<< INSIDE - KELLY AND ERIKA’S DORM ROOM -- NIGHT >>

Erika wipes and polishes The Chair down lovingly with a washcloth.   

The green upholstery glows off the reflection of the gold metal.  She looks intently at every grain in the leather as she wipes.  Erika's cell phone buzzes in her jeans pocket.

Without shifting her gaze, she pulls out her phone and continues to polish.

ERIKA

“Hello?”

INTERCUT - ERIKA'S DORM/GIRL'S BATHROOM

MIA stands in front of a bathroom mirror with her cell phone to her ear.

MIA

“Erika, it's Mia. It's just falling out...in patches…”

Her eyes dart with distress from the reflection of large patches of exposed scalp on her head down to a clump of hair gripped in her left fist.

ERIKA

“Don't worry, I'll come by tonight. You're in Anne Arundel right?”

MIA

“Yeah.”

Erika hangs up the phone, eyes still fixed on her wiping.

<< INSIDE - CENTREVILLE HALL - 4TH FLOOR HALLWAY -- NIGHT >>

Someone watches from the corner stairwell as Erika leaves her room, locks the door, and walks down the hallway.

INSIDE THE ROOM

Kelly rushes quietly into the room and quickly locks the door behind her.

She whips her cell phone out of her bag, drops the bag onto her bed and begins to take pictures of The Chair, rapidly moving around carefully from all angles.                         

She takes close up shots of the metal markings, then moves to the dresser.

She uncovers the golden tools from the pretty kerchief Erika laid on top of them and takes pictures.             

They are neatly laid out on a lace cloth.                

The curling iron and scissors are missing.

Suddenly, the door handle jiggles with the clink of keys.

Kelly sucks in a startled breath, and lunges toward her bed, but she hits her knee on the dresser, knocking the golden comb to the floor.

She catches the comb, quickly puts it back on the lace cloth, replaces the kerchief, and jumps over to her bed, just as the door opens.

She stashes her phone in her pocket and begins to stuff random papers in her bag as Erika enters the room.

Kelly throws a greeting over her shoulders.

KELLY

“Oh hey, Erika.”

Kelly holds her breath, then slowly exhales attempting to

slow her heaving chest and sound natural as her back is turned to Erika.

KELLY

"You headed over to study with Gennard's group tonight?"

Erika stands in the doorway looking around curiously as if sensing the room.  

She answers, emotionless.

ERIKA

“...forgot something.”

Kelly rambles, not really listening.

KELLY

“Oh well, we haven't caught up in a while, we've both been so busy. Wanna go to the Stamp for dinner?”

Erika looks at her Chair and tools, eyes surveying sharply. The comb sticks out from under the kerchief, a hair to the left out of place.  

She squints at it briefly.

ERIKA

“No. I can't. I have a client I have to take care of.”

Her nose flares as she gives Kelly a sharp cutting glance and begins to stare at Kelly without flinching.

Kelly tosses her bag over one shoulder and heads for the door avoiding Erika's gaze at all costs.

KELLY

“Ok, well maybe I'll see you after dinner. I might be at the library all night. Midterms are crazy. Bye.”

Kelly smiles awkwardly as she gently squeezes past Erika, who is blocking the space without moving.

Kelly slips out and yanks the door closed just as Erika spins toward her.

<< INSIDE - ANNE ARUNDEL HALL - GIRL'S BATHROOM -- NIGHT >>

The bathroom is empty and quiet.  Damian Marley's song "For the Babies" is playing loudly into the hallway from one of the dorm rooms.

INSIDE TOILET STALL

Mia sits quietly on the toilet for a moment.

She winces her face as she scratches at the head scarf tied over her hair.

IN THE HALLWAY

A dark shadowy figure glides past a dorm room door. 

INSIDE TOILET STALL

Mia sits very still, and then relaxes her body with relief as the sound of her pee begins to hit the toilet water.              

She pees for a long moment, then exhales as the sound of a plop hits the water.

Suddenly, the bathroom lights go out.

MIA

“Aw shit!”

Mia's silhouette in the dark waves her hands up toward the light sensor. Nothing happens.          

She lifts herself up on her tiptoes with one side of her butt still on the toilet seat and tries to reach her right hand higher toward the sensor.

Just as her hand gets near the top of the stall door, the light comes back on. She sighs, relieved.

She turns to grab some toilet paper, when two black latex-gloved hands yank her feet under the side stall, pulling her clear under the stall wall, causing her to hit her head hard on the toilet, then again on the tile floor in an instant.

She lets out a cry of pain.  Her blood has smeared the toilet and floor.