All This Over Five Bucks

After pulling an all-nighter to finish a group assignment, I wanted only one thing: sleep.

I did not even get 10 minutes.

My roommate, Ronda Jones, burst into the dorm, raging about class. She shouted into her headset and turned our room into a storm of insults and keyboard slams.

When I quietly asked her to keep it down, she turned on me instead. Then the power went out, and a 5-dollar electricity bill became the excuse she had been waiting for.

I refused to split it.

That single decision set everything in motion.

When I heard the power had gone out, I let out a quiet breath I had not realized I was holding.

"Finally," I muttered. "Maybe they will shut up for a minute."

Ronda Jones still looked like she had steam coming off her. She shoved the other two to hurry up and add money to the electricity meter, determined to finish the game.

"Just top it up," she said. "We're not losing this round."

Vicky Frey pointed at the desk beside her chair. "The power card is literally next to you."

Ronda snatched it, jammed it into the reader, and snapped the moment the number appeared.

"Jeez, who the hell was watching porn in here?" she barked. "How is it already 25 bucks?"

She recharged it anyway, grumbling the whole time, her face sour. As soon as the lights blinked back on, she started yelling for everyone to send her their share.

By then, I was beyond tired. My heart had started that ugly, too-fast flutter that came after I stayed up too long. If I did not sleep soon, I would pay for it.

I thought about the past five months since school started. I had covered the dorm's electricity every time. None of them had cared, and I had never asked for their few dollars back. If I did not split it this once, it would be fine.

Thus, I decided to go to sleep, guilt-free. I was so exhausted that the thought barely finished forming before I slipped under.

The peace lasted maybe three seconds.

A harsh metallic clatter snapped against my bedframe. The sound was like someone tapping a spoon against a rail, over and over.

Ronda was striking the edge of my bunk with something hard, making it ring.

I could not take it. Irritation surged up on instinct, hot and immediate.

Before I even opened my eyes, she yanked my bed curtain aside without asking.

"Hey," she said, her voice sharp enough to cut. "Send me your share of the electricity. Are you deaf?"

My mind was still foggy. I did not answer fast enough.

Ronda reached in, tore my headphones off, and ripped my blanket back in one rough motion.

I usually slept naked. It was the fastest way for me to fall asleep.

Her move left me exposed to the room in an instant. Shock burned the sleep right out of me. I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around myself as fast as I could.

"What are you doing?" My voice came out tight.

Ronda rolled her eyes, as if I were the problem. "Send me the money."

"Why would you just yank my blanket off?" Heat climbed into my face. "Do you not understand what privacy is?"

Now I was genuinely angry, and I did not bother hiding it.

Ronda did not back down. She jutted her chin up and said, her voice two notches louder than mine, "Then why are you sleeping naked in a dorm? You think this is your house?"