Chapter One

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"Professor Hobbs wanted to see you."

It was the first thing Sadie Powers heard when she entered her dorm room on a late March night. She didn't even get a chance to put down her textbooks let alone close the door behind her. She remained frozen in the doorway staring blankly at her roommate.

Meredith Davis shrugged her shoulders and turned the other way. "I'm just the messenger," she said.

Sadie closed the door with a swing of her hip. She walked ten steps across the small room to her desk where she dumped the five textbooks she had cradled in her arms. She brushed a few stray blonde hairs out of her face and tucked them behind her ear while looking back to Meredith, who was now reading her magazine again.

"Today? It's after hours. They even kicked me out of the library," Sadie stated with a huff. She had wanted to finish an essay.

"You were in the library this whole time?" Meredith asked, her attention snapping away from the celebrity gossip.

Sadie nodded. "You won't believe how swamped I am with homework. I've got a test and three essays due tomorrow."

"Three? I thought you had two classes tomorrow."

Sadie rolled her eyes. "Professor Shit-Head is making us turn the essays in early so he can have them corrected by our next class."

"That's so dumb..." Meredith muttered. She rolled her husky body over onto her stomach and laid the magazine on her pillow. She lazily turned to the next page, the thin paper crinkling loudly before laying gently flat on the other side as though it had never been disturbed.

Saide gazed out the window above their side-by-side desks. It was pitch black out so all she could see was her reflection in the window. She turned her attention back to Meredith and sighed.

"Do you know why Professor Hobbs wants to see me?" Sadie questioned. She pressed her forehead against the window and cupped her hands around her eyes. The science building across the campus looked dark. Professor Hobbs might have already left.

Meredith shrugged. "He said it was urgent and he needed to see you today."

"Yeah, but it's so dark now... He'll understand if I don't see him, right?" Sadie asked.

Meredith shrugged, still keeping her eyes on her magazine.

"Why didn't you text me about this earlier?"

"Sorry."

Sadie put her hands on her hips and watched Meredith. They became fast friends when they had moved into their dorm almost a year ago, but now Meredith was distant.

It had started one morning when Meredith woke Sadie up for class. She seemed to believe Sadie had changed. Sure, Sadie had overslept that day, which really wasn't like her, but it had bothered Meredith. It was almost as if Meredith didn't recognize Sadie when she woke up. In fact, Meredith had skipped her classes that day because she was so freaked out.

Sadie had gone into the bathroom to check herself out, but she didn't notice anything different. She had tried to remember the previous night, but she couldn't recall saying or doing anything offensive to Meredith the night before.

Meredith coughed, jarring Sadie out of her thoughts. That's when she remembered.

Meredith had seen Professor Hobbs the night before that strange morning. Had Professor Hobbs said something to Meredith about Sadie?

Meredith had been on the same page for a while now; Sadie didn't know what was so interesting. She drew in a deep breath for courage. "Uh, Meredith...?"

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