Welcome, Class of 2024! This is the girls’ dormitory. To ensure your safety, please follow these rules: 1.Curfew is at 11:00 PM. Do not open the door for ANYONE after that time, including roommates. 2.There are four beds in each room, but more than four “students”. 3.If someone asks to share your bed at night, refuse. 4.Try to choose a top bunk. If you end up with a bottom bunk, don’t look underneath. 5.The dorm supervisor can be trusted. 6.Don’t look at the dorm clock. It will confuse you. Don’t try to fix it either. 7.There are no mirrors in the dorm. If you find one, don’t look directly at it and break it immediately. 8.No visiting other rooms or playing in the hallways. 9.If there are more than three roommates, report it to the dorm supervisor immediately, even if you think they’re your roommates. 10.Salespeople will come to the dorm daily. Buy their items at your discretion; some may be life-saving. 11.If you notice roommates “missing” or “extra”, stay calm and report to the dorm supervisor. She’ll handle it. 12.If you feel dizzy or disoriented, return to your bed immediately, cover yourself with blankets, and ignore anyone speaking to you. 13.If you break any of these rules, don’t try to leave campus. The school is not responsible for your safety off-campus. My parents enrolled me in this school without my consent. This private boarding school boasted an astonishingly high acceptance rate, leading all high schools in our city. Despite never having heard of it before, my parents stubbornly insisted that acceptance rate trumped everything else. Reluctantly, I took the entrance exam and barely scraped by with a passing score. When assigning dorms, I managed to find a room in the farthest corner from the supervisor’s office. I borrowed her computer to check the new student room assignments while she stared at me unblinkingly. The woman looked to be in her forties or fifties, maybe younger, but dressed in an old-fashioned way with a boyish haircut. Uncomfortable under her gaze, I glanced at her. She grinned at me stupidly. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I saw a hint of red in her teeth. Lipstick, perhaps. When I looked back at the screen, I was stunned. “Weren’t there lots of empty rooms just a moment ago?” Hearing my words, she suddenly straightened up and said in a gruff voice: “Yes, but now there’s only one left. Better choose your bed quickly.” I stared at the last remaining room, number 213, with a status of 4/
In just seconds, all the other rooms had filled up, and someone had already chosen this room. Something felt off. As I tried to refresh the page, the computer suddenly opened a new window with a black background and 12 rules written in red text. “What is this…?” I turned around to find the supervisor leaning towards me, her crow’s feet prominent, her smile looking forced and creepy. She put her hand on my shoulder and said: “Oh, that? Must be a virus… There’s only one bed left, dear.” “Choose. Quick.” As soon as she finished speaking, the page disappeared. I was back on the original screen, and sure enough, the status now showed 4/3. She pulled out a key and handed it to me. Despite having a large keyring at her waist, she grabbed this one without hesitation, as if she’d been expecting it. I hesitated, my hand hovering in mid-air. I stared at the “213” on the key, but she shoved it into my hand, urging me to go to my room. I looked up at the dormitory building. When I entered, I noticed a large clock on the wall. The hour hand pointed to 11:00 PM, but I distinctly remembered that those 12 strange rules mentioned something about the clock. Don’t look at the dorm clock. It will confuse you. Don’t try to fix it either. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. It was 6:00 PM. The supervisor kept rushing me, saying it was very late and she needed to do room checks soon. I could only lug my heavy suitcase upstairs. Thankfully, the second floor wasn’t too high. But it was eerily quiet. I arrived later than most, but it was still move-in day. Yet all the rooms were silent, with only the sound of my footsteps echoing in the hallway. —Tap, tap, tap. I trudged along, searching for my room, only to find that half the room number had been torn off. Luckily, I could still make it out. I unlocked the door with my key, but the room was empty. I glanced at all the beds, which were bare. But I clearly remembered being the last to choose a room. There should have been at least one person here already. I shook my head, figuring that since I was here, I might as well quickly survey all the beds. If that was the case, I should be able to choose my own bed… right? I’d always disliked bottom bunks, possibly due to my germaphobia. When sleeping on a bottom bunk, roommates would often sit on my bed or carelessly place their things on it. Top