Roommates // Jenlisa

1: New Roommate

Heavy droplets of rain were pattering against the hotel room window on a dreary Friday morning. It was the kind of weather that made one want to curl up under the blankets and ignore the looming to-do list that awaited upon waking. Under normal circumstances, that would probably be Lisa Manoban right about now. Today, however, was not normal circumstances.

She sat at the desk in the hotel room, looking intently at herself in the makeup mirror she'd pulled out of her suitcase earlier and adding the finishing touches to her makeup look. She wanted to look her best this morning.

As she set down her tube of dark pink, glossy lipstick, she looked into her own brown eyes and ran her fingers through her bangs and her dark, wavy hair. It was strange seeing it all one normal hair color for the first time in four-odd years, but as much as she missed the pop of pink or orange or green that stood out, she was sure she would get used to it. Maybe once she was really settled in, she could change it again.

Deciding that she looked presentable enough, Lisa checked the time on her phone and noted that it was just after nine in the morning, giving her plenty of time to get to the house. Shoving the device into her back pocket, she pushed the desk chair out as she rose to her feet and scanned the messy hotel room for her purse, which she located on the nightstand.

As she readied herself to leave, her phone rang out loudly. Eyebrows furrowed, she retrieved it once again and saw the name of her best friend flash across the screen.

"Hey, Lucas," she greeted as she answered the call.

"How's the city?" Lucas asked her.

"Rainy," Lisa answered, glancing at the window again, where the rain seemed to be coming down even harder than before. "Which reminds me, I should probably dig up my umbrella before I leave..." She started to dig around in one of her many bags, where she was pretty sure she'd tucked her umbrella away. "I have way too much shit," she mumbled. "So what's up?"

"Oh, just checking on you," Lucas admitted. "It was so weird hearing the apartment quiet this morning. Bambam said so, too. He was running late for work because of it."

Lisa snickered, finally finding her umbrella in her bag and pulling it out. "You guys looking for someone to fill the room yet?" she wondered, checking that she had everything she needed before heading toward the hotel room door.

"We're going to start looking soon. We're not assholes, Lis. You left yesterday."

"I know, but I don't want you guys to get fucked with rent," Lisa told her friend with a frown as she made her way through the dull hotel hallway, the puke-green patterned flooring encouraging her to hurry out.

"We'll be fine for a month," Lucas insisted. "Plus, I'm finally getting reassigned in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, you excited to go from intern to full time employee?" Lisa asked with a chuckle.

"Definitely. What about you? You nervous for Monday?"

Lisa shrugged. "Not really. The work's all right up my alley, based on the posting, and they clearly thought I was right for the job. I guess it'll be weird since I haven't met any of my bosses in person yet, but. As long as everyone I'm working with are decent people, I think it'll be fine."

"Good thing you can get along with pretty much anyone," Lucas told her with a laugh.

"I mean, I can, but I hope I don't have to force myself to get along with anyone intolerable."

"Fair. So, you headed to that apartment you found on Craigslist?"

"It's a house, actually," Lisa told him.