After Ryan left, the four roommates continued talking and learning more about each other. There was some banter too. They were having fun. It turned out they had a lot in common—even with Skye, who was undeniably beautiful, yet surprisingly more boy-like than anyone expected. She was a real tomboy.
They stayed up for quite a while just talking, when suddenly, the lights went out.
“What was that all about?” Sam asked, half-alarmed.
“Don’t you remember? Curfew is at 10 o’clock,” Corey answered casually.
“Oh, that’s right. This sucks,” Sam groaned.
“Well, it’s only 10. It’s Thursday. Classes don’t start until Monday. Why don’t we go out?” Jacob suggested.
The roommates looked at each other in the dimly lit room, nodding silently.
“That’s a great idea,” Corey said.
Just then, Ryan popped his head in through the door.
“Don’t you remember the curfew? The dorm’s locked down.”
Everyone looked frustrated and disappointed.
Ryan grinned. “Let me finish. I have a friend on the first floor. We can just open his window and step out.”
The roommates all cheered quietly.
“All right then, let’s go. Let’s meet this friend of yours. Are you coming with us?” Corey asked.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll go. Let’s go,” Ryan replied.
They walked down the hall and descended to the first floor. The rooms there were singles—one person per room. The first floor was more or less the VIP level, home to students from prestigious families or important backgrounds. It also housed the floor manager, so they had to move cautiously.
Ryan knocked on door 108. A second later, the lock clicked and the door creaked open.
“Oh hey, Ryan. How’s it going?” said his friend.
“Great. Can my new friends come in?”
“Yeah, come on in.”
Everyone stepped inside and immediately noticed the difference.
“Whoa… what’s going on here? Why do you have so much more space? And why is it just you?” Jacob asked.
“My family’s kind of important around here. They donate money to the university, so the school tries to keep us happy. But I’m above all that. By the way, my name’s Edmond. Just call me Ed.”
“Hi Ed, I’m Jacob. This is Sam, this is Corey, and this is Skye. And, well, obviously you already know Ryan.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let’s go. Ed, can we use your window?” Ryan said, rolling his eyes.
“Go ahead. Where are you guys going?”
“I know a great karaoke place. It’s open all night,” Corey said.
Jacob hesitated. “No, I’m not good at karaoke. Plus, don’t you have to be twenty-one to get in?”
“I mean, it says that. Don’t you remember? We talked about this earlier. We’ve got fake IDs,” Sam smirked.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I just don’t want to go to karaoke,” Jacob sighed.
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“Karaoke sounds great. We should do that. I’ve got a fake ID too,” Ryan said.
“Me too. I’m up for it. Let’s go,” Skye added with a nod.
“I’ll come too. With my connections in this city, I don’t even need a fake ID. I could probably get us in without them,” Ed smiled.
“Okay, let’s go. Clearly, I’m not getting out of this,” Jacob said.
“That’s right, you’re not. Let’s see what you got!” Sam laughed.
Ed peeked through the curtains to scope the area. Coast clear. He opened the window, and one by one, they climbed out and quietly slipped off campus.
The group made their way to the local karaoke bar. At the entrance, the bouncer eyed them.
“IDs, please.”
Ed stepped forward, cool and calm. He flashed his VIP card.
“We’d like a private room.”
The bouncer gave a simple nod. “Right this way, sir.”
Inside, they were led to a private lounge. Everyone looked at Ed with admiration.
“Yeah, that was great, man.”
“Seriously, we should come here more often with you.”
A waiter entered the room.
“What can I get you gentlemen… and lady?”
Everyone gave their order. Bottles of beer for the guys. Skye went for a cosmopolitan.
“Ooh, fancy,” Corey teased.
Skye gave him a playful smack. They all laughed.
“Okay, okay! Me first!” Corey jumped up and grabbed the mic, belting out a favorite song.
Meanwhile, Jacob sat back, lost in thought.
Sam tugged at his sleeve. “Come on, dude. Your turn.”
Jacob shook his head. “Come on, man… I’m not good at this.”
