Chapter 4. Dorm-Mate

Finally, Becca was standing at the entrance of the university. It was the Sapienza University of Rome, one of the most famous universities in Italy. Her grip was relentless on the handle of the luggage, afraid of it slipping away from her hand and creating a scene. The less drama she created, the better it was for her.

Her father didn’t come to drop her off because it was at the farthest corner of the city and he deemed himself as a busy person; busy enough to not drop his daughter off at school. It was only an hour’s distance from her house, yet she was grateful to get away from her father’s dreadful nature. 

Taking a deep breath, she got inside and continued looking for her dorm room, no. 84. Friends could wait, she had to get her stuff in place first. She loved to stay organized after all. 

Soon she reached her room and opened the wooden door with shivering hands. Becca was nervous, wondering how her roommate would be. She would only have one roommate and she hoped to be best friends with her. 

Once she opened the door and stepped inside, she found herself in a purple-colored room. Everything was in purple and white tones as if someone customized the room. It looked fully remodeled.

Taking slow steps, she saw two single beds at two corners of the room. Both beds had a window nearby, and there was a table in the middle, where she could study with her roommate since it had two chairs. The other side of the room was covered with cabinets, along with the door leading to the washroom.

The white door of the washroom opened and a stunning woman gave a smile to Becca. She was wearing a red tank top and black sweatpants. Her dark brown hair was tied in a loose bun. She glanced at Becca with her dark brown eyes. 

“Nice to meet you, roomie,” she said and extended a hand, “My name’s Nessa Worthe, and I am a sophomore. I was waiting for you.”

Hesitantly, Becca shook her hand and introduced herself, “I am Becca Hertford, a freshman. Well, I am not a freshman yet because the classes haven’t started, but still...”

Her roommate laughed at her nervous rambling. She placed her cold hand on Becca’s shoulder and said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to be nervous. Besides, did you like the color of the room? I changed it two weeks ago after hearing I would get a roommate at last. I was living alone for a year, can you believe it?”

Becca arched an eyebrow, asking, “Are we allowed to change the color of our dorm room?”

She shook her head, and smirked, “Why fear when Nessa is here? I have already handled getting the approval.”

“Okay, then, I should set my things up first. Then we can gossip,” Becca announced and watched her roommate glancing at her black wristwatch.

“I could’ve helped you move in but I have some important work to do. Since it’s noon right now, you can start unpacking after having lunch. I saved a box of pizza for you on that bed, which is your bed by the way,” she explained and ran to pull on her black sneakers. “See you later.” With that, she rushed out of the room, leaving Becca alone.

“She seems nice,” Becca murmured to herself and decided to unpack her belongings after sending a text to her dad that she reached her dorm safe and sound, not that he would care.

***

It was evening. 

Alexander was in the Bellmor jungle, waiting for his twin to arrive. All of a sudden, a woman jumped on him but he dodged it just in time, making the woman hit the tree. 

“Fuck,” she groaned, rubbing her forehead and glared at her brother, who leaned against another tree. 

Alexander rolled his eyes. He retorted, “Can you stop doing that every time we meet?”

The woman grunted, “I just wanted to hug you. We haven’t seen each other in so long.”

“Shut up, Ness,” he grumbled and walked toward her. He took out Becca’s picture from his pocket and showed it to her. “Look at her. She is the girl with the vampire potion. I heard from Pristine that Becca is attending your university.”

She took a hold of the picture and chuckled. “This is Becca Hertford, my roommate.”

“That’s great. So, you can help me,” Alexander let out a relieved sigh.

“Why should I do that? Phil entrusted you with that responsibility,” she deadpanned. “That asshole is really crazy to be the vampire king.”

“Vanessa Insworthe,” Alexander said sternly, “Don’t forget that he is your elder brother.”

Vanessa rolled her eyes dramatically. “I don’t care, Alex. I only treat you as my brother. You are the one who always meets me every time you come into the human world. Phil never even checked to see how I was doing, so I won’t do anything to get the vampire potion. Best of luck helping your big brother.” With that, she sprinted to exit the jungle but Alexander beat her to it, standing in front of her.

“Okay, but you can at least tell me what to do. Set up a meeting for me with Becca. I will ask her about the potion to see whether she has any idea and if she doesn’t, I will alter reality,” said Alexander.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Vanessa blurted out. “How can you ask her about it in the first meeting? And even if she knows about it, why would she give it to you for no goddamn reason?”

