Page 20 of My Roommate from Hell
Time passes to a slow crawl, the seconds feeling like minutes. Finally, after what feels like an hour, the sounds stop.
“I should go,” says mystery guy. “It’s late. Will I see you again?”
“If you want.”
“Um, you’re the best kisser I’ve ever met. Of course I want to see you again.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.”
They kiss again, then the guy climbs off the bed. I hear a rustle of clothes being pulled on.
“Bye,” he says.
“Bye.”
It’s actually pretty cute. Do I want things between Zarmenus and this random guy to wind up together? Maybe? It’s possible they’ll become boyfriends. No matter what happens, I’m totally taking this secret of their first make-out to my grave, though. They will never, ever know that I was awake for this.
A few moments later, Zarmenus starts to snore.
It’s almost as loud as the make-out.
“Morning!”
I open my eyes and am hit with a ray of sunshine. I can’t believe I actually got sleep last night, and from the looks of how bright it is, I managed to get a few hours. Between the make-out and then Zarmenus’s snoring, which somehow got louder and louder as the night went on, I thought I’d never fall properly asleep.
It seems as if I did. Even if it was only a few hours, I’ll take it.
Yes, the make-out could’ve been avoided, but he can’t control the snoring, and there are things I can do to mitigate that. I can buy earplugs. I know Mom uses them because Dad snores like a freaking truck.
The first thing I need to do this morning is to buy some, as well as some more anti-allergy meds, as I can already feel my nose start to itch. I retrieve the packet Mom gave me, which is nearly empty. I pop one of the pills out and swallow. It still doesn’t make total senseto me why my allergies have been acting up. I had a few days here with Mom before I moved in, and I didn’t feel this way.
There are two explanations I can think of. Either there is some weird plant I’m allergic to that grows on campus, or I’m allergic to demons.
“Morning,” I say. I notice he is holding two coffee cups. He offers one to me with a grin.
“For you,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say as I take the coffee. “This is so nice, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
It really is so nice. It makes me forgive him for last night. Yes, it was annoying, but I’m sure it was a onetime thing. And hey, it’s college. People hook up.
I take a sip, and I recognize the flavor. It’s a matcha latte, and it’s just as nice as the one I had yesterday. I take another sip, enjoying how sweet it is.
I check the time, and I’ve slept in: it’s already 8:50.
I get out of bed and try to ignore Zarmenus’s side of the room. While mine is neat and clean, his is starting to get messy. There are clothes on the floor, he still hasn’t cleaned up the Doritos he spilled, and he’s left the empty chip packet on his desk, along with a variety of candy wrappers and empty energy drink cans.
He sits at his desk chair and boots up his game. A few moments later, the sound of gunfire and repetitive video game music fills the room.
I go into the bathroom. I shower, then wrap a towel around my waist and start brushing my teeth. As I floss, the hairs on the back of my neck rise as cold air brushes against my skin. I turn around as quickly as I can, and the feeling disappears. The memory of it remains. Even though there’s nobody else in the bathroom, it seriously felt as if there had been a person right behind me, breathing on my neck. I remember feeling it yesterday, too.
I frown as I look at my reflection in the mirror. My instincts are telling me there is a person standing behind me. I swipe my hand across the steamy mirror, revealing nothing behind me.
I decide my teeth are clean enough and leave the bathroom.
Zarmenus is totally focused on his game. I don’t think it would be out of the realm of fairness for me to ask him to turn it down, given how loud it is. I don’t want to play the role of that kind of roommate, though. I don’t want to tell him what to do.
