Penny pushed her way past the doorman and the middle-aged woman standing beneath the front awning of David's apartment building, careful to keep her gaze lowered. She recognized the beaky nose and hawk-like stare of David's nosy neighbor, Mrs. Peterson. The last thing Penny wanted was eye contact. She knew what kind of look she could expect in return - that silent glare, accusing her of breaking some unwritten rule. Some violation of the co-op board by-laws, no doubt. David hadn't bothered explaining the ins and outs of all the rules that governed the wealthy residents of his luxury high-rise building, but Penny got the general idea:

No subletters.

No couch surfers.

No renting out your living room for the weekend on Airbnb.

No houseguests who overstayed their welcome - and especially not the kind who caused a scene at 4 AM, dressed in nothing but a string bikini top....

"Not to worry, Mrs. Peterson," Penny muttered under her breath. "I'll be out of your hair soon enough." Out of David's hair as well. Out of his life, once and for all, and he could get back to being his usual rule-abiding self.

In less than 24 hours, Penny would be back on a plane to Minnesota, and it couldn't happen a moment too soon. She just needed to grab a few essentials from the drugstore before she headed out. She turned now in the direction of the street corner without looking where she was going - only to run smack into an oncoming pedestrian.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Whoa! Look where you're going- wait a minute. Penny?"

Penny looked up in surprise. If not for the familiar voice, she might not have recognized the woman who stood before her. "Lauren? Is that you?"

In the month since Penny's ill-fated visit to her old apartment in Brooklyn, her former roommate had undergone quite a transformation. She'd chopped off most of her hair. She wore it short and boyish now, with one long angular piece that swooped across her eyebrows and skimmed the top of her cheekbone. Penny had to admit, it did nice things for Lauren's face. She looked different. Not older, exactly, but more mature. All grown up.

Of course, even a good haircut couldn't change Lauren's charming personality. "Hey," Lauren answered tersely, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Penny. Hi."

The silence lengthened as they lingered awkwardly. For a moment, Penny almost longed for the conversational stylings of Mrs. Peterson. Just this morning, the two of them had exchanged a scintillating three minutes of painful silence while waiting for the elevators.

Penny's eyes darted downward toward the sidewalk, and she cringed at the sight of her outfit. She'd only meant to run out for a quick errand, and she hadn't bothered changing out of David's baggy track pants, rolled up at the ankles. Penny prayed that Lauren wouldn't notice. To her relief, Lauren's eyes drifted up over Penny's shoulder in the direction of the building that Penny had just exited.

"That looks fancy," Lauren commented with an arched eyebrow. "You live there now?

"What? No, of course not. It's David's place-" Penny cut herself off, instantly regretting the words, but it was too late to backtrack.

"David?" Lauren's other eyebrow rose, even as her gaze traveled down over Penny's outfit. Penny could practically see the other girl's thoughts as they registered across her face. Track pants. Men's track pants. "Wow, so you're with David now. You must be psyched."

Penny cringed. "No," she said, stammering. "Not like that. I'm just crashing for a little while until I move back to Minnesota. It's just... temporary."

"Oh." Lauren made a little noise that might have been a laugh. "Temporary."

"Really!"

"None of my business."

Penny wet her lips, unsure how to reply. She should probably say nothing. Say goodbye. Turn around. Skitter back inside the safety of the apartment building's big revolving door. Of course, then she'd have to contend with the withering glare of Mrs. Peterson, still hovering out front. But hey, maybe that wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Penny should introduce the two of them: Mrs. Peterson and Lauren. Maybe invite them both over for tea. They seemed like they would probably hit it off....

Penny squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. Who cared? Why did she care what other people thought of her? Why?

But the fact was that she did care, and she couldn't quite bear to leave the conversation with Lauren on that note. "It's not what you think, Lauren."

"Whatever, Penny. You don't need to explain your sleeping arrangements to me."

"I'm not sleeping with him!"

"Didn't think you were."

Penny eyed her skeptically. She could tell Lauren didn't believe her. It was written all over Lauren's face - that same expression that Lauren always used to wear whenever she asked Penny about the MCATs.

Penny sighed. "I never slept with him, OK? Not before. Not now. Not ever. Those guys at the bar that night were full of shit."

Lauren nodded. "I know, Penny. The whole bar knew. Believe me, he made quite a scene. You left before you could hear."

Penny had opened her mouth to say something else, but she paused, startled by Lauren's words. "Wait," she said. "What? Who did?"

