Spring Break [on pause]

the accident.

"Ava, what if I just failed my midterm? It's junior year, and I failed a midterm? God, it's not even the middle of the week, and I can't wait to leave this campus for some sunshine far away from test papers."

"Parker." I roll my eyes. "You did not fail your midterm. Relax. There were a few difficult questions, but overall it wasn't as bad as the practice test. I'm 100 percent sure you did fine."

"Well, just because it wasn't difficult for you doesn't mean it wasn't for somebody else. You're a genius. Of course, YOU did well."

"Stop it, Parker! I have to study like everyone else, and as I said, a few questions were definitely challenging." I push the door to the Dining Hall open and hold it for Parker on our way to get a morning snack that earns its name from the fact that it is too late to call it breakfast. We pass the check-in counter and grab some plates and forks. It's Tuesday at 10.30 am during the midterm season at uOttawa, and the food court is rather empty. Nevertheless, I notice a certain uneasiness, and I have the feeling that people are whispering even more than they usually do.

Parker and I split up, and while he is filling his plate with eggs and mashed potatoes, I head directly to the plant-based pure station. Generally, there are fewer people, except when they're serving vegan lasagna. This early, however, they just serve croissants.

"Are the others here yet?" Parker reappears next to me, balancing his food, cutlery, and a glass of water in his hands.

"Mia texted me she would meet us here after our exam. I don't know about Logan, but he is in the same class as Sienna, and she said she would ask him to come too if she saw him after their midterm."

We make our way through the Dining Hall, and I spot Mia waving at one table, with Logan and Sienna sitting next to her. Since elementary school, Mia has been one of my closest friends, and we used to see each other almost every day. However, we meet up less frequently these days because she studies business while I'm in English lit, and our schedules are totally different. Mia's by far the liveliest person I know, but I feel that something is off as soon as I approach her. She is pale, and her eyes look worried.

"Guys, guess who probably just failed his midterm because Mr. Davis asked about every minor date of the Roaring Twenties." Parker falls on a free chair, clearly relieved that his food arrived safely at its final destination. He's majoring in history, and we are taking a class together this semester that is cross-registered for English and US history. "I mean, I get that as a history major, I should be able to remember significant historical events, but asking us about the foundation of selected speakeasies is ridiculous."

"Parker." Mia raises her voice.

"Also, Ava is taking this class for English lit, so I expected a few more questions on books written in that era and less about the prohibition, to be honest. I'll show him prohibition with the Tequila in Mexico." He twinkles in my direction.

"Parker." Mia. Louder now.

Parker blinks. "What is it, Mia?" Then, for a second, the only voices audible come from the tables around us.

"Probably yesterday evening ... police cars on the other side of campus ... they are trying to keep everyone quiet ... assume an accident ... when is the president making a statement?"

"You didn't hear it yet?" Sienna. She is what you would call "the new girl" in our group. More precisely, she is an exchange student from Italy studying a year abroad. I met her in my Canadian lit class last semester, and we quickly became friends. Not long after, I introduced her to my friends, and they came along very well.

"Hear what?" Parker takes a sip of his water and looks around.

"There has been an accident." Logan looks Parker firmly in the eye. He transferred last year from a minor college in Toronto because uOttawa provided better funding. Like Mia, he is studying business. Even though the two of each other are not always best friends as Logan tends to be pretentious from time to time.

"An accident?" I try to stay calm but judging from the behavior of the others, this is not gonna be good news. All of a sudden, I feel terrified.

"Somebody found Jason Ryu today morning on the floor of the lobby of CRX ... Dead. Apparently, he fell from one of the upper floors, over the handrail." Mia sobs. I can see the shock in her eyes, and I bet it mirrors my own. Jason? Dead? In CRX? CRX is the Learning Crossroads, the study hub of our university. It is a popular studying place among students not only during exam periods but throughout the whole semester.

"He fell from one of the upper floors?" Parker looks at us in disbelief. "I bumped into him like two days ago at the book store? What happened?"

"I don't know. I passed by the area when I came back after picking up my parcel. There were police cars everywhere and an ambulance, but they were trying to keep people away." I heard sirens while writing my exam, but since our campus is vis-à-vis of the local fire station, I didn't think much about it. I hear sirens all the time, just like everybody else.

"One of the other exchange students told me about it." Sienna is speaking for the second time after she has been chewing her lip since we sat down. "She was supposed to have an exam this afternoon and said she wanted to be as early at the library as possible. The security guard opening the building found Jason. He tried to keep the students back, but of course, they had already entered the building behind him."

"But how did Jason fall? It's not that people simply fall from upper levels." Parker speaks a little bit too loud because I can feel people looking in our direction. He notices it too and lowers his voice. "I mean, how did that happen?"

"I guess that's what they are trying to find out right now. Nobody knows what happened or when but the police surrounded CRX with multiple cars while, at the same time, it seemed like they were trying to keep the situation calm. But you know how rumors spread. By noon the whole campus will know. All I heard so far is that the police believe it was an accident." Mia's voice sounds a few pitches too high. I feel that she holds on to the last word.

Yes, we both know how rumors spread, including the one that Jason Ryu sees a student counselor once a week. And that his roommate suspects he is taking antidepressants.

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