My Roommate Is My Enemy
1422 Words
Morning came too fast.
I woke up in a room that didn’t feel like mine. Gold trim on the walls, silk sheets, guards outside the door. Twenty years of nothing, and now this.
I dressed in the blue uniform. Blue. The color of the first runner-up. The color that said _kill me first_.
“Mummy Wiko, good morning, Mom.”
My voice felt foreign in her chamber.
“Good morning, my son Chaka,” she said, pulling me into a hug I didn’t remember getting as a child. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, Mom. Do you remember anything from twenty years ago? The serum? What serum?”
Her smile faltered for half a second. Then she smoothed it over.
“Yes, I do. Don’t worry. When you come back from Drug Lord Academy, I’ll tell you everything. Stay safe and do well. I believe in you, my son.”
She kissed my forehead.
I left feeling like I’d just been told goodbye twice.
---
Outside the palace gates, Lord Henry waited by a black car.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Greetings, Lord Henry. How are you?”
“I’m fine. And remember, whenever you need my help, I’ll be there for you.”
“Alright, Lord Henry. I’ll call you anytime.”
The drive was silent.
Then the gates of Drug Lord Academy came into view.
Holy hell.
The place was massive. Black stone towers, red banners, students in black uniforms moving like soldiers. It looked less like a school and more like a fortress built to train killers.
“This is massive,” I muttered. “It’s huge.”
The gates opened on their own. Two guards bowed.
“Welcome, Your Majesty.”
_Your Majesty._
The title still felt wrong in my mouth.
A man in a gray suit stepped forward, clipboard in hand.
“Hi, my name is Mr. Florence. What’s yours?”
“I’m Chaka.”
“Chaka? Got it. I’m your tower guide. I’ll take you everywhere and explain everything you need to know about Drug Lord Academy. First, let’s get you signed in.”
He flipped through a ledger like my life was just another entry.
“Here you are—Chaka, Drug Lord. Nice to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“I just arrived yesterday,” I said.
“Your room is booked. You can either have it to yourself or share with another student.”
“I’d rather pair with someone.”
Mr. Florence nodded like he expected that.
“Drug Lord Academy teaches you everything about becoming a drug lord, or drug king. Many drug lords send their children here to learn the business. It’s mostly pharmaceutical work.”
He glanced up, lowering his voice.
“Twenty years ago, they created a serum that could make people stronger. Faster. Smarter. It was destroyed. Don’t worry about that.”
My blood went cold.
_The serum._
The same word Mom dodged last night.
Mr. Florence kept talking.
“I’ll take you to your room and bring you your timetable—classes, free time, breaks, and when you can go home.”
“Thank you.”
We stopped at a door marked *Room 13*.
“This is your room. You’ll be paired with Johnson Enok, Lord Enok’s son.”
I froze.
_Lord Enok._
The man who’d been at the dinner last night. The man who’d looked at me like I was a problem that needed solving.
“Thanks, Mr. Florence.”
He left.
I opened the door.
A guy with sharp eyes and a smirk leaned against the desk.
“Hi, I’m Johnson.”
“I’m Chaka. Where are you from?”
“John Kingdom. My mother is Queen Ferrera.”
The room tilted.
_Queen Ferrera._
My stepmother.
“So you’re the drug king’s son?” I asked, keeping my voice even.
Johnson’s smirk widened.
“Oh, s**t. Badass. I can’t believe I’m rooming with the drug king’s son. I’ll make sure this is a good time for you.”
He stuck out his hand.
I didn’t take it.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
His hand dropped. His eyes narrowed, just for a second. Then the smirk was back.
---
The first class was *Pharmaceutical Warfare 101*.
A room of 30 students, all in black except me. All of them watching me like I was a rat in a lab.
The instructor, a woman with scars down her arms, didn’t waste time.
“Welcome to Drug Lord Academy. Forget everything you know about medicine. Here, we make poisons that heal. We make cures that kill. If you can’t handle that, leave now.”
No one left.
She pointed at me.
“You. Blue uniform. Stand up.”
I stood.
“What’s your name?”
“Chaka.”
“Good. You’re special. You’re the king’s son. That means everyone here wants you dead. Prove them wrong. Tell me—what’s the difference between a toxin and a venom?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
“I don’t know.”
Laughter rippled through the room.
The instructor nodded.
“Honest. Good. Sit down. You’ll learn, or you’ll die trying.”
Great.
---
Lunch was worse.
I sat alone. Johnson sat with a group of guys who all wore red armbands.
They didn’t look at me. They didn’t need to.
“Hey,” a voice said.
I looked up. It was a girl with silver hair and a blade strapped to her thigh.
“You’re Chaka, right? The missing prince?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Lina. Don’t sit alone. You’ll die alone.”
She sat down.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked.
“Because if you die in week one, the class gets boring.”
She grinned.
Before I could reply, Johnson’s voice cut through the hall.
“Well, well. Look who’s making friends already. The prince and the orphan.”
Lina’s hand went to her blade.
Johnson didn’t flinch.
“Careful, Lina. Stab me and my mother burns your district.”
“Try me,” she said.
“Enough,” I said. Both of them looked at me.
“I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to survive.”
Johnson studied me for a long moment.
“Survive? Good luck. This place eats people like you for breakfast.”
He walked off.
Lina sighed.
“He’s right, you know. But you’ve got something he doesn’t.”
“What?”
“A reason to live.”
---
Night fell.
I couldn’t sleep.
Johnson was already snoring. Or pretending to.
I got up and looked out the window. The academy glowed red under the moonlight.
There was a knock at the door.
I opened it.
Queen Ferrera stood there, alone.
“Chaka,” she said. “We need to talk.”
My heart dropped.
“Come with me.”
I followed her through empty halls. She didn’t speak until we reached a locked door.
She opened it with a key only she had.
Inside was a lab. Vials, machines, and one thing that made my stomach turn—
A syringe filled with glowing blue liquid.
“The serum,” she said quietly.
I stepped back.
“You know about it?”
“I created it.”
The words hit like a punch.
“Twenty years ago, I made a serum that could make a normal man stronger than ten soldiers. Your father wanted to use it on the army. I said no. It was unstable. It killed half the test subjects.”
She looked at me.
“You were one of them.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You died, Chaka. For three days. We thought we lost you. When you woke up, you had no memories. Your father sent you away to protect you.”
“Then why is everyone acting like I’m a threat?”
“Because the serum is still inside you. And if the wrong people find out, they’ll dissect you to get it back.”
She grabbed my shoulders.
“Listen to me. At this academy, trust no one. Not even Johnson. Especially not Johnson.”
Footsteps echoed outside.
Queen Ferrera shoved me toward the door.
“Go. Now.”
I ran.
When I looked back, Johnson was standing in the hallway, watching me.
His eyes weren’t surprised.
They were calculating.
---
Back in the room, I couldn’t breathe.
I’d died once.
I was dying again.
And my roommate knew.
*[End of Chapter 2]*
_Next: First training session. First betrayal._
---
- Writer