bunks offered much more privacy. After a moment’s hesitation, I chose bed number 3. Just as I finished making the bed, I heard the sound of a key in the lock. I stared at the door as two people entered. The first was quite tall, wearing headphones, a t-shirt with letters on it, shorts, and had very short hair. The girl behind her was short, with pigtails, large eyes, and elaborate makeup, like a doll. I’m not good at socializing, so I just glanced at them without saying anything. The short girl with pigtails spoke first, smiling brightly as she asked: “Hi there! I’m Emma. That’s Tessa in front. What’s your name?” Her voice was sweet, too. I couldn’t help but warm to this girl a bit, so I answered: “Lily.” Tessa glanced at me without speaking, then walked straight to the opposite bed and said to Emma: “You take the top bunk. Weren’t you scared?” Emma hesitated for a moment, looking at me and Tessa before carefully asking me: “Lily, did you see those 12 rules?” I had only glanced at them briefly, mostly remembering the parts I’d seen. I nodded and said: “Yeah. Do you believe in that stuff?” Emma bit her lower lip and mumbled: “I think… better safe than sorry, right?” Tessa shrugged indifferently: “You’re just being silly.” They made their beds, and I sat on mine playing with my phone. Around 10 PM, the door suddenly burst open. A girl in an unusual outfit stumbled in, quickly shutting the door behind her. It was as if something was chasing her. We all stopped what we were doing to look at her. She was wearing something like a cosplay outfit, resembling a Japanese shrine maiden’s attire. Her skin was very pale, almost bloodless. Though her movements were frantic, her expression remained calm. She glanced at everyone, said nothing, and silently went to the bunk below mine to make her bed. I noticed she was carrying a large backpack, which she didn’t put aside even while unpacking. After hesitating for a moment, I leaned over and asked her: “Isn’t that uncomfortable?” Her bag looked very heavy. If it were empty, it would be flat, but hers was bulging out of shape. She looked up at me, her expression blank. Instead of answering my question, she asked: “Do you know what time it is?” I checked my phone. It was almost 10 PM, so I got down from my bed to get ready for bed. When I walked to the balcony, I suddenly noticed a mirror hanging in the bathroom, right across from the toilet. That seemed odd. Who would hang a mirror in that position? Emma appeared behind me at some point, patting my shoulder and asking softly: “What are you looking at?” “The mirror.” I didn’t turn around, because I remembered that Emma was very short. She shouldn’t have been able to reach my shoulder like that. But the thing behind me sounded exactly like her. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I probably would have turned around. Her hand on my shoulder was even reaching downward, indicating she was taller than me. I was silent for a moment, suddenly recalling those 12 rules. There are no mirrors in the dorm. If you find one, don’t look directly at it and break it immediately. But I hadn’t looked directly at it. From my angle, I could only see it obliquely. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t broken it immediately. That hand was still on my shoulder. I felt it growing heavier, like it weighed a thousand pounds, and it was ice cold. I coughed and said: “I need to use the bathroom.” “I’ll go with you.” “No need, it’s urgent!” I rushed into the bathroom. There was a mop in the corner, probably left by previous students. I grabbed the mop handle. It was dirty, but I couldn’t break the mirror with my bare hands. I confirmed the mirror’s position, then suddenly stood up, closed my eyes, and smashed it. When I opened my eyes, the wall was blank, without even any mirror shards on the floor. I sighed, looked at the door, and saw that the figure from earlier had vanished. I returned to my bed without a word. Emma was still sitting on her bed playing with her phone. Seeing me return, she asked curiously: “Why were you gone so long?” I looked at her innocent, cute face and sighed softly: “Emma, I think your concerns might be right.” She looked at me, not understanding. I told her everything that had just happened. Her face instantly turned pale. She called Tessa’s name. Tessa was playing a game and looked up at her impatiently. While they were interacting, the girl on the bunk below me suddenly got up, walked to my bedside, and frowned at me: “Why did you tell them?” I was taken aback: “Isn’t it better if everyone is aware and careful?” Rachel stared at me for a while, then looked away and said: “It’s unnecessary. They’ll only drag you down.” She returned to her bed. I leaned over and asked her: “Do you know something?”
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