Roommate Kindly Offered Sunscreen; Comments Warned Me Not To

The freshman welcome gala, and my performance was the closer.

Time to head backstage. I squinted up on instinct at that huge, blazing sun.

Myra Pruitt, touch up your sunscreen, or your makeup's going to sweat right off.

My roommate April Fox held out a sunscreen spray. I was about to take it when a line of black text appeared in front of my eyes.

Don't take it. There's something in it.

Don't use it. If you do, you'll humiliate yourself in front of tens of thousands of people from the whole school.

Get away, now. She's going to spray it on you, and once she does, you're finished.

My heart jolted. Humiliate myself? How was that even possible?

Seeing me hesitate, April popped the cap and aimed the nozzle at me.

I shot my hand out fast. "I'll do my touch-up myself. I'll spray it."

I looked at that perfectly ordinary bottle of sunscreen spray.

I wanted to see exactly who was going to end up humiliated.

1.

The emcee's announcement came over the speakers, and April watched me like a hawk.

Right up until I took the bottle.

"Myra, don't worry, it's the brand you always use. You won't have a reaction."

She saw me gripping the bottle, not moving.

She was clearly getting anxious.

She gathered up her dress and started to push through the crowd toward me.

"The sun's brutal in the waiting area. You have to reapply, or your makeup will be a mess by the time you go on."

"You've got the closing solo. You're representing the whole freshman class."

"And Brad's out there in the audience watching."

At the mention of Brad, her eyebrows lifted a fraction.

Brad was my boyfriend. He'd taken the SATs and gotten into this school for me.

Yet when she heard that, April got more worked up about it than I did.

When the school was collecting acts for the gala,

she'd signed me up for the solo without asking me first.

"Myra, you're closing the show. You have to show Brad and this whole freshman class how talented the star of our department really is."

"Don't worry. After you finish your dance, there'll be a surprise."

A surprise? No, it's a nasty shock.

The moment you use that sunscreen spray, you'll lose it up there on stage.

Lose it? It's not that simple. She wants to destroy your reputation.

Watching me refuse to make a move, April couldn't sit still.

"Myra, what are you dragging your feet for? It's almost time to go backstage."

Just as she was about to take the sunscreen and spray it on me,

someone called out to her. "April, someone's here for you. Says he's your boyfriend."

She panicked in an instant, stopped what she was doing, and hurried off toward the auditorium doors.

Boyfriend? Since when did April have a boyfriend?

I had my doubts about that.

But right now, I was more concerned with the bottle in my hand.

I'd already checked it. The packaging was fine, the batch number was normal.

Even the smell was fine.

You won't find it that way. It only works once it's on your skin.

Don't just stand there. While she's gone, get rid of it. Keeping that thing near you is asking for trouble.

I looked at the words and thought it over.

It only works once it's on the skin.

Did that mean it only affected me?

Or did it affect everyone?

What kind of effect could humiliate me in front of tens of thousands of people?

Anyone who comes into contact with the spray will be affected.

Put plainly, it'll make you act like a rabid dog on that stage. No, worse than a rabid dog.

Reading that, I started to smile.

So that was it. Then I really did have something to look forward to.

Carrying the spray, I dragged the hem of my gown as I walked to the dressing room.

I dug through my makeup bag, looking for my own sunscreen.

April had gone to a lot of trouble to make sure I'd use hers without worrying.

She'd bought the exact brand I always used.

I looked at the two identical sprays.

And at April's makeup bag on the seat to the left.

I walked straight over.

Sure enough, there was a sunscreen spray in her bag too.

Except she'd dabbed a bit of colored nail polish over the seal.

I picked up the bottle and weighed it in my hand.

I compared them carefully.

Apart from the glitter over the seal, there was no difference.

I used an alcohol wipe to rub the mark off the bottle in her bag.

Then I dabbed glitter in the same spot on the bottle in my hand.

To be safe, I locked the bottle I'd taken from her bag away in a cabinet.

Kept the key on me.

The emcee's announcement came over the speakers again.

If I remembered right,

April was one of the emcees.

She was the one announcing the last three acts.

The emcee stayed in the waiting area the whole time.

She was bound to come to the dressing room to reapply her sunscreen.

And then I'd know exactly what that spray she'd handed me really did.

I gathered up my skirt and started for the restroom.

Then I heard two voices I knew.

One was April. The other, somehow, was Bradley.

"Did you give it to her? Is she suspicious?"

