Keep You In Mind

I Mean It

EDITED

It wasn't that Chamony disliked Dana.

Far from it.

How could she?

Dana, the only child of a respected district attorney and renowned brain surgeon, was spoiled her entire life. Whatever she wanted, she was granted. However, when the college senior (then, an upcoming sophomore) requested her own apartment off-campus, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson were dumbfounded. Dana chose the most expensive one she could find and demanded that her roommate only be asked to pay 40% to her 60% share.

Their daughter, a 3.5 GPA wielding, division I soccer player, made outrageous requests in her twenty-one years, but this one was out of the norm. However, if their interests in their daughter's life weren't strictly limited to her athletic and scholastic feats, they would have seen the drastic change she endured the summer before her sophomore.

Like most college students, Dana smoked weed and partied. She also drank heavily. One night, Dana made the decision to get behind the wheel of her car while high and intoxicated. That same night, she took the life of Priscilla Vasquez, a single mother of two school-aged children. Naturally, the Hudson's used their influence to get their daughter off the hook. Dana received a year of probation, while an undisclosed amount was paid to the Vasquez family, in exchange for their silence. Dana kept her scholarship, received a brand new car, and attended a few drivers ed classes, but that was it. As far as Dana's parents were concerned, that was the end of it.

Not for Dana.

After that, she completely changed her life around. She still attended her fair share of parties. She needed something to help balance her hectic life as a student-athlete, but her outlook on life was wholly revamped. She took nothing and no one for granted. Each day was a blessing, and considering she could have also died that day, Dana cherished life. She thanked God every morning for blessing her to see another day.

So, when Chamony saw the ad on the school's housing website, she jumped on it. Initially, she figured it was a joke, but she was desperate. She reached out to Dana on a Tuesday, met her that evening, and signed a lease on Wednesday morning. The apartment was spacious, walking distance from campus, and best of all, the perfect price.

Chamony was so excited about finding a place to live that the fact that she and Dana seemed to have great chemistry never even crossed her mind. She was just grateful to have a place to call home.

And so no, Chamony held no ill feelings toward her roommate.

Well, not until Chamony made the mistake of telling the 5'7 defender about her encounter with a certain football player.

"That's weird." Dana frowns and pulls her long hair in a tight ponytail. "Isaac's usually pretty chill."

"Well, he certainly wasn't 'chill' yesterday," Chamony mutters, shifting her body weight to her left foot. "I hate him."

Dana snorts. "Big shock there." Chamony glares through the mirror. Dana turns around and places a thin arm on her equally thin hip. "Chamony, you hate everyone."

"That is not true." Chamony shrugs. "I like you."

"Aside from me."

"I like my family."

"No, you love your family."

"Okay, well, then I like Vashti."

"Vashti is your best friend." A beat. "Try again"