I’m exhausted.
I need to get out of this room.
I need answers.
I need to know.
This time, when I leave the room, I take my laptop with me as I head to the housing office.
The same student worker from when I checked in is there, and I don’t wait for him to greet me as I approach the desk and drop my key on the countertop. “Hi. I think someone has been coming into my dorm room.”
He jerks his head up, pulling an earbud from his ear and standing to face me. “Sorry?”
“Someone broke into my dorm and stole my laptop.”
His eyes find the laptop at my side.
“And then they brought it back. Don’t look at me like that. I know how it sounds.”
“You…probably just misplaced it.”
“Would someone else have had access to a key? Anyone else?”
He squints his eyes at me, as if I’m not making any sense, then turns away with a drawn-out breath, scratching his head. “Umm…” He clicks his tongue. “What hall are you in, and what’s your room number?”
“Addison,” I tell him. “Two twelve.”
He shakes the mouse to wake his screen and types something into the computer. After a few moments, he shakes his head. “We only have one key checked out. That one.”
“How many keys are there total?”
He scratches his head with one finger as he talks. “All the rooms have three. A backup and an office copy, in case we need to get in for an emergency or maintenance.”
“Can you see if the other two are still here?”
He looks at me for a long moment, like I might change my mind, but eventually seems to decide it’s not worth the argument. Slowly, he stands and crosses the room to a key box with a combination lock. He puts in a code in no hurry at all, then opens the box, staring inside.
A second later, he retrieves the two keys, dangling them between us. “Both here.”
“Who else would’ve had access to them?”
“Only office staff.” He turns back, returning the keys and closing the box. “Look, if you really think someone was in your dorm, you may want to talk to campus security.”
“Who’s on staff here? Besides you.”
He scratches his temple, a brow drawn down, clearly itching to return to his podcast or audiobook. “There are a handful of us. But trust me, none of us are trying to steal your laptop. No offense, but that thing looks, like, really old.”
I open my mouth to argue, to demand answers, but just as I do, I catch the schedule on the wall next to his head.
JARED
NICO
ALICE
ZARA
MILAN
