Bev's Five

Chapter One Niki I walk into my room and drop everything on the small bookshelf by the door. I am exhausted. My name is Nicole but everyone calls me Niki for short. I'm 20, in college and so happy today is the end of the semester. I have had exams and classes all week and I could not be happier it is over. I have just finished my last class and am looking forward to starting my packing. I am heading home for the summer and a long and awaited vacation, I am so excited to get home and see everyone, sleep in my own bed and relax by the pool. I am renting a room in a six-bedroom house. It's an older home. Colonial style and maintained nicely. There are five of us; we are all students that live here plus the landlady. She is a nice older lady who likes to garden and cook so as a bonus she does most of the cooking and we all chip in to buy the groceries. She usually leaves a list on the fridge and we just mark off what we bought. Her name is Beverly but for short we all call her Bev. The house has been in her family for years. She maintains and cares for it for her parents. The rooms come fully furnished with a bed, dresser, desk and a chair. I added a small bookshelf and a couple plants on my windowsill. It might not be cheaper to live in shared accommodations rather than on campus, but I like to keep to myself. I'm not looking to join a sorority and I didn't want to share a room with a stranger I may or may not get along with. I was lucky enough to find an open room here when I enrolled last year. There are two guys and three girls. We all share the kitchen and the living room and there is a bathroom on the top floor, one on the main floor and one in Bev's master bedroom. We all agreed the boys could have the main floor bathroom if we girls could keep the top. Thankfully there are showers in both bathrooms. I don't mind sharing the bathroom with the two other girls. They are clean enough. Molly was new to the house. She had just moved in a couple months ago. She came from on campus. She said could not live with her roommate any longer. I guess her roommate was into heavy metal music and found listening to it full blast helped her study. Her roommate also said she could never wear headphones because she couldn't concentrate with something over her ears and that ear buds hurt. I guess after struggling through the first half of her semester Molly was able to beg her parents to pay for an off campus residence. Now she's here and seems to be enjoying it. We only talk while passing through. She is a year younger than me; I remember seeing her in the halls of our high school. She seemed popular in her group. She also comes from a nice zip code and that always helps with popularity. I did find the group she was in was always pretty snotty. They seemed to be the kind of girls that had nothing better to do but judge and giggle about others less fortunate. Girls I would not have given the time of day to. I'm not close to Amber either. She is our other housemate. I don't know her personally but I know she used to work at Dot's Diner back home. We all just assumed she would have gotten pregnant by now and would have ended up working at the diner forever. I really was not expecting to see her in college especially not my college. She was from a middle-class family but her dad's hours got cut awhile back when the plant started to die down. I hear her mother isn't very well either. She wasn't home very often and I know she has a job at one of the campus coffee shops. I believe she has a boyfriend too even though she flirts with Sam, another housemate of ours. He is very handsome so I can see why she always flirted around with him. He is a total player. I have known Sam since we were kids. We live in the same gated community. We went to the same schools and our parents attend the same parties. I have never really befriended Sam; he"s the playboy type and always looking to party and thinks he's hot s**t because daddy has money. He's a total douche. His best friend Mark, on campus, is another housemate. He is not as handsome as Sam but he had his own look about him. They could not be more different. It is a wonder how they were best friends. Sam comes from money and has all the newest things, the nicest clothes, and his own car. He goes to his classes but I’m not sure how serious he takes them. He acts more like this was just a social call and not our futures in the making. Mark, on the other hand, does not come from money. He is quiet and a little dark. He always dresses in black and his hair is long and ratty. It also is as black as all his clothes. He seems like he could use a shower and a delousing. He always smells like gas and his hands are rough and dirty looking. I would say that though comes from his job. He works down at Eddie's garage over on the south side of town. He doesn't have a car so he isn't home often after his classes. He heads down to the garage and that is quite the trip as we live on the north side of town. I don't know much about him. He didn't go to our school and wasn't in our social circles. I think he has a sister that has worked some catering gigs before but I'm not sure and I'm not in a hurry to get close anytime soon. He absolutely repulses me. Sam doesn't mind though. He is always out with other friends or the newest little bunny on his arm; I'm sure whispering all the promises in the world to her. We all knew she is just the flavor of the week. He has a long rep for being a player but the girls just keep coming so I guess money goes a lot further than rumors do. Today is Friday, so the house is busy. We are all getting ready for our summer break. I know Mark isn't going anywhere for the summer. He is looking at spending all his time at Eddie's to make extra money for next semester's tuition. Sam is heading to France for his summer. I guess his parents own a little chateau there and he is looking forward to partying and eating French desserts and listening to all the girls talk in their native language, so in his words, his summer is going to be nothing but wine and French p***y. So classy… I just laugh and walk away when he tells me about his plans and adventures. I do sometimes envy his sexcapades. I have no plans for such things nor have I ever. If I ever did it definitely wouldn't be with him. He asked me out once but I knew better. He was in a contest for which senior could nail the most girls in their last year. No thank you. Thankfully I won't have to hear him or bump into him at any social calls. I think Molly is going home for a couple weeks then she is off to Hawaii with a couple of