"Of course not. She toddled off to touch up her makeup."

April's voice was thick with satisfaction.

"Are you ready? A lot of people are watching. It has to be good."

"Don't worry. I got the meanest one from back home, starved it three days, it's in heat and out of its mind."

There was something vicious in Bradley's tone.

Nothing like the boy who'd cheered me on that morning.

"Once she's done performing, I'd like to see her strut around in front of me then."

"Right. Once she's humiliated in front of everyone, she can't hold that little scrap of gratitude over me anymore."

Scrap of gratitude? Hold it over him?

My father treated his mother for twenty years and never charged a cent.

My mother had been paying his tuition since middle school.

And in his eyes it had shrunk down to a scrap of gratitude.

"Brad, I get how hard it's been for you. Once the show's over, we'll see how those sanctimonious parents of hers face everyone."

"Exactly. Those two care so much about appearances. Once they see Myra looking like that with their own eyes, I really don't know if they'll drop dead from the shock. I can't wait."

Listening to them, my fist closed without my telling it to.

One was the roommate I lived beside day and night, the one I'd taken for my closest friend.

The other was the boyfriend I'd grown up with, the one my family had all but raised like their own son.

I never thought the two of them would come together to set up something like this.

"The next number's mine to emcee. I have to go."

A second later came the soft sound of movement.

April's voice went shy. "Stop it, you're in such a hurry you've smudged my makeup."

"What's there to worry about? The dressing room's right here. Go fix it."

Hearing the two of them move, I ducked out of sight fast.

I'd heard right after all.

It was April and Bradley.

I watched with my own eyes as April went into the dressing room, and I followed her right in.

"Myra, why aren't you backstage waiting?"

I wiped the sweat off my face.

"It's too hot out there. I came to touch up my makeup."

I took out the sunscreen spray she'd given me from my pocket.

In an instant her eyes lit up.

"Want me to help you?"

She set down her eyeliner and came over to me.

I handed it to her. "Sure. Give it a good, heavy coat. The sun's brutal out there."

When the fine mist settled on my face, I narrowed my eyes.

April couldn't keep the smile off her face.

She sprayed my face and my arms and legs until they were coated.

"Myra, are your parents coming to watch you perform today?"

I looked in the mirror as I spoke. "No, they're busy."

She said lightly, "That's okay. Bradley will stream it live for them."

"A moment this good, Bradley wouldn't let them miss it."

She finished the last stroke of eyeliner.

Then she dug the sunscreen spray out of her makeup bag.

She checked the glitter along the seal carefully.

Once she was sure it was right, she aimed it at her own face and sprayed.

"Myra, I'm up next to emcee. You should get backstage."

She picked up the hem of her gown and started for the door.

"See you on stage."

I watched that radiant smile of hers.

I picked up that bottle of spray and slipped it into my pocket.

"Sure! See you on stage."

The moment I reached the backstage waiting area, Bradley was there with a little handheld fan.

"Myra, it's so hot today. You should watch your sun protection."

He angled the fan toward me, thoughtful about it.

His eyes were full of tenderness.

If I hadn't overheard him talking with April.

I never would have guessed Bradley could be that kind of person.

"Brad, my parents didn't come to see me perform today."

He answered at once. "I know. I'll video call your aunt and uncle in a bit. You're the closing act, the most important moment of your life. They have to see it with their own eyes."

Just as April had said.

I let the fan blow over me and said, "My dad has surgery scheduled soon, and my mom might be teaching. They probably won't have time to pick up a video call. Why don't you"

He cut in. "You're right. Then I might as well start a livestream. That way more of our friends and family can watch."

I nodded. "A livestream's the easiest. Everyone gets to see."

April's voice came over the speakers, and Bradley turned his head on reflex.

"You know her?" I looked at him, skeptical.

He said awkwardly, "I met her once at a dinner. You forgot."

I smiled. "Oh, right. I think that did happen."

April had only ever seen him when Bradley and I were on a video call.

I'd never once had a meal with April together with Bradley.

So the two of them plotting this whole thing hadn't been some spur-of-the-moment idea.

Finally noticed that pair of horns, huh? Keep wearing them and they'll snap your neck.

I couldn't help a small laugh at the line drifting across the screen.

"Myra, the sun's really strong. Do you want to touch up your sun protection?"

No wonder he was being so attentive. He was afraid April's plan hadn't worked.

He'd come specifically to keep an eye on me.

