Three Is A Crowd

Chapter 4: Dirty Laundry

It's been more than two weeks already since Lauren has settled in her dorm room, but her roommate still doesn't seem to have forgiven her fully.

Okay, it's probably because Lauren keeps pushing her buttons so she isn't even questioning Camila's lack of warmth towards her. Sometimes, Lauren thinks of just waving the white flag, you know, apologize and be nice to her, but then, the little things Camila constantly does remind her why she'd rather piss her off on a daily basis.

Like why the hell does Camila sing so loud in the shower? She already nags her every chance she gets, not to mention, she likes to hum some random annoying tunes (if she isn't mindlessly strumming her guitar -- which Lauren daydreams of bashing against Camila's skull one day) even if she's just looking out the window, and Lauren still has to endure her grating shower voice every damn day?

Can you really blame her for wanting to piss her off? Camila's so easy to annoy anyway that Lauren thinks it's a sin if she didn't push her to the limits at least once a day. It's what she calls a give and take relationship.

The only time Lauren lets up with the teasing is if she's in her melancholic mood, which means she just wants to be left alone to nurture her existential angst. Just some good ol' peace and quiet while she lays in her bed and brood, or read a book. You know, just her usual asocial self minding her own business. During those times, it would be the most ideal time for a ceasefire in Room 727.

But no, apparently, her uptight roommate couldn't shut her damn mouth for more than two minutes even if her life depended on it.

Right now would be the perfect example.

Her eyes has been following Camila's pacing for the last ten minutes and Lauren's kinda wondering if she's suffering from a nervous breakdown. Should she call 911? Or a mental asylum?

"For the last time, Lauren, I told you to put your dirty clothes in your hamper! Not beside it, not around it, not on the floor, and definitely not under my bed!!!"

The way Camila waves her arms around makes her look like an octopus high on acid, and Lauren has to bite her tongue just to keep herself from laughing hysterically. She really is a goofball sometimes; very cute and quirky. Also, she has never seen a person with so much spunk in them. So feisty. She never thought she'll say this, but she kinda likes it. No, actually, she really likes it.

She continues to silently observe Camila behind her book, noticing Camila's ticks; the way she bites her bottom lip every few seconds, or how she pinches said lips between her fingers while seemingly deep in thought. Lauren also notices the way she tucks the stray strands of her hair at the back of her ear more like out of habit than out of necessity. She has been noticing a lot of things about Camila, and half of the time she isn't even conscious that she's doing it.

So yeah, you could say that she has been reading Camila for quite some time now, which is more than she could say with the book she's currently holding -- Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, which she realizes just now that she's been holding upside down.

In fact, all she does today is watch her roommate go crazy. Maybe it's because she's mildly intrigued about her, although she would prefer to blame the immense un-readability of the book she's pretending to read that's causing her to be distracted from her usual 8 hour a day reading quota. Like, seriously, what in Lestat's name is this trash? Glittering broody vampires? What's next, rainbow-colored werewolves? A mopey, but gorgeous in a chiseled kinda way look, Frankenstein's Monster? What a load full of romanticized crap.

Lauren focuses again on the frantic brunette who's still pacing the room with arms crossed and an almost permanent scowl on her face, still complaining about Lauren's mess.