Ambition (Private 7)

to whatever words of wisdom Cameron Diaz or Reese Witherspoon were imparting this week. I yanked open the outer door of the

dorm and paused. The inner door was ajar, propped open with the bronze doorstopper that was only ever used on move-in day to facil-

itate the passage of huge suitcases and trunks. The red security light on the keycard slot was blinking and emitting a low, ineffective

beep, annoyed that the door had been ajar for too long. What was it doing open? And why hadn't anyone noticed?

I stepped inside and nudged the heavy doorstopper aside with my foot, then quietly closed the door. I could see Sabine, Constance,

and Kiki sitting in the parlor with their hair spilling over the back of one of the couches. Nothing seemed amiss. Part of me wanted to

go in there and ask them about the door, but if I did, I knew that Constance would pump me for the details of my date, so instead I

quickly slipped upstairs. Big mistake. The second I opened the door to my room, I froze. Literally. It was freezing inside. Something

moved in the dark. Fear instantly overcame me and I slammed the door, pressing myself up against the wall outside. Someone was in

there. Someone was in my room. My heart was in my throat. Why would someone be skulking around in my room in the dark? Were

they leaving another surprise for me? Or did they have something even worse planned? Whoever was in there knew I was out here

now. We were playing a waiting game. Him or her in there. Me out here. Who would crack first?

Ever so slowly, I turned and pressed my ear to the door to see if I could hear the culprit moving around inside. I held my breath.

There was nothing. Dead silence. Was this person on the other side of the door right now... listening for me? Why were they doing this

to me? What had I done to deserve this? Down the hall, a door opened and laughing voices emerged. I looked up to find Lorna and

Missy walking out of the Twin Cities' room with a bunch of folded blankets. They stopped in their tracks at the sight of me still bun-

dled in my coat, my gloved hands pressed into the door along with my left ear. "What are you doing?" Missy asked with a sneer.

Freaking out. Losing my mind. Having a panic attack. "Someone's in my room," I whispered. "Sabine?" Lorna asked at full voice. I

felt so desperate I wanted to cry. But at least I had backup now. At least if I opened the door, they would see there was someone in

there too. I'd have witnesses. "No. Sabine's downstairs," I whispered hoarsely. "I think someone's sneaking around my room." "Like

who?" Missy asked. "Everyone's in the parlor." I pressed my lips together. I hated that of all the people in Billings, it was Missy who

had to be here for this, but she was better than no one. "I don't know. Maybe someone from outside Billings," I said, thinking of the

open door. "Will you guys please just go in there with me? "

Lorna looked a little freaked, but she nodded resolutely. "Sure." "Thanks." I turned slowly, trying not to make any noise, and

silently turned the knob. "One, two, three," I whispered. Then I flung the door open. Wide open. And braced myself for some kind of

attack. I didn't even realize I had closed my eyes until Missy shoved me aside from behind and I was startled into looking around.

"There's no one in here," she said, flicking on the light. She was right. The room was deserted. "No, but it's freezing," Lorna added.

She dropped the blankets onto my bed and walked across to my window, which was wide open. The wind coming through the ever-

present screen sent the curtains billowing into the room. The curtains. That must have been what I had seen. The curtains moving.

As Lorna slammed and locked the window, my face burned with embarrassment. I was turning into a paranoid freak. And Missy