT upset her.

"They should have told us!" She rants, walking to and fro and cleaning up her nonexistent mess. "Don't they do that in America? HOW RUDE!"

The girl didn't come in till later that night while Miki was out. I think Miki was staying the night at a friends house. So it was pretty late when she showed up.

"Hi!" She chirps as she rushes through, a blond boy waits in the doorway as I eye her blurrily. "I'm so and so, I'm not staying here tonight. This is Brady, My boyfriend."

"Hi." He waves.

I squint, Thinking that I'll prolly change his name to blondy.

"I'll see you later, okay? OKAY!"

And then she's gone.

In fact, for the next few days, I think I see her for a grand total of like...10 minutes. MAYBE. Miki still hasn't met her. But one day I come home and they are both there and Miki is at her desk frowning, trying to make herself small, and the girl is rushing about doing things and I get the feeling that Miki is not very comfortable because she smiles very brightly when she sees me.

"HI Moe-nica!"

Hm.

So we don't spend too terribly much time together. She DOES take most of the plugins out, which is nice. But she had this weird habit of coming by late in the morning, opening all the windows and setting up a fan, then never coming back. why do that if you're NEVER HERE? Seriously. By the time I was getting home it was 50 degrees in the house, and that was just NOT cool. But I didn't say anything.

Mostly because she was NEVER HERE.

The only time I ever spent any real time with her was the night she and Brady broke up. I don't remember too much of it. But we were watching House together and someone called and she was crying right next to me on the couch and it was weird and she didn't get on her computer at all. Just sat and watched television. And then she ACTUALLY SLEPT IN HER BED.

I was traumatized.

Rewind a day backwards though. The crying was on Monday, but on Sunday my family visited with stuff. They brought me a small fridge a friend of mine lent me, an even smaller microwave that is SUPER LOUD and barely holds a popped bag of popcorn, and a few other things. Then later that night HER family showed up with a truckload of stuff! Then she just ditched all the boxes and things and poor Mikiko couldn't even get to her desk so I was shoving things out of the way for a few days. It was kind of annoying.

Monday night she came home super early and went to bed at like...right after House. She took some pills, which made me nervous, and fell asleep on the phone with her ex still on the phone. This I know because I could hear him saying "Hello? HELLO? are you there?!"

Tuesday morning her ex came by and we had a chat. Yes they had broken up, yes they were still friends and hey btw don't be surprised if she moves out soon. She planned on being at the college to be with me (says Brady) and it's not really working out for her right now. So she's either gonna find another dorm, or switch campus'. Mostly because of stress and other things.

I told him I'd keep an eye on her, and that I understood, bla bla bla....He's really a nice stand up guy though. I really like him. For a freshmen :) Mmmmm Freshmeat :D

Tuesday afternoon I came home just as Mikiko was leaving (in a bit of a rush) and the girl caught me and sat me down to chat.

"Now I don't want you and Mikiko thinking this is because of you guys, because it's not, but I've been applying for a different dorm for a few days and I don't want you two to take this personally, but I finally got one and I'm moving into a singles."

Okay, I'm a little torn here. Should I be upset that she's using that fake polite smile of hers that means she's lying through her teeth? Or happy that she's gone? Or worried? Who knows where that last came from.

But I lied in equal measure and said it was okay and hmmed and okayed at appropriate moments when she said she'd love to see Miki and I again.

Like she spent more than an hour or two with us, seriously.

She swept out directly after, and I realized that she had left her dorm change form on the couch. It was there. It was calling to me. I couldn't resist.

You know what it said on the line that says 'Reason why you want to switch dorms?'?

It said "Lifestyle changes with roommates."

WTF? I'd be offended if I actually knew what that meant.

Later that night, after I got back from class, She and her ex were still in here bickering about moving her stuff out. I got a kick out of it, but it was still annoying. It was 8 o'clock or a bit later I think, and she wanted to move NOW but she wasn't getting anything done. I couldn't wrap my mind around it >.< And then all of a sudden, she's got friend after friend tromping through the door. It was kind of amazing, actually. Although I didn't see the girl come up and down the stairs too often. Her ex ran up and down the most. By this time they had filled up two cars with her stuff so the last two things (a box and a drawer set) had to be carried by hand to the other dorm. I felt bad for Brady since he's so nice, so I helped out with the last trip, came back shut the door and sighed.

FINALLY!

3 things I learned about unexpected roommates (or just roommates in general)

1. Beware of their scented habits. She had hairsprays and deodorizers (how do they do that if they PUT odor in the air?) and plug ins galore! The room barely smells like itself a week later.

2. Beware of the dreaded pill bottles. She had 6 on her side table. 6! And she didn't take them with her when she spent the night with Brady. Oh no, she came back 'if she remembered'. Half of those were anti-depressants mind you. And then add on one pack of birth control. Please, I'm a slob. But at least I keep pills and things PUT AWAY!

3. Never look in their laundry baskets where they keep their detergent. Just trust me.

Regards, from Purgatory :)

Monica