“Why not?” he inquired. “I want to go back to the vampire world as soon as possible after I get the potion. I cannot stay here any longer because I can smell delicious blood everywhere and it’s hard to control oneself when we are surrounded by food.”

“Then learn to control your urges, Alex,” she told him and prepared herself to go back to the dorm by tying the shoelace which came untied. “Also, I can give you a piece of advice since you are my brother,” she continued, “Instead of asking Becca about the potion, move into the dorm like she did and try to get to know her on a personal level. You have to be around her and get an idea of where she might have kept the potion.” 

“But-” before Alexander could speak further, Vanessa vanished in thin air. 

He sighed, wondering, how would Vanessa understand that Becca’s blood is screaming at me to have a taste of it? 

Alexander was worried about how he would control himself to not bite her. Yet, he knew that Vanessa’s advice was a good one. He had to move into the dorm in that university and get close to Becca. The faster he did everything, it would be easier for him to return to the vampire world and make Phil happy.

In the meantime, Becca had completed unpacking. 

Vanessa entered the room, saying, “Sorry, roomie. My errands took longer than I expected.”

Becca was stuffing her mouth with Ferrero Rocher while looking over her new books by sitting on the chair. She looked at Vanessa and smiled, “No worries. Do you want some chocolate?” 

Vanessa shook her head in denial. “Actually, my boyfriend, Sebastian, hates chocolates so I prefer to not eat them.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Becca asked with a shocked look covering her face.

A bright smile evolved on Vanessa’s lips at the mention of her boyfriend. “Yes, his name is Sebastian Garrett. He is the best boyfriend ever. Do you want to know our love story?”

“Of course,” Becca said in excitement. 

“Well then.” Vanessa pulled a chair for herself and started narrating her love story, which Becca listened to intently. She even promised to make Becca meet her boyfriend the following day.

***

Alexander moved into a room, in the building near Becca’s dorm. He even moved onto the same floor as hers so that he could keep an eye on her all the time. He made a special request for not having a roommate and paid extra money for it. His request was accepted and he didn’t get a roommate. He was fully alone in his monochromatic room.

He called Pristine to inform her about his situation. Alexander could easily contact Pristine who lived in the vampire world because the vampires had a special chip installed in their phones, through which communication between the human world and the vampire world was possible. 

“Did you find anything else aside from whatever is written in this file, Pristine?” asked Alexander. “Also, why didn’t you give me her address?”

“I thought it wasn’t necessary since she would be moving into the dorm. So, I gave you the university name only,” Pristine responded through the phone. “I didn’t uncover anything else. You have to stay close to her and learn about her, Alex. If you don’t get to be close to her, she wouldn’t just give away the potion. And if you don’t get it, Phil wi-”

“I know what’s at stake,” he said curtly. “I gave my brother my word. Just take care of him, okay?”

After Pristine hummed in response, Alexander ended the call. He looked at the open window of Becca’s room, only to find his sister gossiping with her on the same bed now. 

He fixed his gaze on Vanessa and said in his mind, “Arrange a meeting with her tomorrow.”

Immediately, Vanessa looked at the open window as she was hearing the story of Becca’s childhood. She replied in her mind, “That will work. I will just introduce you as Sebastian’s best friend.”

“Okay. Just make sure to inform him beforehand,” he responded and gave a curt nod.

The special ability of Alexander and Vanessa being twins was they were telepathic. If they were nearby, their telepathy would become stronger and if they were apart from each other, they could still talk to each other in their minds, even though it took much effort. 

Alexander took out Becca’s picture from his pocket. 

“Looks like we are meeting tomorrow officially, Becca Hertford.” 

As soon as Alexander mentioned her name, a quick gust of wind hit Becca’s face, making her dark brown hair cover her face. She tried to remove the strands of hair, but the wind was fast. 

“I will close the window,” Vanessa announced and closed the window at that instant. “Are you okay, Becca?”

Becca nodded her head. “It’s getting late. We should probably get some sleep.”

“Okay.” With that, Vanessa went to her side of the room.

Becca climbed into her bed and pulled the purple blanket up to her chest. She glanced at the closed window, her heart beating faster than usual. Watching the bright moon reflected in the dark sky through the glass, she fell asleep with a hope for her next day to be nice.