An enticing smell brought Rom into the dining hall after her class with Professor Hash.

I am still kind of full from the pop smoothies from earlier but I can’t resist spiced pickled cucumbers.

Unfortunately for Rom, all the food stations ran out of spiced pickled cucumbers leaving her with a sour look.

“Rom!”

Rom looked over to Suke, waving her over to a table with a person sitting across from her. As she got over to the table, “What is he doing here?”

“I told you this was a bad idea,” James said as he started to get up from the table.

”No, stay and tell her what you told me,” Suke remarked.

James sat back down but Rom stood over him with crossed hands, a raised chin, and tight lips.

”Rom, please sit and hear him out. It’s really important,” Suke pleaded.

Rom listened to her roommate and sat down. “Ok fine but if I don’t like or trust anything that comes out of his mouth, I am leaving.”

“That's fair and do you want some of my spiced pickled cucumbers?” Suke offered. “My father always fed this to me when I was younger. He said it was a staple snack where he grew up down in the Nile.”

“Thank you but this doesn’t change how I feel about him,” Rom conveyed while taking a bite of a spiced pickled cucumber.

“Someone is messing with the memories of freshmen,” James said.

One of Rom’s eyebrows went up. “What do you mean messing with the memories?”

“A person bonded to a spectra quill has used their ability to manipulate the memories of two unsuspecting students. To make matters worse, the culprit has done such a crappy job in changing the memories that the two students had their mental states messed up to the point of being hospitalized.”

James’s big reveal meant nothing to Rom who shrugged and turned to Suke. “What he said is important to me, how?”

Suke sighed and shook her head. “With the bad memory manipulation, the two victims being freshmen, and you being the only freshmen with a spectra quill, people think you are the one who did it. You are the number one suspect Rom.”

For a moment there was silence from Rom until she broke out in laughter startling James. “Does she think we are joking around?”

“No. She just doesn’t care,” Suke claimed.

“I do care but let's face it. The real reason people think it's me is because I am a gloom. It’s not that I am the number one suspect. It’s that I am the easiest to blame. This is nothing new.”

Rom took another spiced pickled cucumber and got up to leave. “Also Suke, remember we have that situation we still need to figure out.”

Suke grabbed her hand saying “No. My problem can wait because if word reaches the college board or worse, the Seraphic Sept, that you are the one who put two Exalted students in the hospital then I wouldn’t be surprised if cleaners show up for us.”

Rom snatched her hand away. “Are you trying to scare me with the Seraphic Sept? And us? How are you affected this time?”

“A gloom being accused of something who also has a gleam roommate. It’s basically killing two birds with one stone,” Suke indicated.

James’s eyes widened. “You're a gleam?”

“Yes. Do you have a problem with it?” Suke asked fiercely.

James threw up his hands saying “No. Not at all.”

“Good. Now back to you Rom. We need to clear your name before—”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Suke’s words were cut short once five people wearing black and gold uniforms marched into the dining hall. Their entry seemed to sap all the noise out of the area that a pin drop could be heard. Even everyone’s focus within the hall was pulled towards each of the green sashes donned by the five.

“This isn’t good,” James uttered.

“Great you jinxed us,” Rom blamed.

“I hate being right,” Suke muttered to herself.

After hours of questioning and being held off-campus within a precinct, Rom, Suke, and James were exhausted.

A man not that much taller than Rom walked up to her saying “Do you know what this green sash signifies?”

Rom who was sitting in a single chair in a white windowless room stared and said “It signifies that you and your four friends are Seraphic Sept’s little bitches.”

A slap came to Rom’s face from the man and before he could bring back his hand, Shade burst out of Rom’s hair.

“No!” Rom shouted.

Shade stopped mid-flight and just hovered in the air in front of the man’s face. He didn’t have a telepathic connection with Shade and didn’t need one to know that the quill staring at him was angered.

“It finally makes an appearance,” the man announced.

“I am fine, Shade. I barely even felt it. Just please settle down.”

The man watched as Shade fluttered down onto Rom’s shoulder. “I’m glad to see you can keep your quill under control,” he snickered before walking over and opening the room door. “Now you two can get the fuck out.”

Rom walked out of the room brushing off her face to Suke and James awaiting her.

“I told you cleaners would be sent,” Suke said.

“Be quiet,” Rom retorted, “that guy kept asking me the same question but just in different ways. It felt like he was wasting time.”

“Not wasting time but prolonging it,” James noted, “one of the five cleaners who took us from the college is probably bonded to a spectra quill and was going through your memories while you were being interrogated.”

