“Are you crazy??  Asking me to get rid of the mouse.  Please.  Do you even know me?”

Jenna looked at her roommate, Ally, as they sat on the couch in her room, both making sure their legs were nowhere near the floor.  Jenna had shoved a blanket under the tightly closed door in the hopes the mouse they’d spotted wouldn’t be able to get in the bedroom.

This was one of the rare nights when they were both home at the same time.  Usually, one of them had a date, or had a shift at work, or had class.  So they’d decided to make homemade pizza and watch an old chick flick together.  They joked and talked about Ally’s boyfriend and Jenna’s most recent dating catastrophe while they pulled ingredients out in their tiny kitchen and laughingly argued about the best ways to make pizza dough.  Jenna had opened a cabinet to search for pizza sauce when something moved behind the boxes and cans.  “What the . . . ?” Jenna said, pulling things out.  She was, by far, the braver of the two girls, and thought it was possibly a large spider that needed to be killed.  Instead, as she pulled out a couple of boxes of pasta to see into the back of the cabinet better, a little brown mouse leapt out of the cabinet, onto the kitchen floor and disappeared under the refrigerator.  A breathless moment passed, then both girls screamed, dropped whatever they had been holding, and ran into Jenna’s room, slamming the door behind them.

Jenna was the braver of the two girls, but not by much.

Now, they were stuck in Jenna’s room.  They’d both left their cell phones back in the kitchen.  Jenna’s laptop was also in the kitchen, where she normally did her homework.  They were either going to be stuck in Jenna’s room for hours until Ally’s boyfriend dropped by after his shift at work, or one of them would have to overcome their fears and get rid of the mouse.  Neither option sounded really good.

Jenna had hoped that Ally would step up and offer to get rid of the mouse, since Jenna was always the one who killed spiders and other insects that got into the apartment.  It was a long shot, she knew, but it was worth a try.  Ally would have none of it.  She was a girlie-girl in all senses of the word, and didn’t get near creepy-crawlies on principle, as well as a deep-seated fear.  Jenna would have to do it, or wait until Ally’s boyfriend came by hours later.

Jenna used a hanger to peel the blanket away from under the door while she stayed on the safety of the couch.  To their relief, no mouse immediately ran in to attack them.  Then, she reached over the arm of the couch, yanked the door open and peered into the hallway.  With a deep breath and a squeal, Jenna jumped into the hallway, ran to the kitchen, snapped up her cell phone, ran back, and slammed the door behind her.  The first call to Ally’s boyfriend got them nowhere.  He couldn’t get off work early, but he’d come as soon as he could.  The second call was to Allstate Animal Control.  Ally’s boyfriend assured them they’d send someone out to get rid of the mouse, and make sure there weren’t any more mice running around.  Neither girl got any sleep that night.