Profile of a person

Catherine groaned as she drained another mug of coffee. “These things have holes in the bottom of them…” She grumbled as she stood up to brew another batch. Her short curly hair was going wild, evidence of a dreaded all-nighter. I scooted some Japanese and Russian assignments aside to make room for my Cheerios at the kitchen table.

“Rough night?” I asked my roommate, squinting at the foreign letters she has written into notebooks and on loose-leaf. A layer of homework covered the entire table, and none of it was in English. I felt the throb of a headache just looking at the immense pile of work yet to be finished. “Yea, but my Japanese portfolio is almost done and my speech for Russian isn’t as bad as it was last night.” Catherine rubbed her eyes as she downed another cup of coffee and turned to pour another. Where would students be without the glorious gift of caffeine?

Her untamed hair and sleepy eyes may have given her the impression of someone who neglected their work until the last minute, but I knew better. My roommate is one of the most responsible people I know, and her all-nighters are due to the insane class load she takes while working full-time to pay off the car she bought a year ago. There aren’t many people that can handle a double minor in Japanese AND Russian while still holding an office job. I knew I couldn’t.

As the clock changed to 9:00AM, Catherine yawned and went downstairs to her room. Twenty minutes later, a sophisticated business woman emerged, hair perfectly curled and heels clicking on the hardwood. With her make-up, she looked as if she had gotten the sleep of a baby. “See you this evening!” Catherine called as she poured herself another cup of coffee and headed out to work.