Chapter 1My face was burned to hell. Standing on the roof about to jump, my phone lit up.
Some post popped up on my browser.
[One month into college—what's the craziest thing you've done in your dorm?]
The top comment made my stomach drop:
[I used my roommate's pot to boil my nasty underwear. Had some infection going on.]
[Pot short-circuited and the whole dorm caught fire. I cried to the RA and said SHE was using those illegal appliances.]
[School gave me emergency money and she paid me fifty grand for "emotional trauma."]
Someone asked: What happened to your roommate?
[Got kicked out. Face got messed up in the fire. Heard she won't even leave her place now.]
I stared at the screen, recognizing how she talked.
My burned fingers were shaking.
I kept thinking—if I hadn't given her that damn pot, would my life be different?
Next thing I know, I'm back.
The day she asked to borrow it...
...
I opened my eyes and Sloane was standing next to my desk.
She had a plastic bag in her hand.
Some underwear inside.
"Rory, can I borrow your hot pot?"
She pointed at the new one on my desk.
"Wanna make some soup."
I looked at that bag.
Last time this happened too.
She said her stuff hadn't arrived yet and she needed to make soup.
I'd just moved in. Figured we'd be living together four years, so I let her use it.
Five days later, the building caught fire.
I woke up in the hospital with half my face wrapped up.
Sloane was crying, telling the RA I brought some illegal power strip into the dorm.
Later I got expelled.
Everyone online tore me apart.
She took the money and moved off campus.
Right before I jumped, I saw that post.
The whole thing was her plan from the start.
"Rory?"
Sloane waved her hand in my face.
"You're not seriously gonna be weird about a pot, are you?"
Quinn was making her bed and laughed.
"Sloane, why even ask her?"
"That's some fancy thing. We can't use stuff like that."
Maren jumped in too.
"It's just for a few hours. You won't break it."
I got up and grabbed the pot. "I'm not lending it."
The room went quiet.
Sloane's smile froze.
"Why...?"
"I don't lend my stuff out."
"But I'm just making soup." She sounded hurt.
I looked at the bag in her hand.
"You mean with what's in there?"
Sloane's face changed.
Quinn sat up on her bed.
"Rory, could you not be a jerk?"
"It's just a pot."
"Why are you being so nasty?"
I ignored them. Grabbed scissors and cut the power cord right off the pot.
Quinn froze.
"What are you doing?!"
I put it in a box and threw the cut cord in too.
"It's broken."
Maren's eyes went wide.
"Are you insane? That thing was expensive and you just destroyed it?"
"My stuff." I closed the box. "What I do with it isn't your business."
Sloane finally looked up.
Still had tears on her face but her voice got softer.
"You think I'm disgusting, don't you?"
"Yeah."
Room went dead silent.
Quinn stood up.
"What's wrong with you? She's sick. It's not her fault!"
Sloane wiped her face.
"Whatever... I shouldn't have asked..."
She grabbed the bag and left.
Quinn followed her to the door and glared at me.
"Just wait."
"Spoiled girls like you always end up ALONE."
I didn't say anything.
Second time around, I don't care about losing roommates.
I just wanted to see what Sloane would do without my pot.
She didn't come back till lights-out.
Not till the common areas went dark.
End of the hall, I heard something.
Like someone dragging something into the kitchenette.
I got up and went to the door.
Through the crack, a little blue light went by.
Sloane was on the phone, keeping her voice down.
"I already moved it."
"Don't worry."
Chapter 2
Next morning I bought a lockbox with a code and a little smoke alarm.
When I got back, Quinn was sitting in my chair eating breakfast.
She saw what I brought and cracked up.
"What, we got thieves now?"
Maren looked up.
"She thinks everyone's out to get her."
I put the smoke alarm above my desk.
Locked everything valuable and all my power strips in the box.
Didn't even leave my phone charger out.
Sloane sat on her bed with a cup of coffee.
Watched me for a bit then said quietly, "Rory, you don't have to act so paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid about everyone."
I locked the box.
"Just don't want anything bad to happen."
She looked down, stayed quiet.
Quinn slammed her fork on the table.
"What's that supposed to mean? You think we're gonna hurt you?"
I looked at her.
"Didn't say that."
"Then why are you acting like THIS?"
I didn't bother arguing.
Grabbed my water bottle and headed to the floor kitchenette.
Soon as I got there, smelled burnt plastic.
Sloane was inside.
She had some heating stick plugged into the wall, plastic basin next to it.
Basin was full of clothes soaking.
The safety cover on the outlet was broken off. Wires hanging crooked.
I pulled out my phone and started taking pictures.
"Unplug that now."
Sloane turned around, face changed.
"I'm just heating water."
"You can't use high-wattage stuff in the shared kitchenette."
Rules were posted right on the wall.
She glanced at my phone and suddenly got loud.
"Why are you always watching ME?"
I kept the camera on the heating stick.
"I'm just recording a violation."
"You just think I'm poor."
"I never said that."
"But that's what you think!"
Her voice carried down the hall.
Girls from other rooms looked out.
Sloane hugged herself, eyes red.
"My doctor told me to wash my underwear in hot water."
"So I have to do THIS."
"She wouldn't lend me her pot yesterday and now she's following me here yelling at me."
Someone muttered.
"It's just borrowing something. Why make such a big deal?"
"Can't bully people like this."
Quinn and Maren showed up fast.
Quinn got in front of Sloane.
"Rory, what do you want? Trying to force her back to the room?"
I saved the photos to the cloud.
"I'm warning you once. Something happens, that's on you."
