Chapter 2

Right at that moment, my boyfriend FaceTimed me. "All unpacked? Let me take you out to dinner."

I told him I was just finishing up and started grabbing my purse.

Zoey suddenly shoved her face into my camera's view. "Wait, is that your boyfriend? He's so hot!"

Her voice instantly pitched up into a babyish purr. "Hey handsome! I'm Clara's roommate, Zoey. Nice to—"

Before she could finish her little pitch, I hung up and stared her down with an icy glare.

Caught red-handed, she turned defensive and flushed with anger. "What? What's your problem?! I was just being friendly. No wonder you were acting all high and mighty earlier—you already hooked yourself a guy.”

“Quality doesn't even matter when it comes to dating, anyway. It's all about keeping your roster full. Quantity is what proves a girl actually has game."

Hearing her twisted logic, I let out a dry laugh. "Sounds like you're just cheap and easy to please."

"What did you just call me?!" Her neck flushed bright red, her veins practically bulging as if she was about to jump me.

I ignored her completely and walked out the door.

When I got back that night, I called my boyfriend to chat before bed.

Refusing to be outdone, Zoey immediately dialed someone too.

She practically screamed into her phone. It was so loud my boyfriend couldn't hear a word I was saying, constantly asking, "Wait, what did you say?"

It completely ruined the mood, so I hung up.

Seeing it was already ten, I flipped off the lights, ready to sleep.

The second the room went dark, her voice got even louder.

She kept laughing and talking until three in the morning. Only when she finally shut up was I able to drift off.

This went on for an entire week.

We were in the middle of Freshman Orientation Week, completely exhausted, and she would pull all-nighters on the phone.

The rest of us couldn't take it anymore. One evening, we cornered her in the room.

"Zoey, could you please keep it down when you're on the phone? None of us have slept properly all week, and we can barely keep our eyes open during orientation."

She scoffed in our faces. "How is that my problem? This is just my normal speaking voice. What, you guys can't afford earplugs?"

Her sheer entitlement blew my mind. "We tried earplugs. You're so loud they don't even block you out."

"Oh well. Guess you shouldn't sleep then. Only losers go to bed that early anyway."

Rolling her eyes, she jammed her earbuds into her ears and turned her back on us.

Our hot-tempered roommate, Hailey, snapped. She pushed up her sleeves. "Say that to my face again!"

I grabbed Hailey's arm and pulled her back.

People like this? I knew exactly how to handle them.

Human energy has limits.

Eventually, the lack of sleep caught up to Zoey, and she crashed hard during the day.

The moment she was fast asleep, I pulled out my Bluetooth speaker, cranked the volume all the way up, blasted an upbeat track, and started dancing around the room with my roommates.

The dorm walls were thick enough that the hallway wouldn't hear much. From start to finish, the only victim was Zoey.

She finally cracked, grabbing her pillow and hurling it straight at the speaker. "What the hell are you doing?! Can't you see someone's trying to sleep?!"

I picked up the speaker and smiled sweetly. "Gee, who was it that said only losers go to bed early?"