Unexpected

Chapter 3

“Scoot over!” Melissa’s shrill voice screamed in my ear.

                “Gah! Simmer down, girl! Go get your own seat!” I yelled back.

                The current state of Melissa’s hair would have been hilarious if she wasn’t in the middle of stealing my beloved bean bag chair from me. The usually perfectly spiked tips of her hair were now in a major disarray. She kind of looked crazed. Priceless.

                “Oh my God, Tiffany! Move. Your. Ass!” She spat,  almost shoving her ugg-ed foot up my butt.

                “Honestly, Melissa!”

                I slammed down my now cracked laptop.

                “Get serious!” I cried, “This is a matter of life or death, and I would really appreciate your support!”

                I could feel my eyes widen and my voice raise as each word left my lips.

                She unlodged her foot from under me and trudged to the other side of my dorm room.

                “You have no other chairs!”

                I turned to see a befuddled Melissa, with her arms hanging aimlessly in the air. I glanced around the room; from my disheveled bed, to the pale pink desk near the door; without a chair. Then it hit me.

                 “Oh…” I started, my lips forming a frown.

                “What’s wrong?” Melissa immediately rushed to my side, almost maternally.

                “It’s just, well it’s stupid really,” I paused, realizing she still wanted to know, “I let Rick borrow it. Like 2 weeks ago. He was short on chairs for his Dartmouth campus wide radio broadcast. They were interviewing…” I started to trail off, rambling about Rick and his stupid radio broadcasts. I still remember that day, listening to his husky voice on the radio.

                “Oh… Well ok, let’s just get started, then,” Melissa obviously sensed Rick was a sensitive subject lately.

                I glanced over at her, as she sighed and plopped herself on the floor to the left of me.

                “Right,” I agreed, reaching in the pocket of my designer jeans.

                 A girl can’t go wrong with designer.

                Unfolding the piece of the Dartmouth Radio Station pamphlet, I read Rick’s messy cursive once again.

                “Nevada City, Screen Mount.” Each syllable, I pronounced slowly and carefully.

                “Well, it definitely sounds like a city,” Melissa paused, tapping a manicured finger on her chin, “Oh!” Maybe it’s where the kidnapper took him!”

                I stared at Melissa for a short while.

                And I thought I was the blond one! It’s funny, really because Melissa and I both attend Dartmouth, a clearly top notch, Ivy League school; one of the smartest schools ever. My daddy pays the tuition for me but Melissa here, got in on scholarship.

                “Are you stupid?” I raised an eyebrow in a sarcastic manner.

                Melissa just sighed, yet again, and gestured at my MacBook on the ground.