fandomhigh | Living on Your Own, Friday

Tyler waited just a second for any stragglers before launching into his lecture. "So you guys came back," he said, dryly. "Which is good, 'cause this week we start with the first thing you need to do when you end up on your own: Find a place to live."

"Assuming you don't have any money, which you probably won't, you have a couple options. You can be homeless and crash in shelters or sleep on the street. That's really only a choice if you wanna get robbed, beaten, all of that. You can stay with friends until they get sick of you. I'd recommend that, myself, but it depends on you having patient friends with a couch."

"If you want a place that's yours, squatting is a popular choice. Just pick a building nobody's living in or too interested in, maybe a big house on the edge of town, and move your stuff in. Might not be the most comfortable place you ever stayed, lot of times the power's off, but it's yours and probably more space than you could afford. Disadvantage is, it's not exactly legal."

"As far as affordable but legal options go? You probably aren't gonna move right into your own penthouse. Easiest thing is to find a roommate. You can do that through your local alternative paper, on a web site like craigslist, or if you wanna throw around a bunch of money, through a service. Don't rush into it, however you do it -- you have to live with this person until you find a new place. Here is a handout about what to ask a roommate, and there's actually some good advice in it. Ideally you want a friend, not just some person you grunt at in the mornings."

He glanced down at his notes. "That's about it. Today in class, you're going to role-play some roommate scenarios. Let me or Meg know if it doesn't make sense, otherwise, I'll be around."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Listen to the lecture, ask questions, continue to set new records in note passing.

Amber was quietly listening.

A carefully aimed note sailed Amber's way.

Someone still owes me a cupcake.

She opened it, read it, and scribbled back.

I ate it.

Cal was wondering if she'd recognize who it was from. By now, even if it wasn't clearly from him based on subject matter, she probably knew his handwriting on sight.

Meanie. :(

If not for the handwriting, definitely the content of the note.

Amber smiled.

It was undoubtedly the best cupcake I've ever eaten. Want to know why?

The note went sailing back.

Oh, well, that was easy.

Because it was mine.

Amber peeked over at him, grinning.

Then she scribbled back. I'll make it up to you.

You better, Cal wrote back. It sucked that you didn't stop by. You get caught up with something?

She had to think about that. What had she been doing?

It made her feel warmly fuzzy that it sucked for him that she hadn't come by. 'Course she wouldn't say so.

I was reading.

Cal's head tilted a little in thought at Amber's response, as well. Maybe it had been presumptuous of him to assume she'd have it read by yesterday. But it was a little shorter, this part, and...

Well, it was presumptuous to think she'd get to it right away, too. He rubbed his chin a moment and wrote back.

The next part? You finish it yet?

What kind of question was that? Amber rolled her eyes.

I finished it that night after rehearsal and I've been reading parts one and two practically everyday. You finished the third part yet?

Cal's cheeks went a little pink as he read Amber's response. Not because she said she'd been reading them every day. The potential significance of that would take a moment to settle in. Her question, though, inspired a guilt burning in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't even touched the next part, beyond a few pages. He couldn't. The next part would be....rough on him.

I think the next part might take a bit. Writer's block.

Yeah. Writer's block...

What'd you think of part two?

Amber threaded her fingers back through her hair, tilted her head slightly as she read the next response from him.

I can help with that.

She'd seriously think of a way how to at least...

More than I care to write on paper.

Cal arched an eyebrow at the paper. Somehow he doubted Amber could help, not in any way that he could imagine her doing or him allowing, and he shook his head slightly, focusing on the other part. He wanted to know what she thought more than anything else; knowing what she thought, actually, might be the key to getting somewhere on the next part. But he could agree that he'd rather talk about it.

You doing anything later?

~~Besides brain-swapping? AHAHA.~~

Did you see the posters for the party tonight? I was thinking about going.

~~YES, besides that :P~~.

Cal's lip curled a little disagreeably at that. A party was the last place he'd want to really talk about something as personal as all that, but, maybe Amber would allow him to do what they'd done last party, walk her back to her room since it wasn't like she was right next door anyway. Of course, they'd done that since she'd had a few drinks, and, since this was right on the school grounds, he didn't think there'd be alcohol. They could still walk back together, talk afterwards. In which case he hoped there wouldn't be alcohol. He wanted a serious response, not a drunk one.

Yeah, I'll be there, too. Maybe I'll catch up with you there?

If I decide not to go, I'll call you. But if you don't hear from me, look for me there, okay?

Cal, realizing he could save a bit of paper and that they should probably pay attention, anyway, read through Amber's note and then gave her a nod, and then a faint smile that conveyed the part of the message that, even if he had sent a note, he probably still wouldn't have said, the part that told her he'd look forward to it.

Lucky for Cal, Amber was staring right at him. At his nod, she nodded back, smiled, and then gave Mr. Durden her attention once more.

Cal really couldn't help being amused that squatting was actually brought up, and he added a little more to his notes in that respect, as if scribbling down his experiences for posterity:

When in doubt, hobo holes. Particularly good in public parks with big brambles of berry bushes. Just make sure to not go it alone, because hobos are viciously territorial.

Michael listened, carefully.

Ino's mood was... it was hard to say, really. Last night had been good, but the fact that today so many moronic people were going to mess with their brains had her wanting to snap at things.

She glowered at her notes.

Momoko listened closely and took careful notes. She hadn't considered most of this information before.

Anemone wasn't sure why this mattered to her, since Dominic would take care of something like this, but she tried her best to pay attention anyway.

Living on Your Own, Friday

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