Waltz of Her Life

Linda decided to start with the dishes. She knew that simply placing them in the dishwasher and pushing the "on" button would only get them racks full of dishes with baked-on condiments. Instead, she braved the slimy mess in the sink, plugged the stopper in the bottom, filled it with water and let the dishes soak. They would sponge off easier that way.

Glasses containing beer and soda ended up poured into the bathroom sink.

She stepped on a dish towel to absorb water and other liquids from some of the squishier areas of the carpet. One by one she sponged off dishes and placed them on the dishwasher racks. Some of them clattered as they shifted around in the sink water.

Marie appeared at the bottom of the steps. She glared across at Linda, frowning. "Pssst! Try not to make so much noise. Lots of people are still trying to sleep."

Linda still held a wet dish in her hand, unable to reply at first. She winced, feeling as if someone had slapped her. Marie trudged back up the stairs. Linda dropped the wet plate back into the sink water, allowing it to clatter loudly against the other plates and cups. "You know what?" she announced, to the rooms filled with slumbering people. "You're on your own."

Once she left the Tuileries, she walked past the two high-rise dorms, to campus.

On Sunday mornings, the Student Center was nearly empty, except for a couple of restaurants at the other end. A few people sat or lied down on the couches inside the television lounge. Linda wandered past the front lobby, where a bored looking mousy girl sold magazines and cigarettes. Toward the restaurants on the other side, she arrived at the "pegboard," the campus announcements area.

The "pegboard" contained bulletin boards with short, metal rods protruding from them, slightly curved at the end. Each section contained different types of announcements: one board listed "Rides Wanted" and "Rider Needed." She'd used that board last year, to give a couple of students rides to places near her hometown, when she'd driven up one weekend.

That Sunday morning, she studied the "On-Campus Work Opportunities" board. Most of the jobs listed seemed too gross or physically demanding. The cafeterias needed servers and proctors, as well as strong-back types to help unload trucks for deliveries. One card read "Personal Hygiene Assistant" and when she read the attached card more closely she learned that the job involved refilling the tampon machines at various restrooms and locations around campus. It occurred to her that the mini store inside the Student Center, where the bored girl worked, might need some help. She checked the board for Retail/Store, and along the way she passed the listings for "Laboratory and Technical."