Ruby heard the knock on the door as she teased her limp hair as high as she could in the hallway mirror. She sprayed Aqua Net liberally over the newly-formed waterfall bangs to cement them in place and dropped her brush on the small table underneath the mirror. Cathy, her roommate, was taking a shower, getting ready for the party at Omega Phi Delta. The research Ruby still had to do for her Comparative Politics paper nagged at the back of her mind, making her reconsider going tonight. Cathy’s Art History major didn’t take up as much of her free time as Ruby’s Political Science major, and she had to admit, she was jealous of Cathy’s schedule. But a record number of women were running for the United States Senate in the upcoming election and Ruby hoped to add her name to that list someday.

Ruby looked at the clock as she moved to answer the door. Who would be stopping by at eight-thirty at night? she thought. And when am I going to have time to research this paper? When she opened the door, a tall man wearing dark blue pants, a button up shirt and a plain grey baseball cap greeted her holding a clipboard.

‘Hello, sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but we’ve had reports of a gas smell in the neighborhood. We’re checking valves to make sure there are no leaks. Do you mind if I check your stove, oven and water heater?’

‘Oh, sure. I haven’t smelled anything but it’s an old building so it’s possible. Come on in.’

As the man walked to the kitchen, he looked around their small apartment and then back at Ruby and smiled. He pulled out a device, hovering it over the stove and checking the gauge. Ruby walked over and inhaled. She smelled no trace of gas. She glanced at the man.

‘Find anything?’

‘Oh yeah, I found something that badly needs to be fixed.’

Ruby’s eyebrows came together. ‘Really? I don’t smell anything,’ she said, putting her nose closer to the stove.

‘You don’t smell that?’ he said, sniffing deeply. ‘Because I smell a whore.’

‘What?’ Her head snapped up towards the man just as the needle entered her arm.