The Naive Girl

Suddenly, an eerie silence settled over the dorm room. 

Avery Miller, nearly asleep at the edge of the room, was jolted awake by the quiet. 

"What's happened? Why has the noise stopped?" she mumbled, her eyes heavy with sleep as she looked around at the two of them. 

"Avery," Jessica Wilson approached her quietly, taking her hand, "it seems Elijah Martinez is sick. Can you please come and check on him with us?" 

Embarrassed, Avery thought, "I'm not a doctor; why should I be the one to look after him?" Yet, moved by Jessica Wilson's plea, she walked over to Elijah Martinez.

His lips were a pale shade of blue, and his complexion was waxen, but his eyes were surprisingly bright. 

The black of his pupils followed her as she moved, and when she stopped, they fixed on hers without any attempt to look away. 

Avery felt a sting in her heart, a momentary urge to avert her gaze from his.