The next day, we awoke to a sharp knock on our door. As my bed was the closest and I was the lightest sleeper, I pushed my hair off my face and stumbled out of bed, over to the door. I took a look through the peephole to make sure I wasn't going to be showing yet another amazing side of myself to Rob. I wasn't sure I was ready to show him hungover with dragon breath just yet. On the other side of the door stood Mishti, the residential don for our floor.

I unlocked the door and cracked it open.

Mishti, pert and petite with short cropped dark hair and skin the colour of milk chocolate was a little sprite of a thing. I'd never seen her anything but happy and friendly. She didn't look so happy now.

She tried to peer around me into the room, but I knew with the room darkening shades down and no lights on, the room was pretty much pitch black.

"What's up, Mishti?" I asked, blocking her view of the room with my body.

She hesitated and then said, "Some of the other girls on the floor have come to me with some concerns. I was hoping to speak to you, Lark and Patricia this afternoon. When would be a convenient time for us to meet in my suite?"

My heart sank into my stomach. And so it begins. I'd been down this road before. I had a feeling the concerns expressed had to do with Jill.

"Lark and Tricia are still sleeping. Maybe in an hour? I can wake them up," I suggested.

"I think that would be a good idea. I'd like to get this resolved as quickly as possible," Mishti said, taking a step back from the door.

"Sure. Yeah. That sounds good," I said.

I closed the door on her, moved so the back of my knees hit the bed and then I flopped down. 

"Guys?!" I called out to Lark and Tricia.

Lark moaned from the floor. "I feel like shit."

"Well, I think we're all about to feel a bit worse. Mishti was just here and we have to meet with her in her room in an hour."

"Why?" Tricia asked from underneath her covers.

"She said some of the other girls on the floor had 'expressed concerns'." I air quoted the last part, even though neither of them was looking at me.

"Freaking Jill," Lark grumbled as she turned over on the floor.

I wasn't sure what to say back to that. There was a part of me that actually thought it's 'Freaking Lark' that was the problem. She didn't seem capable of compromising or backing down with anything in regards to their room. Should Jill have been doing whatever she was doing with Tom without letting Lark know the room would be busy? Probably not. But, Lark had severely overreacted.

Tricia threw off her covers and started moving around the room, gathering her stuff to shower. She knocked on the bathroom door that joined the two rooms. When there was no response, she pulled it open and went in without a word.

"Are you just going to lie there, Lark?" I asked.

"Yeah, until either the room stops spinning or Tricia comes back out of the bathroom – whichever comes first. I feel terrible," Lark said.

I laid on the bed and considered who might have complained about us on the floor. Were the concerns from other girls really just from Jill or had we done so much at this point that other people on the floor had taken note? It wasn't just Lark that Mishti wanted to see and I had a hard time believing that Jill would throw Tricia under the bus. Me? Probably. But, not Tricia.

Tricia flew back out of the bathroom in just a towel and said to Lark, "Get up and get dressed. We need to figure out what the hell is going on."

Lark sat up and grabbed her ripped pants off the floor. She stumbled through the bathroom and back to her room. I heard her knock on the adjoining door to her room, but I didn't hear a response. I wondered if Jill was in Tom's room instead.

Thinking about Tom brought up the image of Rob. I just wanted a little time to bask in my success. He'd finally kissed me. He'd told me I was brilliant. Such a great word – brilliant. I didn't know why Canadians didn't use it more. I was going to use it for everything from now on.

"Liz – get off the bed and get dressed. Seriously." Tricia had already thrown on sweats and was brushing her hair in the mirror. The brush strokes were hard and fast in her wet hair. I could hear the strands ripping.

I sat up and looked at her. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay." She whisper-yelled. "It's not our fault that Lark and Jill can't get along. Why the hell are we being dragged into it?"

"We're not exactly stopping Lark from treating Jill like shit," I said. I wasn't sure if that was our problem or not, but I could see how Mishti might think dragging us all in could help the situation. Tricia's reaction was making me wonder if Mishti's strategy was just going to make it worse. Right now, Tricia was nice to Jill – not go out of our way nice – but, she tolerated her presence and never said anything bad to her face or behind her back. I hoped it wasn't Jill that complained or the tide would turn.

