Terri’s first response was to laugh at her sister. “Yeah right. Not likely, kiddo. You should know better. Just watch out for Mom. She’s been on the warpath lately. The other day, when you went to the movies, Brooke stopped by and parked on the new grass that Mom planted a couple of weeks ago.”

The woman scrunched her nose up at hearing this. She couldn’t believe Brooke was still alive if what Terri said was true. Her mother lived for her garden, flowerbeds, and the overall appearance of her yard. “Ooh… I bet that went over real big.”

“Are you kidding? Mom had a litter of puppies over it, then started in on the whole relationship bit. Brooke’s not too happy right now.”

“Oh, no. Not again,” C.C. groaned at Brooke’s luck as of late. Then watched as Terri nodded her head to verify the truth of her statement.

“Oh, yeah. Dad just walks out of the room. He doesn’t even want to get in the middle of it.”

“Smart man. Boy, I’m really going to miss all those discussions not living at home this year.”

“Oh, yeah… like Mom would really give it a rest when you visit and not fill you in on all the dirt. You know the woman, sometimes she just has no couth.” Terri tried to reassure her sister. She knew the upcoming months would be difficult on C.C. since the girl had never lived away from home before, and she was glad that home was only a thirty-minute drive away.

“Excuse me for asking…” Sam interrupted, shyly. “But, what’s wrong with Brooke’s relationship?”

“She’s not in one.” C.C. shrugged her shoulders at her roommate. “That’s just it.”

“So, what’s wrong with that? Lots of people aren’t.” Sam couldn’t understand why not being in a relationship was such a big deal.

Terri and C.C. looked at each other as if to get their timing right before pulling off the perfect imitation of their mother, “You really should be seeing someone. You’re not getting any younger and you shouldn’t have to worry about spending the rest of your life all alone.”

The sisters shared a laugh and Sam couldn’t help but to join in as she witnessed their camaraderie. Finally Terri was able to speak. “Ah, you know Mom is just trying to look out for her, the way she does for all of us.”

“At least she hasn’t started on me, yet.” The young woman stated as she got up and made her way over to the desk to open one of the sodas Terri had brought.

“The operative word there being ‘yet’, C.C.” Terri pointed out. “Just give it time.” She didn’t want C.C. to think that she would be immune to their mother’s prodding.

With a wave of her hand, C.C. blew off the warning. “Hey, she’s too concerned with Brooke right now to worry about me. I’m safe for a few years at least.”

“What’s up with this?” C.C. turned toward her sister and held up the six-pack. “No beer?” She offered a can to Terri and then one to Sam, who thanked her.

“Nope. I’m going to work and you two are underage.” Terri answered with a shake of her head.

“Hey, I’ll be 21 in less than a month. Or have you forgotten?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten.”

“I’ll be there in October,” Sam added to the conversation.

“See? We’re not that much under.” The woman tried to reason with Terri, her light brown eyes twinkling. She knew it would do no good but she just loved to irritate her sister.

“Yeah, well… it’s still under. I am not going to get in trouble for you, not with Mom. You seem to forget I’ve got a license to keep. Who would trust a pediatrician that was convicted of corrupting the morals of a minor?”

“Wuss.” The insult was thrown at Terri, not expecting it to really accomplish anything and C.C. watched as her sister rolled her eyes in response.

“So, Sam… what’s your major?” Terri sipped at her soda, ignoring her younger sister who was making faces at her, trying to get her attention.

“Major…” Sam sighed at the question, oblivious now to the antics of her roommate. “Do I have to pick one thing?” She laughed and Terri joined in as she pushed C.C. down on the bed one handedly, without ever taking her eyes off of Sam.

“Okay, then… majors?” Terri amended her question.

“Living, mostly.” She giggled, “But my aunt says that’s not enough so I’m taking music history and public relations.”

The two sisters straightened up, looking at each other with a raised eyebrow.

Finally Terri spoke. “Music? My, my… that sounds fascinating. Anything in particular?”

Sam got up and cleared off a spot on her bed, then sat down cross-legged on it. “Well, I like the modern groups but I’m not stuck up enough to forget the older ones either. Without them, music would have never progressed.”

“Very cool.” Terri listened attentively as the young girl spoke of her passion for music.

“Just give me something with a good rhythm and I’m ready for action, moving to the beat.” The young woman demonstrated her limited moves, as she remained seated.

Turning to her sister, C.C. grinned, then smacked Terri lightly on her shoulder. “No. Now that’s cool,” and she imitated a few of Sam’s moves.

