Blood, Sex, and Booze, chapter 3

I froze.
My heart stopped.
I saw a flash of white light. I really felt as if I'd stopped breathing.
Another round of hard raps on the door set me into motion. I took a deep breath and shoved Billie Joe toward the closet. "Quick, get in!" I ordered.
He stumbled over a pile of clothes on the floor, then fumbled open the closet door and slipped inside.
I spun back to the door.
How did the police get her so quickly? I wondered. How did they know that Billie Joe was hiding in my room?
Another series of hard knocks.
"Who is it?" I called breathlessly.
"It's me, Melanie," a voice called.
One of the nosy girls from 13-A across the hall. The three M's: Melanie, Mary, and Margie.
I really can't stand any of them.
All three of them are so smug and superior, real preppies. I mean the worst kind. They all went to fancy, private schools before. And they really turn their noses up at public school kids like me and my roommates.
I've had a few run-ins with Melanie. A few weeks ago, there was a mix up with the laundry. Somehow she thought I stole a silk sweater of hers.
Like I really needed her ugly, preppie J. Crew sweater.
We're all supposed to be friends in this dorm. I mean, where does she come off accusing me as a thief?
She and her roommate Mary are both on the swim team, and they strut around with their sleek, perfect bodies. As if they were white sharks and they rest of us are guppies or something.
It's really disturbing.
I hate them. I really do. Especially Melanie.
And now she's pounding on my door in the middle of the night, snooping as usual.
I checked to make sure the closet door was closed with Billie Joe behind it. Then I pulled open the door to the room.
"Is everything okay?" Melanie asked. She stood there in her silky, green bathrobe, looking perfect as always, even at one o' clock in the morning.
She has short, straight brown hair with bangs across her forehead. And the bangs were even perfectly straight! Under the shiny robe, I could see how broad her shoulders were from all that swimming.
"Yeah, no problem," I replied curtly. She knows I don't like her, why try and hide it?
"I heard a lot of noise," Melanie said, peering over me into the room.
I knew she wanted to come in, so I stood in the center of the doorway, blocking her path.
"It woke us up," she added, motioning her head to her room across the dark carpeted hall. "I thought maybe you were having some sort of problem,"
She kept trying to see over me. I deliberately said in her way.
"Sorry if we woke you," I said. "It was just our usual late night gabfest."
She narrowed her eyes at me. Studying me.
"Sometimes we start laughing and goofing off on each other, we forget how late it is," I added. I smiled and shrugged. "Sorry about that."
Melanie continued to stare hard at me. As if she were trying to see in my eyes if I were telling the truth or not.
I lowered my gaze to the floor.
"You...Uh...really don't need any help?" she asked softly.
I shook my head.
I wondered If Billie Joe had enough air in that closet, it's a really tiny closet, and it's jammed full of our clothes.
I wondered what he was thinking about in there.
I never saw him more frightened or more out of control.
I shuddered.
Poor Billie, so jealous all the time. Maybe cared about me too much.
"Well, I just thought I'd check," Melanie said. "Mary isn't back yet. But Margie and I were a little frightened. I mean we heard a commotion in here. And..." Her voice trailed off.
I just stared back at her.
She backed up. "Well good night, Grace."
I started to say good night.
But I was interrupted by a shrill scream of horror.