Chapter 1: Win

I was having one of those moments where you can't tell if you want to scream, cry or go on a shooting rampage.

I'll admit that it was probably partly my fault. But the school administration had more than its fair share of the blame.

I had arrived on my new college campus as a first semester freshman in the third week of September. Which was a pity as classes began the second week of August.

I had a good reason not to be there the first day - I was in Beijing winning both a silver and a bronze medal in the Summer Olympics. As I was on a full ride swimming scholarship, the coach of college swim team personally assisted me in enrolling in online classes for the first semester so that I could concentrate on the Games and not have to rush back to school. Apparently, having a State record holder and potential Olympic medal winner on campus was considered a good thing.

So, when the Games ended, instead of running to school, settling into my new dorm room and doing whatever freshmen do, I took a month and went on a cruise of the Pacific with my sister and my cousin. We spent 35 days taking pictures of exotic places, eating strange foods, and fucking. Fucking everything. Each other. Strangers. Members of the crew. Other passengers. People we meet on shore. It was dazzling and exhausting and the penalty - assuming I didn't catch anything - was that when the cruise docked in LA, we had to immediately take a flight to Richmond, rent a car to drop Beth and Alex at home, spend half a day unpacking, doing laundry and repacking and then drive to school in Fairfax, VA. In the last two weeks, I'd gotten maybe 10 hours of sleep. I was absolutely wiped out and was looking forward to sleeping like the dead for a day or so then meeting my new roommate or mates sometime thereafter.

So, I was not at my best when the woman in the Student Housing office informed me that they did not have a bed assigned to me. She searched by name, date of birth, student ID, and social security. She went through the unprocessed and rejected applications.

"Look again!" I growled. I am a McElroy, damn it! My family is sinfully rich. We own a historic landmark; a fishery that has been profitable since 1702. Where I come from, the small town of Reedville, VA, they would have taken one look at my name, given me a room and dealt with the paperwork later. There has always been a McElroy on the City Council. One of my Grandfathers is a judge. My Great Grandmother is the founder of several local charities. I won two Olympic medals for God's sake! I'm not used to being the one who doesn't get what they want - that happens to other people.

I watched the clerk type at the computer again and sighed deeply. My mother used to say that one day I'd leave the styx and learn that the world is bigger than the McElroy family name. "You won't get everything you want in life, Peter." She told me. "An' you best not cry 'bout it." She usually said it when she really meant that I wasn't getting whatever I wanted at the toy store. It wasn't often but if she said it, I didn't get it.

Now, I was beginning to see her point. I don't have a dorm room. And this woman can search for another two hours and isn't likely to find me one.

"Peter Harper McElroy?" She said suddenly.

"Oh thank God!" I gasped. "Yes! Thank you!"

"It was released."

"Released?"

"Uh-huh."

"What does that mean, released?"

"When you didn't claim the bed, it was released to the open list." She scanned the screen. "On August 15."

"What do you mean, released?" The word didn't make any sense.

"When you pay the dorm fee, we reserve a bed for the student. But if the bed isn't claimed by the first day of classes, the reservation is released for other students. Harris room 626 was reserved for Peter Harper McElroy on May 18th and then released on August 15th. And another student took the room the same day, the 15th."

"You gave my room to someone else." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Ok. So, what room am I in now?"

"You're not in any room now."

"So put me in a room."

"There aren't any. All the dorms are full."

"But I paid the fee." She shrugged and I pictured myself hitting her with the computer. "So where am I supposed to go?"

"I'm sorry but ... well, have you gone to Student Counseling? They keep a list of off-campus housing. Maybe they have something available."

"Ok. Ok. Call them for me. Thanks."

She looked shocked. "Oh, we don't do that. They're in Admin C - just across the Quad."

"And my fee?"

"What about it?"

I counted to five. I promised myself I would do this without calling my father and without killing someone. "How do I get my fee back?"

"Oh, the dorm fee is non-refundable."

Of course. One, two, three, four, five. "Ok. Where is the Quad?"

She gave me vague directions and I spent another half hour trying to find Admin C before a Latin beauty with smoldering eyes and a soft accent pointed me in the right direction.

I debated giving up on finding a room and following her instead but remembered that I needed to stop in at the campus clinic before I did anything - or anyone - else. I found the Student Counseling office on the third floor and waited in line for almost an hour before they told me that they too did not have any housing sources available. They provided me with a list of nearby hotels.

I went back to my car and sat. I could afford a hotel, for a few nights. But I couldn't stay there the entire semester. I could call my Dad. He'd fix it. He'd make the whole problem go away.

But the whole point of going to school half a day's drive away was to keep Mom and Dad out of my life. To grow up a little, solve my own problems and not depend on the family name to do everything for me.

A tap on my window startled me and I realized that I was falling asleep in the car. I looked up, expecting campus security and found my Latin beauty looking a bit worried. I rolled down the window.

"You don't like you were counseled." She remarked. Her accent gilded her words like the pages of a leather bound book.

"I don't feel like I was counseled." I agreed. "But I have been informed."

"Helpful information?"

"Sadly, no." I sighed. "You might be looking at my dorm room this year."

Her eyes circled the car. "Cozy. At least there's no roommate."

I had to smile. "I wouldn't mind that, if it was the right roommate."

She smiled back. She glanced over her shoulder and looked back at me. "My friends and I are going to the Union for lunch. Have you gotten your dining card yet?"

"Not yet." I hadn't even thought about food. "But I won't be cooking much here, so I'd better get one."

"Maybe you should follow us."

Anywhere. I nodded and got out of the car. "Peter." I said, offering her my hand. "Peter McElroy."

"Maria Alvarez."