“What!” Suke shouted, alarming the police officers in the precinct, “They shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“They are soul cleaners of Seraphic Sept so they can pretty much do anything,” James said looking around, “and judging from the different police officers' faces, they are not fans of the cleaners also.”

“Well they did just walk in and temporarily claim this precinct under their jurisdiction without even a and or a but back,” Rom stated in a hushed tone so no officers would hear.

“Let’s get out of here before those five think of another reason to hold us,” Suke suggested.

As they started to make their way through desks filled with paperwork and chats about getting more oak tags, gunfire was heard. A group of unsavory people burst out of an elevator holding an officer at gunpoint just a few feet away from the three students. Other police officers in the area on the floor jumped up from their desks with their guns drawn. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get a clear aim at the person holding their fellow officer hostage.

“Put your weapon down now!” One of the officers yelled while another said “How did they get free from the cell?”

Rom, Suke, and James took cover behind a desk.

“Maybe my brother was right. I am bad luck,” Suke muttered to herself.

“What was that?” Rom asked but Suke brushed it off with “I said we need to get out of here.”

Rom knew she didn’t say that but getting out of the precinct was top priority.

“Agreed but how? Maybe our tag-along has an idea?” Rom stated while turning to James who was peeking out from the desk. Rom nudged him saying “What are you doing? We don’t need to draw attention to ourselves.”

James fully pulled back behind the desk with an angered face which was noticed by the girls.

“You two go.”

Both Rom and Suke tilted their heads quizzically at the same time as if it was planned but before they could say anything, a laugh was heard among all the commotion.

“Wow. Can’t even keep prisoners in their cages. I wouldn’t be surprised if you all couldn’t cut it in an Exalted school and quills had to pay for each of your weaknesses.”

The cleaner who was questioning Rom had all eyes on him after his crude comment.

“Fuck. Why is a Seraphic cleaner here?” one of the escaped prisoners said while another responded, “Just shut up and stick to the plan.” The few words exchanged gave a clear opening for a headshot of the prisoner holding the officer at gunpoint.

A bullet was fired, hitting its mark but instead of it being a fatal shot, the bullet just dropped to the ground in two pieces.

“What the,” the officer who took the shot uttered.

The attempt on his life angered the prisoner and the officer he was holding hostage paid for it with a slug to the leg. The shriek of pain that was let out made the other officers think twice before taking another action.

“Rom. There is something moving in his shirt,” Shade revealed hovering just above the desk.

“Get down!” Rom warned while pulling Shade back into cover.

“A forger. A terrible one but still a forger nonetheless,” the cleaner said plopping on a nearby chair. “I'm guessing that is your quill moving in your shirt. Unfortunately for you, I have a forger of my own. Ron, please show him how it’s done.”

The other four soul cleaners came out of the room next to where Rom was being questioned. One of them continued walking forward toward the escaped prisoners while ignoring their threats upon the captured policeman’s life. Even the pleas from the other officers for him to stop fell on deaf ears.

“Fine! Have it your way!” The prisoner holding the gun let off the entire clip but to his dismay, it did nothing. Each of the bullets crumbled away upon the impact of the approaching cleaner leaving everyone in awe.

Rom, Suke, and James watched as all but one of the escaped prisoners attacked the cleaner named Ron and each was killed with a single piercing finger. Seeing his comrades taken down so easily distracted him enough for his hostage to break free and get away.

”Then there was only one,” the cleaner sitting in the chair said but before a single finger could end the escaped prisoner’s life, he was tackled by surrounding police officers.

Rom wondered how bullets could shatter upon a man and a single finger could take down several others. If not for Suke snapping her fingers and pointing to the elevator so they could leave, Rom’s curiosity would have kept her there.

As the girls got up from the desk, they made eye contact with the remaining escaped prisoner who uttered “One Eyed.” The girls had no idea who or what One Eyed was but they knew it wasn’t them and so they turned to James who was standing next to them. His eyes were locked onto the prisoners with so much intensity that Rom thought that he was going to attack him.

“What’s up with him?” Suke whispered to Rom.

“I don’t know or care. Let’s just get out of here.”

Rom and Suke headed back to campus leaving James behind.

“Joff, is it ok to just let that gloom leave?” Ron asked his fellow cleaner sitting in the chair.

“She isn’t the person manipulating memories at the college but we should still keep an eye on her,” Joff replied.

“Why?”

“Because when I was scanning through her memories, something felt off.”