her girlfriends and their boyfriends. She was hoping to maybe light the spark between her and her ex-boyfriend. I had overheard her talking to a girlfriend on the phone a couple nights ago. I don't usually eavesdrop on people but I was standing outside the bathroom waiting for Amber to come out, her room is right next to the bathroom, and her door was open a crack. So those are her plans. Sounds nice and relaxing, I would love to go to Hawaii and lay on a beach taking in all the sun and drinking Mai Tai's. Amber is staying home too. She couldn't take the time off either. So she picked up more shifts to become full-time at her coffee shop to save up for next semester's tuition. Her parents helped out as much as they could but her mother has poor health and with all her medical needs it has left very little to spread around; as it is her parents moved into a one bedroom apartment once Amber left for college so they could save on bills and rent. Anything extra went to Amber's rent and bills. She is on a grant-funded scholarship and works to pay the rest. I guess she is really into science and she won a bunch of awards for experiments and it got her the scholarship to attend college. Her dad told her he was hoping to come down to visit her but she said she wasn't holding her breath. She knew he wouldn't be able to leave her mom and she was okay with that. He meant well. So that just leaves me and I am super excited to get home and see my friends and family and to listen to my younger sisters fight over whose makeup is whose and who looks better in which outfit. My younger sisters are twins and too much alike. They are a couple years younger than I am and are on the boy train hard core. My poor father, I was never into boys that much. I was more into reading and school and animals. I love animals; I get to see my cat that I have had since I was 10 years old. He is my favorite and the only one I tell my darkest secrets to. I do miss Mr. Whiskers so much. It will be nice to sit back, watch a movie and listen to him purr while I give him much missed strokes and kisses. So it is already 10 am. I am almost ready. Just a few more things to grab and I have to put my plants on the kitchen table. I had asked Bev, if she didn't mind, to take care of them while I was gone. She said she had no problem and she was going to add them to her display of flowers in the front window of the living room. I was just grabbing the last of my things out of the bathroom when my phone rang. It was the car service my father had sent to pick me up. I too come from a well off family, my father is a lawyer and my mother is an artist. That is what I will be doing this summer, my mother has her own gallery and I will be assisting her there and learning all about running the gallery. It's a great opportunity as my major is art history. I guess I get my love of art from my mother and my sisters get their love for arguing from my father. I am looking forward to working in the gallery I guess. I was just hoping to have a bit more time to myself. We have a great beach down from our house and I always love driving down by the ocean and looking across the endless blue body of water. I just feel like anything is possible and there is so much more out in the world that I want to do and experience but I am too shy and responsible to enjoy that kind of life. A life style of predictability and repetition is in my future. Lectures and banquets and I can't forget the glamorous gala parties with art conversation to no ends. I envy the life I dream about in my head where there is an adventure, romance and ambiguous actions to no end. “Honk, Honk” as I shake the daydreams from my head I jump up and put my head out the window to wave down to the driver and I take one last look around to make sure I have everything. I grab my suitcase, toss my laundry bag over my shoulder and pick up my laptop with my free hand. I stuff my laptop under my arm so I can lock the door. I swing around to head down the stairs and smack into Mark. He stumbles back a step and says“sorry” in his low tone while looking down at the ground. “No apologies needed what can I do for you?” “Oh oh nothing” he stammers "I was just leaving a note for Amber. I ran into someone she knows and they asked me to give her a message.” “Oh ok, Well I'm off for the summer so have a good one,” I say, as cheerful as I can, knowing he is going nowhere. “Yes I saw the car out front and it's pretty fancy,” he says in his low tone. “Yeah, my dad likes to make sure I'm safe and comfortable” as I give a little laugh. As I start down the stairs I turn my head to face him, “have a good summer working at Eddie's hope you get some relax time” I call out with a smile and a half wave from full hands. I finally make it down to the front door where the car is parked. The driver is standing at the door with it open. “Hello,” I say and he nods back and with a swift step, he grabs my suitcase from my hand and gestures for my laundry bag. I hand it all over but my laptop. I think I should check my e-mails and send one to my best friend Melanie. I can't wait to see her and tell her all about college and all my housemates. We have so much to catch up on. I like that I'm only a couple hours away from home. Close enough for emergencies but not too close to some people I know e.g.: Sam. I really thought I was rid of him after high school. I am sure he talked his way through. How did he even get into college? Ahh who cares I am free of him for the next two months and I am not wasting another minute thinking about him. “We will be arriving soon miss” the driver calls back. “Thank you” I reply. I am happy with that update. The heat is already unbearable. This summer is supposed to be one of the hottest. I peel my thighs from the seat to shimmy closer to the window to look out. I always love driving up our driveway. It's outlined with big trees that are in full bloom and so pretty. We come to a stop and the driver hops out and opens my door and before my foot hits the ground my mom has pulled me up and into the biggest hug. I missed my mom so much it felt so good to be home. My dad, saying it was his turn, quickly interrupted our hug. After we were all finished giving our greetings Mom and I walk arm in arm to the door while my father grabs my bags from the driver. As we enter the foyer all I can smell is food. Then I realize how hungry I am. All I had was a cereal bar in my morning class. I have been so busy packing I totally forgot to grab a bite. As my thought ended my mother asked: “Are you hungry dear?” With a smile, I replied “starving.”