Classes hadn't started yet, so the dorms were quiet that afternoon. Mira had gone to take a shower, and I was unpacking the last of my things books, headphones, a few photos I wasn't sure I wanted to look at.
Her side of the room was already perfect. Bed neatly made, books stacked by size, everything lined up like she'd lived here for weeks instead of hours.
That's when I noticed it something sparkling on her study desk.
A bracelet.
It looked handmade, but not in the cheap way. The band was woven from tiny silver-blue threads, and in the middle sat a small shell not white like the ones you find on beaches, but deep turquoise, with light shifting across it like the surface of water.
It was beautiful. The kind of thing you couldn't help but touch.
I picked it up carefully, the shell cool against my fingers. "Wow," I whispered to myself. "Where'd you get something like"
The door opened.
Mira stood there, still in her robe, hair damp and dripping onto her shoulders. Her eyes went straight to the bracelet in my hand. For a second, she froze and then she moved faster than I thought she could.
"Don't touch that." Her voice was sharp, almost fierce. She snatched it from my hand so quickly that I actually stepped back.
"I—I was just looking," I said, startled. "It's really pretty, I didn't mean—"
She slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, her expression softening only a little. "We'll have one rule in this room," she said quietly, but the edge in her tone stayed. "Stay on your side of the room… and don't touch my things."
And just like that, she grabbed her bag and left.
The door clicked shut behind her.
I stood there for a while, staring at the space she'd been standing in, my heart still thumping. It was just a bracelet. Why had she reacted like that?
The wind outside blew harder, making the window creak. I looked toward her desk again empty now and for a moment, I could've sworn I smelled saltwater in the air.