All The Stars In Heaven by Michele Paige Holmes Page B

open, and began to chug.
    “Hey,” Jay said. “That’s not—”
    “Cookies! Even better.” Mike wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then reached down, snagging a package of Double Stuf Oreos from one of the bags.
    Jay took both from him. “ My milk. My cookies.”
    “But we’re roomies. We’re supposed to share.”
    “I share all the time,” Jay said. “Tell me what you’ve contributed to this kitchen lately—besides dirty dishes.”
    Mike scratched his head, causing his case of bed head to worsen. “I ordered pizza in September.”
    “It’s almost Halloween,” Jay reminded him.
    “Trish and I are having a moment here,” Archer snapped. He stepped away from Trish and walked toward them. “Take your Oreos and your argument elsewhere. I was here first.”
    “This is the kitchen, Arch.” Both Jay and Mike spoke at the same time.
    “You can’t expect us to stay out of here,” Jay finished.
    “It’s all right.” Trish came up behind Archer and put her arms around him. “I’ve got to get home to study anyhow. Come over at seven, okay?”
    “Okay.” Archer looked sullen as he turned to give her a quick kiss.
    “And you two should come to the Halloween party at our sorority,” Trish said to Jay and Mike. “It’s next Friday—the twenty-eighth. Everyone’s invited. But you have to come in costume.”
    Archer hauled Trish up against his side. “We’re going as Robin Hood and Maid Marian. I’m taking the bow out of storage.” His free arm drew back as he shot an imaginary arrow.
    Jay raised his eyebrows. “Original. Who’d have guessed?”
    “What kind of food did you say there would be?” Mike leaned over, peering into one of the open grocery bags.
    Jay nudged it out of his reach. “Find your own breakfast.”
    “Well, I gotta go. Bye, Arch.” Trish left the kitchen, waggling her fingers at him.
    “See ya,” Archer said.
    “Later,” Mike mumbled.
    “Good luck with your test tomorrow,” Jay called.
    As soon as the door closed behind Trish, Archer turned to Jay with a scowl. “What test?”
    “Economics.” Jay set a block of cheese in the fridge door, wondering as he did if it would still be there tomorrow. “She’s really worried about it.”
    “How come she told you instead of me?”
    Jay shrugged. “Maybe because I ask her about stuff like that. If you’d give her a chance to do something else with her lips once in a while . . .”
    Archer grinned, his good humor suddenly restored. “Why would I want to do that?” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Come to think of it, why would I want to hear about some stupid econ test? No. I’ve got things right.”
    “Speaking of things that aren’t right—there’s a bunch of rotting food in here that belongs to you guys. You gonna clean it out sometime soon?”
    “It’s not mine,” Mike said, raising his hands as he backed away from the fridge. “I haven’t bought groceries in weeks.”
    “No kidding,” Jay muttered. “Arch? Any of this stuff yours?”
    Archer stepped closer to the fridge, bending over to peer inside. “Yeah, probably. But I don’t need it. Trish feeds me almost every night.”
    “Sounds like a pretty sweet deal,” Mike said. “She have any available roommates?”
    “None you’d want to look at.” Archer grimaced and gave an exaggerated shudder.
    Figuring it would take more energy to coax someone else into cleaning the refrigerator than it would to do the job himself, Jay pulled the trash can closer and started dumping things in it. The crisper yielded two black bananas, a small bunch of grapes that used to be green but were now growing some kind of fungus, and a shriveled-up apple that resembled a shrunken head.
    The shelves were worse. Jay held his breath as he threw away two slices of hard, stiff pizza—likely from the box that Mike had ordered a month ago—a bowl of hairy raviolis, and a reeking package of mystery meat, still in the white paper wrap from the butcher. As the