Haunted by My Shadow

Celeste Cox sent me a photo on WhatsApp. I opened it to find a picture of the school heartthrob and me in an intimate embrace, the pose as suggestive as could be.

A knot formed in my stomach as I turned to Emma Kain and asked, "Why did you switch dorms? I thought we all got along just fine."

When Emma heard my voice, her body jolted slightly, and she let out an awkward laugh. "Uh, well... another dorm invited me," she said quickly, avoiding my gaze.

She kept her head down, pretending to be busy. When she spoke with others, though, her posture was noticeably more relaxed. A feeling of unease settled in my chest.

"Emma," I asked, my voice softer, "Did I do something wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable in the dorm?"

Emma immediately looked up, her eyes filled with fear. She shook her head rapidly. "No, no, of course not, Anastasia. Don't overthink it. It has nothing to do with you."

That same day, Emma hurriedly packed her things and left.

"She wouldn't even sit down for a goodbye meal, let alone talk to us. Don't you think that's odd?" I asked Celeste. "It's like she's afraid of me."

Celeste Cox, clearly irritated, replied, "Forget about her. She's so ungrateful. She wouldn't even have a meal with us, acting like we're the ones who mistreated her."

Harmony Lewis frowned, clearly upset. "I shouldn't have pushed for the farewell dinner. She never said she wanted it, so why did I bring it up? Now, it's awkward for everyone."

"It's not your fault," Celeste reassured her. "The thing is, Emma's routine was completely different from the rest of us. We go to bed by 9:00 PM, but she stays up late. By the time we were asleep, she couldn't turn on the light. Other dorms don't have that issue—they're all up late. Now that she's gone, everything feels more comfortable."

As Celeste said, after Emma moved out, our dorm's schedule became much more harmonious. By 9:00 PM, we were usually all packed up and ready to turn off the lights and sleep.

But then one day, Harmony suddenly asked, "Anastasia, what time did you come back last night?"

I was confused by her question. "I came back right after dinner," I replied.

"You didn't leave after 9:00 PM?"

Harmony's voice sounded off, and I wasn't sure why she was asking. I answered anyway, "No, I didn't. I sleep pretty soundly; I never get up during the night, and I sleep until morning."

"Are you sure?" Harmony's expression turned pale. I sensed something was wrong and asked, "What's going on?"

She stared at me for a moment, then quickly looked away. "It's nothing," she said. But ever since that conversation, she had been acting distant, glancing at me every so often with a strange, unsettled look.