Being a dorm room, there were two identical-looking desks, but Hitomi quickly found the one that had a framed picture of her mother and Zoe on it. She was sitting there trying to put together the details about her current life by looking through some papers in one of the desk drawers. The door to the room opened, and she turned. A short, skinny girl with stringy light-brown hair and a smattering of acne on her face walked in and put a couple of books down on her desk.
"You're back from your class early," said the girl, whose name Hitomi had just seen on one of the papers she was looking at -- Wendy.
"The professor let us out early," explained Hitomi.
"Oh," said Wendy, sitting down at her desk, facing her computer, and turning it on. Hitomi couldn't tell from that brief exchange what her relationship with her roommate was like, but she decided to chance it anyway. "Listen, Wendy, I've got something to tell you." Wendy turned around in her chair -- a good sign. Hitomi continued, "I guess you could say I've been cursed. Anytime anyone makes a wish that I can hear, it gets granted."
Wendy chuckled. "Ha ha, right. Is this about trying to get me a guy?"
"Maybe," said Hitomi. "Well, I don't know about that. Look, I'd love to give you a demonstration, but when you make a wish, all of reality will change so you won't know anything has happened. Unless..."
"Unless what?" asked Wendy.
Hitomi got an idea. "Repeat after me. I wish that the person who makes a wish that gets granted because Hitomi hears it will notice what's changed."
"Okay, I'll play along," Wendy said, and made the wish. "Now what?"
"Now test it out," said Hitomi. "Wish for something small at first, I guess."
"Fine," said Wendy. "I wish there was a can of Coke in my right hand." She looked down at her hand, which suddenly had a can of Coke in it. In one motion, she dropped the can on the floor -- luckily, it was unopened -- leapt out of the chair, and backed up against the window, as far as she could get from Hitomi.
"How did that happen?!" Wendy practically screamed.
"Magic," said Hitomi. "Okay, now here's the thing. There were already some wishes made on me that have changed reality a little bit, and I was thinking -- "
She was interrupted by a knock on the door.
