Change of Plans

This was my winning entry to The Writer's Cramp Daily Challenge. The prompt was a bad experience with a roommate, fictional or otherwise. Enjoy!


After her last class of the week, Meg slipped into a comfy pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. There was Diet Coke in the mini fridge and a bag of salty popcorn fresh from the microwave. And, in her backpack, she had some crumpled bills - just enough to order a small cheese pizza later.

While the rest of the campus prepared for a Friday night of wild debauchery, she was burrowing in. Meg had adjusted well to the academic life of college so far, but when it came to the social aspects it was a different story. Her roommate Heather insisted she was never going to meet a guy if she remained so wrapped up in her books, and often chastised her for being too picky. Of course, coming from her this didn’t really mean a lot. Heather had yet to meet a guy to whom she wasn’t attracted. Meg had been kicked out of the room enough times over the course of this semester to make that abundantly clear.

Heather’s request for privacy was always the same, and not so much a request as an assumption. “There’s been a change of plans, Meg. You don’t mind, right?”

She burst into the room at that moment and began stripping off layers of clothing, tossing them aside.

“What’s up?”

“Kevin is stopping by around six. We're going out. But my class ran late.” She grabbed her bathrobe off the hook. “If he gets here before I’m done showering, try to keep him entertained?”

“Sure thing.” Meg waited for the bathroom door to swing shut before she rolled her eyes.

All she knew about Heather’s latest was that he worked out at the gym on campus, lifting and flexing in front of the windows that looked out over the Student Union plaza. But by this point it was too difficult and exhausting to keep them all straight.

Suddenly, there was a knock. Upon opening the door, Meg found a vaguely familiar guy standing in the hall. He wore an easy smile on a pleasant face, but didn’t seem particularly buff.

“Kevin, I presume?” She buried a quiet sigh, pushing her hair back off her forehead.

“Um, no.” The corners of his mouth sank. “Jack.”

Meg’s cheeks warmed. “Oh, heh. Sorry. My mistake.”

“No problem.”

“Listen…” Meg’s eyes darted nervously to the bathroom door. “Heather isn’t here right now and I don’t know when she’ll be back and I’m in the middle of studying, so if you’ll excuse me…” She smiled in weak apology as she began to close the door. She had to cover and make these kinds of excuses for her roommate more times than she could count.

“But, wait, I-”

“I’ll tell her you stopped by!”

Walking away from the door, she just returned to her reading when there was another knock. Groaning, she muttered a few choice expletives under her breath. She wasn’t going to lie again.

“It’s open!”

But it was a guy with ballooning biceps this time, wearing a shirt about two sizes too small for his muscular frame, his neck the width of a small tree trunk. He grunted a greeting.

“Let me guess.” Meg forced a smile. “Kevin.”

“You got it.” He gave her a self-satisfied grin. “Heather around?”

“Yep, in the shower. But she said…”

Her voice drifted off, mouth dropping in confusion and disbelief as he walked directly over to the bathroom, pulling his tiny shirt off over his massive head. Then, he disappeared inside without another glance in her direction, closing the door behind him.

Mouth agape, Meg scowled in shock and outrage, glancing around as if hoping to find another witness to corroborate this story.

Taking a few tentative steps towards the door, she leaned in to listen. Instead of an angry reprimand or even a scream of horror, all she could hear were muffled voices and giggles.

Disgusted, she pulled on her boots and gathered up her books, making sure she slammed the door hard behind her when she stormed out. She was headed to the student lounge when she heard music and laughter drifting up through the stairwell and realized there must be a dorm party going on.

Turning around, she squared her shoulders and determinedly marched right back up the stairs, intending to wait until Heather and her cabana boy had exited the bathroom to make it clear she wasn’t going to stand for this any more.

The door, however, was now locked. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her hand to pound. After a moment, it cracked open.

“Hey,” Heather spoke in a hushed, rushed voice. “There’s been a change of plans. You don’t mind, right? Thanks. You’re the best.”

The door promptly shut in her face, leaving Meg speechless.

Minutes later she was trudging dejectedly down the front steps of her dorm, backpack slung over her shoulder. There was nothing more depressing than a Friday night at the library.

As her head was bowed, she narrowly avoided a direct collision.

“Sorry, I-” Words stalled on her lips.

“No, I’m sorry,” Jack grinned sheepishly. “I’ve been out here pacing back and forth to work up the courage to go back in and try again.”

“Oh.” Meg’s shoulders drooped. “I wouldn’t bother. Like I said, Heather is-”

“Not you.”

Her brow knitted in confusion. “Huh?”

“She’s not you. I was stopping by to see you. I’m in your English class…with Professor Hartshorne?”

Meg suddenly realized why his face was so familiar. “Right. Of course.”

“I have tickets to a concert next week. I was hoping you might be interested in going.”

“Like a date?” she blurted out.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “Like a date.”

“Oh.” She blinked once. “Okay.”

“Great,” he beamed. “And, um…I was just on my way to grab a pizza right now, but it looks like you’re headed out to study, huh?”

“Actually…” she smiled slowly. “Pizza sounds great.”

Every so often, it could be nice to have a change of plans.