You've gotta be kidding me.

  Kaitlyn stood in the parking lot with her jaw agape. Before her sat a brand new black sedan, the sunlight sparkling off its hood. Despite what she would have called a relatively plain appearance, a familiar logo marked the car as anything but.

  She remained motionless for a long moment, simply staring at it in utter disbelief.

  …This has to be a joke.

  Whipping out her phone, Kaitlyn tapped out a few quick searches. There was no guarantee that it was hers. Sure, she didn't remember seeing any other Bowleys around campus—not in all of the loops she'd spent here—but that didn't mean they didn't exist. She could have totally missed them. She wasn't exactly a car aficionado, after all. Besides, she hadn't even had a chance to buy a parking space yet.

  Only, it quickly became apparent that she was wrong. She did have a parking space. This exact one. According to her phone, it was already registered to her name. Which meant…

  …This is my car.

  Kaitlyn stepped toward the door and pulled on the handle, keys in hand. Sure enough, it swung open easily, the car rising slightly as it invited her to enter.

  She let out a long groan, letting her head thud against the roof.

  You can't be serious. This is what I got?!

  Anyone else would have been ecstatic at the development. The idea of getting a free car was tantalizing enough to draw people to game shows and competitions all over, not to mention one with a price tag like this. It was the kind of luck people dreamed about.

  But not in her case.

  Why?! Why this of all things?! Half the reason I bought a car was because I had too much money to spend, and now I get one for free? What am I supposed to do with my signing bonus now, buy a second one?!

  Kaitlyn deflated, air escaping her as she sighed in defeat. She could practically hear the game laughing at her from above. It had to know what it was doing. It had to.

  It's fine. It's… it's just fine. She lifted her head to glare down at the car. It just means I'll have extra money on hand. No big deal. It can't be helped. I didn't manage to spend it all last time either, so what does it really matter?

  In the grand scheme of things, this really wasn't a big deal. So what if her bank account had a few extra zeroes at the end when the reset came? Sure, the idea of being so wasteful hurt, but it wasn't like she had a real solution. Not unless some other opportunity presented itself.

  Guess I have a lot of custom-tailored clothing in my future… A LOT.

  Kaitlyn stepped back, shutting the door and hitting a button to lock the car. Its brief chirp seemed to mock her with its enthusiastically pleasant tones. Shaking her head one more time, she turned around and headed back to campus to grab some breakfast.

  ***

  A knock at the door interrupted her as she tapped away on her laptop. The sudden noise made her jump in surprise.

  Already? Wait… what time is it?

  Kaitlyn glanced down at the clock on her screen. 10:06 AM. Sure enough, it was time for Heather to make her first appearance.

  Wow. Guess I kind of lost track of time, didn't I?

  She'd hoped to get going before her roommate arrived. However, between grabbing breakfast, checking out the car, and starting her application for John Avenue Capital, it seemed that she may have bitten off a bit more than she could chew for that small timeframe.

  Pushing back from her desk, Kaitlyn crossed the dark blue carpet and pulled the door open. Heather stood waiting on the other side, her tank top-clad form flanked by two overstuffed lavender suitcases.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Hi! Are you Kaitlyn?"

  "Yup. That's me."

  She extended a hand as Heather's smile grew. "Awesome, nice to meetcha! I'm Heather!"

  "Nice to meet you, too. Come on in."

  Kaitlyn stepped back, gesturing for the blonde to enter. At this point, she was well aware of how much space to allow for the twin suitcases that followed behind her.

  "Do you mind if I leave the door—oh!" Heather turned around to see Kaitlyn already pushing one of her extra shoes beneath the door to wedge it open. "Thanks! You like, totally read my mind! I have a lot more stuff, my parents are helping me bring some of it up right now, so I'm just gonna be going back and forth a whole lot, y'know?"

  "No problem at all," Kaitlyn smiled. "Actually, I'll be out of your way in just a minute, here."

