Page 5 of My Roommate from Hell
“I’m not freaking out,” I say, which makes everyone in the room look at me. I’m not sure what I said is true, but it does earn a flicker of a smirk from Zarmenus.
“Good,” says Maleilius. “You have no reason to. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Owen and Jane from Earth. We’ll leave so you can get properly acquainted. We’ll be back soon, Zarmenus.”
“I’ll miss you,” says Zarmenus, clearly joking.
Lysteria gives Zarmenus a kiss on the cheek that he begrudgingly stands through.
“Be good,” she says. “But not too good.”
“Never,” he says.
She waves a hand, creating a portal of orange hellfire. The pair step through it, leaving just Zarmenus, Mom, and me in the room.
I’m so stunned I can’t speak. I just saw magic in person.
“Make yourself at home,” says Zarmenus. He drops back onto his bed. “Or don’t, doesn’t really make a difference to me.”
Is this really happening? Demons have visited Earth and spoken with humans, but most of the time they only meet world leaders. Not people like Mom and me.
I look around the room. The walls are butter yellow, and the furniture—just a desk, a bunk bed, a bedside table, and a bookshelf—are all made out of pine. He’s barely decorated. All he’s done is put a pair of black satin sheets on his bed, hang a small basketball hoop to the left of his desk, and mount a wooden plaque above his headboard that reads:LOVE FOREVER, DREAM BIG, SMILE ALWAYS.My guess is it’s ironic. By the closet is a pitchfork, as if that’s a totally normal thing to have in a dorm room.
“Your parents seem nice,” I say.
“Don’t say that to Mom,” says Zarmenus, not looking up from his phone. “She’d flay you on the spot.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I fall silent. A few seconds pass, and it becomes unmissably awkward. It’s fine, though. Some awkwardness is to be expected, given everything. It doesn’t mean it will be like this the entire time. Though I’m not the biggest fan of the threat of a flaying hanging between us.
“Do you know why we have a bunk bed?” I ask.
“Yeah, that was me,” he says. “I’ve always wanted one, and the dean said I can have whatever I want.”
Perfect.
“Oh, shoot,” says Mom. “Owen, you left your sunglasses in the car, we should go and get them.”
Her tone is impossible to miss, and it’s obvious she just wants a second to talk away from Zarmenus. He lifts an eyebrow, making it clear he picked up on her real intent as well.
“Nice meeting you,” I say.
“That’s one way to describe it.”
With that, Mom and I slip out of the room.
As soon as the door is closed, Mom turns to me.
“Oh my God,” she says.
CHAPTER THREE
Oh my God, indeed.
Mom and I have just walked back in silence to our car tofind my sunglassesand we’re both trying to put the pieces together. She seems as surprised as I am, so at least I’m not going through this on my own.
A year ago I had no idea demons were real, and now I’m sharing a room with one.
“I’m sure we can request a switch,” says Mom. “You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to.”
I look out the front window, at the still-raging protest outside Clark Hall.
