Midnight. One AM. I was jolted awake by a sudden burst of “Happy Birthday” from the dorm room across the hall. I stepped out to take a look. Through the glass doors of their balcony, I could faintly make out the flickering glow of candles and a huddled group of figures. I rolled my eyes, utterly speechless. *Are these people insane?* Celebrating a birthday in the dead of night, they’d accidentally set the place on fire with all those candles and no proper lighting. Still fuming, I went to the bathroom, then returned to my room, grabbed a pair of earplugs, shoved them in, and drifted back into a restless sleep. The next day, we were all woken by screams. That’s when we found out: there had been a massacre in the dorm room across the hall. Ten students in that single dorm room. None survived. **1** Midnight. One AM. I was jolted awake by a sudden burst of “Happy Birthday” from the dorm room across the hall. I stepped out to take a look. Through the glass doors of their balcony, I could faintly make out the flickering glow of candles and a huddled group of figures. I rolled my eyes, utterly speechless. *Are these people insane?* Celebrating a birthday in the dead of night, they’d accidentally set the place on fire with all those candles and no proper lighting. Still fuming, I went to the bathroom, then returned to my room, grabbed a pair of earplugs, shoved them in, and drifted back into a restless sleep. The next day, we were all woken by screams. That’s when we found out: there had been a massacre in the dorm room across the hall. Ten students in that single dorm room. None survived. The police quickly sealed off our university campus and took everyone to the station for questioning. Students from dorms near the crime scene, especially, were interrogated thoroughly. I was one of those singled out. They led me directly into a separate interrogation room, though thankfully, it wasn’t like something out of a crime show, with bright lights glaring and officers barking orders. Noticing my nervousness, the officer tried to reassure me, telling me not to worry and just to tell them everything honestly. I nodded, telling them everything I knew, leaving nothing out, and biting back the urge to ask how the victims had died. Honestly, I figured it was either carbon monoxide poisoning or alcohol poisoning. There was no way someone just barged in and stabbed them all to death, right? After I gave my statement, Detective Miller, the more stoic officer, walked out. Officer Ben, the other one, told me to wait a bit longer for further notice. As he organized his notes, he started making small talk. His chitchat was mostly about how I’d managed to resist my nosy instincts and hadn’t dragged my roommates out to peek at the drama. I gave him an incredulous look. “It was the middle of the night! I was exhausted. Someone was just being dramatic, celebrating a birthday. What’s so exciting about that? It’s not like someone was screaming on their balcony at 3 AM.” Officer Ben chuckled awkwardly at my eye-roll, then slyly asked, “So, if you’d known a murder was going to happen in their dorm, would you have watched a little longer?” “Yeah, probably… I mean, I’d have tried to warn them, to prevent something bad from happening… But who could have known something like that would occur? Speaking of which, I’m really curious: was it carbon monoxide poisoning? The fire in their room looked pretty big that night.” I replied. “Haha, that question… is classified,” Officer Ben said with a wink. “…Seriously?! So you were just trying to trick me?” My eyes widened. He nodded calmly, and a wave of indignation washed over me. Before I could retort further, Detective Miller returned, leading another student in. He motioned for me to leave. Reluctantly, I got up and walked out. I thought that would be the end of it, or at worst, another trip to the station for more questions. I never expected to be summoned again the very next day. Puzzled, I returned to the police station and walked into that familiar interrogation room. “Cassidy, are you certain you saw fire and heard birthday singing from the dorm across the hall that night?” The officer asked me again, seeking confirmation. I nodded firmly, a little confused why they kept asking. Surely they weren’t suspecting *me* of arson just because I saw a flicker of light? “You said you were woken up at 1:40 AM, right?” they pressed. “Yeah, 1:44 AM, actually. I’m a little superstitious; I always avoid numbers like that. That night, I literally watched my phone until it turned 1:45 before I got up to go to the balcony.” I nodded cautiously, feeling a prickle of suspicion that they were targeting me.
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