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It was a late summer Friday night when Bea and Mae drove into College Town. Freshman orientation began on the following Monday, but Bea insisted they get settled in their new apartment near the campus in plenty of time. Mae was nervous after her last attempt at college, but Bea tried to assure her that this time things would be different.

They pulled into the apartment complex and Bea tried to remember which building they were in, finally finding it at last. They’d been here before when they signed the lease, but that was in the daylight and only for a short time. The apartment itself was small - a one-bedroom affair at the bottom of the building. Frankly, it was the cheapest they could find within walking distance of the university, but Bea had insisted they keep their expenses as low as possible. Mae hadn’t argued. She knew that every penny saved was one penny less that her parents had to cough up. As for Bea, she had become naturally frugal anyway.

“You sure the electricity is on?” Mae asked as they carried their first loads in from the car.

“No, but it’s supposed to be. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Bea set her sleeping bag down and fumbled for the keys and opened the door. The lights worked.

The place smelled rather nice actually and the carpet appeared to be brand new.

“I got dibs on the bedroom!” Mae laughed, running ahead of Bea.

Bea followed her in and started switching on lights.

When she got to the kitchen she saw two small cockroaches that scurried under the refrigerator.

She sighed, but wasn’t surprised. It was probably too much to ask at the price they were paying to expect better. In fact, it was probably a good sign that there were only two.

The bathroom was small, and the fixtures had seen better days, but all was functional.

“Come on Mae, let’s get all the stuff in first. And Mae, I saw some roaches in the kitchen. We’re going to have to keep things very clean here, okay?”

“Cockroaches? Ewww,” Mae said, scowling.

“I mean it Mae. I’ve seen your room. Your mom’s not going to be around to clean up after you.”

“But you will!” Mae laughed, heading out the door.

They grabbed more boxes and baskets and started moving in in earnest.

“Did your mom ever bitch at you?” Bea asked, setting another box down as they went back for another load.

“Of course. Don’t they all?”

“I won’t clean up after you like your mom, but I’ll bitch at you,” Bea promised.

An hour later the car was pretty much empty, and Mae and Bea sat on some folding chairs they’d brought from home.

“Place is still pretty barren,” Bea commented, noticing the echo.

“Yeah. We’ll have to find some cheap stuff at a thrift store.”

“Pickings may be slim in a college town,” Bea said pessimistically, but a look at Mae trying to be positive, and she decided to lighten up. “But we’ll manage. By the way, did you see those guys one floor up watching us?”

“Yeah. There was another guy in the building across the parking lot watching us too. And sounds like there’s a party somewhere around here.”

“Now Mae, I like parties as much as you. Maybe more. But this can’t be Party Central, right? We’re here to study.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You don’t think my mom and dad drilled that into me already?”

“Okay. That doesn’t mean we can’t have any fun at all, but our first priority after we get settled is to try and find some jobs too, right?”

“I hope we can get something working together!” Mae said.

Bea pulled out a cigarette, but then saw Mae’s look.

“Sorry. Habit. I’ll go out on the porch.”

“Okay. I’m going to see if we get any TV.”

“I doubt it, but give it a try. Oh shit. We don’t even have Wifi here yet.”

“That’s okay. As long as we have Internet,” Mae said with a straight face.

“Mae…”

“I know, I know. Just kidding.”

Bea opened the sliding door and stepped out, closing the door behind her. The patio was barren. Somewhere in her boxes she knew she’d packed an ashtray, but didn’t feel like looking for it now. With a well practiced hand, she pulled a cigarette out and lit it in one continuous fluid motion.

“Hi,” said a voice startlingly close to her. She turned to see someone standing in a dark shadow in the patio beside her.

“You new here?” came the voice again.

“Yeah,” Bea said, trying to sound calm. “Me and my roommate are just moving in.”

“College?”

She nodded, and the voice came out from the shadows. Before her stood a boy-cat, tall and lanky with a mop of hair that covered his eyes. The black leather jacket was almost a requirement with the type. Instantly Bea wondered if he had a skateboard.

“Figures,” he said, and produced a cigarette of his own and sat down at a small white plastic table. “Come on over. I won’t bite.”

Bea nodded and sat on the offered plastic chair.

“I look like the college type?”

The guy gestured to her ankh without answering. “What’s that mean?”

“Life.”

“Oh. Kinda cool looking. Thought it might be some weird gender symbol.”

“It’s an Ankh. You know. Egypt?”

The guy shrugged. “Okay.”

“What’s your name?” Bea asked, trying to decide if she liked this guy or hated him. He was obviously an idiot.

