The Ex–Factor

Maureen pulled the door open and a tall girl strutted right past her like she owned the place.

She was a walking storm of dark aesthetics, flowing pitch-black hair, sky-high platform heels, pitch-black eyeshadow, and a dark plum lipstick that made her look like a gothic princess.

“Hi,” she drawled casually.

Behind her, two women in matching maid uniforms pushed past a completely frozen Maureen, wheeling three massive leather trunks into our cozy space.

“Put the black trunks by the left bed,” the girl instructed, waving a manicured hand toward my freshly made bed. “And make sure my vanity box is handled carefully. If anything cracks, it's coming out of your pay.”

Maureen stood by the open door, her mouth agape. I sat frozen on my bed, staring at this complete stranger who was systematically trying to take over our room in less than thirty seconds.

“Excuse me?” Maureen finally found her voice, crossing her arms tightly. “Who are you, and why are your maids dumping bags on my best friend’s bed?”

The girl turned around slowly, adjusting the silver chains jingling from her leather jacket. She gave Maureen a slow, condescending look up and down. “I told you. I'm your new roommate. Room 304.”

Before Maureen could unleash a full lecture, a frantic voice called out from the hallway.

“Hey! Is everything okay here?”

A girl in fuzzy panda pajamas pulled up right by the open doorway, her eyes wide. It was Latoya, our next-door neighbor.

“Hey, Latoya,” Maureen and I said in unison, temporarily distracted.

“Hey, guys,” Latoya panted, catching her breath. She glanced past us, her eyes landing on the goth girl standing in the middle of our rug. “Wait, Roxanne,this isn't your room!”

The goth girl Roxanne frowned, pulling a pink housing paper from her designer handbag. “The housing office printed 304 on my slip.”

“It’s a typo”  Latoya explained quickly, stepping into the doorway. “Room 304 is a private double suite. Veronica and Maureen paid for the whole room so no one else could be placed here. You were assigned to 306 with me”

Roxanne looked down at her slip, scoffed, and rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might get stuck in the back of her head.

“Ugh, this school is useless,” she muttered under her breath. She snapped her fingers at her maids. “Pack it up. We’re in the wrong room.”

Without a single word of apology to me or Maureen for barging in and throwing orders around, Roxanne turned on her high heels and strutted right out into the hallway.

Latoya gave us an apologetic look, wincing softly. “I am sosorry, guys. Enjoy your day!”

“Thanks, Latoya” Maureen called out as the door finally swung shut.

The second we heard their footsteps fade down the hall, Maureen and I locked eyes for a split second before bursting into loud, uncontrollable fits of laughter. I flopped backward onto my mattress, clutching my stomach.

“Oh my God!” Maureen wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye. “Did you see her heels? She looked like she was ready to summon a demon in the middle of our rug!”

“I thought I was going to have to fight her for my own bed!” I laughed, sitting back up. “Thank goodness for Latoya. That girl was going to be an absolute nightmare.”

“A total drama magnet,” Maureen agreed, shaking her head. She checked her phone and her eyes lit up. “You know what? We have no classes today, we dodged a terrible roommate, and you survived meeting your future stepfamily. We need retail therapy.”

I smiled, feeling a genuine wave of excitement for the first time all week.

An hour later, we were out of the dorms and exploring the trendy shopping district just off campus. 

The autumn air was crisp, and the streets were lined with bright storefronts, warm coffee shops, and college students enjoying the afternoon.

For the next four hours, I let myself completely forget about my father’s suffocating security rules, Amelia’s sudden arrival, and especially Neville’s intoxicating, dangerous smirk in the kitchen.

We wandered in and out of boutiques, trying on silly hats, picking out cute oversized sweaters for the upcoming semester, and treating ourselves to iced caramel lattes.

By the time the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of orange and purple, we were carrying three shopping bags each.

“I’m telling you, that emerald jacket was made for you,” Maureen said as we highlighted from our ride, sipping the rest of our coffees. “It matches your eyes perfectly.”

“I’m just glad I bought it before you tried to steal it,” I joked, nudging her shoulder with mine.

We turned the corner onto the courtyard pathway leading straight to the front entrance of our dorm building. The orange streetlights were just beginning to flicker on, casting long shadows across the concrete pavement.

“Ah, back to reality,” Maureen sighed happily. “Time to order pizza and…”

She stopped mid-sentence. 

“Maureen? What’s wrong?” I asked, brow furrowing as I looked over at her.

She wasn't looking at me. Her gaze was locked onto the concrete steps near the front glass doors of our building.

I followed her eyes, and the relaxed, happy mood I had built up all afternoon shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

Standing right near the heavy double doors, leaning against a stone pillar, was Alex and he wasn't alone. Wrapped around his neck was the goth girl from earlier, Roxanne.

She was pressed flush against him, her long black hair spilling over his arms as they kissed passionately right out in the open.

As if sensing our presence, Roxanne pulled back slightly, She looked over Alex’s shoulder and caught me staring.

A sharp, arrogant smirk spread across her face. 

“That bastard, he has the nerve coming here” Maureen muttered beside me 

“It's okay Mo, let's go”

We continued walking to our room, completely ignoring them and the fact that my ex-boyfriend’s girlfriend was now my next-door neighbor. Which meant I would probably have to see his face almost every day.

Maybe I should finally take my dad’s advice and study from home.