Sloane looked up at me.
For a second her face was totally calm.
"If something happens, would you be happy?"
I turned and left.
"Not my problem."
Next few days I kept everything locked up.
Every time I left I checked the outlets and locks.
Even sent the kitchenette photos to the dorm supervisor.
But that heating stick never got taken away.
Sloane hid it in the cleaning cabinet.
Every night she'd go in when no one was around.
Fifth night, I'd just fallen asleep when the alarm went off in the hall.
Someone yelled, "Fire!"
I ran out.
Smoke was coming from the kitchenette.
Hall lights went out one by one, girls running downstairs in their jackets.
Fire department got there fast.
Wasn't a huge fire. They put it out quick.
But the kitchenette walls were black and burnt wires and plastic were all over the floor.
Ms. Warren, our RA, stood outside the tape looking pissed.
She saw me and came over.
"Rory, come to the office with me."
"Right now?"
I looked at the kitchenette.
Ms. Warren kept her voice low.
"Sloane said she saw you go in there with a power strip right before the fire."
I looked at her.
"My power strip's been locked in my box. Why would she say that?"
Ms. Warren didn't answer.
She took me to the office.
Sloane was sitting there in a jacket, looking pale.
When she saw me she jumped up.
"Rory, I didn't want to say it was you."
"But I really saw you."
She picked up a burnt power strip from the desk. Half-destroyed label on it.
My name written clear as day.
Chapter 3
Ms. Warren pushed it toward me.
"The school needs you to cooperate."
She'd already set me up.
Ms. Warren kept going.
"Till we figure this out, you'll move to a temporary room. Also you'll have to pay part of the repairs."
"I'm not paying anything."
Ms. Warren's face got hard.
"Rory, this isn't the time to be difficult."
"The fire affected the whole floor. Everyone's waiting for the school to handle this."
"Then handle it after you find out what actually happened."
Sloane started crying.
"Rory, why do you keep coming after me?"
"I just wanted to wash my clothes."
"You wouldn't lend me your pot, fine. But then you pushed me to use the shared space."
I looked at her.
"I warned you—something happens, don't say I didn't tell you."
Sloane covered her face. Crying.
Outside people were already crowding around.
Quinn stood there texting.
My phone kept buzzing.
I checked the dorm group chat.
Quinn: [Rory started the fire and now wants us all to pay for it.]
Maren: [Her family's loaded. What's a repair fee to her?]
Sloane: [Stop going after her guys. Maybe she just panicked.]
More replies came in.
[She burned the building and you call it panic?]
[She should get kicked out.]
I screenshotted everything.
Ms. Warren saw and frowned.
"Don't make this worse."
Office door swung open.
Middle-aged guy in uniform walked in.
"Who says we can't check the cameras?"
Ms. Warren stood up fast.
"Captain Voss."
Captain Voss looked at the power strip on the desk.
"Fire scene isn't even sealed yet. Who said you could take evidence out?"
Ms. Warren's face went pale.
"This was initial collection."
"Initial or not, it has to be logged."
Captain Voss put the strip in an evidence bag.
"From now on the kitchenette's sealed."
"Pull the hall cameras, electrical records, keycard logs. Everything."
Sloane spoke up quick.
"Captain Voss, the cameras are broken!"
"Whether they're broken isn't up to you."
Captain Voss looked at her.
"Also, we don't determine fire cause based on one person's story."
Sloane looked down and shut up.
That night Captain Voss called me.
"Rory, preliminary results are in."
"The power strip from the fire scene does have your name on it."
I gripped the phone.
My lockbox was still sealed in the dorm. The strip was inside.
Captain Voss kept going.
"Don't freak out yet."
"Report's preliminary. Scene still has inconsistencies."
But the class group chat had exploded.
Quinn posted a screenshot of the report.
[Evidence was right there. She's still trying to lie.]
Sloane added:
[I really didn't think she'd put everyone in danger.]
I ignored all the messages, turned off my phone, and crashed in the temporary dorm.
As long as I had the evidence, I wasn't scared.
Next morning the campus gossip page posted fire report screenshots.
Half an hour later the whole building knew my name.
[Make her apologize publicly.]
[She shouldn't be allowed to live on campus.]
Quinn kept tagging me in the group.
[Rory, get out here.]
[Don't you think you should apologize?]
Sloane sent a voice message. She was crying.
"Stop pressuring her."
"She probably didn't mean to."
"I just hope she never uses illegal stuff again."
One sentence and I was completely screwed.
Ms. Warren posted in the group.
[Rory must come to the first floor lobby at 9 to explain.]
[Not cooperating means disciplinary action.]
When I got to the lobby it was packed.
Ms. Warren slapped papers on the table.
"This is the temporary decision."
"Sign first, then cooperate with the rest."
I opened it. [Recommended expulsion.]
"I'm not signing."
"Rory, how long are you gonna keep this up?"
"I want the evidence public."
"They found YOUR power strip at the scene."
"That's not mine."
Someone in the crowd yelled, "Still lying!"
"Just drop out and stop dragging everyone down!"
"Rich kids think they own everything!"
Sloane stood up front.
Old jacket on, holding tissues.
Girls around her kept comforting her.
"Sloane, don't be scared."
"School's gonna back you up."
Sloane kept her head down, dabbing tears.
When nobody was looking she looked up.
No fear on her face.
Just smug.
She mouthed: "You're done."
Ms. Warren pushed the pen at me. "Sign."
I looked at the papers and laughed.
"You all wanna know how the fire started?"
"Yeah? Then let me show you."