"Lark is an adult. We aren't responsible for what she says or does," Tricia said, pushing her still wet hair into a ponytail and turning to me. "If there is any mention of a roommate switch, I want you to promise me that you won't volunteer."

"To be Lark's roommate? I wouldn't."

"No, to be Jill's," Tricia said raising her eyebrows. "I think Lark might push to be in here with me and I don't want that. Okay? Do you understand?" Tricia threw her brush on the vanity. "She told me the other day that she wished we'd been roommates. I don't know if she thinks she can get what she wants by treating Jill like crap, but she only gets it if we agree. I like Lark – sometimes I like her a lot, but I don't want to be roommates with her."

Tricia's voice was an urgent whisper. Although Lark was in the shower, we knew from experience that sometimes sounds drifted between the rooms more than we might like.

"Okay," I said. I hesitated and then added, "But, it might be the easiest way to resolve the situation."

"No."

"Do you think we're in trouble, too? Or do you think this is just about Lark and Jill?" I asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll see, but I'm not happy about this. It's not our fault, and I hate that it feels like it is."

I didn't agree with Tricia completely. I thought there had been times when we'd excluded Jill either on purpose or by accident, but I'd also been excluded. Maybe Lark and Tricia felt like it had happened to them as well. If I was being honest with myself, there was something mean about Lark's attitude towards Jill. It wasn't indifference or indecision anymore; it was pretty clear she didn't like her. Tricia and I just let Lark's comments roll off us because it was easier than picking a fight with Lark. Mishti would have her work cut out for her handling Lark.

I got dressed in sweats, threw my hair in a ponytail, brushed my teeth with a glass of water I'd set out the night before. I vowed to wash the smell of alcohol off me when we got back from Mishti's meeting. I might need some time alone to think.

Lark opened the bathroom door and a plume of steam came into the room with her. "I'm ready," she said.

We trudged down the hall. Lark gave a decisive knock on Mishti's door. Once she opened it, she directed us to a small round table in the corner of her room. She had a single room, but it wasn't huge by any standards. I wasn't sure the round table was going to hold all four of us comfortably, but maybe that was also a strategy for conflict resolution.

We sat down without a word. I played with the drawstrings on my hoodie, wishing I was anywhere but here, in this room, about to have this discussion.

"So," Mishti started, shuffling some papers on the small table, "I've had a couple of other girls on the floor express some concerns about you three and about how Jill is being treated." She paused, meeting each of our eyes, but none of us said anything. "I just wondered if any of you had any insight into what's going on between the three of you and Jill."

Lark sat forward in her chair, putting her elbows on the small table. "I'm not sure we understand what you're getting at, Mishti. What are these other people saying?"

She looked down at her notes and then back at Lark. She put her finger where the specific concerns must have started. "Let's see. Excluding Jill in activities. Making Jill feel unwelcome in her own room. Playing music excessively loud when you know she's trying to study or complete work. Moving her things or reorganizing her things based on what you want. Name calling." She looked up. "Is that enough or should I continue?"

Oh, God. Some of this stuff we'd definitely done, but there were other things I didn't know anything about.

Lark slowly sat back in her chair. "Can I ask who came forward with these accusations? Many of them are false."

"But," Mishti concluded, "some of them are true."

I was trying really hard to keep my eyes focused on Mishti and not look at Tricia or Lark. I didn't want any of us to seem guiltier than we were already.

"We do play loud music sometimes," I said. "But, as far as I know, she's never asked us to turn it down."

Mishti looked at me and then back at Lark. "Is that true, Lark? Jill has never asked for it to be turned down?"

"I don't know. I can't keep track of everything Jill says and does," Lark said. "I only move her things when they're on my side of the room or when she leaves dirty clothes lying around and I know someone is coming to our room to hang out. Jill shouldn't be complaining about exclusion. She deliberately excluded Liz from a dinner when her parents came to town. What else was on that list? I'm sure I can correct those misunderstandings, too."

