The Asian bump in the night.

You wake with a start at the sound of your front door slamming into the chain lock you installed a few months back. You grab your phone and turn the flashlight on. The display reports it's 4:33 back at you. You grab your miniature 16" bat and creep into the hallway. The lights are off so all you see is the glare coming in the part of the front door that's open. The person there seems to have an arm inside trying to figure out how to take the chain off but that isn't easy since they have it stretched taut. You yell at the door.

"Ok, Motherfucker! This 357 of mine will blow barn sized holes in that damn door. You have three seconds to run, you bastard!"

You watch the door hoping that sounded fierce and not half as damned scared as you really are. Then you hear a woman's laughter echo from the hallway.

"Berry, a big pistol would knock you on your ass, and knowing your luck it'd just hit the chain anyway. Now get over here and open this damn thing. I'm cold and tired."

Even with the slurring, you recognize Kat's particular sense of humor along with the voice. Strawberry was always her nickname for you, it always gets shortened when she's feeling a buzz. She and Jim are the only ones beside yourself with keys but she'd never had a reason to use hers before tonight. You prop the bat up against the hallway wall and walk over to the door turning lights on along the way. When you get there you playfully slap her hand.

"Pull that thing out silly. I can't open the chain unless I can close the door."

She pulls her arm out. "You lock me out here and we're gonna fight baby girl," she growls with a fake ferocity.

You push it shut, unlatch the chain and pull the door open. In the entryway light, you see your friend. Kat is a tall girl, compared to you anyway. She always bragged it was her Chinese heritage but that never made sense to you since you always thought Asian people were generally short. She stands about 5'5" and is wearing a pair of black yoga pants and a pink hoodie pulled up over her head. You can see strands of her long black hair have tried to escape and are sticking out beneath her chin. She's carrying her Betty Boop knapsack as usual. She rushes and scoops you up in a big hug.

"Kat girl, you smell like a brewery this morning!"

She laughs as she lets you go, "Yeah the party was pretty cool until the bikers showed up."

You pull her inside and lock the door.

"Sit down and relax. You want something to drink?"

She drops her bag next to the loveseat and sits down. It doesn't take long for her to pull the hood off and stretch out.

"Yeah. If you have something mildly alcoholic that'll help ease me down off a hangover in the morning. If not, water will kinda work. I hope you have some MOM or Motrin in the house for the morning."

You grab a bottle of water from the fridge. You have no idea what she means by "mildly alcoholic" and really don't want to quiz her on it. She can hit the fridge later if she wants to go through the wines and stuff. You walk over and hand it to her, then sit in your desk chair. She yawns and then looks up from the sofa at you.

"The party was hopping and I about had this cute jock cornered when a bunch of douches came in, drunk off their asses, and started a fight. I bailed of course, black and blue is a horrible look for me. I left my car at that dorm because I'm a bit too wobbly to drive and walked to my place. It's just a couple of blocks off campus after all. I found the locks changed and a letter stuck to the door."

She pulls it from the hoodie pocket and hands it to you. A hint of anger flashed in her bright brown eyes. You've seen that before and feel for whoever is responsible. You read through it and it claims she's two months behind on rent and has until Friday to pony up.

"Two months? How'd you miss that?"

"I can check the bank statements and stuff later when I'm sober. I don't think we're that far behind."

She shrugs, lays back, and massages her temples. She already sounds miserable, you don't even want to guess how she's going to feel when she wakes up.

"Well, you can crash here for a while. Worst comes to worst, after a week the landlord will demand a double occupancy fee. That's only a couple hundred though. It's all good." You offer a smile, hoping to help her relax a bit.

"I knew I could depend on you, berry. You've always been the responsible one."

"Don't worry about it, Kat. I don't have anything pressing tomorrow until about 6ish. Besides, I feel a little more comfortable with someone around anyway. Ummmm should I get a bucket. . . just in case?"

"I don't puke," she says each word very carefully. "It's unladylike and not at all dignified!"

You giggle recognizing the variation on her 'ladylike and dignified' catchphrase. Everything is either ladylike and dignified or not, it always makes you laugh. You grab a spare pillow and blanket out of the closet and hand them to her.

"You did it on the way over didn't you?"

"Yeah. It sucked. You need a boyfriend, then you wouldn't have to worry about being alone."

"I'm fine. I still have my bat. It doesn't leave the toilet seat up," you smirk at her. "Well, you know where the kitchen and bathroom are. Help yourself to whatever. If we figure tomorrow you'll be here for a bit, we can pull the blowup mattress out and set it up in the storage room for you."

"Thanks, berry. Hopefully, it's a short term thing. I wouldn't want to crimp your style or anything."

"You mean your lifestyle. I'm not having boys over all the time," you laugh. It's a serious enough objection but better addressed later when everyone is in a better mood.

"No worries there. My thoughts on men at the moment are in a bad place after the fight and all."

"That'll change quick. You can't leave them alone."

"That's the truth, girl! Guys are a blessing and a curse."

You cut off all the lights except for the one over the stove in the kitchen and the hallway light.

"Get some sleep, kitty. You look like you need it."

You go and double-check the locks on the door.

"Yeah. Night, berry!"

"Night, Kat."

You smile as you head back to your room and climb into bed. Looks like no car shopping for you but that's fine because Kat will keep you entertained. Nothing is boring with her around. Besides, she has a car so that'll work for however long she sticks around. You set the cell alarm for 9 am, burrow into the blanket and drift off.