Profile- FINAL

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 fragrant batch. Her short curly hair was going wild, evidence of a dreaded all-nighter. She was wearing a gigantic “Ocean City” t-shirt, sweats, and a fluffy white bathrobe. On her feet were slightly chewed house slippers. 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 had written into notebooks and on loose-leaf. A thick 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 completed. “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?

“Can I get your rent check early this month?” Catherine took a break from stressing about school to stress about rent and utilities. “We haven’t been as prompt as I would like with getting all of our checks in, this month I want everything early.”
I raised my eyebrows and sipped my own mug of steaming coffee, “Want me to take care of it? I can track everyone down easier since I’m home more anyway.” Catherine didn’t get home until past 10 o’clock most nights, after work then class.
“No, I can do it. I just need everyone to put their checks on the fridge. I’ll take them down tomorrow before I leave.” She had self-appointed herself house mom, and refused to let anyone else take control of important house affairs. “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” she always recited whenever I asked her if she needed help. I guess that might insult some people, but that was just the way Catherine was so I didn’t take it personally. Instead, I took out my checkbook, and handed my part of the bargain over.

Sarah, another of our roommates, stumbled down the stairs in her colorful pajamas. “Mmmm coffee!” She also filled a mug and flounced onto the remaining chair at the table, side ponytail swinging.

“Can I get your rent check early this month?” Catherine asked. Sarah was a flight attendant, so she spent most of the week traveling. If Catherine didn’t get her check now, she might not be home again until past when rent was due.

“No problem. My checks are upstairs, I’ll get them when I change.” The entire house was used to Catherine’s routine by now. Even Ramses, her foofy six-pound pom-a-poo, knew when it wasn’t time to play around. When things got stressful, he went into another room and played fetch with himself.

“Did you empty the pot of coffee?” Catherine asked Sarah casually as she reviewed the foreign characters in the book in front of her.

“Oh… Oops… Yea, I’ll make another one.” Sarah hopped up and started another batch.

A pot of coffee did not last long in our house. Caffeine fiends. But at least everyone knew how to make a good pot of coffee. Mornings would be pretty rough without it.

As the clock changed to 9:00 AM, Catherine yawned and went downstairs to her room. Ramses continued to toss his ball against the wall and chase it across the room. Sarah clicked on the TV. I stayed at the table and savored my Cheerios, pushing the little circles around a cool, opaque ocean of soymilk. Twenty minutes later, a sophisticated business woman emerged from the basement, 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. Sarah and I shook our heads in disbelief.



This piece is still short of the final required word count, but I feel any more writing here would just be fluff and distract from the idea I am trying to convey.