  "Oh, that's ok! Take your time!" Heather's eyes flicked over to the overstuffed backpack sitting on her bed. "If you gotta unpack still, that's totally fine, y'know. I'm not gonna, like, take over the room!"

  Kaitlyn shook her head sadly. "That's not it. The opposite, actually. I'm gonna go stay with a friend for a while."

  Heather's jaw dropped open. "Wait, really?! Why? The semester starts tomorrow!"

  A torrent of objections and questions rushed out of the blonde in a veritable deluge. Kaitlyn slid her hands in her pockets, waiting for a place to interject. "I know, I know. It sounds weird, but it's something I have to do. The situation is… complicated."

  "How long are you gonna be gone? You're gonna be back for classes, right?" Heather insisted. "Like, you're not gonna just skip your first college classes, right?"

  "I don't know how long I'll be gone. But don't worry," Kaitlyn cut her friend off. "I won't be far. The place I'm going to is pretty close to campus and I have a car."

  Of course, she had absolutely no intention of attending a single class this time around. But this didn't feel like the time to mention that. Kaitlyn feared that she might actually give Heather an aneurysm if she tried to suggest it. So instead, she just dodged the issue.

  Heather folded her arms. "I mean, do what you gotta do girl, but… wow. Must be some friend. What's their deal, anyway? Are they, like, sick or something?"

  "Mmm. Kind of. He…" she almost said "He needs my help," but stopped herself at the last moment.

  No. He doesn't need help. If Elliot taught me anything, it was that.

  As she considered what to say, Heather's eyebrows shot up. "'He'? This friend is a 'he'?"

  Kaitlyn just chuckled. "Yes. He is. And no, it's not what you think."

  Not yet, at least.

  "Riiiiight," Heather's eyebrows wiggled suggestively as she drew the word out. "If you say so, girl! Well, don't let me keep you, I guess. You're gonna come back, right?"

  She nodded. "Yeah. I will. I don't know when, exactly, but I will."

  Kaitlyn didn't know how long it would take her to figure out Vinny's endings. It could be a single loop, or ten, or anywhere in between—though she sincerely hoped it wouldn't take longer than that. But until she did, she suspected that she wouldn't be spending a lot of time at her dorm. Not in the slightest.

  A short while later, she bid Heather goodbye. The act felt surprisingly bittersweet. It wasn't just that she was saying bye to her roommate. It felt more final than that. Like a sendoff for so much of what she'd built over the loops. Lab, cross country, Kate's Kitchen… even the other male leads. All of those stable presences that had ingrained themselves into her daily life would soon be behind her.

  …I can always come back, she told herself. It's not goodbye forever. I can always pick back up where I left off.

  Still, some part of her knew it would be different. Even if she couldn't quite explain how.

  She glanced over at Heather. At least she'll get a break from Kate's Kitchen for a while. I won't need to run it out of Vinny's place, and it just wouldn't feel right to do without her.

  Maybe it was a good thing. The business had clearly taken up a lot of Heather's time, even though it never seemed to affect her classes. The girl was more than capable of handling it, even seeming to relish the challenge as they scaled up. But she deserved a break.

  Not that she realizes it, of course. She comes into every loop just as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as ever. Even if she did remember, though, I get the feeling she might disagree anyway.

  Kaitlyn hefted the backpack, slinging it onto her shoulder as she gave Heather one final wave. "Bye, Heather. See you around."

  Heather set down the large fan she'd been carrying and sent Kaitlyn a beaming smile. "See ya! Stay safe out there! Don't get into too much trouble, mmm'kay? Oh, and let me know when you're coming back!"

  "Of course, will do. Oh, and feel free to spread out in the meantime. I won't mind at all."

  With that, Kaitlyn turned back toward the door. The hallway beyond remained cluttered with Heather's belongings while the blonde worked on moving them all inside. Somehow, it would all end up fitting just fine on one side of the room, but still. No point in keeping her own spaces clear when she didn't plan to use them.

  Sparing one final glance at her dorm, Kaitlyn stepped out the door and into the coming loop.