Lark seemed a little too smug and I wondered if Mishti was going to continue to confront her. I couldn't imagine she had proof of any of these things.

"Name calling? Unwelcome in her own room?" Mishti asked, without looking at the paper.

"I don't think I've ever called Jill anything other than her name. As for being unwelcome in her own room – do you know what happened last night? I walked in on Jill having sex with Tom in our dorm room. Who do you think felt unwelcome? I spend more time sleeping on the floor of Tricia's and Liz's room than I do in my own bed. That's a fact. I can start keeping track of how often that happens if you like."

Mishti raised her eyebrows. As far as I knew, none of what Lark had said was untrue. But her presentation was a tad aggressive.

"That won't be necessary. Why do you think the other girls on the floor would be concerned about Jill?"

"Are other girls really concerned?" Tricia asked.

Mishti looked at her for a long time and then said, "Yes, they are. Several girls came to me, independent of each other and expressed the same or similar concerns."

"Why are Liz and I here? It seems like this is a problem with Lark and Jill," Tricia said.

"I thought perhaps you two girls could shed some light on what's happening," Mishti said.

"Jill and Lark don't get along. They probably shouldn't have been put together as roommates. I don't think it's anything they can't handle on their own," Tricia said, looking at Lark.

"I would actually like a new roommate," Lark said. "If Jill and her friends are going to start accusing me of doing things that I haven't done, then I think it's probably best if Jill and I don't share a room."

Mishti looked at Lark, back down to her sheet and then at me and Tricia. "What do you think, Liz? You've been very quiet."

"I think Lark and Jill are really different. We tried to be a group of four for a while, but we just can't seem to make it work. If Jill has other friends on the floor, then maybe she and Lark can just have less to do with each other."

"Maybe," Mishti said. "But, if she feels unwelcome in her room, that seems a little unfair."

"I told you," Lark threw up her hands and continued, "it's ME that feels unwelcome. I'm never in the room. She has it to herself most of the time."

That was true, but there was a distinct air of tension in Lark's and Jill's room whenever the two of them were there or even when Jill was in there alone. Neither of them seemed able to relax. I didn't know if that could be fixed with Jill branching off to different friend groups or not.

"I'm going to suggested a mediated conversation with myself, the Head of Lanark Residence and you and Jill," Mishti said, meeting Lark's eyes. "I'd like to see if we can salvage this roommate situation without moving either one of you."

Lark shifted so she was sitting straighter in her chair. "And if we can't?"

"Then we can discuss what options are available to you and Jill in terms of living arrangements."

"I'm not moving floors or rooms. If she can't handle living with me, then she can move."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Mishti said, shutting the file folder with some authority. "I'll talk to the Head of Lanark Residence and see what works for her schedule. Then, I'll check with you and Jill separately to see when we can meet. Hopefully, we can get this worked out without either of you having to move." She paused and looked at each of us again.

"Thank you, girls, for meeting with me. I look forward to getting this resolved quickly." Mishti stood up and moved over to the door. Before opening it for us, she said, "In the meantime, please try to make sure that Jill feels comfortable in her room and around the three of you. You girls are all strong-willed and confident, which can be intimidating for someone who is just finding themselves."

Mishti let us out and we walked down the corridor towards our room. Lark looped her arms with both me and Tricia and said, "I'm not leaving you two. If anyone is moving, it's Jill."

The quick soft tread of someone running down the corridor caught my ear, and I turned to look behind us. Rob was jogging down the hallway towards us.

"Liz – can I have a word?" Rob called down the hall.

"I'll see you guys back at the room," I said to Lark and Tricia.

Tricia leaned over, wrapped her arm around my neck and whispered in my ear, "You got this."

I gave her a grateful grin and turned to speak to Rob.

Author's Note:

What do you think of Lark's attitude towards her living situation? Do you think she's being truthful with Mishti? What would you do in Liz's situation?