Page 25 of My Roommate from Hell
“Can you watch my body while I drop him off?” he asks as he reaches into the pockets of Zarmenus’s shorts to pull out his phone. “My body will follow you if you give it an order. Sorry to be a pain.”
“Um, okay.”
“You’re the best! Okay, see you soon.”
He scoops up the dropped crossbow and cuts his way through the crowd.
I approach Zarmenus’s body. He’s standing, but it’s like the life’s been taken out of him. What did Zarmenus say, I need to give him an order?
“Hey,” I say. “Let’s go back to our room.”
Zarmenus’s body takes a shambling step toward me.
CHAPTER TEN
I sneeze for what has to be the hundredth time this morning. The allergy pill is not doing anything. There has to be a cat nearby.
I blow my nose. I only ever feel like this when I’m extremely close to a cat. And it’s not pleasant. My nose itches so much it’s hard to think about anything else, which might actually be a blessing at this moment.
Zarmenus’s soulless body is lying on his bed, staring at me with wide eyes. At first I thought it was freaky, but now I’m kind of used to it. Also, I hate to think it, but this is the quietest our room has ever been. In a way, it’s peaceful.
“Hey.”
I turn around, and see Zarmenus is sitting up. His eyes are no longer a cloudy white. It seems he’s back.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I dropped the hunter off at campus security,” he says. “He’s being taken to prison as we speak. Thanks for watching my body, by the way.”
“No problem,” I say, not sure I completely mean it.
While I was minding his body, I was trying to distract myself from what was going on by watching the “Welcome to Point” webinar, which is designed to teach a lot of the basics about campus life. It’s pretty straightforward, mostly things I’ve already researchedand finished, like how to set up a Point email account and register for classes.
“Hey,” I say, swinging around in my chair.
He’s gone over to our closet and is looking through his clothes. “What’s up?”
He has his back to me, and in one swift motion, he pulls his shirt off over his head. He turns around, waiting for me to answer. Only now my thoughts have gone blank, because I have a shirtless Zarmenus staring at me, waiting for me to respond. Would it be so hard for him to change in the bathroom, like I do?
“I’ve been having really bad allergies,” I say, coming to my senses. “But the thing is, I’m only allergic to cats. I was wondering if you know anything about that?”
“Oh.” He pulls a gym shirt on, and then grabs the waistband of his jeans. I spin around in my chair and look out the window in order to avoid looking at him as he switches his pants. I’m sure he left his underwear on and isn’t getting totally naked in front of me, but I still don’t want to see him in his underwear. I seriously don’t.
“There’s someone you should meet,” he says as he snaps the band of his gym shorts. “Bell, you can show yourself, it’s okay.”
Before my eyes, a black cat appears on our couch.
It’s not an ordinary cat, if I materializing out of nowhere didn’t make that obvious. Its eyes are wells of pure black, and two tiny wings stick out just below its shoulders. Its tail is like that of a scorpion, with a wicked-looking stinger at the end. The cat, if I can even call it that, stretches out, opening its mouth to reveal a mouth full of white fangs.
“Bell, meet Owen. Owen, meet Bell.”
It takes a moment for this to sink in. Zarmenus has a cat. A magical freaking cat. Pets are not allowed in Clark Hall. Even things like fish are prohibited. But it seems that, like the candles for his séance, he doesn’t mind breaking the Clark Hall rules.
“She’s friendly,” he says. “Just don’t stare into her eyes for too long.”
“Why not?”
“She might steal your soul.”
