Page 16 of My Roommate from Hell
“I just wanted to thank you personally for choosing Point to do this exchange. I’m sure every school on Earth wanted you, and I am overjoyed you chose to come here.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he says.
“Now, I’ve spoken with your parents, Zarmenus, and we all agreed on the importance of this exchange. A lot of people are, shall we say, wary of your kind.”
“Demons, you mean?” suggests Zarmenus.
“I know you are nothing like you have been presented throughout human history,” continues Leeke. Her tone has lowered a little, and the hard look she gave Zarmenus made it clear he is not to interrupt her again. “But a lot of damage has been done. It’s my hope that, through this exchange, we can show mankind just how alike we truly are.”
“Why?” asks Zarmenus. “What’s in it for you?”
“Coexistence is going to happen whether we like it or not,” she says. “Now that this particular cat is out of the bag there’s no goingback, and I for one think striving for peace is always a worthwhile goal.”
“What you’re saying is I can’t torture students for fun?”
She laughs. “No. And you’re not fooling me with this attitude, Prince Zarmenus. Your parents sent me quite the extensive file on you.” She pulls out a cream-colored folder from her desk drawer. “You received nearly perfect grades throughout your high school career at the”—she peers closer—“Horrible and Foul-Smelling Academy.”
“Go Stinkers!” calls Zarmenus, as if cheering at a football game. “Best school in Hell; only the best get in.”
“You were involved in a large number of extra curriculars at this, um, school. You’re a near prodigy-level violin player, and you led your school’s debate team to four different championships.”
“What can I say, I like to argue.”
Is this all true? I wouldn’t say this to his face because I’m sure it would come out wrong, but I didn’t get the impression Zarmenus took anything that seriously.
“All I ask is that you don’t forget who you are.”
Now I’m envisioning a version of Zarmenus that’s completely different: one who wears button-down shirts and keeps his hair neatly pressed. He does debate? He plays the violin?
“But we’re getting off topic,” she says. “And I’m sure the two of you want to get back to getting to know each other. The reason I called you here is because I want each of you to know just how important you are, and how you have my full support going forward. I have increased campus security tenfold, so we shouldn’t have to deal with any protests like the one we did this morning. Still, I think it’d be best if we all agree to keep our heads on straight.”
As straight as I can,I think.
“I’ll behave,” he says. “Not that being straight is my thing.”
He winks at me. Wait, he isn’t straight? I don’t like to assume anyone’s sexuality. I prefer it when people don’t make assumptions about me, so I like to treat other people the way that I like to be treated. Still, him being queer endears him to me even more. It meanswe have at least one thing in common, and a lot of the times that’s enough.
“Excellent. Now that’s settled, I’m sure you both have things you’d like to do, so I’ll let you go,” says Dean Leeke. “Owen, would you mind hanging back a little longer? I’d like to have a word with you in private.”
Zarmenus clearly isn’t being used to being dismissed like this, but he still gets up and leaves. Before he shuts the door, he mouths the wordsnice knowing you.
What does she want with me? I still don’t understand why I’m here, let alone her wanting to speak with only me. If she wanted to speak with just Zarmenus that would make sense. I’m just the roommate.
“I must say, I’m thrilled to meet you,” she says. “Yours was one of, if not the best, application we received this year.”
Wait, really? I did work hard on my essay, and my grades were basically flawless, but that information is still surprising. I also didn’t think the dean would personally read any applications, even for a midsize school like Point.
“I must admit, there was quite the scramble when Zarmenus’s first roommate became unavailable,” she says, her tone hinting there’s more to that story. “But as it often does when one door closes, an even better one opens up.”
In this scenario am I the door?
“This exchange is of vital importance,” she says. “People are scared, Owen. And it’s understandable. But you and I both know that Zarmenus and his kind aren’t the evil beings some make them out to be. I meant what I said before; it is my genuine hope that our two species can coexist. But this is a delicate situation, one where any mistakes could backfire horribly. It’s why I wanted to speak with you, because I want you to understand just how important you are.”
“How so?”
“By sharing a room with a demon, you are showing that coexistence is possible by literally coexisting. You’re setting an example for the rest of humanity.”
I hadn’t thought about it that way, but she’s totally right.
