Two hours had passed, and she was almost done organizing everything when—
Knock… knock… knock.
"Susan, are you inside?" a voice called from outside.
It must be Cynthia.
"Yes, just a minute," she replied, getting up and heading toward the door.
As soon as Susan opened it, Cynthia stepped right in—zero hesitation, zero need for an invitation.
"You're still unpacking?" she asked, flopping down on the mattress like she owned the place.
"Hmm… yeah," Susan replied politely, keeping her tone neutral.
As an introvert, she wasn't exactly thrilled about having close interactions with someone she'd only known for a few hours. Cynthia's overly casual behavior—claiming her bed as if it were hers—made Susan a little uncomfortable.
"I'm just finishing up," Susan added as she sorted the last few small items.
"No worries," Cynthia said casually, and without warning, stretched out across Susan's bed.
Seriously? Lying on someone else's bed without permission? How rude. Susan grumbled internally.
Cynthia broke the silence. "Where are you from?"
Susan turned to look at her. Cynthia had shifted positions—now lying diagonally, face down, elbows propping up her head, legs swaying lazily behind her.
"I'm from Medan. What about you?" Susan replied.
"Bandung!" Cynthia said cheerfully.
"Have you lived in Jakarta long?"
"Nope. I just moved here for study."
"I've been here since high school," Cynthia said proudly.
"Oh, I see."
Finally… small talk over, Susan thought, quietly exhaling.
She glanced at her bed—Cynthia had taken up every inch of space. With no choice, Susan grabbed the study chair, flipped it around, and sat facing her.
"If you've been in Jakarta since high school, does that mean you have a house here?" she asked.
"Not my house—my brother's," Cynthia replied. "I've been living with him since then."
"If your brother lives here, why stay in a boarding house?" Susan asked.
Cynthia raised one eyebrow dramatically. "Two reasons, sweetheart," she said, casually tossing out the endearment like they were old friends.
"First, my brother's place is at the far south of the city, and our campus is all the way up north. If I commute every day, I'll age two times faster in traffic. Second—and this is the main reason—if I live separately, I can go out at night whenever I want."
She grinned mischievously.
"Oh, I see," Susan replied, nodding.
Wanting to keep the conversation going, she asked, "So… have you lived in this house long?"
"Nope, still new. I've been here only a few months," Cynthia said.
"Really? I thought you'd been here way longer," Susan said.
"Well, I've lived in this area for almost a year—I'm in my third semester. But I moved into this house just three months ago."
"Where were you staying before?"
"I used to live right across from campus. But then the owner sold the place to a developer who wanted to build an eight-story apartment building there. We all had to move out."
"Oh, I see."
"Yeah. It wasn't easy finding a place that could take all of us at once. After a few days of searching, we found this house. Honestly, it's kinda ugly, but super close to campus—closer than my old place. And the rent is way cheaper. So we booked it with Madam Tari right away."
She paused. "But only two of my friends moved in with me. The rest didn't feel comfortable staying here."
Suddenly, Cynthia sat upright and leaned closer, lowering her voice.
"Have you met the girl next door?"
"Err… yeah," Susan said. "She came out when I was entering my room."
Cynthia's eyes sparkled. "So? What do you think of her?"
"Umm… I don't know. I met her for only a second, but she seemed a bit… unfriendly."
"That's because she is unfriendly," Cynthia said flatly. "I asked around—nobody in this house has ever had a proper conversation with her."
She smirked. "We secretly call her Lydia the Freak."
"Lydia?" Susan repeated.
"Yep. She's been living here since her first year. Now she's in her final year."
"Oh, I see."
After a moment, Susan remembered Cynthia's earlier explanation.
"You said this house was chosen because it could fit all of you from the old boarding house, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Cynthia looked confused.
"That means this place was almost empty before you moved in," Susan pointed out.
Cynthia tilted her head and stared up as if rewinding her memory.
"Huh… you're right. When we found this place, it was almost half empty."
Susan hesitated before asking the obvious question. "Doesn't that seem odd? It's cheap, it's close to campus… why was it empty so long?"
Cynthia shrugged. "No idea. But… I did hear a rumor on campus that this place is haunted."
"Huh?!" Susan's eyes widened. She stared at Cynthia, trying to guess if she was joking. Cynthia said the word haunted so casually, it almost sounded like she was joking.
"You're kidding, right?" Susan asked.
"Nope," Cynthia said, expression completely serious now. "When we found this place, we were so happy. But one of our friends started asking around… and learned from people who've lived in this area for years that someone died by suicide here, a long time ago."
"So… did your friend still move in?"
"Of course not!" Cynthia scoffed. "She and a few others found somewhere else. But the three of us stayed. I mean—cheap rent, perfect location? Only an idiot would pass that up."
Susan frowned.
Seeing her reaction, Cynthia burst into laughter.
"Relax, sweetheart! We've been here three months and haven't seen a single ghost. And even if there is one, it's probably just Madam Tari. Her attitude is way scarier than any ghost!"
She smirked. "Honestly, I think other boarding houses made up the rumor to scare off competition."
Susan studied her expression carefully, looking for any hint of dishonesty. But Cynthia's big expressive eyes didn't lie, and her casual tone made Susan feel a bit relieved.
"I see…" Susan said, nodding.
Cynthia stretched. "What time is it now?"
Susan checked the table clock. "8:10 PM."
"No wonder I'm starving," Cynthia groaned. "Have you eaten yet?"
Susan shook her head. "Not yet."
Suddenly, hunger hit her too.
"Let's go eat," Cynthia said, hopping off the bed.
"Where do you usually eat?" Susan asked, also standing.
"There's a small canteen nearby. It closes at 8:30, so we better hurry. The food is nothing fancy, but it's cheap and the portions are huge—perfect for broke students like us."
"Oh, okay. Right now?" Susan hesitated. She had planned to shower first. After sweating all day, she felt sticky and uncomfortable.
"No, next year," Cynthia said flatly.
"Huh?" Susan blinked.
"Yes, now, missy. When else?" Cynthia said in an overly loud voice.
"Oh! Yeah, okay. Let me grab my wallet," Susan said, smiling as she reached for her bag.
"Let's go!" Cynthia said, already opening the door.