Chapter 1
“Professor, we absolutely refuse to be his roommate.”
“Yeah, if you force us to room with him, I’ll drop out.”
“Well…”
Seeing his attempts to persuade the students were futile, the RA gave me a helpless look.
“I’m sorry everyone, but could you please tell me why?” I asked tentatively. “I promise I’m very easy to get along with. I lived in dorms in high school too and was never any trouble.”
I carefully grabbed one of the students, hoping he would explain. But he just glanced at me and shook off my hand.
“There’s no reason. We just absolutely refuse to be your roommate.”
I slumped against the doorway, looking at my still-unpacked luggage, feeling utterly defeated.
I had always been an introverted and quiet person. Though I didn’t have many friends, I had never made enemies either.
I couldn’t understand why in this new city, at this new school, facing complete strangers - everyone was so resistant and unwilling to be my roommate.
“I’m sorry, River. We really can’t find any students willing to room with you right now,” the RA said gently. “The school doesn’t have any single rooms available. Why don’t you stay at a hotel for now, and I’ll keep trying to arrange something else.”
“Don’t worry, the other students probably just have some misunderstanding about you. Once they get to know you better, I’m sure it will all work out.”
The RA patted me on the back reassuringly.
Right, maybe someone had spread rumors about me?
The RA’s words gave me an idea. I immediately went to check our class SnapChat group, the university forums, and confession pages again.
But even after scrolling through every message, I couldn’t find a single word about me.
Plus, I was the only student from my high school who got into this university. There shouldn’t be anyone who knew me well enough to spread rumors.
As I was utterly perplexed, someone called out to me in the classroom.
“River, what a coincidence! I didn’t know we were in the same class.”
I looked up to see Zack, the first person I had met at this school.
I only knew him because he had nearly fainted from low blood sugar on move-in day. I had given him a drink and some snacks, which helped him recover.
We were both busy moving in that day, so we just quickly exchanged contact info before parting ways. I had no idea we’d end up as classmates.
“Zack, does your room have any empty beds? Could I possibly be your roommate?” I asked hopefully, clinging to him like a lifeline.