Mia Ginger was filled with unease.
The sound of the departing car startled her again.
Just like the previous two times, she slowly turned her head, only to see the deserted tree-lined path at night.
Every time Koa Jackson waited for her to turn away before he left, yet he never realized that the one who always left last was her.
That’s probably how love is.
The more lingering attachment one has, the later they leave.
The road under the streetlights in front of her was eerily quiet.
Mia took a deep breath, shook her head with a smile, discarded all distractions, and walked towards the dormitory.
Before reaching it, her phone rang.
She didn’t answer, hung up directly, and quickly returned to the dorm.
The dormitory was silent.
Seeing her return, Tong Tong obviously breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, saying, "I thought you weren’t coming back?"
"Did you call for something?"
"Yeah, the dorm next door just came over to notify that dorm inspections are at six sharp tomorrow morning. They were worried you wouldn’t come back tonight, so they called specifically to tell you."
"I see." Mia smiled, her tone relaxed, "Thanks."
She lifted her feet and walked to her position.
Her expression froze.
Blair Chester had a slap mark on her face.
She turned her head and only then realized Mina Lee and Wren King weren’t there.
Had there been a fight?
Mia glanced back at Tong Tong, raised her chin, inquiring with her gaze.
Tong Tong looked at her, without speaking, mouthed the words.
Mia thought and knew the reason herself, didn’t ask much, glanced at Windsor Myres smoking on the balcony, and grabbed a towel and toothbrush to wash up.
After turning off the lights, Wren and Mina returned.
Soft, fragmented sounds fell into her ears, and just as Mia was getting sleepy, she found herself wide awake again.
The dormitory was exceptionally silent.
The distant sound of insects chirping came from downstairs.
Blair seemed to have a sore throat, suddenly coughing several times.
Mia’s throat felt uncomfortable too, only realizing after a while it was the cigarette smoke; Windsor had been smoking.
She hadn’t closed the balcony door, and Blair probably wouldn’t dare to make a sound.
The night brought wind, carrying the cigarette smoke into the dormitory.
Mia rubbed her forehead, inadvertently touching the swelling bruise, feeling truly depressed, and suddenly spoke out, "Windsor Myres, can you not smoke in the dorm anymore?"
"Am I bothering you?" Windsor’s tone was brash.
"What do you think?!" Mia sat up directly, facing her direction, "You smoking is your own business, but you can’t keep making us breathe in secondhand smoke all the time; it’s bad for health over time."
"That’s funny." Windsor sat up too, sneering, "What does your health have to do with me?!"
Mia was stunned, for the first time she was so angered she couldn’t speak.
Windsor pulled the blanket over and lay back down.
But Mia found it hard to sleep.
It was not until late into the night that she gradually fell asleep.
The next day, early morning.
Dallas Taylor led the team to inspect the girls’ dorm rooms.
It was already 7:05 when they reached Mia’s dorm.
"Good morning, Officer!"
Seeing them enter, the six girls stood up simultaneously, greeting in unison.
Dallas, at the very front, responded indifferently, looking around as he walked.