"David." Lauren's mouth quirked with a wry grin. "He really reamed those guys out. It was kind of awesome, Penny. You should've stuck around."

For a moment, Penny forgot her annoyance, too surprised by what Lauren had just said. David? That night at Purgatory? Why was this the first she'd heard of it? "Why didn't you guys tell me?"

"We tried!" Lauren's eyes widened, and so did the grin on her face. "You weren't exactly speaking to us, Penny. You went a little bit nutso there, if you recall."

"But what about when I stopped by last month?"

"Yeah." Lauren's smile faded. She looked down at her feet. "Listen, Penny. About that...." Her voice trailed off for a moment. "I'm sorry about that - that whole thing with Mila. I know we were being kind of bitchy."

"No, whatever," Penny protested. "You guys needed the extra rent money. I understand."

"It was Kristen's idea."

"Really? I kind of assumed it was your idea."

"No," Lauren said. "Kristen met Mila at some work thing. The two of them really hit it off."

Penny didn't miss the note of bitterness in Lauren's voice. Her eyes narrowed, trying to read between the lines. "OK," she said slowly. "Well, say hi to them for me."

Lauren's reply was lost beneath the blare of a taxi cab's horn.

"What?" Penny yelled, raising her voice to be heard above the traffic noise.

"I said I haven't seen them in a while."

"You're not living there anymore?"

Lauren shrugged, eyes darting everywhere but Penny's face.

"You're kidding!" It was Penny's turn now to raise her eyebrows. "They kicked you out?"

"Mila wanted my bedroom. She could pay a lot more rent than I could, so..." Lauren shrugged again. She kicked at a piece of litter on the sidewalk with the edge of her shoe. "Whatever. Nothing lasts forever, right?"

The two of them met eyes. Penny tried to summon up some sympathy, but she could feel a giggle welling up inside her at the pure irony of it all. No, nothing lasts forever, she thought. Especially not in Brooklyn. She clamped her lips together, not trusting herself to speak. To her surprise, Lauren's face broke into a smile. Then, a little snort. And before Penny knew what happened, the two of them were both shaking with laughter. "Those bitches!" Penny exclaimed.

"It's all good," Lauren laughed back. "I was sick of Brooklyn anyway." Her smile faded, and her face grew serious again. "Did you hear about Cora and her fiancé? Speaking of nothing lasting forever..."

"No!" Penny's eyebrows shot up. "Don't tell me they broke up?"

Lauren shook her head. Her voice grew uncharacteristically quiet, and Penny couldn't catch all of her words over the street noise. "...funeral was a couple weeks ago. She's pretty messed up."

Penny gasped. "Whose funeral?"

"Steven. Cora's fiancé."

"Oh my God," Penny breathed. "I had no idea. What happened?"

"Car accident."

"Is she Ok?"

"I mean, no," Lauren replied. "She's devastated, obviously. She even took a leave of absence from her program. You should call her or something."

Penny nodded, suppressing a shudder. She couldn't imagine losing someone she loved like that. One day, they're fine, and the next day... Boom. They're gone.

But then, she could imagine it, couldn't she? It had almost happened to Penny, too.

"It makes you stop and think, right?" Lauren said, echoing Penny's thoughts. She pointed up at the high-rise apartment building Penny had just exited. "Like, I don't know what's going on between you and Mr. Fancypants up there, but there's obviously feelings. You should do something about it, Penny. I mean, why aren't you with him at this point? Life is too short to pine away after someone for years."

"I'm not," Penny said tersely. "Pining, I mean. I'm over it. Don't worry."

Life was too short, like Lauren said. Too short to waste any more of her life stuck in the same place, going nowhere. She changed the subject back to safer ground. "Are you living downtown now?"

"No." Lauren jerked her head in the direction of the East River, with the misty grey New Jersey skyline visible just beyond. "Hoboken," she said. "It's nice, actually. Washington Street feels a lot like Smith Street. You should check it out. We have an extra bedroom coming available next month if you're interested-"

Penny cut her off. "No," she said. "Thanks, but no."

"Are you sure? Have you been over there? It's just like Brooklyn but half the price."

For a moment, Penny wondered. Hoboken? Was that crazy? Only a short ride on the Path train to the heart of the financial district...

But she stopped herself with a swift shake of the head. "I'm sure it's great," she said, her voice firm and final. "But I can't stay. I need to get out of the city. I need to get on with my life."