SSS(SS) - Part 10

Sal awakens in the bare room in CCL House. To her surprise, she feels rested. Yesterday was so mentally and emotionally draining, with no small amount of crying, that all the stress in the world couldn’t keep her awake.

Things could be worse. She tells herself that over and over as she ventures out to find a bathroom. There’s one just down the hall. The door stands wide open and steam wafts out. The shower’s running. Right. This is just like CGH; in the mornings, bathrooms are prime real estate and sharing is a necessity. There’s already a girl in there brushing her teeth while someone else is in the shower.

As she’s doing her things, Sal becomes aware that it’s not just one girl in the shower. It’s two. She can hear them talking. They aren’t doing lewd things, but what are the odds that two CCL girls showering together first thing in the morning didn’t wake up in the same bed? Not that Sal cares. The amount of girl-on-girl action that she is involved in has increased dramatically since she met Meri.

Meri pokes her head out of the shower.

“Oh,” she says, looking startled. “Hi, there.”

Sal grimaces. She looks like shit. But she turns away from her reflection to meet Meri’s gaze.

“Morning,” she says.

“Good morning. I, uh…” Meri trails off. Just from that, Sal knows that Meri knows what’s going on. She’d probably like to talk about it, but this isn’t the time. “It’s good to see you.”

“Who’s in there with you?”

“None of your business!” Meri snaps the curtain shut.

Sal snorts. That might have stung more if not for everything else going on. But having her ego bruised by a tomcat like Meri seems unnecessary right now. Maybe they can catch up later. For now, Sal wants coffee. The proud part of her wants to go get in her car and drive to Starbucks. The less stupid part knows that mooching off CCL is the smart move, even if it’s not the one that feels the best.

Her ego gets another kick in the tush downstairs, where she discovers that CCL has not only a serious industrial coffee maker, but an espresso machine as well. On the one hand, CGH is the respectable sorority. On the other, CCL is the one that all the CEOs and stuff were in. A big house. A queen for a president. Fancy coffee. Man, these girls seem to have it good. Sal is shaken.

Then she remembers all the things that have happened in this house. CGH might not have espresso, but nobody’s ever been stabbed in there. That’s worth something.