"I hate this," I sighed, stretching my arms onto the table and laying my head down.
"I know, but we can either get rid of her now or have the rest of this year suck ass," Logan gave me a reassuring smile and patted my head like a puppy.
Logan, Sabrina and I had signed a lease to be roommates at the start of our junior year. Before then, none of us knew each other and although I would've preferred rooming with girls only, specifically some of my friends, my bad case of procrastination didn't land me with many home options. Despite not loving the idea of living with two strangers at first, it turned out to be the best decision of my college career. Well, almost.
Logan became my best friend almost instantly. He and I were complete opposites, not the kind of people who would have connected under any other circumstance, but we had such a weird chemistry and understood each other in a way that just worked.
Sabrina on the other hand never meshed with us. She was super reserved which wasn't a problem on its own, but she was also one of the filthiest people I'd ever met. I always thought rumors of horror roommates were exaggerated, but then I met Sabrina. She would constantly leave dirty dishes in the sink and on counters, leave clothes everywhere and her room had a smell of spoiled milk and foot fungus that made me gag just thinking about it. And that's where the reserved piece became an issue. Anytime we tried to tell her about it, she'd just shut down, make it apparent she was upset without communicating with us and then just not fix the issues.
The door finally opened and in walked Sabrina. Logan and I watched her from our shared dining room table. Without so much of a glance in our direction she dropped her backpack by the kitchen island and headed straight to her room.
I looked at Logan, unsure of what to do. We had planned out our conversation to begin the moment she came in, but it was already messed up.
"Fuck this," Logan growled, getting up abruptly and stomping over to her room. I stood up then, not sure what to do, but followed him quietly hoping that meant he'd handle the whole thing.
He knocked on her door loudly, waited a second and then knocked again, "Sabrina, can you come out here."
Finally after a minute she appeared, a quizzical look on her face.
"This shit ain't working. We keep telling you to do something about your mess and you just won't listen. Lex and I want you to move out. You've got a month." He finalized and left for his own room. I stood there and watched him leave, shutting his room door behind him. The conversation was not supposed to be that quick.
I finally looked over at Sabrina, who was clearly taken off guard as tears started welling up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, girl. But I think you'll be much happier with roommates who you actually get along with." I tried, awkwardly. Confrontations were not my strong suit. She slammed her door with quite some force which made me want to kick it down and take back my apology.
"Good riddance," I said to no one and headed to my own room. After I shut the door and sat in my bed, I felt kind of pathetic. Why did I have to suffer in my room like I was in trouble?
Then there was a light knock at my door and Logan entered, "Cookies?" He asked, practically reading my mind.
We lived in a college town so most of our destinations were accessible by foot. The best cookie shop in the world was only three blocks away and we'd spent many drunken evenings there, grabbing cookies with friends and bringing them back to our apartment.
"You think she'll actually go?" I asked him as we made our way down the road. It was nearing the end of October, but it was a mild evening. I felt comfortable in my sweater with the light breeze bringing more yellow leaves to the ground.
"Oh, she will. She doesn't have a choice," He smiled his big carefree smile, "When are you going to compliment me for absolutely killing that conversation?" He teased, but I could tell he was proud of himself.
Logan came from a wealthy background and was essentially a frat boy stereotype. He was tall with porcelain white skin and fiery red hair. He had a lean, muscular frame from ice hockey and a few tattoos. He went to all the football games and would regularly paint his face our school colors at tailgates. He'd nearly gotten arrested a few times for trying to destroy street signs or peeing in a bush. He would randomly go play golf or go fishing on weeknights as if it was as natural as going to dinner.
Despite partying daily, he was the kind of student that didn't have to study to get straight A's, even as an aspiring mechanical engineer. I think he was also like the vice president of a few clubs, student government included. Even though he was the perfect stereotype of a college frat boy, the one thing he wasn't, was a frat boy. And why wasn't he in a fraternity? In Logan's exact words, "I don't want to live with a bunch of dudes."
We walked into the cookie shop and the cashier's face lit up to see Logan. I swore, for not being a football player, Logan was like a mini celebrity on campus. All the boys had a crush on him.
"Hey Logan," He greeted him and they did their little boy handshake. I rolled my eyes, possibly a little jealous at the connection all guys seemed to have.
"What's up, bro?" Logan, the charmer, greeted back and entered into a smooth conversation with him.
I tapped him on the arm, "Grab a half dozen, I'm going to get us a seat outside." I told him and he waved me off.
I sat outside, looking at other college students who were walking here and there. People watching was one of my favorite pastimes. Although college girls were no stranger to minimal clothing in cold weather, it appeared the mild day brought out a stunning display of shorts and bra tops. I didn't think it was that warm, but I could respect their resolve.
It was crazy to think that we were halfway done with the semester. Time flew by so fast, but to think I'd only known one of my best friends for two months was also crazy.
I looked in the window to see Logan chatting with a couple of girls in the shop. I smiled. He was such a people person.
If he was the 'perfect student' stereotype, I had to be the 'most average student' stereotype. I struggled to keep a C average, partially thanks to my procrastination habit and partially because I valued parties more than studying. I wasn't a member of any clubs and I definitely didn't play sports. I didn't come from as wealthy of a background as most of the students at my college, but I wasn't struggling either. I didn't have to work, but I did keep a part time job for some extra cash and something to do.
I was the average height for a girl, maybe a little short at 5'3", and had a rich brown skin complexion and long coily hair. My friend group was small and close knit, but I could easily hang out with anyone in any setting. I did actually start attending football games, but that was just thanks to Logan. Before that, my idea of a good time was a smaller get together or simply alone with my array of movie streaming platforms.
Despite some of our obvious differences, we both loved drinking and partying, had a great sense of humor and supported each other. It was actually kind of perfect. We would still find time to not be down each other's throat, but when we wanted to party, we had double the parties to go to. I'd sing his damned Sweet Caroline with all the added, '"ba, ba, ba's" at his parties, and he'd hoist me onto his shoulder to belt out Kendrick Lamar lyrics at mine.
He even helped me hookup with a few of his friends and I helped him hookup with some of mine. We were the perfect platonic ride or die friends.
"You want to go to a party tonight?" Logan finally came around with my cookies. I opened the box and grabbed my favorite, a cheesecake cookie with raspberry ganache.
"I have an exam tomorrow," I told him. He smiled his sly smile, knowing if I didn't say no, I could easily be convinced.
"Just study in the morning." He suggested.
"Have I ever told you, you are the kind of person everyone hates?" I said as he looked at the box for what cookie he wanted first.
