Chapter Four
Caroline
I woke up with my books open on the bed next to me. I fell asleep studying all night, and I still felt like I didn’t know half of what I needed to know to pass the test. When I grabbed my phone to look at the time, I had all kinds of notifications from my social media networks. Sarah tagged me in videos of her drinking, dancing, and partying all night with our friends. She is such a jerk; I said with a smile as I scrolled through the pictures.
On second thought, I should’ve gone with her last night, especially since I felt like I didn’t know any more about accounting than I did last night. After I had scrolled through the pictures and videos of Sarah having fun with Johnathan and Bradley, I closed my books and hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. We had the same class together again this morning, so I knew she would be in there bragging about how much fun she had and how much of a loser I was for staying home.
Professor Morgan stood in the front of the room with a light green, polyester vest, black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt. He lowered his glasses as I walked by him. “I trust that you and your friend will allow me to flawlessly navigate through my lesson today without any interruptions.”
I bashfully responded, “Yes, Professor Morgan, we will. I am sorry about yesterday. Really, I am.” He nodded his head, and afterward, I tucked my tail and walked to the back of the room as I felt his eyes incredulously staring a hole into the back of my head. I took a seat and settled in as two students behind me chatted about the party from last night.
They replayed different scenes in their minds as I shook my head, thinking Sarah had something to do with the fact that they were sitting right behind me. I couldn’t wait to see her just so I could get past the initial mockery that I knew she was going to throw my way like a snowball. I glanced at the time just as Professor Morgan started his lecture. “Hello, everyone. I trust that you all have talked to each other and gotten everything out by now so I can get through these next two hours without interruption.”
The class hushed to silence as he stood in front of the room. “Great,” he said, “I shall begin.” As seconds turned into minutes, and minutes fell into an hour, Sarah’s seat was still vacant beside me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent her a text.
“Where are you at?! Are you still asleep!? Wake up! You’re going to blow your chances of getting an A in this class!” I slid my phone back onto my desk, waiting patiently for her response. She was probably hungover and still in bed. Every time I saw her on social media, she had a drink in her hand with a glassy-eyed look on her face. I knew she drank more than she wanted to. I sent her another text and waited for her response, but there was still nothing sent back to me.
I decided to text Johnathan to make sure she left the party safely. “Hey, Johnathan. Good morning. Did Sarah make it home alright?”
“Good morning, sweetie. Yeah, she left with Brad, I think. Shit, I was fucked up, and I still am, so I don’t remember.”
“Alright.”
“What are we doing today? I can come by your dorm later on if you aren’t studying this time around.”
“LOL. Don’t remind me that I made that decision last night. I wished that I would’ve come with her, but I guess it is too late now.”
“There will be more times. I’ll see you later. Oh, and Sarah is probably in bed asleep because she had a lot to drink last night. Her hangover is probably kicking her ass right now.”
“LOL. Thanks. I’ll check on her after class.”
I slid my phone back into my purse and leaned back in my chair as Professor Morgan went on with his lesson. His monotone voice nearly put me to sleep, and before I knew it, he was wrapping up the lecture, and I hadn’t retained a thing that he had spoken to us. I grabbed my phone to check if I had any messages from Sarah, but my phone was still void of any of her responses.
“Alright, class, I don’t want to tell you that there will be a quiz about what I said, so I won’t tell you. But, just know that there might be a pop quiz. You enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you all next week.”
I gathered my purse and headed out of the classroom as I sent another text to Sarah. “Oh my God, if you don’t wake up, I am going to come over there right now and douse you with a glass of ice-cold water! But seriously, if you are hungover, I will bring you some coffee. I heard coffee helps drunks like you…lol.”
I headed to the café to grab a bite to eat and a cup of black coffee to help ease Sarah’s hangover. As I stood in line, Meghan walked past me and did a double take once she saw me standing in front of her. With a look of concern on her face, she walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?” she asked, standing close to me.
“Alright?” My eyebrows wrinkled together before I flashed a curious smile at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little bummed that I missed the party last night and if I could do it over, I think I would’ve gone, but other than that, I’m good.”
She paused as if she’d seen a ghost standing behind me. “Um, Meghan? What is wrong with you?”
“You didn’t hear? Sarah was killed in a car accident after the party.”