Once again, Terri rolled her eyes. “So, who’s your favorite oldie but goodie group, Sam?”

The blonde looked to the ceiling in thought before answering. “Well, my favorite all guy group is Europe, my chick group is Vixen. I just LOVE that 1980′s hair band sound.”

“Well, that wasn’t quite what I meant by ‘oldie but goodie’ but, it’ll do.”

“Oh, no. I really love some of the older ones, too. The Doors, The Runaways, Janis Joplin… I’ll listen to just about anything. But my all around favorite, male or female, old or semi-old is Anti-Zero.” Terri and C.C. looked at each other wide-eyed and mouth gaping, neither believing what they had just heard.

“No way!” C.C. exclaimed, turning to look directly at her roommate. “Really? Anti-Zero? I’ve uhm… I’ve heard of them. Haven’t you, Terri?” The woman was starting to giggle.

“Yeah, somewhere… in the distant past.” The two sisters began laughing out loud now.

Sam assumed they were laughing at her and became defensive. “Hey, why are you two laughing at me? They were an amazing musical group who didn’t get half the recognition they deserved.”

Both sisters struggled desperately to regain their composure, not wanting to upset their new friend.

“Honey, don’t worry. We’re not laughing at you. Actually our mother loved that band. Right C.C.?” Terri tried to assure Sam.

“Really?” Sam thought for a moment. Their mom must be pretty cool if she liked Anti-Zero.

“Yeah, let’s just say that they were one of Brooke’s little projects. We all knew their songs inside and out…” C.C. confirmed.

“Backwards and forwards, even…” Terri added.

“In our sleep…” They said in unison, then looked at each other and shared another laugh.

Sam couldn’t believe that they were serious. She decided to find out for herself and began singing her favorite part of the band’s theme song.

“Oh, no… not me, I’ll be a rainbow in your eyes…Oh, yeah it’s me, I’m like a strobe light, overdrive…”

The two sisters joined in singing without skipping a beat.

“I’ll be your Anti-Zero, your super hero charm… I’ll be your Anti-Zero, your true Diniro star…”

Sam was elated that her new friends knew the songs as well as she did. “Whoa, you’re right, you do know them.”

Terri stood up and stretched. “Well, ladies… thanks for the company over dinner but, I should probably be getting to work.” She stretched her long frame out, then walked the few feet to the door.

“Yeah, and I have to find this bed to sleep in tonight.” C.C. looked around her as she stood up.

“Thanks for the pizza and sodas, Terri. That was very nice of you. It was great meeting you.” Sam thanked the slightly older woman for her kindness as she held out her hand.

“You are very welcome. At least somebody appreciates it.” Terri added as she grinned.

“Hey, I appreciate you.” C.C. retorted with her hands placed firmly on her hips.

Terri laughed. “Yeah, right. Whatever, C.C.” The woman in scrubs made her way to the door. “Oh and Sam, it was nice meeting you as well. See you at dinner on Sunday?” Terri asked again, one last time before leaving.

“Yeah, sure. That sounds great. If C.C. will let me, I’ll be there.”

“Oh, girl… you are so there!” C.C. told her new roommate.

“Well, have fun girls. C.C., stay out of trouble.” Terri bid them “Goodbye” and hugged her youngest sibling before leaving for work.

The brunette shut the door after her sister’s departure, turning back around to face the mess of a room she and Sam still had to contend with.

“I like her C.C. Are they all that friendly?” Sam asked as she went back to putting her clothes away.

The woman thought about it for a moment. The answer was positive but she couldn’t resist tweaking her new roommate some. “Sometimes… at the right moments, or when they need to be.”

Clearing the last of her clothes off the mattress, C.C. began to make the bed with the clean set of sheets she had brought along with her. Now all she had to do was figure out what to do with all the boxes.

“I hope Sunday is the right time,” Sam said quietly as she thought about the upcoming dinner with her new friend’s family.

“Oh, it will be. I’m just kidding you. They’re all great.” Eyeing the pillow in her hands, C.C. tossed it across the room at the unsuspecting woman.

Stunned by the action at first, Sam returned it with a devilish grin, following it with her own pillow thrown in sequence. Before long, damn near everything was tossed back and forth that could be in a friendly fashion. By the time they were finished, the room was an even bigger mess of clothing and trinkets than before. It was then that both women realized that the getting acquainted time was over and that they were settling in to being roomies.