HIS NEXT VICTIM (DARK THRILLER)

5

Kenise's mouth hung open as she eyed Embry's outfit. She held her door opened, flabbergasted. Embry stood on the other side, holding textbooks in the crook of her arm and a Chanel bag.

"Are you okay?" Embry asked, seeing her friends' eyes bulged out of her head.

"Are you okay? What are you wearing?"

Embry rolled her eyes and brushed past Kenise, "Girl bye. You sound like my momma."

Embry sat the textbooks on the small desk. She didn't see the problem. She wore cut off shorts that showed the meat of her ass and a crop top. She thought she looked cute.

"I definitely agree with your mom, then." Kenise pulled a pair of sweatpants from her dresser and toss them to Embry. "Put these on. I don't want your bare ass on my bed."

Embry laughed and took the bottoms, "Damn, you're uptight."

Kenise bit her tongue and decided not to call Embry out. Kenise was not confrontational unless pushed. Even in those situations when she was forced to defend herself, she was usually having a panic attack. She always found it better to hold her tongue.

Kenise kept her room extraordinarily organized and her assignments in meticulous order. She removed the binder from her shelf labeled 'EN100'. The contents of the binder were organized by each week of the 16-week semester. She removed the files from the first four weeks and handed them to Embry.

"Damn, you really take this school should seriously, huh?" Embry laughed.

Kenise's nostrils flared, "Do you want my help or not? Honestly, if you don't do this work, you're going to fail this class. You'd have wasted your money."

"Okay, you're right. I appreciate you helping me."

"You're welcome. Just make sure you follow the syllabus, and you shouldn't have problems. Oh, and bring your butt to class."

"I will. I gotta do better."

"You can read my essays for guidance if you want. Just don't copy me, obviously, they've already been graded." Embry flipped through Kenise's five-page papers and studied her work. Kenise received high marks on all of them.

"Dang, you're real smart," Embry said honestly reading the notations in the paper. "I know your folks must be proud of you."

"You are smart too, Embry. You don't need to dance. I know your parents must be proud of how hard you work. You got a Lexus, your own crib, and you save your money right. It ain't like you sleeping around and have babies and stuff."

Kenise did not know Embry was a mother of two. And Embry did not plan on telling her. It was none of her business.

"Yeah... you right," Embry nodded.

The girls settled down and began focusing on their homework. Embry played catch up while Kenise studied for a test. Embry would occasionally ask how to spell certain words or how to cite sources, but for the most part, the small dorm room was very quiet. Kenise's phone vibrated, interrupting the silence. Devon was texting to confirm their plans tonight.

Kenise was looking forward to spending more time with him. She was exhausted from the previous night, but the weekend was near, so it did not matter. Devon sent a funny meme, which caused Kenise to laugh out loud.

Embry eyed her. "What's so funny?"

"The guy I went out with last night. He sends the funniest memes."

"I forgot about your little date. It must have gone well if y'all are still talking."

"Yes, it did. We have plans tonight."