I didn’t know how to take what she said. It was as if she had spoken a foreign language and my mind could not process her words. I stood still in line as the person ahead of me moved forward, creating a gap between us. I looked down at the coffee that warmed my hand, remembering that I texted Sarah earlier this morning. “No, no,” I said, laughing it off. “No way. I just texted her this morning. She is hungover in her bed right now. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”
I closed the gap in line as Meghan walked beside me. “Yes, I do.” There wasn’t a smile on her face. “I read the news this morning. She passed away in a car accident on her way home.”
“No,” I said, still in disbelief. “I think you’ve got something confused. Sarah is at home in bed right now. I have this coffee for her,” I said, holding the cup higher, “and I am about to give it to her.”
“Caroline, she is–”
I raised my voice. “No, Meghan! She is not!” The chatter around us hushed to silence as students looked in our direction. I was tired of her telling me something that I knew wasn’t true. Meghan took a step away from me and nodded her head. Her eyes watered as she turned her head away from me, and moments later, she headed out of the café. “The nerve of her,” I said as I placed the coffee on the counter and grabbed my cell phone to send Sarah another text.
I started to worry a bit once I saw that she didn’t respond to any of the five texts I sent her before now. “Sarah, is everything alright?” A sickening feeling shot to the pit of my stomach as I moved ahead in line and she still didn’t respond. I paid for my things, then quickly rushed to the bookstore to grab one of the morning papers. I grabbed it from the shelf, then sat down at one of the small tables to read through the pages.
“Um, ma’am,” the cashier at the bookstore said. “You have to purchase it if you’re going to read it.”
I waved her off, “Yeah, yeah, OK, whatever.”
“Ma’am? Ma’am…”
Her words faded in my mind as I scanned the school paper, looking for any news of Sarah’s so-called death. No way, I said to myself as I flipped through the pages. Before long, my eyes fell onto a small story in the right corner of the back page.
“A fatal accident occurred last night just off campus. One student crashed her vehicle into a pole. She is believed to have died on impact; further information about this story is not yet available.” I closed the newspaper as my mind drifted onto Sarah. No way, I thought as I stood up, laughing. No way. Accidents happen all the time, that doesn’t mean it was her. I don’t believe it.
I left the newspaper on the table, grabbed her cup of coffee, then rushed to her dorm room. I knocked impatiently a few times while I called her cell phone. “Sarah, stop it! This is not funny! Open the door!” I banged harder, but there was still no response.
A few minutes later, the resident advisor approached me in the hallway. “Can I help you?” he asked while I stood in front of the door, banging incessantly.
“My friend is in there, and I think something is wrong with her. She partied last night, and I’ve been calling her back to back, and she hasn’t been responding. I think she might be in trouble.” I looked at him as tears welled up near the bottom of my eyes. I wiped them away before they had a chance to fall. “Are you the RA? Can you open her room for me?”
“I can’t just go opening her room. I don’t know if you know this person.”
“Oh my God,” I showed him my phone. “She is my best friend. Look at all of these pictures. Sarah Zimmer is my best friend and has been for my whole life. She is in there, and I need to make sure she is alright! I’ve been texting and calling her all morning, and she hasn’t responded. Please!”
He tapped his foot on the floor as if he was contemplating whether or not he should let me in. “Oh my God, you are standing here wasting time!” I banged on the door. “Sarah! Sarah, open the door! Please! I am worried about you, Sarah!”
“Alright, alright,” he said. “Just wait here. I am going to get my key, and I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you!”
He came back a few minutes later and popped his key in the door. I quickly pushed it open as soon as it was unlocked, then rushed inside. Sarah’s bed was made up as if she hadn’t laid in it all night. Her room was spotless, and there was no sign that she had been there at all since last night. I shook my head, hoping that my mind was playing some kind of unnatural trick on me. “Um, she doesn’t look like she has been here,” the RA said as he stood beside me.
Shaking, I looked down at my phone to call her again, but before I could, her name popped up on my screen. A feeling of life rushed back into my heart as I quickly answered the call, “Sarah! Sarah, what the hell is wrong with you?! Where are you at?! I’m in your dorm, and I’m worried about you!” There was no response for a few moments. I looked at my phone to make sure she was the one who called me. “Sarah? Are you there?”
“Ma’am,” he said solemnly. This is Detective Strasberg. Can you come down to the Tempe Police Department? It is urgent.”