chapter 3

'Ha! How could this happen to me' Jen thinks to herself while heading to their room.

Jen ditched her last class following Mr Glen's advice to her.

'Why does he sound like he knows everything? Did he kill someone before?' Jen question through her mind as she reaches their room.

Her suspicious to Mr. Glen grow bigger.

She touches the doorknob and opens the door. Jen see her roommate in her bed. Stacie is busy with her phone that is covering her whole pretty face while humming to herself happily.

'WOW! Wish I had her day' Jen commented on Stacie's behavior.

Jen is wet and freezing. Her hair is frizzy and eyes puffy from crying a lot earlier. Her throat is like getting choke by the pain she felt from screaming and shouting like no tomorrow.

Water drips on the floor as Jen walks in the room. Stacie suddenly stops humming and put her phone down to the side of her bed then turns to look at Jen's face seriously. Stacie's eyes scans Jen from head to toe. 

'Why is she staring me that hard?' Jen asking herself.

Jen  attempts to talk but she winced at the pain. She actually went overboard in her drama with the rain in the empty street.

Stacie's eyes finally landed on Jen's pair blue eyes. She looks shocked at the moment and clears her throat and say, "what happened?"

'Why is she acting like this? Did the cold weather melts her icy heart? What a sudden change!' Jen feels like she need someone to punch her straight to her face while thinking shits about Stacie.

Then, Jen opens her mouth, "Got ca-caught in the ra-rain while dit-ditching my last cl-class. Forgot to br-bring an um-brella," Jen shuttered in a hoarse voice, and is shocked to herself that she can still manage to produce a sound as she responded to Stacie's questions, but still that does not hide the fact Jen from feeling her soar-throat.

"That's it? Look at yourself, I think there is more to that. Looks like you are telling half truth and half lie to me," said Stacie disappointed at her innocent answer.

'It is not that I am lying, I just don't want you to know everything. Is she really concern about me? Really?' Jen has those questions running in her mind.

Stacie notice Jen's face becomes paler while Jen rubs her hands together to create heat.

"You should take a bath, you want me to prepare them for you?" Stacie asked Jen suddenly that caught her off guard.

Jen's eyes and mouth went wide open '0'.

'When did she becomes like this?'

'Why all of the sudden she  changed her heart?'

Again, Jen asks herself without having any answers in her mind.

Jen raise her right hand to touch her cold, wet lips and bite her fingernails while trembling in cold, but she responded a nod to Stacie's question.

Stacie gets out of her bed and headed to the bathroom preparing it for Jen to use.

Jen is just staring Stacie the whole time. Stacie opens her cabinet and stretches her hand to Jen handling her a dry towel.

"You can use this to keep yourself warm." Stacie said with her soft voice that convince Jen to stretch her shaking hand to grab the towel from Stacie.

Jen agrees with Stacie's action and gave her a warm smile to thank her. Stacie feels Jen's gratitude which she responded with a weak but soft nod.

After few minutes of waiting and standing in the room.

"Jen the bath is ready! Go and and do not be shy," said Stacie in a mischievous manner.

Stacie turns her back to Jen and jumps in her bed. She quickly grab her phone back and humming happily like she did a while ago. She is scrolling on her Instagram.

Jen bowed to Stacie because she feels like it instead of saying thank you to Stacie.

Jen enters the bathroom and face the mirror. She sees her reflection. She looks so messy and she did not like how she look today.

Jen let out a big sigh bad walks in the bathtub. She undress herself and dips her body in the water.

Jen lean in the tub and lifted up her head facing the ceiling. "Thank God, our dorm is not a war zone compared to our school" said she softly.

Jen closes her eyes while in the tub, thinking that this is the only time she can get peaceful.

Meanwhile---

Stacie is floating on cloud 9. She feels so relieved seeing Jen's state. She is so proud that her plan get the best of Jen.

(Flashback)

Before Jen went to school, Stacie woke up earlier and did not wake Jen up from her Dreamland because she thinks that it is not her responsibility to wake her up.

Therefore, Stacie got in to school earlier. She looks in the hallway but see no one around. She learned that people in their campus are not punctual. She smirked to herself as she decided to write in Jen's locker.

“I KNOW ALL OF YOUR SECRETS, YOU ARE NOT JUST MS. NOBODY. WAIT AND SEE UNTIL I SPILL THE TEA!”

She used her black marker to write the message and felt excited at the thought of Jen's horror face while seeing this.

She clapped to herself, but for some reason Stacie's exciment got her goosebumps. She felt like there is an eye dagger behind her. Looking at her. She quickly turn her head scanning the hallway but saw no one.

'Am I hallucinating?' Stacie thought.

Suddenly the air felt cold to the skin, she shiver out of nowhere and felt someone's presence. 

'I don't understand, why am I being like this?' 

Stacie hugs herself, she felt scared and decided to ditch her classes. She make her way to the cafeteria smoothly and careful so that no one will notice her odd behavior. She still needs to eat her breakfast and head back to their dorm immediately.

Stacie felt like she does not need to see Jen's face because she can already tell how she will react.

She head back to their dorm and change her clothes. She lays in her bed while tapping her phone.

She smirked to herself and said,

"GUESS, I'LL WAIT FOR HER RETURN! WE WIL SEE AHAHAHAH!"

(End of flashback)

~PRESENT

Jen gets out of the bathroom with a gloomy face. Stacie's towel is wrapped around Jen's body.

'AHA! that face that is what I wanted to see Jen Willows! How funny she got caught in the rain and shivers like a wet stray cat.' Stacie speaks to her mind.

Jen falls on Stacie's trap. Stacie thinks that vandalizing Jen's locker was not a bad idea, she is also amazed by Jen on how she managed not to tell Stacie about it even though it was her fault.

Stacie really want to know about the letter that Jen received yesterday and was completely bothered on how Jen torn it into small pieces. Guess, she needs to work on how to gain Jen's trust.

'Stacie you need to act goody good shoe for now, you need to earn her trust it will be worth it! I must act slowly, it is fine not to rush. Be natural!' Stacie reminds herself.

"How's the bath Jen?" Stacie asked while Jen is wearing her pajamas.

"Nothing special" Jen replied tendiously. 

Stacie rolls her eyes while her phone is on her face.

'This is going be a one hell roller coaster ride' Stacie tells herself internally.

Jen walks in her bed and lays softly. She pulls her blanket and sleeps.

Stacie turn to her left side to see Jen sleeping. She feels so proud to herself.

What happened today for Stacie is too good to be true.