I have always lived in the type of family where everyone carried their own weight, with the exception of babies. Kids were brought up and taught how to carry their own weight. When they could cater to their own needs, they were ‘declared independent’. After that, they were on their own.

In my house, each person arranged their own food, cooked it themselves, carried it around themselves – even if it was really heavy – and washed their own clothes and utensils; technically, they minded their own business. No one helped another, offered to help another, or asked another for help, unless it was really important. Therefore, I was always a shy, quiet person at school and wasn’t used to things like sharing, helping, or even talking to other people.

When I graduated from college, I sought admission in a university which was not that far from my house. But I still signed up to stay in the hostel because my house’s atmosphere was simply too depressing. However, I had to stay with a roommate. I mean, I had no problems with a roommate; but I had no experience with that sort of thing, so I was kind of nervous.

My roommate was a girl named Madison. She had long, red hair and sparkling blue eyes. On my first day, she excitedly walked up to me and said, “Hi! I’m Madison, your roommate! I’m so excited to meet you!” I was shocked by this unfamiliar forwardness, but I introduced myself all the same. When we arrived in our room, Madison started quickly unpacking her things while chatting excitedly. “This university seems pretty cool, don’t you think? I live around here, but my parents are away a lot, so I decided to stay in the hostel. You can call me Maddie, by the way,” she added, smiling at me.

Nicknames?! I thought. It’s definitely going to take me a while to fit in here. “Oh no,” groaned Maddie. “I can’t believe it! I’ve forgotten my rulebook at home! You don’t suppose I could borrow yours, Sarah? Just so I can read through it real quick?” she inquired. “Umm…” I was stumped. What was I supposed to do? “Well… you see,” I began. I told her, hastily and briefly, about my family. She looked so surprised when I finished. “Wow,” she said, holding my hand. “Well, you should know that you can share anything with me. Roommates are all about sharing! And helping! OK?” she asked, her eyes shining. “A- a- anything?” I stammered. She nodded firmly. I felt relieved, and thanked her wholeheartedly for her kindness. That night, I went to bed thinking and forming a plan.

The next day was a busy day. I was taking completely different classes from her, so we didn’t meet the whole day. My classes ended earlier that her, so I headed back to our room. There, I decided to begin work on my plan.

***

Madison sauntered into her room after a busy day, humming merrily. She threw open the door and sung cheerfully, “Oh, Saraaah!! I’m back! Hey-” But Madison froze in her tracks, clamped her hands over her mouth to suppress a scream and looked around. Blood was splattered on the walls; there was a heap of human arms and legs lying on a plate; chopped-off fingers were strewn across the floor. There was also a human head on the bed, which looked oddly familiar… “Sarah!” shrieked Madison, pointing a shaking finger at the head. “Is that- is that the counselor??!!”

***

When Maddie walked in the room, I almost burst with happiness. I could finally show her what I’d been working on! Her reaction was a bit weird, though. She shrieked, “Sarah! Is that- is that the counselor??!!” Suddenly, two men in blue clothes barged in the room and yelled, “Who was murdered? A student called!!” They looked at the room, me, and Maddie, and yelled, “EVACUATE THE BUILDING!!” I was confused. “Maddie? What is this?” I asked. “I’m trying to learn helping!” I added hopefully. Maddie whimpered, “Oh gosh, she really doesn’t know…"

***

The blue men inquired about my address, then they put me in a room with bars on it. I’m very confused. You see, in my family, we all carried our own weight in food. We had to hunt it ourselves, carry and cook it ourselves. I tried to help Maddie by lending a hand in the killing. The counselor was the closest person, but I guess a student still saw me, and called those blue men.                                       

The men told me I had to stay until they investigated my ‘case’. I don’t know what that means, but I get the hint I haven’t learnt ‘helping’ yet.