diff --git a/prep-exercises/.gitignore b/prep-exercises/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d300648
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prep-exercises/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+# Virtual Environment
+.venv/
+venv/
+.env/
+env/
+ENV/
+
+# Python cache
+__pycache__/
+*.pyc
+*.pyo
+*.pyd
+
+# mypy cache
+.mypy_cache/
+
+# IDE
+.vscode/
+.idea/
+*.swp
+*.swo
+
+# OS
+.DS_Store
+
diff --git a/prep-exercises/laptop_allocation.py b/prep-exercises/laptop_allocation.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a23d1d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prep-exercises/laptop_allocation.py
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+from dataclasses import dataclass
+from enum import Enum
+from typing import List, Dict
+
+class OperatingSystem(Enum):
+    MACOS = "macOS"
+    ARCH = "Arch Linux"
+    UBUNTU = "Ubuntu"
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Person:
+    name: str
+    age: int
+    # Sorted in order of preference, most preferred is first.
+    # Using tuple instead of List to make Person hashable (for dict keys)
+    preferred_operating_system: tuple[OperatingSystem, ...]
+
+
+@dataclass(frozen=True)
+class Laptop:
+    id: int
+    manufacturer: str
+    model: str
+    screen_size_in_inches: float
+    operating_system: OperatingSystem
+
+
+def calculate_sadness(person: Person, laptop: Laptop) -> int:
+    """Calculate sadness score for a person-laptop pairing."""
+    try:
+        return person.preferred_operating_system.index(laptop.operating_system)
+    except ValueError:
+        return 100
+
+
+def allocate_laptops(people: List[Person], laptops: List[Laptop]) -> Dict[Person, Laptop]:
+    """
+    Allocate laptops to people minimizing total sadness.
+    
+    Sadness is defined as:
+    - Index in preference list (0 for first choice, 1 for second, etc.)
+    - 100 if the OS is not in their preference list
+    """
+    if len(people) != len(laptops):
+        raise ValueError("Number of people must equal number of laptops")
+    
+    allocation: Dict[Person, Laptop] = {}
+    available_laptops = set(laptops)  # Use set for O(1) lookup and removal
+    
+    # Helper to find best available laptop for a person
+    def find_best_available(person: Person) -> tuple[Laptop, int] | None:
+        """Returns (best_laptop, sadness) or None if no laptops available."""
+        best_laptop = None
+        best_sadness = float('inf')
+        
+        for laptop in available_laptops:
+            sadness = calculate_sadness(person, laptop)
+            if sadness < best_sadness:
+                best_sadness = sadness
+                best_laptop = laptop
+                # Early exit if we found a perfect match (sadness 0)
+                if sadness == 0:
+                    break
+        
+        return (best_laptop, best_sadness) if best_laptop else None
+    
+    # Sort people by how limited their good options are
+    # (by counting how many laptops match their preferences - less matches = higher priority)
+    def count_good_matches(person: Person) -> int:
+        """Count how many laptops have sadness < 100 (i.e., OS is in their preferences)."""
+        return sum(1 for laptop in laptops if calculate_sadness(person, laptop) < 100)
+    
+    sorted_people = sorted(people, key=count_good_matches)
+    
+    # Greedy allocation: for each person, find their best available laptop
+    for person in sorted_people:
+        result = find_best_available(person)
+        if result:
+            laptop, _ = result
+            allocation[person] = laptop
+            available_laptops.remove(laptop)  # O(1) removal
+    
+    return allocation
+
+
+def calculate_total_sadness(allocation: Dict[Person, Laptop]) -> int:
+    """Calculate total sadness for an allocation."""
+    return sum(calculate_sadness(person, laptop) for person, laptop in allocation.items())
+
+
+# Test the function
+people = [
+    Person("Alice", 25, (OperatingSystem.UBUNTU, OperatingSystem.ARCH, OperatingSystem.MACOS)),
+    Person("Bob", 30, (OperatingSystem.MACOS, OperatingSystem.UBUNTU)),
+    Person("Charlie", 28, (OperatingSystem.ARCH, OperatingSystem.UBUNTU)),
+]
+
+laptops = [
+    Laptop(1, "Dell", "XPS", 13, OperatingSystem.UBUNTU),
+    Laptop(2, "Apple", "MacBook", 13, OperatingSystem.MACOS),
+    Laptop(3, "Lenovo", "ThinkPad", 14, OperatingSystem.ARCH),
+]
+
+allocation = allocate_laptops(people, laptops)
+
+print("Laptop Allocation:")
+total_sadness = 0
+for person, laptop in allocation.items():
+    sadness = calculate_sadness(person, laptop)
+    total_sadness += sadness
+    print(f"{person.name} -> {laptop.manufacturer} {laptop.model} ({laptop.operating_system.value}) - Sadness: {sadness}")
+
+print(f"\nTotal Sadness: {total_sadness}")
+