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Back Unnecessary Drama Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TEXT LOGO PAGE
  3. ABOUT THE BOOK
  4. DEDICATION
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. ALSO BY NINA KENWOOD
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. PRAISE
  49. NEW MARKETING PAGE

‘So that’s it. Pretty basic. We can figure everything else out as we go along. Any questions?’ Harper asks, smiling. She’s warm and friendly, which, for a person with natural charisma, she really doesn’t need to be, so I especially appreciate it.

‘What does “no unnecessary drama” mean?’ Jesse asks.

‘No arguments, no tension, that sort of thing,’ Harper says. ‘Everyone just being chill and getting along.’

‘Sounds easy enough,’ Jesse says, not looking at me.

My heart is racing. This is going to be a disaster. I am holding my bagel in a death grip. I will my fingers to relax. I am not going to be the uptight one, I am not, I am not, I am not.

‘Absolutely,’ I say, lowering my shoulders, wiggling my neck a little.

‘Oh, and I thought, once you both get settled, we could have a housewarming party,’ Harper says.

‘Sounds great,’ I say. How long will it take us to get settled? Are we talking three weeks, four, five? I need a timeline, a deadline, for this party so I know how long I have to make a lot of new friends, buy some cute clothes, deep-clean the house and get my whole life in order. I try my best to not let a hint of these thoughts show on my very relaxed, very serene face.

‘I can’t wait,’ I add.

4

4

After our house-rules discussion, Harper tells us she’s going out to see her girlfriend, Penny. She doesn’t specify if or when she’ll be home, which is normal for housemates I guess, although I personally would love to implement a system so we can know when to worry about each other, so I don’t have to default to worrying all the time.

Harper leaves, and Jesse and I are left alone for the first time. I walk into the lounge room and sit on the couch. I should get up and go and read. Organise my stationery. Start preparing for my uni classes tomorrow. Finish setting up my room. Make a list of things I need to buy for the house. Pick out my clothes for the week. Go for a walk and fall in love with the city. (Can this be done in one quick walk, or will it take three or four? I’ve never fallen in love with a place before. Or a person, for that matter.) And I’m still itching to rearrange the kitchen and clean the dirty dishes. All these things I need to do, but I can’t move.

I miss home.

I feel like a needy little dog, trembling, huddled in a corner, away from its owners for the first time.