Rose Tinted Glasses

Chapter 3

"She was too pale.. Too still"

I woke up in a startle and as I looked around the unfamiliar room, my first thought was that I had been kidnapped. That's how smart my morning brain is. After freaking out for a grand total of 30 full seconds, I came to the realization that, one, this was my new school and I would be waking up in a luxurious dorm for the next 364 days, and two, something was off. I expected to hear some noises coming from Rosie's part of the dorm, but everything was silent. I crept out of my room and knocked gently on her door.

"Rosie? You awake? It's almost time for our first class, and if you don't wake up, you might be late, you know."

I was answered by a deafening silence. It was wrong, I could feel that much. Something just wasn't right. I dropped to my feet, peering under the door. I imagined how funny I would look, crouching like that, but luckily no one was watching me. I could see Rosie, lying on her side. She could be asleep. But...

She was too pale. Too still. I tried the door, it was unlocked. I flung it open, finding a small sense of gratitude at the noise it caused, and the bits of plaster that fell into the plush carpet. I pushed that aside, as I had bigger issues to deal with. Specifically, the limp girl lying on the carpet.

I dropped to my knees, placing my fingers on her neck. I found myself thanking the PE classes last year for teaching how to take a pulse. The area of her neck was freezing, way too cold to be okay, and too still. No pulse.

My roommate was dead.

But what had killed her? I frantically looked around, but there were no weapons to bed found, no noose, no sign of any struggle. I felt cold, and the hands of death seemed to be closing in on my throat. I had to do something. What was it? Oh yeah. Breathe. Deep breaths in, deep breaths out. I must remain calm. I must be in shock, I quietly thought, evaluating my mental state.

The only thing that was out of place was a cup, sideways. Whatever liquid had been in there had hardened overnight, sticking to the carpet. I looked around. Something caught my eye. A flash of aquamarine from under the bed. I fished it out. Drain cleaner. I experimentally poured it into the cup. The same blue as the container.

What if- what if this wasn't an accident? What if someone had forced the drain cleaner down her throat, stowing it away under the bed? What if this was murder? My shock melted away and I snapped back to reality like a rubber band, my reason no longer having abandoned me.

"Oh God," I muttered, standing up. The teal stains on my pajamas made me ill. "My roommate- Rosie- is dead." Saying it out loud was different. It was so much more real, a tangible thing. Saying it out loud came with the feeling of slipping on black ice - spiralling out of control, unable to tell what made you slip, but only knowing you were meeting the ground soon, and the impact would not be pretty. I tasted bile in my throat, and through the Febreeze I caught the stench of drain cleaner. My vision blurred and colors swam in my eyes.

A knock on the door jarred me again. I twisted my head towards the source of the knock, and opened it, unable to be in there any longer. I flung open the door, wanting- no, needing a distraction. The emo girl from before. She examined me with carefully measured surprise.

"Where's Rosie?" Her soft voice was flat, no hint of emotion tugging at the corners, but her fidgeting hands betrayed her. Her eyes drifted past me, into the room. I had left Rosie's door open. The blue liquid on me like bloodstains, a dead girl lying on the floor... whatever this was, this was the perfect crime- murder someone and then leave an idiot like me to stumble upon it and get framed. I was so stupid for tampering with the crime scene...

Her eyes caught sight of Rosie. Her pupils dilated and her blue eyes widened and bulged out. Nothing prepared me for the scream she let out, shrill and panicked, shattering my consciousness (and probably my ears) into a million pieces for the duration of the noise. I heard scattered footsteps and shouts, probably the response of the other girls in the hall. Oh God, they couldn't see this too, I'd go to jail for something I didn't even do! I started hyperventilating, unable to control the unbelievable intake of air. "I. Need. To. Breathe." I repeated this to myself, but I was starting to dissociate, my mind detaching from my body in an eerie calm. It took all of my mental strength to get back to normal, to pull myself together.