"Have you heard the rumors about Campus Road?" Of course I had. The rumor was about my roommate. She was assaulted by a janitor. To hush it up, the school guaranteed us, her roommates, graduate school admission. "They say someone saw her reading there a few days ago." Impossible. I watched her die right in front of me. 1 I suppressed my shock. I went back to the dorm. My roommate, Heather, was already there. Her face was paler than mine. Something was definitely wrong. I asked, my voice trembling: "Heather, did you hear the news... about Chloe?" Heather looked at me like I was a lifeline. She nodded vigorously. She looked around nervously, as if afraid of disturbing something unseen. Then she whispered in my ear: "Vanessa, do you think it's true? Do you think she's back?" "Impossible. We saw her die. People don't come back from the dead. They must have been mistaken." I denied it instantly, trying to comfort both of us. "I don't mean alive," Heather stammered. "I mean... did she come back as a ghost for revenge?" My voice shook even more. "Why be scared? I didn't kill her. She died on her own. Why would she want revenge on me?" Despite my words, my subconscious was screaming the same thing. Heather's expression shifted from fear to annoyance. "Vanessa, don't you dare leave me to take the fall alone." "You played a part in her death too. If she's back for revenge, neither of us is safe." I stayed silent. She was right. After the assault on Campus Road, Chloe had a heart attack from the shock. She was writhing on the ground in agony. Her medicine was just out of reach. I wanted to help her get it. But Heather stopped me. She stared at Chloe with a terrifying intensity. "Vanessa, do you want that guaranteed admission?" "If Chloe dies because of this... maybe all three of us can get in." I was shamefully tempted. I studied hard every day, but my grades were just shy of guaranteeing a spot in grad school. But a guaranteed admission... my future would be bright. Heather kicked the pill bottle into the corner. I watched her do it. I hesitated. I didn't stop her. Because of my hesitation, Chloe died, her hand still reaching for the medicine. The school did exactly what we expected. To bury the scandal, they gave all of us in the dorm guaranteed admission. I thought it was over. I didn't expect the rumors. Heather wanted to say more, but the door opened. Our other roommate, Bella, walked in. Heather shut up, winked at me, and casually asked Bella: "Bella, heard someone saw Chloe on Campus Road. Did you know?" "Really? Never heard of it." Bella responded coldly, climbed into bed, and turned her back on us. Heather pouted and sent me a long text: "She's so cold. No roommate love at all. Doesn't even care about Chloe." "She never liked Chloe anyway. Probably happy she's dead." "And if it wasn't for us, would she even have that grad school spot? Ungrateful." I rolled my eyes internally. If you had any roommate love, you wouldn't have kicked away her life-saving medicine. But I had no right to judge. I patiently comforted Heather via text. Then she sent one last message: "I don't care. I'm going to Campus Road to see if the rumor is true. Vanessa, you have to come with me." 2 I stared at the message in disbelief. She was crazy. Suspecting Chloe was a ghost, yet wanting to go verify it? I had to admit, she had guts. But I wanted to know too. Having company wasn't bad. Tomorrow was sunny. Good for warding off ghosts. We went at noon. To the reading corner on Campus Road. If Chloe was seen reading, it would be here. There were lots of girls with long hair reading. But no Chloe. I heard Heather sigh in relief. "See? Told you they were mistaken." Heather didn't reply but dragged me up and down the road several times to be sure. Only after confirming no sign of Chloe did she smile. For the next few days, we intentionally walked along Campus Road. Nervously scanning every passerby. Never seeing Chloe. Finally, we were sure. The rumor was fake. But the night I finally relaxed, a man jumped off the academic building. 3 Hearing someone jumped, a crowd of curious students ran to see. Heather and I were among them. I thought it was just another tragic suicide due to pressure. But when I saw the body, I realized something was wrong. It was an adult man. Face smashed beyond recognition. Wearing a school janitor's uniform. A bad feeling rose in my gut. The next second, it was confirmed. Protruding from the man's pocket was an exquisite hair clip. I knew that clip. It was a birthday gift from Chloe's dad. Worth thousands. She used to show it off all the time. Why was it on this man? In that moment, I knew. He was the janitor who assaulted Chloe. A chill ran down my spine. Heather grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my flesh. I could feel her trembling. She realized it too. "It's her... she's back for revenge." I turned to meet Heather's terrified eyes. I opened my mouth but couldn't say a word of comfort. I was terrified too. I held her cold hand, trying to find warmth. Campus security came to disperse the crowd. Strange. Why wasn't the Dean here? As we walked back with the crowd, Heather clung to me, looking around paranoidly. Someone shouted. I looked up. Fire. 4 It was coming from the faculty office building! I ran towards the fire with the crowd. People were frantically trying to put it out. I heard snippets of conversation. "I heard it started in the Dean's office." "Apparently everyone got out except the Dean." My heart sank. After Chloe died, it was the Dean who hushed it up. The guaranteed admission was her idea. Her again. I couldn't help but connect these two events to Chloe. Combined with the rumors... I had to believe it. She was really back. Waves of heat hit my face. But I felt colder than ever. The fire was put out. The Dean's body was carried out. Curled up like burnt charcoal. Skin peeling. The smell of roasted meat made me gag. Heather was already vomiting. The smell of vomit mixed with burnt flesh was suffocating. She wiped her mouth, ignoring her appearance, and asked me in panic: "Vanessa, what do we do?" "Are we... are we next?"
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