That Changes Everything

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Terri was back in the room when Miranda woke up again. She checked for signs of her boyfriend, but there was nothing. No scent, no body, no shoes, no note. She stretched and turned toward her best friend who moved from one side to the other and back again. "Hey."

"Hey, you're awake."

"Yeah." Looking around, she saw that her roommate's side of the room had changed dramatically. Clothes were piled on her bed and there were several trash bags and a couple of totes half-filled with stuff. "You're getting a head start on packing, I see."

"Yeah, well..."

"Since when are you so proactive?" She asked with a smile.

Terri shook her head, mimicking it. "I, uh..."

Miranda sat up, putting her back against the wall. "What?"

"I'm not doing the internship this summer."

"What?"

Terri walked over to her and pulled up a chair. "Me and Brandon are backpacking through Africa and Europe!" She said excitedly. Miranda's mouth moved as she tried to respond. "Yeah, we saw an ad, called, signed up and... and we're going. We leave on the last day of finals and yeah. I need to get this stuff into storage."

The only thing she could do was nod. First Grandma Dorothy had died, Ben was on edge and now her best friend was ditching her for a romp across the world with her boyfriend. What was next? "Oh, wow. That sounds..."

"You can say that you hate it."

"I don't. I hope that you'll have a great time."

"Really? B thought you'd be pissed."

"Oh, I am. I just don't have the energy to relay just how pissed I am." The friends laughed and Miranda felt her happiness meter rise for the first time in what seemed like forever. "Sounds like a lot of fun."

Terri smiled. "So fun that you might want to come? You and Ben?"

Miranda imagined the four of them trekking through cities and villages, falling in love again at every wrong turn. It was tempting. But medicine was where her heart was and the internship was how she got there. "Rain check."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Terri said patting her hands.

"Hey, um, has, uh, has Ben come by?" She asked, her voice hopeful.

Terri shook her head. "Not that I've seen. Maybe he stopped by earlier? When we were both asleep?"

He'd promised to come back and now she was worried. He wasn't one for breaking a promise—not to her. "Maybe."

"You should try calling him." Miranda wouldn't say that she was afraid that he wouldn't answer, but that's how she felt. Maybe she'd been too harsh with her rejection. "But... if you don't want to do that, then... you should start packing. I got some boxes and bags for you. And now that you're up, I can put on some tunes."

Grinning, Miranda rolled out of bed. "Let me call him first. I'll be back."

"Good girl."

Down the hall, away from listening ears, she dialed Ben's room phone number. With each ring, Miranda's stomach grumbled. What was she supposed to say? After the tenth ring of the third call, she hung up and headed back to her room. "No answer?" She shook her head. "Brandon and I are going to get some food, want to come?"

"No, thanks. I'm, uh, just going to start getting my stuff together. And wait for Ben."

"I'll stay with you."

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