Read Online Raising Rain by Debbie Fuller Thomas - Free Book Online

on in.”
    Mare pulled the door open and shuffled inside. A large suitcase, a box marked “art supplies,” and an easel waited on the porch. Toni and Bebe gathered the rest of her belongings, and Toni led the way to Jude’s room.
    â€œYou’ll be rooming with the commandant,” Toni said as she dropped the box of art supplies onto the bed. “Have a great year.”
    Toni went back to her room. They stood watching her go with an awkward silence between them.
    â€œDid I say something wrong?” Mare asked.
    Bebe grimaced. “Who knows? I just got here myself. Maybe she was offended when you called her Jude. Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”
    She led her through to the kitchen and Mare followed. “Who’s Jude? Is there something I should know about her?”
    Bebe paused, frowning. “Um, just don’t hang up any religious pictures or icons or anything.”
    Mare’s blue eyes widened. “I didn’t bring any.”
    She showed Mare around and offered her a drink, but she declined.
    â€œI’ll just go and unpack,” Mare said, looking a little unsettled. “I need to get centered.”
    Bebe watched her go back toward the bedrooms and felt for her. What would life be like rooming with Jude? She went back to her own unpacking, and came out later to scrounge something to eat. She wasn’t sure yet how they were handling the division of groceries, but she could surely pay someone back for a few crackers and some peanut butter. When she was done, she cleaned up her dishes and put them back in the cabinets to hide the evidence, just in case.
    Jude came home later and met Mare. They ordered take-out pizza for dinner to mark their first night together and held a meeting at the dining room table to decide on the ground rules of their arrangement. It was obvious that Jude saw herself as the first in command since her name was on the lease.
    â€œAnd I’ve invited some friends over on Friday night for a little party, so you guys can meet some really cool people.”
    Bebe glanced from Mare to Toni, trying to read their thoughts.
    Toni said, “Fine by me.” Then she added, lifting an eyebrow, “But how much is it going to cost? I don’t have a job yet.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it,” Jude said, waving her hand, dismissively. “There’ll be plenty to go around.”
    â€œWhat about the neighbors?” Mare asked. “Will they complain?”
    â€œWe’re surrounded on all sides by other students. They’ll probably drown us out.” Jude popped the top on her second beer. “We need to work on finding a kitchen table and some chairs. And a TV. There’stoo much going on in the world right now to be out of touch. I don’t suppose anybody has one to spare at home? Maybe that they could bring back after the break?”
    They looked from one to the other and shook their heads. Bebe didn’t even know of a family that owned more than one television.
    â€œThere’s a protest rally scheduled next week,” Jude said. “We should all go.”
    â€œWhat are they protesting?” Mare asked. “Classes haven’t even started yet.”
    â€œAll the more reason to start the year off right. We’re fighting for change at the university. For the right as students to govern ourselves. I guess some of the professors are even talking about going on strike to support it.”
    Bebe wasn’t too sure of this, but she was curious. Jude must have sensed the hesitation it caused in the roommates.
    â€œYou don’t have to join, just check it out.”
    They all agreed, and so it began.

R ain dreaded Sunday mornings now that Hayden was gone. Their routine for almost seven years had been to wake to the hiss and the aroma of coffee beans programmed to brew at 8:00, which they enjoyed propped up with pillows fluffed behind their backs in bed as they read the Sunday paper