Waltz of Her Life

After Linda signed some more paperwork at the receptionist desk, for tax files, she hurried back to the dorm to tell Nancy. They would pay her in cash, every Friday. Linda happily daydreamed about what the extra money could buy: nicer clothes, getting her hair done more often, buying a stereo for Myrtle, the list was endless! Back at the dorm Nancy had turned the nebulizer up full force, wafting menthol vapors into the air. She was sitting at her desk, reading. "I got the job," Linda announced.

"That's great," Nancy said, closing the book to give Linda her full attention.

"When do you start?"

"Tomorrow night! You get to have the room to yourself on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Don't have any crazy parties."

Nancy nodded. "You know, I was thinking about this during my Business Law class. They didn't make you sign anything, did they?"

"Well, yes. Just a few forms and other paperwork, that you always fill out when you get a job."

Nancy's eyes widened. "You should always have an attorney look it over, first.

You don't know what you're agreeing to!"

"I do so know what I'm agreeing to. I'm agreeing that I'll sleep there at the Dream Lab on Tuesday and Thursday nights, that I'll be wearing a sleep mask like thing and that workers at the lab will wake me twice during the night to gather research about my dreams. Besides, I don't have an attorney."

"You do so. There's a student Legal Aid department, at the ombudsman's office. Did they give you a copy of what you signed?"

"No."

Nancy gasped in shock raising her hands and exclaiming "Oy! Linda, that's your right! They could slip you drugs while you're sleeping! This whole thing could be a cover-up for some kind of test for a new drug."

Linda paused for a moment, to let Nancy's words hang in the air. She hoped that her roommate would realize how crazy she was sounding. "I really don't think so."