Serial

05. The Unexpected Knock

     In 1962, when Bonbury was just a village of 543 citizens, Eastworrow College was founded by Samuel H. Williamson. Born in Ernesting and raised in Bonbury, Williamson left the small village at the age of 18 to pursue further education in bigger cities. He attended university earning multiple degrees, mainly focusing on business and education. Williamson used his education to grow a large business in the automobile industry, amassing a large fortune in the boom of the 50's. At age 30 Williamson returned to Bonbury, having always held strong feelings towards his childhood home. He built Eastworrow College on the edge of the small town, wanting to give the local youth the small opportunities he had without having to leave their precious homes behind.

      As years went on Bonbury College grew from a small building on the edge of town to a large campus that encompassed acres of land. The town slowly started to grow around it, with housing continuously being built for both students and staff as the school grew. The small village of Bonbury eventually became a small town, and by October 2017 it was made up of a population of 6492 residents, roughly 3500 of those residents were students at Eastworrow College.

      To commemorate the historical establishment of Eastworrow College, and as part of the celebration of the town's centennial, on the evening of October the 25th, residents of Bonbury gathered at the Williamson Theatre in the West Hall of Eastworrow campus. The performance that night was a collaboration of students from preschool to postsecondary, a 3 part play showcasing both the history of the town, and the talent of its residents.

      Not in attendance of this historic play was Trey Curtis, a student of Eastworrow College who lived in the college dorms. Trey, deciding any extra credit for attending the show wasn’t worth the 4 hours of his time, had opted to stay home that night. For him that day was like any other Wednesday, with classes in the morning, a part time job in the afternoon, and an evening filled with soda, junk food, and online computer games. Until something completely unusual happened.

      At first Trey didn't hear the knock on his door. The dorms generally had thin walls, with neighbouring rooms often making knocks and bangs. So when the door was first knocked on, Trey paid it no attention. But then there was another knock, louder and harder. With a sigh Trey typed out an apology to his online teammates, took off his headphones, and walked to the door as his visitor knocked even louder and harder.

      The door opened to a guy with a red hat and matching jacket, holding a bulging white plastic. Trey could smell the aroma of Chinese food wafting up.

      “Heya I have an order for a... Trey Curtis?” The delivery guy doubled checked the name on the order as he spoke.

      “I didn't order anything.”

      “So you aren't Trey Curtis?”

      “I'm Trey Curtis. I just didn’t order any food.”

      “Well it's already been paid for. So you either take it, or I go eat it back in my car and then it smells even more like cheap Chinese food."

      Trey, confused with what was happening and not quite trusting his luck, debated refusing the offer of food. However a combined triage of his empty stomach, empty fridge, and salivating mouth led him to awkwardly accepting the mysterious delivery.

      The delivery man, in his mid twenties with red eyes and faintly smelling of weed, handed Trey the bag and fumbled awkwardly afterwards with a receipt Trey had to sign to confirm the food was in fact delivered. As Trey signed, he couldn't help but notice the man fidget nervously.

      “Hey you alright man?”

      “This dorm wing just really gives me the creeps. You know a girl died here right?”

      “I think I heard about that… It was some weird animal blood thing or something?”

      “It was nasty as f**k dude. I went here when it happened, lived in the next wing over. The girl was all cut up, and covered in sheep's blood. Whoever did it was a f*****g nutcase. They still haven't caught the sick f**k either. She was real hot too. f*****g tragedy.”

      The delivery guy's eyes started to become unfocused, and Trey could tell his mind was wandering. Trey watched as the stranger's neck swivel at every sound that came through the thin walls. Finally Trey coughed to get his attention, causing the man practically jump right out of his skin.

    “Well you should go then if it's giving you the creeps. Thanks for the food man.”

      As he began to close the door the delivery guy shoved his foot in the way, reaching a hand in his pocket and leaning forward to ask one more thing, “Wait, wanna buy a joint?”

      “Sorry. Scholarship student. Can't risk it.” With that Trey nudged his foot out of the way, closed the door and locked it.

      Trey had heard of the girl that had died in this dorm room. It had happened two years prior, during Trey's first year of college. The girl had died when the dorm was practically empty, with most of its residents attending a party down in the quad of campus. The girl had only been 24 years old.

      He had also heard of the murder that had happened the year after, a professor in the science faculty had been murdered in one of the labs, his disemboweled remains were entwined with one of the monkey's from the lab, and strewn across the room. He was 48 years old.

      But on the evening of October 25th in Eastworrow College there was no murder. There was just a knock on Trey's door, and a bag of Chinese food.

      When Trey had sat down once more he pulled the food out of the bag eagerly. It was then that he noticed a curious letter taped to the inside of the bag, with his name handwritten on the front. He stared at it inquisitively for a moment, before a rumbling in his stomach returned him to the delights of his free meal.

      His dinner consisted of deep fried chicken balls, chicken fried rice, and chicken lo mein.

      He ate quickly, forgetting about the letter as he filled his stomach with rich food. Afterwards he returned to his online games, apologizing again for ditching his teammates. Later that night, during a break in his gaming, Trey opened up the fortune cookie that came with his meal.

      The fortune read “Take the chance while you still have the choice.”