After our first night in our new home, we all made a plan to go shopping for the extras we needed as well as little things to spruce up the common room.

We decided to go to Target first. I had only been to Target a couple of times in my life, but Maddy and Elizabeth were avid shoppers. The second we walk into the store, Elizabeth sped straight to the home decor section. Maddy followed towing the cart. We decided to get a bulletin board and whiteboard for the common room, as we have a lot of wall space to utilize. Lara picked out a desk organizer for her room and Mariana went to the school supply section to look for dry erase markers and push pins. I went with Charlotte to the snack aisle and we began to check everyone's favorites off the list.

When we were done, Elizabeth's mom was waiting in her SUV. She only lives around an hour and a half away from New Haven, so she decided to come by to make sure we had everything we needed.

We spent the rest of the morning driving around town trying to familiarize ourselves with our new home. It is very different than what most of us are used to. I can tell that Lara feels out of her element. Mariana is more comfortable because she had spent more time in America attending youth summits, representing Spain with other teens. She also spent the summer before her junior year living with a host family in New York City as part of a foreign exchange program.

I had never even left the country before.

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After getting home, we hung up the new decorations and decided to pin all of our schedules to the bulletin board. Mariana and Maddy began to help Charlotte set up her printer and connect it to her computer.

Elizabeth was in her bed reading an old-looking philosophy book by Nietzsche. I had already started some of the readings for my Intro to Psychology class, so I figured I would start to outline the chapters. I reach under my bed to pull out my laptop, plug it in, and sit on my bed as I wait for it to load.

"Oh, my God." I look up to see Elizabeth peeking from behind her book. "What is that?"

"My laptop?" I don't really understand what she's asking about.

"How old is that thing? I can tell by the noise it makes just from that fact that its on, that its old."

"Hey, don't be mean to my computer. It might be old, but it's very wise." She snickered at my cheesy joke. Now I'm kind of embarrassed. "I don't have the money to get a new one and I didn't want to ask my mom. She's already scared to death with the price of tuition alone, not to mention books, lodging, and all the other expenses. I already chipped in all that I can with the money that I had on top of the work-study program."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude." I don't want her to think that she hurt my feelings. I can tell she was just joking.

"I guess if you pulled out a computer as thick as a textbook I would probably laugh too." This made her feel better.

"What year is it from?" Now her curiosity is taking over. "Is that a built-in lamp?"

"Yup. It also has a built-in camera - you know, for Skype. It's from 2008. It's actually really nice. It has character." I say this with a smile as I realize how unbelievable this sounds. How can a computer this old still run? I quickly change the subject before I jinx myself.

"Hey, what is that book about?" I listen intently to her passionate explanation, my computer comfortably heating up on my lap.

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After many hours of outlining several classes worth of readings, I decided to take a break and grab a snack. My weapon of choice is an apple from the fruit bowl we had set up earlier in the common room. When I return to my room, I make sure to close the door quietly. Elizabeth was taking a nap with her book as a shade for her eyes. I return to a comfortable position on my bed only to find a black computer screen. I check the plug to make sure the charger is not disconnected. It's tight in place. I hold my finger on the power button. No dice. My computer is silent and no longer at a temperature capable of burning someone's lap. My spine goes cold as the blood drains from my head.

"Oh no no no no no!!!!" At this point, I can no longer control the tone or volume of my voice and its dramatic crescendo was enough to wake Elizabeth up.

"What's wrong?" She looks extremely worried. I probably look like I just witnessed a death. In all fairness, I'm pretty sure I did.

"My computer just died. Everything is gone." I sound surprisingly numb. In my head, I'm cursing my decision to not ask my mother for a new one.

Elizabeth grabbed the computer and tried everything she could think of to revive it. I'm just thinking of all of the work that I had just lost.

"Is your work backed up on a USB?" She looks as desperate as I feel. I can just shake my head no. I can't even speak. I curse myself for being so technologically illiterate. Then I remember.

"Oh my gosh. I write on Google Docs! That means it's backed up, right?" Elizabeth freezes then relaxes into her usual relieved slouch. "That's right! Oh, thank God!"

I am still disappointed that now I have no tool for research, typing, and skyping my mom.

"Don't worry, you can borrow my computer when you need to." I'm thankful for the offer, but I know that's just not realistic. These days, your computer is your lifeline at college. I cannot rely on someone else's to get along.

"Thank you so much. But classes start soon, and I cannot be using your computer for all of my work. Remember, you need it too. I don't think that's something we can share in this situation."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I can tell she is thinking of a solution.

"It doesn't matter what we think of. They all cost money - something I don't have enough of for an expense like this." I had created a budget plan with my mother, planning everything from books to snacks, with only very little left over for extras. I know that I'm not high-maintenance, so I figured I wouldn't need to buy much more than absolute necessities. My mom was concerned about money for having fun, but I convinced her that there is enough to do for free on campus to fill my time. But a computer is a necessity that I did not anticipate. There is no way to solve this problem without money. No loopholes. No shortcuts. Then, I remember the last conversation I had with my mom before she left. I glanced over at my kit sitting on my dresser and Elizabeth followed my gaze.

I know we are both thinking the exact same thing, almost as if we are communicating telepathically. I just shook my head with stern, wide eyes. She did the opposite, nodding up and down trying to hold back an excited smile. I broke the silence.

"No, I cannot do that. I never even wanted anyone to know about it in the first place."

"Come on, just imagine it. Remember what Charlotte said? People will pay a lot of money to get their hair done. Do you know how many events happen on campus? Think about it - Greek Life, parties, there is so much that goes on around here and, trust me, most girls do not know how to do their hair. Especially not like that." She pointed to the pictures of her hair from the other night hanging on her magnetic board. "Also, people are going to want to get their hair cut before the holidays, you know, when they go home and visit family and friends. You do that too, right?"

"Of course." I am really beginning to think about this from Elizabeth's perspective. She does have a point. "I guess I can offer a price cheaper than local salons. People probably don't want to go out of their way if they can just get their hair done on campus for a low price. But where would I do it?"

"Here! We have the common room. Seriously, you need this. This is not just for fun like the other night. This is important. This is life or death!"

"Okay, okay. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves." But I know that she's right. My computer is dead, and I need one that is alive. This is not an extra, at this point, it's a necessity. Plus I probably wouldn't even need to do a lot of people. How much does a plain old computer cost anyways?"  

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read my work. I hope you like it!

Updates every Friday.

I would love to hear from you in the comments and will try to respond to all of them.

Any and every comment and vote is appreciated. I am open to helpful advice and constructive criticism, predictions, questions, etc., even if it has nothing to do with the story and you just want to know more about me!

I only ask that you please be respectful to everyone in the comments and to please not copy my work.

Once more, thank you, and I hope I see you again next week!

*I do not own the computer photo. This is the link for that photo: https://www.amazon.com/Hewlett-Packard-NU912AW-Elitebook-8530P/dp/B002654FW6

*I do not own the Terminator gif. This is the link for that gif: https://giphy.com/explore/hasta-la-vista-baby

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P.S. - I want everyone to meet my friend, Elizabeth (unsinkablexships). She is truly an amazing person and close friend who also just so happens to be a very talented writer. I am currently reading her book, "Picture Perfect" and it has me hooked! Please go check her out!

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Well...