The Devil in My Room, Pt. 1

By the time classes ended, the sun was already dipping behind the rooftops, stretching shadows across the courtyard like they were trying to drag me into tomorrow.

I dropped myself onto a bench near the edge of the walkway and let out a sigh I'd been holding in since my second class. My back ached, my head buzzed from too much information I was never gonna remember, and my phone said it was only Thursday.

I tilted my head back and stared up at the clouds.

"The sky doesn't look real," I muttered. "Actually, it looks... almost too perfect to miss."

From my school bag, I pulled out my camera and uncapped the lenses. Aiming it upward, I snapped a few shots where the sunrays unevenly pierced through the clouds.

Afterwards, I skimmed through the results on the screen when a heavy thud came from beside me. Koga was plopping down with all the grace of a falling vending machine.

"Taking photos again? Let me see."

"Oh. Here," I said, handing him the camera.

"Hmm... Very nice, very nice. Whoa, did you take this one just now? Looks like you turned up god rays to the max in a video game."

"Yeah, right? I thought I was going insane from today's classes when I first saw it."

"Haha, a justifiable reaction. Speaking of which, bad day of classes for you, too?"

"At this point, that's always how it goes."

Koga leaned back with his hands hanging behind his head.

"Dude, you're telling me. I don't know which teacher told us that life gets better when college starts, but I wanna go back and spit on her face. Cuz this? This sucks."

"I think I remember who you're talking about. I don't recall the name, though. Didn't she also say that they also don't mess around in college, so we should start disciplining ourselves in high school?"

"I skipped the first three weeks of calculus at the start of this damn semester because I was too lazy. You know what happened? Absolutely nothing. The professor just gave me all the assignments at once, and I finished them in a week."

"Yep. That's the college experience."

We both sighed at the same time.

"Honestly, the college life isn't too bad," I said. "It's just very... time-consuming. I have more freedom than I did in grade school, but that also comes with certain responsibilities."

"Yeah, that's true, I guess. No one's gonna wake me up for school anymore. The professor isn't gonna swing by and ask for the assignment I never turned in. Here, everything falls on us. If we skip class, we need to make it up. If we don't finish an assignment, there goes our grades."

"It sucks, but that's the reality of it. I signed up for this. I'm paying for it, so I might as well finish it out."

"Amen, brother."

Suddenly, another voice.

"Why the hell do you two always look so dead?"

We turned to see Yue walking over with two cans of coffee in hand. She passed one to Koga before settling down on his other side. 

"Oh. Hey, Yue," I said.

"Thanks, love," Koga smiled.

"Seriously..." she sighed. "At this point, I'm worried you guys are gonna die before graduation."

"Graduation isn't for another three years, though."

"My point exactly. I mean,"—she lifted Koga's hand—"Seriously? Why are you writing on yourself? And it's not the first time that's happened."

"He'll be alright," I said, waving it off.

"Like hell, he will. It's only a matter of time before he starts neglecting his classes entirely. I'm warning you, Koga — if you drop out, I'm breaking up with you and picking Taka up."

"Huh?!" we both exclaimed at the same time.

"T-that's a little extreme, don't you think?!" Koga shouted.

"I'm with him on this one, Yue," I mumbled. "Besides, that's a bit... weird."

And yet, Yue's smirk stretched wider.

"Well, it's just food for thought. So, Koga, if you don't want that to happen, then you'd better lock in and get your shit together." 

"I... F-fine."

We sat like that for a while. Just the three of us, spacing out as students passed by in every direction — some rushing off to club activities, some lingering like us with nowhere better to be.

The air still carried that late autumn chill, the kind that stuck to your skin but didn't weigh you down. If I closed my eyes, I could almost forget I had homework waiting for me.

I leaned forward, resting my arms on my knees.

"Kind of weird, huh? How quiet everything feels after a long day."

"I guess this is what it's like to grow up," Koga chuckled. "Sitting on a bench and contemplating the universe after a couple of classes. Who would've thought? Not me, that's for sure."

"...Was that sarcasm?"

"Oh, hey. You actually picked up on it this time."

"I don't hate it," Yue said. "It's peaceful. Even your stupid jokes sound a little less stupid out here."

Koga put a hand to his heart and gasped.

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

We kept talking about nothing in particular — exams, club rumors, someone's electric bike getting hit by lightning — and I nodded along, laughing when I needed to, but my thoughts drifted now and then. Not far. Just a little.

Like, back to my apartment. Back to her.

It hit me how strange it was. There I was, sitting here like everything was normal, while a girl I'd met barely a week ago was lounging around my apartment doing God knows what. Maybe watching cooking videos and scribbling notes like a student.

Like she belonged there. Like she'd always been there.

I didn't say anything, though. I hadn't told Koga or Yue about her. Not because I didn't trust them, but... I wasn't sure how to explain her without sounding completely insane.

So I just kept it to myself.

Actually, I'm a bit curious now. What exactly is she doing? Hopefully staying still and not burning down my apartment. I should probably get her phone number just in case something happens.

Eventually, the conversation started to fizzle out. Koga yawned so hard his jaw cracked, and Yue had started picking at her phone with that glazed-over look people get when the day's catching up to them.

I stretched my arms over my head and stood up, slinging my bag over one shoulder.

"Alright, I think I'm gonna head out. Still got some homework I need to catch up on."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I've got like five pages of psych notes I haven't even looked at."

"I finished mine during lunch," Yue said, not even trying to hide her smirk.

"...Where did I get such an angel?"

"Well, you're gonna lose that angel soon if you keep messing around."

"W-wha—?! That's not funny, Yue!"

I laughed as they bickered, waving lazily over my shoulder.

"I'll catch you guys later."

"See ya, Taka!" Yue called.

"Don't fry your brain!" Koga added.

I gave them a half-hearted thumbs-up as I walked off. But the truth was that I'd just lied through my teeth.

Homework? Yeah, sure, I do have some. But that's not why I'm leaving so abruptly.

Megumi... surprisingly, she seemed completely normal — like how any other person would be if they were my roommate.

As I made my way across the campus, I pulled out my phone and looked up 'Megumi no Hana'.

"A model and actress, one of a kind among the current generation. Beautiful in the eyes of many, humble despite her fame, and kind to everyone she meets."

Honestly, not entirely inaccurate.

She talks casually but always with a distant edge, like something is constantly tugging at her. I expected as much, given the whole bridge situation. Apart from that, she hasn't done anything particularly concerning. Just a tad bit... weird.

I scrolled down just a bit more until my eyes locked onto a certain article from just a month ago.

"Model and actress, Megumi no Hana, made a public statement that she would be taking a break after a series of failures. From a drama that pulled low ratings in the acting industry to her choice in fashion within the modeling industry, it seems that her career is reaching its end."

There was a photo attached — Megumi leaving a photoshoot venue, waving at fans. She looked nothing like the girl currently lounging on my couch.

Revealing outfit. Light blonde hair down to her hips. Heavy makeup. A bright smile. Same amber eyes, though. But everything else felt... like a different person entirely.

"So how did she end up here...?"

As much as I wanna ask her directly, something tells me I shouldn't pry for her sake. But still... I'm curious.