After two days of that night, the cafeteria was louder than usual. Students were crowded around tables, trays clattering, conversations overlapping into one messy blur of noise. The smell of coffee and fried food filled the air, but none of it helped Reena's pounding head.
She sat slumped over the table, her chin resting on her palm, stirring her drink slowly like it had personally offended her.
Ashley dropped into the seat across from her, eyes already narrowing, low-key pissed off. "Okay, woman. I'm fed up. For the past two days, I have been calling you, and you never once pick up. Never once text me back. You didn't even attend class. Even this morning, you were late. Usually you were the first person who came to class early. And now, you look like you died, came back to life, and regretted living. What the hell is going on here?"
Reena didn't even look up. "…I think I did."
Ashley leaned forward instantly, all concern gone, replaced by curiosity. "Okay. What happened?"
Reena stayed quiet for a second. Then another. " I made a mistake. The biggest one?"
"Bigger than the time you drank the dog milk, thinking it was regular milk?
"It was an accident, Ash! No need to remember that shit!" Reena exclaimed. Then she sighed dramatically and let her head fall onto the table with a soft thud. "I think…" she mumbled to the surface, "…I slept with someone."
Silence. Dead silence. Ashley didn't move. "…You what?"
Reena lifted her head slowly, her expression blank. "I said I think."
Ashley blinked. Once. Twice. Then she slammed both hands on the table and stood up from her chair. "REENA COLE! YOU LET SOMEONE DID THAT TO YOU?"
"Shhh!" Reena hissed, grabbing her wrist, pulling down and making her sit on her seat. "Why are you yelling like that?!"
"Because you just casually said you slept with someone like you're talking about the weather!" Ashley whisper-yelled, leaning closer. "Who? Do I know this person? Is it a man or woman? When? Where? HOW?!"
Reena winced, pressing her fingers to her temple. "Lower your voice, woman… My brain is already dying. I can't recall it."
Ashley took a deep breath. Then another. "…Start talking. I need every detail, meaning everything. Including that."
Reena leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling like she was questioning every life decision that led her here. "I was at the club… After you left… then there was this guy…"
Ashley's eyes lit up immediately. "So it's a guy? Okay, I guess."
"Don't sound excited," Reena muttered. "He was… weird."
"Weird how? In bed or talking?"
"Both, I guess…" she paused, frowning slightly, trying to remember. "…dangerous, weird. Confidence. Annoying. Arrogant."
Ashley blinked. "That doesn't sound weird. That sounds hot. Totally a type of a man you dreamt of."
"Shut up. Let's not talk about my type here." Reena shot her a look. "He called me 'Little One.' Which is weird. I mean he looks big and muscular, but he should call me that?"
"…True though, that's a bit weird."
"Right?" Reena pointed at her. "See? I'm not crazy for feeling this way."
Ashley leaned in again, completely invested now. "So what happened next?"
Reena hesitated. Her brows furrowed with a slight hint of blush on her cheeks. "That's the problem…" she said slowly. "I don't remember everything. Like what we did."
Ashley froze and called her out in a tone that she uses when she is in denial. "…Reena."
"I remember kissing him," Reena continued, ignoring her tone. "And then… we went to a hotel. And then… I don't know" She stopped. "It's like a blank."
Ashley stared at her like she had just confessed a crime. "You don't remember?! At all?!"
"I mean not clearly!"
"Oh my God." Ashley dragged a hand down her face. "Oh my God, oh my God—"
"Then, I woke up," Reena cut in quickly, "and he was next to me. Naked."
Ashley choked on her drink. "Naked?!"
"Yes, naked!" Reena whisper-yelled back. "And I was naked too!"
Ashley covered her mouth, eyes wide. "No way…"
"And that's not even the worst part."
Ashley slowly lowered her hand. "…There's worse than this?"
Reena leaned forward, lowering her voice like she was confessing something illegal. "…I had marks."
Ashley blinked. "Marks? Like?"
Reena pulled her collar slightly to the side, motioning her come closer. Ashley leaned in hesitantly, then froze. "Oh. My. God."
"Exactly."
"Those are not small marks, Reena!"
"I KNOW!"
"They're everywhere on your upper part?!"
"I KNOW!"
"Down also?!"
"YES! And I have no idea what to do to make them fade!"
Ashley sat back, staring at her in disbelief. "Girl… you didn't just sleep with him. You got devoured. Like a lion's prey."
Reena dropped her head into her hands. "Please don't say it like that."
Ashley suddenly leaned forward again, serious this time. "Wait. Important question."
Reena peeked at her. "…What?"
"Did you—" Ashley lowered her voice even more, "—you know… go all the way?"
Reena froze. "…I don't know. Maybe."
Ashley blinked. "You don't know?!"
"I said I don't remember! God dammit! How many times do I have to repeat it!" Reena groaned. "But judging from the marks, I think we may have done it"
"Yeah, it looks very not innocent."
"Exactly!"
Ashley grabbed her shoulders. "Okay, okay. Next question. Very important. More important than your GPA result. Be honest, woman."
Reena looked scared now. "…What?"
"Your period."
Reena blinked. "…What about it?"
"Is it on time?"
Silence. Reena's expression slowly changed. "…Ashley."
"Yeah?"
"…Don't do this to me."
"I'm serious!" Ashley insisted. "Do you remember when your last one was?"
Reena stared at her, then slowly leaned back in her chair, looking like her soul had left her body. "…I hate my life."
Ashley groaned. "Reena!"
