Chapter 1
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Enid jumped, nearly spilling the tea she had been cradling in her hands. She glanced over her shoulder, and there she was again—the same familiar silhouette sitting at the old desk across the room.
Her roommate looked like she had stepped straight out of an old horror movie. Dressed in an alternative version of the school uniform—black, gray, and white mixed together in a way that somehow still adhered to the dress code—she exuded an eerie timelessness. Dark hair cascaded over a pale face, obscuring her expression, though it hardly ever changed. She always looked the same—neutral, unreadable, almost bored.
The rhythmic clacking of the typewriter filled the dorm like an unsettling metronome.
Enid checked the clock on her phone. 10:15 p.m.
Right on schedule.
Every night, without fail, her elusive roommate appeared at the desk at this exact time, fingers gliding effortlessly over the keys as though answering some invisible call. She had tried to catch her arriving, had even made a point to keep an eye on the door—but it was like trying to trap smoke. One moment, the desk was empty. The next, she was there.
It had been like this since the very first night.
When Enid returned to their dorm after an outing with her friends, she found the girl already seated on the bed, as though she had always been there. No introductions, no greetings, no signs of moving in. No bags, no luggage—just an unspoken presence that filled the room.
She had tried to pinpoint exactly when she entered, but it was futile. Her roommate was always just… there.
A glance over the shoulder, and dark eyes met hers—glinting with something unreadable. Amusement, perhaps. Or something more sinister. Then, just as quickly, her attention returned to the typewriter, lips curling into the faintest smirk.
A chill crept up Enid’s spine.
At first, she assumed the girl was just strange. A loner, maybe. Someone who kept to herself. But as the days passed, things stopped adding up.
For one, no one else seemed to know she existed.
“She’s toying with me,” Enid declared, pacing the common room.
Lounging on the couch, Yoko slid her black-framed glasses down her nose and fixed her with a skeptical stare. “Have you considered,” she said dryly, “that maybe she’s not real and you’re actually losing your mind?”
Enid whirled on her. “She’s real,” she snapped. “She’s just… weird. And cryptic. And infuriating.”
Yoko leaned back, unimpressed. “We know, Enid. But no one’s seen her but you.”
“That’s because she disappears!” A hand raked through her hair as she tried to explain, tried to make sense of something that refused to be rationalized. “I saw her in the library yesterday! She was sitting right behind me. I turned to get your attention, and she was gone. She just… vanished!”
An unimpressed eyebrow lifted. “Girl… I’m starting to worry about you. And you’re supposed to be the smart one between us.”
“I’m not crazy!”
“Sure you’re not,” Yoko teased. Then, after a pause, a sly smirk spread across her lips. “Or maybe… the girl’s a ghost.”
Enid froze. “What?”
“Think about it.” The vampire sat forward, crossing her legs. “No one else can see her. She’s pale as hell. She only ever shows up when you do. And let’s not forget the best part—she’s always disappearing. Maybe she’s haunting you. Unfinished business or whatever.”
A shaky laugh escaped before Enid could stop it. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it, though?” Yoko tapped her chin, feigning deep thought. “I mean, we do go to a school for supernatural beings. A ghost roommate wouldn’t be that out of place.”
Enid opened her mouth to argue—but then she really thought about it.
The way the girl always seemed to know things she hadn’t told her. The way no one else ever noticed her, no matter how many times she tried to point her out. The way she moved—silent, effortless. And the way she watched her.
Like she was waiting.
Like she was enjoying this.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Her roommate was a ghost.
She had to be.
And now, Enid was going to figure out why she was haunting her.