The house was shimmering. That couldn’t be right. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I expected the illusion to go away. The bedroom stayed the same. The air appeared to snake and waver around me. A puddle of water pooled out of my door.
The puddle disappeared into the ground as I stood up, revealing its true nature. It was a mirage from the heat. Sweat dripped down my face. I wiped it off with the collar of my pyjama top and hurried out of the door. Faces of other students, poking their heads out in curiosity, flashed past me as I raced down the corridor.
The air was heating up further as I descended the stairs, jumping over the last two steps. In winter, the sorority house was freezing. I needed to know what the source of the sudden heat was. It would take a whole commercial heating & cooling system to even begin to warm up the downstairs area, let alone turn the entire building into a sauna.
I pushed past the kitchen sliding door, feeling the skin of my fingers burn against the wood. Hot air blasted my face and I squinted against the onslaught. A figure danced into view. It was a fire specialty student that I recognised as Petey. She was pacing the room, the tiles beneath her glowing red hot with every step.
She looked up at me as I entered, tears drying on her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to,” she croaked.
I gave her a warm smile. “I guess we can cancel the heating repairs booking. Brisbane has never felt hotter,” I joked. She gave me a tight smile, but her hands were pressed tightly together. Her entire body seemed to glow a dull amber. The air around her pulsed, reminding me of a racing heartbeat.
It wouldn’t be long before the other students followed me into the kitchen. “Everything is going to be okay,” I soothed, my mind racing. How would we calm Petey down without bringing the house down alongside her?