"I'll check later!" she snapped. "Can you not stress me out this early in the morning?!"
Ashley raised her hands defensively. "I'm just being responsible equate you are too dumb to get yourself into this stupid mess!"
Reena let out a long, dramatic sigh and covered her face again. "…It was supposed to be one drink."
"And now?"
"And now I might have slept with a stranger, don't remember anything, and possibly ruined my life."
Ashley paused, then tilted her head. "…Was he at least hot?"
Reena slowly lowered her hands. There was a pause, but eventually she answered truthfully. "…Annoyingly."
Ashley smirked and patted her shoulder. "Worth it, then."
Reena grabbed a napkin and threw it at her. "Shut up!"
Ashley laughed, dodging it easily. "Hey, I'm just saying! If you're going to make bad decisions, at least make attractive ones."
Reena groaned and dropped her head back onto the table. "…I'm never drinking again."
Ashley smiled sweetly. "You said that last time."
"…This time I mean it."
"Sure you do."
Reena peeked at her. "…Do you think I can pretend this never happened?"
Ashley grinned. "Too late. So do you have any idea you slept with, like name, work, something like that?"
"Okay, listen. I don't know his name. I don't know his age. I don't know his work or anything. But I just paid him, thinking he was a gigolo… and just left before he woke up"
Ashley looked at her in disbelief, " You paid him? Like actually paid him because you thought he was a gigolo?
Reena groaned again and shook her head. "I didn't think much at that moment. I just need a reason… I just want to get out of there!"
"You could have just got out before he woke up! Why do you need to put money on him!? Do you think money comes from trees?!"
"I don't know! I don't know! I don't know!" Reena whined, "My brain just stopped working at that time."
Ashley was about to lash out but she controlled, " Calm down, Ash. Calm down. Your friend is just stupid. Don't worry. She is stupid. She is stupid. She is stupid." Then she looked up, and prayed, " Please Lord, Please give my friend Reena some sense of humour. At least a bit."
"Woman!" Reena hitted her shoulder.
"What?! That's the stupidest thing I ever heard, Ree. Fine, answer this. How was the hotel? Is it like a love hotel or a big hotel?"
"A big hotel…" Reena whispered."
"Thenn how was the room? Is it like the cheap room we booked for our girls night during our highschool, or something more extravagant?"
"More than that… It has a floor-to-ceiling window."
Ashley lost the cool and snapped but also mase sure not the yell loudly ton make others heard it, "You're so fucked, Ree. Like… actually fucked! You paid a man because you thought he was a gigolo? Which gigolo uses a floor-to-ceiling window room for a night? What, is he an expensive gigolo?!
Reena froze and mumbled. "I didn't mean to… It just happened… I was drunk…"
Ashley took a long deep breath and said, "Fine. Fine. Whatever happened is in the past. Now, just be careful. Please take care of yourself, Ree. It's not safe to sleep with a random stranger. And please check your period. Just let me know, if you feel anything. Okay?"
Reena nodded slowly, making Ashley sighed in relief. "No more drinks, Ree. Even if you want to call me. Then, I will drop you off after that. Okay?"
Reena nodded her head again, "Sure, Ash… I'm sorry for making you worried."
"As you should. Now let's go. I don't want Dr Taylor to get mad at us for coming late to his class and kick us out." Ashley said while standing up and grabbing her bag along with her white coat and stethoscope.
Reena obediently stood up, grabbing her bag along with her white coat and stethoscope. Then they both walked towards their classroom.
Soon they reached their classroom and slid into their usual seats, still whispering about last night and mentally bracing themselves for the long lecture ahead. Suddenly, something on Reena's desk caught their eyes immediately. A bouquet of red roses, perfectly arranged, sat neatly on her usual spot. A crisp white envelope leaned against the vase, sealed and pristine.
Reena froze, her fingers hovering over the petals. Her heart raced, and a chill ran down her spine. "What… what is this?"
Ashley leaned closer, her curiosity piqued. "Oh… no. Don't tell me this is—someone's… someone's romantic thing?"
Reena's fingers trembled as she picked up the envelope and slid out the letter. The handwriting was neat, almost meticulous, looping elegantly across the page.
"Reena,
You looked stunning today. Your dress so graceful, so perfect. Your smile… I can't stop thinking about it. I hope this little gesture brightens your morning as much as your beauty brightens the room.
—Yours, quietly admiring."
Reena's eyes widened, a mix of confusion and unease flooding her. "Um… Ash…" Her voice trailed off. "This is… weird. Creepy. But also… kind of sweet? No, wait, definitely creepy."
Ashley blinked, scrutinizing the note. "Creepy! Definitely creepy. Who even leaves roses at college desks like this?"
Reena's fingers traced the edges of the petals nervously. "I don't know… I mean, I've never had a secret admirer before. And this… this handwriting… I don't think I have seen it before" She shivered slightly, the feeling both thrilling and unnerving.
Just as the tension in the room started to sink in, the door clicked open and Dr. Taylor walked in, his usual calm presence filling the classroom. "Good morning, everyone. Settle down, students. We're starting immediately."
The two friends exchanged a quick glance. Ashley whispered, "Keep calm, Ree… maybe it's nothing. But—ugh, what if it's someone dangerous?"
Reena didn't answer. Her eyes stayed fixed on the roses and the letter, her mind racing with possibilities. Who could it be? And why now? As the class began, Reena couldn't focus. Every time she glanced down at the roses, her pulse jumped.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a tiny, unsettling thought refused to go away: someone had been watching her. And that was… way too creepy.