“Too bad, man. You gotta do it. We have to know what you’re made of!”
Reluctantly, Jacob got up, grabbed the mic, picked a song, and began to sing. Off pitch. Off rhythm. Missed a few words.
Skye winced. “Okay, okay, that’s enough! Stop, stop, you’re hurting my ears!”
“No, come on, give him a chance. He might get better if he tries,” Sam argued.
“Maybe he just needs a few more drinks,” Corey added.
“Too bad! My turn!” Skye shouted.
She chose a love song and started singing with surprising emotion.
Sam whispered to Corey, “Who do you think she’s singing this to?”
Corey shrugged. “Not me. No idea.”
“Hey, shut up over there!” Skye snapped.
Embarrassed, they went quiet.
The night rolled on. They drank, laughed, sang. Even Jacob got up again, this time tipsy. Everyone got a good laugh out of it.
By 6 a.m., they stumbled out of the karaoke bar.
“Hey, the dorms will open up again soon. Maybe we should head back,” Corey said.
“No, no, we gotta get breakfast first. My treat,” Jacob replied.
Everyone agreed and they ate together. After the meal, they parted ways.
Ed went back to his room. So did Sam and Ryan. Corey and Skye hopped on a bus across town.
Jacob decided to walk off the drinks. As he wandered, he made mental notes of the shops and restaurants. Though he grew up nearby, this part of town felt new.
Then, as he turned a corner—wham!
A girl slammed into him at full speed. She wore a high school uniform. Jacob caught her, breaking the fall.
He opened his eyes and saw her. Snow-white hair. Beautiful lips. Long lashes. Deep ocean-blue eyes.
She stared back, stunned.
Then she noticed how he held her and pushed off.
“Are you okay?” Jacob blinked.
No response.
“I said—are you okay?”
Whack! Her palm struck him across the face.
“Ow! What was that for?!”
“You touched me!”
“I—I’m sorry! You ran into me—”
Whack!
“Ow! Stop doing that!”
“No! You ran into me!”
“Whatever! I’m sorry, okay? Are you all right? You looked like you were running from someone.”
She huffed and ran off.
Moments later, a young man appeared.
“Hey, you! Have you seen a girl? White hair?”
“And who are you?” Jacob asked.
“My name is Henry. Where did she go?”
“I have no idea. She ran over, knocked me down, and kept going.”
“She’s my fiancée. I’m going to marry her. Where did she go?”
“I don’t know.”
“You better not be involved, or else you’ll pay,” Henry warned, then ran off.
Jacob wasn’t too worried. The guy ran the wrong way. But the whole thing was confusing.
He remembered something weird. A soft, sweet thing fell into his mouth when she hit him. He swallowed it—like gum or candy, but unlike anything he’d ever tasted.
Still confused, Jacob headed back to his dorm.
Sam and Ryan were there, playing cards.
“You all right? You look like you got run over by a truck,” Sam said.
“I feel like I got run over by a truck… but it was actually a girl. A cute girl.”
“A cute girl? Where did she go? Is she okay? Did you hurt her?”
“Wow. Thanks for the concern. Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“Okay. Well, as long as you’re okay. But where’s the girl? I want to make sure she’s okay too.”
“What did she look like?” Ryan asked.
“White hair. Never seen that before.”
“White hair? Unless she’s old…”
“She wasn’t. She wore a high school uniform.”
“Oh. Then she must be too young,” Sam said.
“You’re not going to go try and find her?”
“What kind of guy do you think I am?”
They laughed. Then Sam looked at Ryan. “Let’s go to your room so Jacob can nap.”
“Okay. Maybe my roommates will join the game too.”
They left. Jacob climbed into bed and fell asleep.
He woke up later. The curtains were closed, the light was off, and the door was cracked. A takeout box sat on his desk. The smell made him hungry.
He checked his phone. It was 1 p.m. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
He grabbed the box and started eating.
Then he looked down at his arm.
Weird markings.
They hadn’t been there before.
“What in the—!” Jacob shouted.
