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suitcases all wrinkled like some kind of vagabond. It was too depressing. It might just send me over
the edge.
Slowly, reluctantly, I pushed myself out of my chair and started to unpack my suitcase. Of course,
right on top was the black cashmere sweater Noelle had given me on her return to Easton this fall.
Just looking at it made my spirits plummet even further. Maybe this was not the best idea.
There was a quick knock at my door.
"Who is it?" I called out.
"Surprise!"
It was Constance and Sabine, and they had come bearing gifts.
"What're you guys doing here?" I asked, still clutching the sweater. I reached over to my CD player
and turned the volume almost all the way down.
"You said your room was depressing, so we brought you some things to cheer the place up!"
Sabine announced, walking in and placing a mini Christmas tree atop my dresser. She unfurled a
bright red woven rug in the center of the floor. It just fit between the bed and the dresser.
"I picked out the posters," Constance said, holding up a cardboard tube. "I remembered you really
liked Turner's seascapes in art history last year, so I ordered you a few prints and had them
shipped overnight."
"Wow. Thanks, you guys. This is incredible," I said, taking the tube from Constance. Tears of
gratitude actually welled in my eyes. They had come at the perfect time. "You didn't have to do
this."
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"Yeah, we did. Look at this place," Constance said, holding out both hands. Her face turned bright
pink under her freckles. "I mean, not that it's bad. It's not. It's cozy, actually. I--"
"It's okay, Constance," I said, tossing the tube on my bed. "It's a hole."
"It's not a hole. In fact, I asked Headmaster Cromwell if I could transfer over here so we could be
roommates again, but you were right. He wouldn't allow it since it's a single," Sabine said,
smoothing out the corners of the rug.
I laughed, touched. "Well, at least you tried."
"Forget moving in here," Constance said, sitting down on my bed, which emitted its signature