Sarah takes Nick to her house.

During the drive to Sarah’s, I’m just numb. I start trying to account for everything in my apartment, but then it gets maddening, and I think of what to do next. Call my Dad? Call the school? Use my chromebook to see what I have in the cloud? Then I wonder about food, where I’ll stay, what I’ll wear, and all of that just makes me want to cry. So, I start trying to account for everything again… on and on and on.

When Sarah nudges me I see that we’re not in a parking lot. We’re in the driveway of a house. I suddenly imagine who Sarah’s room mates are and if they’re going to mind a guy staying with them. Turning to her I ask “Hey, I’m sorry, but I never thought to ask. Will your roommates mind?”

Sarah suppresses a giggle before saying “Umm, Nick? I don’t have any room mates. I live here alone. Come on, I’m pretty sure I can clear off the spare bed for you before you just drop. I can’t imagine how stressed you are right now.”

As I follow her into the house, I see that she’s in a neighborhood close to campus. Closer than my apartment was. I know that some of these houses are portioned out to fit five, six, even seven roomies in and then rent it out to them at exorbitant rates. For her to afford one of these houses… geez, her parents must be better off than I imagined!

Stepping up to the door I hear it unlock before Sarah even gets there and my eyebrows go up even higher. “Electric locks? What is it, tied to your phone?”

She looks over her shoulder at me and winks. “That’s right. It’s geo-fenced so that it will unlock when I’m in the driveway. I used to have it unlock when I was around the block, but… well, let’s just say I want to see my door before it unlocks.”

When we step in I finally have a sense of relief. Yeah, her parents got her a car for around campus, and yeah, they got her a house close to the university proper, but it’s still decorated like a regular college student. Posters are on the wall, from Einstein to Hello Kitty, to Call of Battlefield 3. She has a futon and a ratty chair facing a fairly large TV with takeout containers covering the tables. The dining room is a full-time computer room with two desktops and a laptop station. What I can see of the kitchen is a sink full of dirty dishes and a table with more take out containers. There’s a hallway that I imagine leads to some bedrooms and a bathroom and another hallway leading to the garage and probably a mud room. Everything is off white or beige, and there’s cheap carpet everywhere except for the kitchen where it’s cheap linoleum.

When I look back up to her I see that she’s been watching me take it all in. I smile and nod to the take out containers “Hey, I’m just glad to see that a girl with your figure actually eats real food!”

She relaxes, and I realize she was expecting something more judgey. I add more in that direction with a smirk “No judgements here. My place probably went up in the blaze faster than most just from the flammability of empty pizza boxes. They’re a pain to take out until you have like ten of them!”

We laugh and both relax. She takes me into the first bedroom and I see it’s small but has a bed. The bed is covered with computer and streaming equipment boxes, but I can easily see with my Tetris like stacking ability that they’ll all fit at the end of the bed. I move toward the boxes figuring its only fair that I do the moving when she puts her hand on my chest. “Wait. No. I’ll clean this up. I…” she bites her bottom lip and for the first time since I saw the fire, I feel an attraction toward her fire up “…have some private stuff in the closet. Gimme twenty minutes and I’ll have a place for you to crash.”

I move out to the living room and take a seat. While I’m happy to have a real bed, I wonder briefly why she doesn’t’ just pull out the futon. I’ve slept on my fair share and it should do fine. Sitting down I find the only remote, point it toward the TV, and press the power button hoping she has some kind of streaming service programed into her TV. When it powers on though, I see the Google TV home screen. Standing up I move to the TV cabinet and see that not only is she running Google TV, she’s doing so on a custom Android box. Sitting back down I grow even more impressed as her tech knowledge is earning real cred.

After watching almost a full episode of Blue Eye Samuri, Sarah comes out and waves me back. I see that the closet is now open, with most of the boxes stacked inside. The rest are either pushed under the bed or stacked near the head of the bed making a nightstand. The bed now has a sheet, cover sheet, and blanket on it. All adorned with She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. She looks at me and shrugs. “Look, it was She-Ra, Hello Kitty, or silky pretty lacy pink ones. I took a guess at what would bruise your masculinity the least and went with it.”

I cup my chin, scratching at the days growth there and nod sagely. “She-Ra? Were they out of GI Joe, Transformers, and Thundercats?”

Sarah openly laughs, pulls me by the arm into what must be her ‘master’ bedroom, and pulls the cover back on her larger bed revealing sheets with Cheetara. With a hand on one hip and not containing her laughter all that well Sarah answered “As a matter of fact, I DO have the Thundercats. But you have to be a very good girl to earn a shot at Cheetara!”

