Chapter 1

On a stormy night during a typhoon, Alma the dorm supervisor showed up at the dorm door, leading a little boy by the hand.

"The poor thing is only five. He missed his mom so much he ran out of the house to find me, and then this typhoon hit."

"It's windy and pouring out there, he's soaked to the bone, and there's no getting him home."

"Carmen, your dorm happens to have an open bed. Could you let him in for a hot shower and to rest for the night?"

I looked down and saw raindrops sliding one by one off the ends of the boy's hair.

But he only bit his lip quietly, head lowered, obediently and nervously pressing his index fingers together.

I was about to say yes when lines of floating comments suddenly appeared in front of me.

"Don't! Her son, Phineas Lambert, isn't a child—he's a man with dwarfism in his thirties!"

"Phineas could never find a wife, so Alma Lambert had him make a move on you."

"Afterward they even threatened you with photos, spread rumors that you'd invited a man to stay the night on your own, all to force you into marrying beneath yourself."

"In your last life, the whole school said you were loose. You were forced to drop out, and in the end you jumped off a building and killed yourself."

The blood in my whole body went cold. I'd always been good to Alma Lambert.

Knowing her family was struggling, I collected the cardboard my classmates threw out and gave it to her to sell.

"All right, I know you're the easiest one to talk to," Alma Lambert said, as if it were a given, already stepping inside.

My heart lurched, and I blocked the door.

"According to school rules, students aren't allowed to have members of the opposite sex stay overnight in the dorms."

1.

At the words "opposite sex," Alma Lambert's face tightened.

But she quickly pushed down her panic and made her tone even softer.

"Carmen, what are you talking about? He's just a child—his lips are turning purple from the cold."

As she said it, she moved to press forward, and I still didn't budge an inch.

"Alma, take him to the men's dormitory."

"You—!" Alma Lambert hadn't expected me to be this firm, and her eyes went wide.

The next second, she gritted her teeth and lowered her voice again.

"The men's dorm is far from here, and it's pouring outside. How is a little kid supposed to make it over there?"

"He's going to catch a cold. Can't you at least let him in for a hot shower?"

Her voice cracked, like she was about to cry.

But I held my ground. "No."

"Carmen Swanson! Aren't you always so easy to get along with?"

"You won't even help with a little favor like this? What's all that saintly act for the rest of the time?"

Her voice shot up, loud enough to bring out my roommate Eleanor Smith, who'd just finished her shower.

"What's all this noise in the middle of the night?"

Alma Lambert looked like she'd found her savior and quickly grabbed hold of Eleanor.

"Eleanor, you tell me who's right. My son's only five, and he's soaked through."

"There's nowhere for us to go on a night like this, so I just wanted to borrow your dorm for a hot shower."

"Carmen absolutely won't allow it—says no one of the opposite sex can come in the dorm."

Phineas's gaze settled on Eleanor's neck, still beaded with water.

He pretended to shiver and hugged himself tight, but his Adam's apple bobbed and the corners of his mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.

A wave of nausea rose in me. I nudged Eleanor with my elbow and shot her a look.

But instead she turned snide.

"Oh, Class President Swanson throwing her weight around, always using the rules to push people around."

"Rules are rigid, but people aren't. The school rule is meant to stop improper relationships in the dorms."

"But this is just a kid. Some people have filthy minds, so everything looks filthy to them!"

I froze for a moment, and the floating comments flew past again.

"Eleanor Smith has always been secretly jealous of you—your grades and your popularity are both better than hers."

"In your last life, Phineas Lambert locked the dorm door, and you pulled her into the bathroom to hide with you, but she shoved you back out."

"To cover up leaving you to die, she even made up filthy rumors about you."

"She said you often had men stay the night, that you were so desperate you threw yourself at Phineas..."

The wind howled outside, but it was like I couldn't hear any of it.

I only felt the chill creep up my spine, inch by inch, until it wrapped around my whole heart.

"Come on in and take a hot shower, kiddo," Eleanor said, already pulling Phineas toward the dorm.

As if I'd been shocked, I snapped back to myself and grabbed him. "Wait!"

"He's—" I'd barely started when the floating comments streamed past again.

"The dwarf has a fake ID and plays this harmless little-kid act; no one will believe you right now."

"Quick—get someone with real authority here, and she'll panic."

I steadied myself and picked up my phone.

"In that case, I'll report this to the academic advisor."