And I thought I was coming back into the world of normal. "Hey, what are you doing?"
She turned with wide eyes. She was a petite girl with reddish hair that was separated into two braids. They hung over her shoulders and touched the suspenders of her blue jumpsuit.
"Who are you?"
"Um." She bit her lip and looked back at the door. Then she looked at me again. Panic filled her eyes and she bolted. A door slammed shut down the hallway almost as soon as I blinked.
"I don't see that every day either." I took a deep breath and opened my door. The vision of Emily tangled in a ball of blankets on the floor greeted me. She snored happily and some drool trailed to the floor. I checked the clock and realized that I'd need to put another dose of sleeping pills in her juice.
As I went to the bathroom to mix the concoction in the glass, I heard someone behind me.
"What's wrong with her?"
The weirdo stood in the bathroom doorway. She blocked me from the hallway."I can tell something's wrong with her. What is it?"
I stared at her and then started giggling. When I couldn't stop, I realized something was making me laugh and I looked at her with tears in my eyes. "It's you. You're doing this to me."
"Doing what?" She frowned.
"You're tickling me! What are you? You're a werewolf!" It was their constant sniffing. They sniffed out everything in the air, even if they didn't know they were doing it. It was as natural to them as breathing.
Her eyes bulged out. "I smell vampire on you, but you're not. What are you?"
I bent over, giggling.
"What can I do? This has never happened before.” She looked panicked as more giggles erupted from me.
"It's because—" I couldn’t even talk.
"Should I leave?"
Still giggling, I nodded with tears running down my face. The door slammed shut and almost immediately the laughing fit lessened so I was able to stand upright. I breathed out and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Are you better now?" she called from the hallway.
"Yeah," I called back. "How far down the hallway are you?"
"A few doors away. I'm sorry?"
"That's okay. It's not really your fault."
"I feel ridiculous talking like this. What's your phone number?" Her voice trembled.
My phone? I felt in my pockets and tried to remember the last time I had used my cell phone. "My phone's in my room. Leave your number on my board. I'll call you when I can. I have to check on Emily first."
"Okay. I'll do that."
When my eyes stopped tearing up, I finished mixing the sleeping pills with some orange juice and headed back to my room. There was no werewolf lingering in the hallway and when I got inside, I woke Emily enough until she drank the juice. As soon as she was done, she groaned and rolled over. Snores came from her soon after.
I heard a knock on my door and a piece of paper slid underneath. 'My name is Pippa. The number is 555-918-0044. Call me!'
I didn't recognize the area code. I frowned at the paper.
"Are you going to call me?" she asked through the door.
"My roommate's fine. I don't have to explain anything to you."
"What? Something's wrong with her. I need to know."