~A COZY YA HORROR~
Kayla Collins leaves her roots behind in Sedona, Arizona, to embrace a new chapter at a four-year university in sunny Irvine, California. Excitement courses through her veins as she pledges to Alpha Sigma Chi, a sorority renowned...
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While I sat in my most intriguing college course, Criminology 101, my ears were open and my eyes alert. However, it was difficult for other students to focus because of the heat circulating around the room like a wind machine at full speed (ha, bet we all wished it was a wind machine).
My elbow rested on the desk, and I held my chin in my palm. Bullets of sweat crept down my hairline. I swiped them away with the back of my hand. Despite my discomfort, I was determined to soak up all the information my brain could hold.
"Why isn't the A/C on?" demanded a student with a ponytail scanning the classroom.
Professor Stanley, a short, stocky woman with frizzy brown hair, twiddled with her fingers as her gaze shifted to him, "Unfortunately..."
Before she could finish her sentence, another student in the back with dreadlocks shouted, "We need A/C! Now!"
She directed her attention to the entire class and announced, "Students, please. I know it's hot in here, but..."
A petite student with long black hair interrupted, "It's getting hot in here, so take off all your clothes! I am getting so hot I want to take my clothes offffff!" she sang, snapping her fingers and bobbing her head. The class erupted in laughter.
"Young lady!" Professor Stanley's face scrunched angrily, " I'll send you to the dean's office for inappropriate and vulgar language!" She threatened.
I peered at the girl and watched her giggle at our professor's threat.
Another student chimed in, "You can't do that! She's just singing a song by Nelly."
The classroom erupted into separate discussions, with people whispering and chatting among themselves.
"Students, calm down!" Professor Stanley's loud voice cut through the chatter, commanding everyone's attention. "The A/C will remain broken until maintenance arrives later today."
Professor Stanley cleared her throat. "We'll be moving on to discuss the Crimson Lake Killer." My eyes lit up, and, along with the other students in the class, my focus sharpened as she spoke about the notorious killer.
"He's the only serial killer and criminal in Irvine history, I should add, that authorities have never apprehended," she said.
He earned the name Crimson Lake Killer because of his gruesome method of disposing of his victims," she explained. "He would dump their lifeless bodies into South Lake, a popular recreational spot in Irvine frequented by teens and young adults. The crimson hue spread across the lake's surface, inciting mass panic and hysteria."
The student with the ponytail who complained about the A/C being turned off raised his hand.
"Yes, Cooper?" Professor Stanley called on him.
"So, did he dump all of his victims into the lake?" He asked, furrowing his brows.
Professor Stanley shook her head. "No, he didn't." She explained, "Initially, that was his way of tormenting the community. Specifically, those who frequented the lake. But bodies were discovered all around Irvine."
