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The young woman expertly parked her small car in the parking lot, feeling like a bundle of nerves as she gazed around the expanse of the campus just ahead.
She clutched her backpack's right strap, pulling it slightly higher up on her shoulder. Her hazel eyes widened just a tad as she took in the large buildings around her.
So, this was Cannon's Worth University...
Her stomach was all tied in knots, and she prayed she wouldn't have to use the ladies room so soon upon her arrival.
She consulted her small map of the campus, which included the dormitory facilities for the students. She already had a dorm - and a roommate, and, as she dug into the front left pocket of her jeans, fishing out the small piece of paper she'd been storing there, she read her roommate's name: Stacy Keibler.
Amy Dumas folded the paper as well as the map in her hand and entered the proper building. She was already registered for classes, as she'd done that over the school's telephone system a couple of weeks back. Likewise, she'd also met with Linda McMahon, the Dean of Students, shortly prior to that.
Amy tried her best to calm herself as she walked down the hallway, wanting only to present the best side of herself upon meeting the girl with whom she would be rooming. In her opinion, unfortunately, she tended to make poor first impressions. Regardless of whether or not she did so this time, she hoped Stacy was not a stuck-up bratty type...
As she finally reached the appropriate door, a couple of other girls glancing curiously at her as they passed her by, she took a deep breath, then knocked.
The door was answered after a beat, and a tall, pretty blonde smiled almost uncertainly out at her.
"Hi...My name is Amy, and-"
"Oh, you're my new roommate!" the girl said, her brown eyes friendly.
Amy nodded, and she felt an instant sense of relief. So far, this young woman seemed very nice.
"Well, come right in..." the leggy blonde said, holding the door open wider. "I'm Stacy, by the way..."
"I know...Nice to meet you." The two women shook hands.
Amy was surprised at how tall Stacy was, as she'd noticed the blonde was wearing canvas sneakers and not high heels. She guessed she had to be about five-eleven or even six feet. She herself certainly wasn't short at five-seven.
"Where are your other bags?" the blonde questioned as she glanced toward the door as though Amy had left her luggage out in the hall.
"I left them in my car," she explained. "I figured I'd come here first, meet you...catch my breath, and then get them later."
"Oh..." Stacy nodded and then her face brightened with a smile again. "I just love your hair! Such a gorgeous shade of red..."
"Thanks..." Amy said sheepishly, instinctively placing one hand to her head and touching her tresses.
"Sure..." the tall blonde quipped, then she pointed at one of the beds. "That one's mine," she said. "The other one is all yours..."
"Great..."
"Used to be Nora's, but she left..." Stacy's face went sad as she spoke, her eyes taking a somewhat faraway look all of a sudden.
"Who's Nora?" Amy asked curiously.
"My last roommate...She...She...well, she had to leave."
"Why?" the redhead asked as she placed her knapsack on the bed.
"It's a long story..." Stacy replied, shaking her head. "I don't want to bore you with it right now...So," she began, changing the subject and flopping down onto her bed. "I'm a psych major...What are you going to be studying?"
"Music - I transferred here. I always wanted to study here, but my parents didn't have the money."
"Cool...I heard they have a great music program here..."
Stacy proceeded to chat up a storm, but Amy found herself absorbing
only part of it. She couldn't stop wondering about this girl Nora
the blonde had so briefly mentioned...