We both break out laughing which honestly feels really good. I know the apartment is still gone, I know my stuff is still gone, and I know that I’m monumentally truly screwed, but this feels good for now.

We order some pizza from Piggy Parts Pizzeria and when it comes Sarah refused to let me pay. “What, and take your last twenty bucks? Trust me, I can afford to get you a cheap meal.”

My appreciation for Sarah grows further as does my estimation of her income. Piggy Parts is the best pie around town and it’s not cheap. There’s no way the large cheese we got cost only twenty bucks. When we’re done, I find some foil and wrap the remaining pieces up before sitting back down. While we toss the uneaten crusts around the now empty box, I finally just let my thoughts out. “I’m so screwed Sarah. I mean, just losing the basics like clothes, books, food, and furniture would nearly ruin me. But my streaming setup. Did I tell you I had a top-of-the-line setup? I know I didn’t have the fans for it, but I was gaming in 4K while streaming at full HD. I had an 18900KS processor, I had the 4190 video card, the… well, I had everything. I just bought it and maxed out two of my credit cards on the computer and streaming equipment. And it’s gone. I was behind on rent just to get that, so even though I don’t have an apartment, I still owe on it. And my second college bill is due to be paid in a couple weeks. My student loan check was barely going to cover that.” I bang my fist on the table. “I was this close to building an audience and pulling in some real money. I wasn’t popular enough to keep that audience without regularly streaming and it might be months before I get another computer. Years before I get another setup that good.”

Sarah scootches her chair closer to mine and puts her arm around my shoulder. I take a deep breath fighting the urge to cry as she asks “What about your parents? Can they spot you the money? Maybe even just as a loan?”

I shake my head negatively while saying “Mom left us years ago. Dad works two jobs to raise me and my little brother. Things were just getting easier when I moved out and started supporting myself. I can’t burden him and ruin my brother’s life.”

Sarah squeezes my shoulders in a side hug and says quietly “Look, it’s a lot to take in. I’m not saying anything will look better in the morning, but after a night’s sleep you might have a better feel for the whats.”

I turn and look at her questioningly. She smirks and answers my unspoken question. “The whats are how my dad taught me to deal with real problems. What IS a problem, what CAN be a problem, what SHOULD be a problem, and what can I do about any of it. Figure the whats out and you have the answer laid out in front of you every time.”

She leans closer as if telling a secret “It doesn’t always work, but it really does help. Just get some sleep and I’ll help you look at the whats in the morning, K?”

I sleep the night through, stress likely knocking me out more than physical exertion.

When I get up I see that Sarah’s door is open but she’s not in her room. The kitchen table has been surprisingly cleaned off and there’s a K-cup of coffee sitting beside a cup of yogurt and a banana. After eating the breakfast down I take the coffee cup and move into the living room. There I pause as I hear noise coming from the garage. Realizing Sarah parked in the driveway, and I hadn’t seen any space for her shooting computer, I figure she’s set up a mini studio in the space allotted by parking outside.

Moving that way, I hear her and wonder what she’d be steaming so early. Maybe a vlog? I hear her speaking, but she’s giggling and… it almost sounds flirty. Being quiet I open the door and see that the garage is indeed a studio, but there’s nothing mini about it. I see her gaming rig and it’s backdrop. She has professional lights set up around and above it as well as all manner of sound proofing. There’s a small area that must be her editing suite and then a curtain pulled that separates the garage into two distinct areas. She’s behind the curtain and I can now hear her clearly.

“Oohhh, yeah, you like that? What do you like want me to do with it? Hmm? Here? Here? Or maybe… MAAYYBE like here? Let me know in the chat boys!”

I start to step in to the garage studio and hear a beeping as I evidently cross some kind of laser trip. Immediately Sarah’s voice changes to a more urgent tone. “And that’s it for tonight boys. I’m sorry, we’ll pick this up next time. I see the results and you naughty boys will get exactly what you wanted, but my new roomie is here. Play your cards right and you’ll get to meet her one day! I’ll see you y’know, tomorrowsies! Byyyyeeeeee!”

Before I get two steps in I see her rush from behind the curtain wearing a big fluffy robe. She pulls the curtain closed behind her and all I catch a glimpse of is another studio light. She not only has thousands of dollars in studio lighting for her streaming setup, but she has TWO sets?

Sarah’s smile immediately tells me that she’s been up for quite a while. In fact, as she gets closer, I see that she’s wearing full makeup, and her hair is already made up like her streaming setup. “Morning sleepy head! I thought you might sleep the whole morning away. Not that I’m angry or anything, it let me get a session in. Wanna head inside?”

