Kittens almost made me get kicked out of the dorms
Kittens almost made me get kicked out of the dorms
Shamontiel's Halloween-themed stories for 2023: What happened when she almost got kicked out of college the first time?
Writer’s note: You know those people who think Halloween is lame and they’ve outgrown it? Yeah, that’s not me. Exhibit A! This month, I’ll be featuring a “spooky/scary” real-life story in each of my Substack columns. Some may be as terrifying as that gas station episode of “Luther.” Others will be more comedic like the movie “The Blackening.” And the rest will be somewhere in between. Enjoy!
I knew something was off when my freshman-year college roommate* kept scurrying into our suitemates’ room. This blond, white girl never had a dull moment, but this was a little bit more exciting than a usual day with her.
Granted, I’d already learned a lot about mental health from her. She would sometimes be incredibly funny (as in humorous enough to be a standup comedian) one hour and be sitting in the dark and refusing to go to class the next. On her worst days, I’d wake up and her boyfriend (a white guy three times her height) would be sitting in a desk chair, yelling out, “Hey Monnie!” to me when I peeked out from my comforter.
Recommended Read: “First lesson in housing money management: Moving out of dorms ~ Why parents should prioritize financial planning before their kids head to college”
Those were the days when my roommate was especially sad, and he came over to get her to go to class. She finally admitted that she wasn’t just moody as hell but was actually diagnosed with depression. From that point forward, I handled her mood changes with more grace.
But I still couldn’t figure out her sudden interest in being around our dorm suitemates all the time. They were friendly but not this tight before. She was suddenly way too happy, getting up early and moving around like the Pink Panther. Way too much pep in her step even for her best days.
I shrugged it off at first, wondering how long this would last. I didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it, mainly because I was relieved to wake up to a quiet, boyfriend-less room before I got ready for class. I could hear her and my suitemates talking, but she started spending the night in there so much that I felt like I had my own room. Bonus! And then one day she came running into my dorm room with her arms full — with two kittens meowing at me and two guinea pigs in a cage.
I shouted to get those “fat rats” away from me, and she pleaded with me to be quiet. It turns out that she and the two suitemates had adopted pets for their 12 x 12 dorm room and somehow convinced themselves they were not going to get caught. As is the case in any television sitcom, the resident advisor (RA) started growing suspicious.