"Sure. Grab it for me, it's in my jacket pocket. April gave it to me."

He popped the cap open like he'd done it a hundred times and sprayed it over my face and my arms and legs.

The instant the fine mist settled over me.

I saw the smile on Bradley's face. Exactly the same as April's.

Once he'd made sure no bare skin was missed.

He pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned his hands.

"Myra, I snuck out of the line. I can't be gone too long."

He was already hurrying off.

I knew. He wanted to go watch April onstage.

"Go ahead, hurry back. You'll be sitting in the front rows anyway, so you'll see every move I make."

Before he left, he reminded me one last time.

"Myra, the sun's really strong today. That sunscreen spray April gave you is your favorite brand. Touch it up again in a bit."

"Otherwise your makeup will sweat off and ruin the whole dance."

The words left me cold inside.

Bradley always called himself a typical guy who never paid attention to what I used.

He couldn't even buy me the right kind of pads.

Yet now he could name it without missing a beat.

That this brand of sunscreen was my favorite.

So for tonight's gala.

For my performance.

My roommate and my boyfriend had put in plenty of work.

I watched him hurry off.

I listened to April announcing the acts.

And suddenly I couldn't wait.

When I finally stepped onstage to perform.

Just what kind of surprise would there be.

The second-to-last act had already begun when April showed up.

She hurried over, an odd flush blooming across her face.

"Myra, you're up next. Let me check your makeup."

Before I could answer, she pulled the sunscreen out of my costume and gave me a few quick sprays.

Then she started getting jittery, tugging at her own hair over and over.

"Myra, you should spray more of this. It's not just sunscreen, it's hydrating too."

I pointed at the red patch on her face. "Did you get sunburned? Here, let me spray some on you."

Her hands shot up on instinct. "No, no, that's just the makeup."

"I've got my own. I'll do it myself."

I watched with my own eyes as she touched up her foundation in the mirror and misted herself with the spray.

Only then did I let her go.

At the one-minute countdown, I smoothed down my gown and set my things in the backstage waiting area.

As I came around to the side of the stage, I caught sight of April.

Her eyes had changed. Wild and vacant at once.

The previous act had just finished, and she was supposed to walk out and announce the next one.

But she just sat there, blank.

Her hands kept clawing at herself, dragging at her gown.

Like she had fleas.

A staff member beside her stepped up to remind her.

She bared her teeth, eyes wide.

She looked exactly like a rabid dog.

The spray's working. Something's wrong with her.

Serves her right. She's the one who wanted to hurt someone.

The strangeness lasted about two seconds before she seemed to come back to herself.

She scratched her head, embarrassed, gathered up her skirt, and headed out onto the stage.

I followed close behind, watching her every move.

The first thing I saw was Bradley, sitting in the front row, phone raised, smiling up at her.

So he'd started a livestream. To capture the moment I made a fool of myself.

"Everyone, the next act is the closing performance of tonight's show, performed by Myra Pruitt of the 2025 dance program."

"Myra has spent two whole months preparing this solo."

"Now, please give her a warm round of appla"

She never finished the word.

April's eyes changed again. She stared dead ahead, fixed on nothing.

She stood frozen in place, gripping the microphone.

The crowd began to stir.

"Why did the emcee stop talking? Did she forget her lines?"

"What's going on? Look at her eyes, something's off."

"Is she drooling? Look at the corner of her mouth."

On the big screen at the back of the hall, I watched April standing there, blank.

Hollow eyes, sluggish movements.

The prompt came through her earpiece. "Emcee, emcee, what are you doing? Announce the act, now."

The prompt sounded three times, and April still didn't react.

The noise from the crowd grew louder.

The officials seated below sent a staff member rushing backstage.

But April stood there as if she'd been nailed in place.

"What is going on? Where's the other emcee? Get out there and save this."

The person in charge of the gala was shouting.

Before the other emcee could even make it onstage, April moved.

She clenched both fists, eyes locked straight ahead, and started twisting her hips hard.

The way she moved, it was like she'd suddenly sprouted a tail.

"What is she doing? There are this many people watching. Get out there and drag her off, now."

The person in charge was frantic, pointing at April as he yelled at the other emcee.

Under the eyes of the whole hall, under all that pressure, the other emcee walked out.

"April, what are you doing? April."

The moment the other emcee reached out to pull her away, a low growl came through April's microphone.

And that was when I finally understood.

Exactly what had been hidden inside that sunscreen spray she'd given me.