Her question wasn’t really a question as she takes my arm and pulls me in behind her. I start to ask her what exactly she was streaming when she just talks over me. “I see that you’ve already had breakfast. Sit down at the kitchen table and enjoy your coffee while I clean this makeup off. I’ll be back in two shakes.”

Sarah actually guides me into the kitchen and pushes on my shoulder until I sit down. I sip at my coffee while she’s gone, lost between trying to answer the whats of my problem and wondering what she was doing. I didn’t hear a game playing and she said tonight. That’s it for tonight. Even stranger…. That’s it for tonight BOYS. A lot of streamers I follow say ‘guys’ when talking about their audience, but I don’t think I ever heard anybody refer to their audience as boys. I mean… what would the girls in her audience think?

When Sarah returns, she’s dressed and made up like I saw her yesterday in the caff. Far more casual. She doesn’t mince words as she sits across from me and dives right in. “Look, we can still go over the whats if you want, but I was thinking about it and I think it boils down to this. Tell me if I’m wrong. You need money fast. You don’t have any skill that earns that kind of money outside of streaming and even then, you need equipment, a place to set up, and more importantly, a paying audience. That sound about right?”

I nod and start clarifying her answer, but she again talks over me. “That’s what I thought. Well, what if I told you I could get you enough money to cover you. I’m talking about a streaming setup, an audience, clothes, food, and a place to stay. I’d even be able to front you the money for your college bills.”

I nod numbly, not sure how she’d do all of this. Or even why she’d do it. “What’s the catch? Er… I mean, yes, of course… but opportunities like this just don’t fall in your lap. At least not in my lap. And I won’t take charity. You can’t just give me this stuff and act like I earned it.”

Sarah leans forward, shaking her head. “Nope, no catch. Well, a small one, but you’ll earn every penny. What I front you for supplies and bills you’ll be able to pay off by the end of the semester as well as paying for your streaming setup by December. And if we play your cards right, you’ll be able to pay for your entire college bill next semester. And I’m not talking about the remainder after your loans… I’m talking the whole bill so that you don’t HAVE loans.”

I lean back in my chair, doubt spreading over my face. Sarah continues, addressing the unspoken question. “Look, I know how to earn this money. It’s not easy and it’ll take a little extra work from you, but it’s do-able. And it’s not like you get out of this completely scot-free. I might have played down how well I knew your streaming. I was watching last month when you won that paid trip to the Osaka Dragoon Con in January. You get first class airfare, hotel next to the convention center, and two full passes to all the events and backstage to most of it. I was already planning to go, but you’ll be my way in. Even if I paid for my flight, hotel, tickets, and stayed there for the full week, I couldn’t get the backstage passes and extras you’d won. Trust me, I looked! So my only way to get that is through you. I get your extra ticket and we’ll call it even.”

I tilt my head to the side, still not fully understanding. “So, lemme get this right. You’ll front me the money to get myself set back up and stay in college. You’ll then teach me your streaming fu and make me a success. Enough of a success that I’ll end up paying you back and be able to buy the steaming stuff from you. And if I continue to do what you do, I’ll earn more than I ever thought possible and would be able to pay for college next year out of pocket. And for all this you just want my extra Dragoon Con trip?”

I try my damnedest to look like I’m weighting the pros and cons of this but I see nothing but upside. I get back up and running, I learn how to stream from someone I already respected, I get to earn my own money AND I get to go to Dragoon Con with one of the coolest people I’ve ever met in real life?

Dad always taught me that if someone’s offering you $100, then you better well ask for $150. I nod and look at her, going for serious and probably hitting closer to mildly entertained. “Okay, let’s say I take you up on this. I’m obviously stuck doing what you say and will be relying on you to live up to all you promised and not just string me along until the con. What if you haven’t lived up to your promises by January?”

I see that she hadn’t even considered that possibility and move in for the counteroffer. “Tell you what, I’ll do it. I appreciate the offer and the help. But if you don’t live up to what you’ve just said including paying you back, paying for the rest of this semester, and earning my streaming setup from you, you not only don’t accompany me to the con, but you pay for anything I haven’t earned, and we part as friends.

Sarah’s smirk tells me that she’s completely confident in her abilities. “That sounds like a bet, so let’s word it like one. I’ll teach you how to earn enough money to pay your bills for this semester including a full streaming setup. If you earn that much money, you take me to the con. If you don’t, I pay out the difference and we part as friends. BUT, you have to do what I say. Any alteration or refusal is you reneging on the bet, and you’ll not only owe me BOTH con tickets but have to pay me back for my time.”

She holds her hand out to me confidently, adding “Deal?”