Worth not being able to decorate the urinal

At college, I live in a suite (nom de plume “Mopkins 5E”) with three guys and two other girls.  We girls had not met the guys until we all moved in this year.  At first we were apprehensive about having to share a bathroom with this unknown quantity.  Having guys around meant that we couldn’t decorate the urinal with wreaths and flowers, as is sometimes done by all-girl suites.  And there were plenty of other worries.  What if they were mean?  What if they were messy?  What if they liked country music?

HOWEVER.  It only took a few days for all six of us to feel like we won the life lottery.  Our suite is clean and quiet and everyone is nice to each other, just like in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Every time I’m feeling down, the guys cheer me up without even knowing that anything is wrong—just by being themselves.  Here are some examples of the happenings that have gone down in our common room:

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Pierre-Marie:  (thoughtful) Are there any symptoms of suicide?

Skyler:  (matter-of-fact) Well, death.

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Skyler:  (anxious) Oh no, is that rain?

Sal:  (disbelieving) No, it’s just a bunch of people standing outside and going psspsspsspsspsss.

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One night, Tiberius and Skyler and Sal were waiting for Pierre-Marie so they could get late-night pizza.  This is their evening ritual; they eat pizza and play whist at the sticky tables while classic rock music blasts overhead, solidifying the campus-pub feeling. 

Pierre-Marie was taking forever to get ready.  Tiberius got frustrated by the waiting and put his jacket over his head like a tent.  

"Wheeere's Tiberius?" I asked in a singsongy voice.

"I don't know," said Sal.  "I haven't developed object permanence yet."

I laughed so hard that I almost threw up.  So this is my tribute to the guys of Mopkins 5E:  you are the best, and you bring this joy to my life every day.

Boggled

One day, I was playing Boggle in the common room with my suitemates and Pierre-Marie*.

Pierre-Marie lives nearby and is friends with Tiberius, Skyler, and Sal; he’s an honorary suitemate.  These guys are very serious about the way they play all games.  They know every strategy and they play to win.  So when they play Boggle, they make sure to write down words they see even if they’re not sure that they’re real.  And they have a tradition of Skyler being the first to read the list of words that he found in the Boggle dice.  On this occasion, Pierre-Marie was next after Skyler.

“Peas?” Pierre-Marie muttered.

“I got that too,” someone said.

“Paste?”

“Got it.”

“Tease?”

“Don’t have it.  Good one.”

"Sheep?"

"Got it."

“Wease?”

“What the hell is that?” someone asked politely.

“What a weasel does,” Pierre-Marie explained.


*I did not choose this name for him.  He did.