“Fucker,” he said at last.

“Huh?”

“It’s what they call me. I’m Fucker.”

“I’m not going to call you Fucker.”

“Yeah, I figured not. College girls. Call me Huck then. Close enough. Lock your doors and windows, College Girl. Lotta thieves around here.”

Bea inhaled deeply and sat back before exhaling through her nostrils.

“Like you?”

“Sometimes. You smoke?”

She held up the cigarette.

“Not tobacco, College Girl.”

“Oh. No.”

“Want to?”

Bea heard the TV inside her apartment. Apparently Mae had managed to get something on it. She looked back to Huck, but he was walking inside his own apartment. He came back a minute later with two cans of beer and a joint.

“You live here by yourself?” Bea asked, accepting the beer and opening it.

Huck’s face was lit by a lighter as he drew on the joint, then handed it to Bea.

It wasn’t her first time, but it was a lot nearer her first time than she cared to admit to her new neighbor. She drew in the foul-smelling smoke.

“Yeah. Sometimes my girlfriend stays with me, but she’s out of town right now.”

Bea handed the joint back and chased the smoke down with a good sized swig of beer before blowing the smoke back out.

Huck nodded, as if to acknowledge that she had at least some experience with marijuana.

“What do you do, Huck? When you’re not stealing stuff from college girls?”

“Oh, I won’t steal shit from you. I saw your car. You ain’t got shit to steal. Probably spent your life savings on tuition.”

Bea nodded. “Something like that.”

“I work on cars mostly,’ Huck said. “Mechanic, but don’t ask me to work on that shitpile you drive. Unless you want to find out how I got my tag that is.”

The pot began to hit her brain. She scowled at him. “I don’t think so.”

“How do you know? You might like it,” he said, handing the joint back to her.

Bea nodded towards her door.

“Oh. Carpet munching college girls. I get it.”

Bea pulled another drag from the joint and handed it back with a shrug.

She finally let the smoke back out, her eyes narrowing. “Are we going to have a problem here, Huck?”

“Na. I’m probably the worst guy in the complex. Everybody else around here seems to be other college rats like you two.”

“What are you doing here then?” Bea asked, the effects really starting to take hold. She downed the rest of the beer in one long gulp.

Huck gave an appreciative look. “Free room and board. Uncle is a part owner of the place. As for the carpet munching… hell, who am I to complain. If I was a girl, I’d be a lesbo too.”

Bea smiled a toothy smile. An impulse came over her and she hit the guy with all the strength she had across the jaw. He toppled off the chair onto the concrete of the patio hard.

“Are we going to have a problem, I said?” Bea asked in an incongruous sweet voice.

Huck looked at her with a smile and rubbed some blood from his upper lip.

“Oh, I like you Bea! You’re gonna be fun!”

Bea picked up the remains of the joint and handed it to him, while pulling him back to his feet.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she said, and she was pleased to see she stood a little taller than him, though he obviously was a strong guy.

“No way, Bea. I like you!”

“Well, you’re an idiot, but I think I like you too. But lighten up with the carpet muncher talk around my roommate, okay?”

“I will, on one condition.”

Bea cocked her head. “What’s that?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you would consider a condition. You did.”

“You’re not as sharp as you think you are, Fucker,” Bea said, and turned back to her own patio.

“Probably not,” he replied. “See you later Bea.”

“Thanks for the beer. And the blunt. Better go put some ice on that.”

Suddenly something pulled her arm behind her back and another arm wrapped around her neck.

“Huck. Let go and I won’t smash your gonads into a pulp with my tail, okay?” she said without a trace of fear. And she meant it. Marijuana had that effect on her. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her already, almost hoping he would give her the chance to use it.

“Okay, okay,” he said, releasing her. “Just testing.”

She brought her tail up between his legs, hard, and he crumbled to the ground.

“Me too,” she smiled, turning back to face him.

“Jeeze Bea, you’re a hard one.”

“Hey, I just squished them a little. I could do far worse. So really, no problems, right?”

He got up slowly. “No Bea. I deserved that. No problems.”

“Goodnight Fucker,” she laughed and turned to go back inside.

“Hold up,” Huck said and she turned around, wary he might try to get physical again.

“My wifi name is ‘Mother’. You can guess the password.”

Bea smiled genuinely. “Lowercase? Thanks Fucker.”

“No problem. But be careful on it anyway. Other people have the password too.”

“I’ll be sure not to make any large Wall Street trades on it.”

She slid the door closed behind her and locked it.

Mae looked up from the little TV. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. I met our neighbor.”

“And?”

“He’s a fucker, but I think he’s alright.”