"Anaya.."
"Anaya wake up..."
As Rose shouted..
Anaya sat up slowly, her blanket slipping off her shoulder. The morning sunlight filtering through the curtains painted thin golden lines on her roommate's half-shadowed face. Rose stood still, arms crossed, lips pressed into a thin line as if deciding whether to speak or not. It was an expression Anaya knew all too well like someone suppressing a storm just behind their eyes.
"What is it?" Anaya asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, trying not to sound annoyed. But Rose? Rose always brought out the worst of her sarcasm.
Rose took a step closer. "Can we talk now?"
That was new.
Anaya blinked. "About what?"
Rose sat on the edge of the bed, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Just… things. I mean, I know we've not spoken for a while. That fight… it was stupid, right?"
Anaya raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth while she is in dilemma. She hadn't expected this tone. Not from Rose. The same Rose who had practically fussed at her over a missing phone charger six months ago. The same Rose who used to act like she owned the air around them. Now here she was, looking like a high school student caught copying homework.
"Yeah, stupid," Anaya said, her tone clipped. She didn't want to give too much too soon.
Rose looked up, hopeful. "So... maybe we can start over?"
There it was. The suspicious glitter Anaya had woken up with began to sharpen in her chest. Her instincts, ever alert, warned her that this wasn't just about mending ties.
"Why now?" she asked flatly. "After all this time?"
Rose hesitated, then smiled. It was a practiced one. One Anaya had seen her use around professors or when she needed a favor. "I just realized it's not worth holding grudges."
"Hmm," Anaya mumbled, biting her inner cheek.
She wasn't buying it.
Later that day, after breakfast, Anaya sat outside on a bench under the neem tree that stood just beside their hostel. Her thoughts swirled around her like dust in the summer wind but now its winter.
There were too many holes in Rose's sudden act. For six months, they hadn't spoken. Not even a passing hello. Their shared room had been like a split screen like Rose on one side, Anaya on the other, existing but not acknowledging. And now, out of the blue, Rose wanted to talk, to reconcile?
"Something fishy," Anaya muttered again, watching a squirrel dart past.
She pulled out her notebook and scribbled the words down like a detective noting evidence.
Case: The Return of the Thorn.
Suspect: Rose, a.k.a. The Roommate.
Crime: Sudden politeness, potential manipulation.
Motive: Unknown, but likely sinister.
Anaya chuckled at her own notes but deep down, the unease didn't go away.
That evening, Rose was oddly helpful. She offered Anaya a packet of her favorite instant noodles, complimented her neatly folded laundry, and even asked if she wanted help with her psychology assignment.
"You feeling okay?" Anaya asked, genuinely worried now. "Did you hit your head?"
Rose laughed. "No, I just... I think I've grown a little. People change, you know?"
Anaya nodded slowly. And murmured herself "True. But thorns usually stay thorns."
Rose paused, her smile faltering just a second.
Anaya noticed.
A few days passed.
And Rose remained… different.
She wasn't overly sweet or fake. But she was suddenly more... present. She asked Anaya about her day, waited for her in the canteen, even tagged along to the library once.
It was really confusious.
The change was too fast. Too sudden.
Anaya tried to act normal, but inside, she was setting up mental tripwires everywhere. She didn't like surprises. Especially not ones that looked like kindness dipped in poison.
One evening, as they both sat in their room, Rose broke the silence.
"There's a drama club audition next week, Rose said, scrolling through her phone. "They need volunteers for backstage roles too."
Anaya looked up from her book. "Okay?"
"I thought maybe we could try it together." Rose asked with a pretending smile.
Now Anaya was convinced something was definitely off.
"You want to join a club with me?" Rose asked slowly.
Rose shrugged. "I thought it'd be fun. I remember you saying you liked organizing things."
Anaya stared. She did say that. Once. Last semester. Before the fight. She didn't think Rose remembered.
"Why are you really doing this?" Anaya asked, voice quieter than usual. "What do you want from me?"
The room fell still.
Rose looked at her, then sighed.
"I'm not good at saying sorry," Rose admitted. "And when I tried before, you didn't exactly look open to it."
Anaya blinked. "You never tried before."
"I left your favorite snacks on the desk once. After our fight. I thought you'd understand."
Anaya's heart twitched.
She had seen that pack of Lay's on her desk but assumed someone else left it maybe the aunt who cleans their room or one of her other friends.
She didn't think it was Rose.
"…Why didn't you just say it?" Anaya asked.
Rose looked down. "Because I was angry. And proud. And stupid. But I didn't hate you. I just didn't know how to fix it."
For the first time, Anaya saw something behind the thorns. A small flicker of vulnerability. It wasn't much, but it was enough.
She sighed. "Fine. You want to join the drama club? Let's go mess up their auditions."
Rose grinned.
"Deal."
Days turned into a week.
And somehow, Anaya found herself laughing more. It wasn't that everything was perfect Rose still had her moods, and Anaya still kept her emotional distance. but they were talking again. Really talking.
There was something fragile about rebuilding a friendship that had once cracked. Like piecing together glass with trembling hands, knowing one wrong move could shatter it again.
But they were trying.
One afternoon, as they sat under the neem tree again, Rose turned to her and said, "You know, I never liked my name either."
Anaya blinked. "Seriously?"
Rose nodded. "It feels too soft. Too pretty. I'm not either of those."
Anaya smirked. "At least we agree on something."
They both laughed.
But just when things seemed better, something happened that pulled Anaya back into her spiral of doubt.
A message.
From an unknown number.
"Be careful who you trust. Especially those who smile too quickly."
Anaya stared at her phone, her fingers cold.
She looked up at Rose, who was humming and combing her hair across the room.
She didn't want to doubt again.
But…
The words rang loud in her mind..
"Don't trust..."